Our church hosted a ministry fair today where all areas of the church were represented by a booth People were encouraged to drop by for information on how to get involved. The busiest booth all day was that of the Global Outreach department. It made me proud to be a part of a church so interested in serving the community and overseas missions. Driving home, I stopped to take a photo of this cross, hidden behind the walls of a church. It made me think of the church in general. Do we hide behind the church wall as we worship, feed spiritually, and support one another? What do our surrounding neighborhoods say about us? Are we anything but cars in the parking lot to those who are not members? Or, are we the hands and feet of Jesus to the community? If they have a need, do they know they can come to us? Many churches do not have the resources to help financially but all have the ability to pray with someone and offer emotional and spiritual support. Are we known as the church that helps the needy, feeds the hungry and supports widows and single moms? If your church moved out of your community, would you be missed? The more a church serves in the community, the more people will come to us for help. That can put a strain on finances as we cannot help everyone. Tough choices have to be made at times. Bu,t if we do not have to make those choices, we might be in a greater danger of not fulfilling the task given to us by Jesus. If your church is not reaching out into the community, what can YOU do to make a difference? Maybe one person cannot change a church, but the prayers of one person can rise up leaders with a heart for taking Christ outside of the church’s walls. I plan to write a few posts over the next weeks highlighting some of the ministries our Outreach Department has taken on. Hopefully it will spark interest in others to take some of these ideas to your home churches. I’d be happy to hear from you as well on how your church is serving the community around you.
Bumper Bag Sundays, (The Church Serving the Community)
The Church Serving the Community 2: House to Home Be A Blessing - Outreach to Women