Truly Christian Outreach

Luke 14:21-23 “So the servant came and reported these things to his master. Then the master of the house became angry and said to his servant, 'Go out quickly to the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in the poor and crippled and blind and lame.' And the servant said, 'Sir, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.' And the master said to the servant, 'Go out to the highways and hedges and compel people to come in, that my house may be filled.”

On this date in 1829, William Booth, Founder of the Salvation Army was born in Nottingham England.

According to churchhistorytimeline.com, “Working first as a Methodist minister and evangelist, Booth and his able wife Catherine began tackling social evils at the same time engaging in direct evangelism. In 1865 Booth began a Christian mission in east London. By 1878 the mission and its work had evolved into the full grown organization of the Salvation Army. By the time of his death, Booth had traveled five million miles, preached 60,000 sermons and had drawn some 16,000 enlisted soldiers into his Army. At that time the Salvation Army was working in 58 countries in 34 languages.”

While I deeply regret the abandonment of sound doctrine and the ever encroaching liberalism within the Salvation Army, I am thankful that they have stayed faithful to their foundational calling of caring for the poorest of the poor and the down and out in society around the world.

One of the saddest things that have happened to our own Denomination over the years is that we have become more and more, “Upper Middle Class” in the demographic of our church members. Of course, we need to reach everyone including those who are, “Upper Middle Class” but, we (as a Denomination) have almost abandoned our efforts at reaching those who are most needy among us.

Nowhere is this more evident than in the fact that there are so few SBC Churches located in the inner cities of America. Even the very popular, “Center City” movement among Church Planters seems to be almost exclusively targeted at “Upper Middle to Upper Class” people in the cities!

Several years ago, I had the joy of preaching a week-long City-wide Crusade for the Salvation Army in Richmond, Virginia. It remains a happy memory for me. I found that two kinds of people were usually present in the services and ministries of the Salvation Army: those who were down and out, and those who were dedicated to ministering to them.

The right answer is, of course, to take the gospel to everyone, everywhere! We ought not tailor our services or ministries to reach a “certain segment” of the Community. Beloved Ones, let us, “'Go out quickly to the streets and lanes… and bring in the poor and crippled and blind and lame.” And, everyone else!

Prayer: “Lord of the Harvest, use us to bring into Your Kingdom those who are outside. Let us not care about their social standing, but let us care about their spiritual standing before You. Use us, O God, to reach from among every race the young and old, men and women, boys and girls, poor, wealthy, and everywhere in-between. May our Church truly be a House for All People.”

Application: The Great Commission is geographically, not demographically structured! What are we doing to make sure that everyone feels welcome and wanted in our life and in our Church?

The Best Way to Decorate A Church

We are very fortunate indeed to have so many gifted people who do so much to make our church facility so beautiful! Charlotte Eagan and many others design and display all kinds of decorations that fit each season perfectly and demonstrate a personal care of God's House that honors Him and blesses us.

But, after this past Sunday I have decided that the most beautiful decoration a church can have is the smiling faces of visitors in the services! Now, I am not for one moment overlooking the happy and familiar faces of our many faithful people whose presence (and presents) make our work possible; but, I do want to thank the Lord and those of you who invite family and friends to come to church with you. Over the past few weeks, we have had many of your family and friends in the services!

Last Sunday - between the Ard and Fornshell families and several others who brought family and friends - we had about twenty visitors in the AM service! Of course, some of them are out-of-town family and not prospects for membership in our church; but, several of them do live in the Tri-County area and may very well someday be part of this happy and blessed Church.

Thanks to everyone who takes the time and effort to invite people to our services, and may the Lord lead more and more of us to do the same!

JOY Groups Update!

God continues to richly bless our JOY Groups! We now have three groups actively meeting. Over the past few weeks, these Groups are averaging 55 in attendance, and about 20 of those are people who have never attended our church!

God is using these Groups to allow us to share the gospel with several people who have not yet attended our church. Last night in Tuscola, I had the joy of teaching 10 people including 2 "first timers". Three of these dear folk have not yet attended our church.

We are praying that the Lord will raise up several more people in our church who will host and, or, lead one of these Groups. We have a teacher ready for Atwood right now! Please pray that the Lord will burden one of our local families to host a JOY Group very soon. There is a reason we call them "JOY Groups!" Why not get involved and see for yourself?