Neighborhood Ministries

Our Spiritual Journey-We are approaching Christ the King Sunday when we remember the God promised to restore the earth to its former glory, however, before we can enter that perfect world, we must be ready. We must learn what we will need there. God tried to teach the Jewish people through the law, but while they obeyed the law, they still experienced the hate and greed that led to violating the law because they did not understand the meaning of love. Therefore God sent Jesus to take on flesh and show us how to live, but we were still subject to the hate and greed by our sinful nature. Therefore Christ died and rose again to free us from the power of sin and death. When we accept Christ as our deliverer, we are born again, however we are just babies and must learn to walk with Christ. Many churches no longer teach their members to walk with Christ so they remain babies unable to discern right and wrong. The Holy Spirit can guide them but they must learn to listen to His voice and obey Him. That takes place as  we hear Bible teaching and walk daily, guided by more mature believers who show us by their example, just as a child learns through their parents teaching and by watching their parents. The Christian calendar guides the church as it trains new believers to walk with Christ. It begins with Christmas by reminding us that God had to take on flesh and walk among us so we have to be the living example of Christ in the flesh to unbelievers and new believers. Lent reminds us that we need to learn God’s law and how to apply it to our everyday life. Easter reminds us of the new life we have in Christ and that Christ died to make that possible. Pentecost reminds us that we have the Holy Spirit to guide us and of all those who do not know Christ. It is a time when the church reaches out to those that don’t know Christ. Kingdomtide reminds us that we aren’t alone but have other brothers and sisters in Christ to guide and support us. It is a time when the more mature members help new believers learn to experience the fellowship of the church. Finally, Christ the King Sunday reminds us that one day Christ will return and lead us into the promised land where we will be with Him forever. By walking the path every year, we are remined of how far we have come and where we need to improve. If we do not have guidance in our walk year after year, we lose our way and wander off the path. Let us pledge to renew our walk with Christ this coming year.

Volunteer in Social Services -Until recently, most social service work was done by the church and more recently by Christian social service agencies. Volunteer work with the agencies was seen as part of the church’s ministry and members frequently volunteered. Until recently churches supported Christian social service agencies directly and members had close contact with the agencies through regular reports but churches have increasingly withdrawn their support leaving the agencies to depend on  community-wide funding campaigns and many church members no longer have contact with them. As a result, members no longer see social service work as ministry and rarely volunteer anymore.  Since the 1930’s, the government has taken over the majority of social service work. In the past, many members learned to minister to others through specialized positions in the church, such as deacons and deaconesses that ministered to members and those in the community in need. Few churches have such positions any more or they do little more than provide meals for sick members or at funerals and weddings, since most such work is done by government and Christian Social Service agencies. Government agencies are well funded with tax dollars but Christian social service agencies must depend on donations. As a result, Christian Social Service agencies are often tight on funds and so cannot afford adequate staff. Therefore, they must depend on volunteers to help. Volunteering provides an excellent way for members to learn to minister to others because the agencies often provide training and supervision while they learn. Some enjoy the work so much that they go to school and get training to work in Social services.

 Involving members in ministry-part-B Today, many churches have few active ministries and involve a minimum of members in ministry. Current leaders have occupied the same positions since anyone can remember and probably will as long as they are able. This results in the church getting in a rut and refusing to do anything new. The church needs to expand the churches ministry to involve more members. An affective way to draw new ideas into the decision process is to return to the Biblical principle of the Sabbatical. The Bible set aside the Sabbath (seventh day) as a day of rest and established the Sabbatical (seventh year) as a time of rest where the Jews were to rely totally on God’s provision. Establishing the Biblical doctrine of Sabbatical where workers serve for six years and then take off a year on a rotating basis allows new Christians to gain experience and allows workers to step back and look for other areas that might interest them. It also enables the church to introduce new members into the decision making process (See “To Preserve The Light” in Rebuilding The Kingdom” copyright 2012)  In addition, Christian para-church organizations often need volunteers and provide training for them providing excellent opportunities for those seeking to get experience in ministering to others. Some even have paid positions where members can become involved in full-time ministry

Involving members in ministry  part A Children learn by doing and new Christians learn the same way. Unfortunately, few churches today have training programs where new Christians can work alongside more mature Christians. Many church leaders have occupied the same positions since anyone can remember. The church needs to provide hands on training for newer Christians under experienced workers. By involving new Christians in ministry in the congregation and in Christian ministries, new Christians learn how to serve Christ and the Church. They learn how to minister as they minister to others. As new Christians minister to others, they not only learn to identify those who have needs and how to minister to them, they also develop a love and concern for them. However, few churches today involve many of their members in ministry. They wait until an opening occurs and try to pressure someone to take the position, even though that person may have no prior experience and may not have the gifts for it or the concern for it. As a result, many Churches today do little to train new Christians in ministry or reach people for Christ. Involving more members in ministry will allow the church to train more people for ministry and reach more people for Christ by providing hands on training for newer Christians under experienced workers. It also enables the church to train them for when the present leadership can no longer serve.