Meeting A Need-If there is a need in your area and there is no one meeting that need, you may consider organizing a ministry through your church or in your community. The small groups may check to see if there are nearby residents needing lawns cut, snow shoveling of simple repairs. If the group doesn’t have anyone available, they can ask neighboring groups. Churches often claim they don’t have the resources. Some needs may be beyond the resources of the local small group. Churches often claim they don’t have the resources. In the mid-1970’s, I belonged to a house church consisting of only six families. They became concerned about the large number of suicides in the area after I told them about the hour, I had spent the previous week on a railroad bridge with a teenage girl who could not decide whether to jump. They set out to organize a crisis hotline and contacted Contact International and with their help laid plans for a crisis phone line for the county. In only 12 months, the members of that church gathered 129 volunteer phone workers and trained them, and secured enough voluntary contributions to support a phone bill of almost $1500 a month, plus cover utilities and rent for an office, to provide a place where people could call toll-free 24 hours a day, 7 days a week from anywhere in the county. They went on the phones only a year after we began planning and are still serving their community to this day, after 44 years of continuous phone service. They drastically cut the suicide rate in their area. If a church of only six families can do that, what can a church of 100 or more families do?
Posts Tagged ‘Pentecost’
Third Sunday of Pentecost -June 11
Meeting your neighbors Years ago, stable neighborhoods were friendly places where neighbors knew each other and socialized frequently. These days, few people know their neighbors, even in stable neighborhoods. As residential areas have been separated from shopping and office areas, many neighborhoods have become bedroom communities where people come home to eat and sleep. They shop, work, and attend school elsewhere. Few people sit on the porch or walk the neighborhood anymore. Where neighborhoods used to be filled with kids and they used to roam the neighborhood freely, there are often few kids and few roam the neighborhood anymore. We have become a mobile society where people live in a bubble and have few meaningful contacts. Members should be encouraged to get to know their neighbors. While many members think their neighbors have their own churches, very few do. There are probably neighbors who could use encouragement and support. Neighborhood Vacation Bible Schools, Bible studies, and children’s Bible clubs can help bring neighbors together. Small groups can become a door to attract neighbors to church or provide Bible teaching to those who attend church but whose church does not provide it.
Second Suday of Pentecost-Trinity Sunday-June 4
The Second Sunday of Pentecost is Trinity Sunday when Christians celebrate the Trinity, (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit). The Jews dealt with God the Father through the priests and prophets, and occasionally through Angels sent to deliver messages. Then Jesus came in bodily form to show us the nature of the Father in a way we could understand. Finally, at Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came to guide us and give us power in restoring the Kingdom of God. The disciples were transformed when they received the Holy Spirit and received power to go out and proclaim the Gospel. Many churches ignore the celebration of Pentecost as they no longer emphasize to new birth in Christ and lives of members differ little from unbelievers around them. The church needs to get a new sense of the changing power of the Holy Spirit.
Twelfth Sunday of Pentecost-B
Ministry to travelers – Few people think about those that travel, yet a large portion of our society travels at one time or other. Many travel by car and by plane but many also travel by bus. Many spend only a short at their destination before returning home. Most will stay in motels while away from home. Those who regularly attend church at home may or may not seek a church to attend while they are away. My wife and I usually seek a church to attend on Sunday when we are away from home. We usually do a computer search to find a church nearby and how to get to it, however many travelers may not be able to or may not want to take the time to research it. Motels used to have notebooks in each room with a list of nearby churches compiled by local ministerial groups, however I have not seen any for years. Searching usually requires going through the phone book to get names and then looking up their websites or Facebook page. Since we usually are not familiar with the area, we must then look up directions to them, to see if they are nearby. That is a lot of work. Unfortunately, many churches do not have addresses on their websites or Facebook page. I may look up First Church in Columbus, Oh and it will pull up a list of pages for First Church. Many of them may be in New York, Texas, Florida, or someplace else. If the site doesn’t list the city and State, you don’t know if it is the right one. If it doesn’t list an address, you have no way to know if it is nearby. Obviously, travelers are not going to visit them. Putting addresses on websites and Facebook pages would be a big help. It would also help those moving into an area find a new church home. Distributing a list of nearby churches to local churches with directions would help many travelers find a church to attend.
Twelfth Sunday of Pentecost-Aug 21-A
Truck Stop Ministry- Few people take any thought to the many trucks that travel our highways day and night. Many truckers have families that they don’t see for weeks at a time. Often, they are alone for long periods except for stops at truck stops to fuel, eat, and sleep. Drivers have long periods with nothing to do but think as they drive, or while they rest over layovers and while they may have passing conversations with truckers they pass, they often have little meaningful conversation. Truck stop ministries are springing up where truckers can stop and visit and where volunteers are glad to minister to their spiritual and social needs. Many ministries are getting trailers to use for worship services where Christian drivers can worship while they are on the road, since it is difficult for drivers to drive around town on Sunday morning looking for a church with a parking lot big enough to accommodate their rig.
Tenth Sunday of Pentecost-August 7
Hospital Ministry- Those in the hospital are often not there by choice. Many people hate to go to the hospital when they are sick or injured, though it is sometimes necessary. In unfamiliar circumstances, away from family and friends, and often unable to do many things they normally do. Staff do not have time to stop and chat so days are long and boring. I spent a number of times in the hospital as a child and a couple times as an adult and I don’t like it either. When I was a child, I always looked forward to the “gray ladies” (retired women who volunteered in the hospital and would bring around pop and ice cream in the afternoons and stop to talk) and the “candy strippers” named after the red and white stripped uniforms they wore(teen girls who volunteered in the hospital who brought around books, magazines, games, puzzles, and crafts in the evenings and spent time with us playing games and showing us how to make simple craft items). When I was in the hospital at age 40 for my hip replacement, no gray ladies or candy strippers came around during the week I was there. They tell me they get very few volunteers these days. Many tell me they hate to visit friends or family in the hospital because it is so depressing. If you feel hospitals are depressing, think how the patients feel. In addition, many people work and don’t have a lot of time to visit. Lastly, many people have no friends or family close by who can visit. Days are long when someone is confined to bed all day and although hospitals have TV sets, they get old after awhile.
Ninth Sunday of Pentecost-July 31
Jails-Sunday Services, Bible Studies, and counseling are greatly needed in jails and prisons. Many in jails are short term and more minor offences while prisons are more long term and more serious offences. While ministering in jails and prisons is a very difficult ministry, it is very rewarding to see inmates turn to Christ. Many who have broken the law feel guilty and want to find forgiveness. They need to know that there is forgiveness and redemption through the shed blood of Christ. Others realize that what they did was wrong and want to mend their ways. They feel that they can’t change so why try. They need to know that we can become a new creature in Christ and there are people willing to help them. Often those let out of jail face problems they don’t know how to solve. Getting back home, reestablishing a residence, getting a job, etc. Many are afraid to face the unknown ahead and encouraged that someone who understands the process is willing to walk with them through the process. Families are inmates also struggle and need encouragement.
Eighth Sunday of Pentecost-July 24
Nursing Homes Nursing homes have changed over the years. They used to be short term where people went to die. Now they are often short term for therapy and then residents return to their homes. Far fewer die in nursing homes these days. There is a great need for workers to minister to those in nursing homes. Many are away from family, friends, and familiar surroundings. Many are no longer able to take care of themselves or do many things they used to do, either temporarily or permanently. In addition, many of those there are facing death and need to deal with it. Like young people, they are facing a transition and are making decisions that will impact, not only the rest of their life (short as that may be), but where they will spend eternity. Many are open to hearing the hope of the Gospels. Many have lost loved ones who may be Christians but they themselves aren’t. Also, many have no family or friends nearby and have no visitors. They welcome those who come to visit. Many enjoy visits from children (though some don’t so be sure and check first) It’s a good way to teach children to minister to others and children often enjoy it as well. The government has recognized the bonding that children and the elderly develop and has begun pairing nursing homes with Day Care Centers for inter-generational programs.
Seventh Sunday of Pentecost-B
Public schools also are facing increased pressure to use liberal textbooks and teach false and misleading information to support liberal causes. Many have banned the Bible and moral teaching in favor of sexual license, sexual disorientation, and racially divisive teaching. In addition, many seek to turn kids against their parents to counter moral teaching. Many also allow those who are sexually confused to use the bathroom of their choice, endangering women and girls. An increasing number of parents, both Christian and those with no Christian background are turning to homeschooling and Christian schools to remove their kids from such an environment. Some schools are allowing release time where kids can leave the school property to go to churches nearby for voluntary Bible training. Other schools still allow Christian organizations and churches to have Christian clubs on campus. Churches can start Christian schools and support homeschoolers, as well as supporting Christian clubs on campus to help counter the secular teaching the kids face in class.