August Newsletter

From the Pastor’s Pen

Vacation Bible School is over, the county fair is only a few weeks away, and before we know it, the children will be headed back to school. It’s hard to believe how fast the Summer has gone by! As we look ahead to Fall, there’s Charge Conference, revival, our cook out, and many other activities. So as I considered how I ought to spend the last few weeks of Summer, I asked myself, “What is the most important thing I ought to do?”

As I thought about it, I realized how easily we become distracted by all of the activity around us and lose sight of the main thing. If we identify ourselves as followers of Christ, then we find the answer in scripture – Jesus told us to share the Good News with others. (Matt. 28:19-20)

This really jumped out at me this week. In a class of roughly 30 children, only one was in church with us last week. Two more regularly attend church with us. Only 10 kids had a regular church home--that means that 2 out of every 3 do not! Jesus told his disciples that the harvest was very great. The problem is that the laborers are too few. (Luke 10:2)

Many of us do not share our faith with others because we simply do not know how. So I want to offer a few practical suggestions that can help us share our faith.

· Build friendships with one or two unchurched people. Many Christians isolate themselves from all non-believers, but in doing so, the cut themselves off from their mission field.

· Don’t force the conversation to faith. Get to know them and be an active listener.

· Ask them questions. Where do you work? How old are your kids? What activities are you involved in? The more you know about the person, the better you will understand them.

· Expect unchristlike behavior. They may have language, habits, and behaviors that offend you.

· If you have the opportunity to invite them to church, offer to meet them at the door and have them sit with you. The unknown of a church service isn’t so scary if there’s someone who knows how it’s done.

· Pray for these people, and ask God to guide you through his Holy Spirit. God can give us the words to say if we let Him. It takes labor in prayer to see a life changed.

As we close out the Summer, I pray that each of us will find ways to enter into the harvest field, so that we can see lives changed forever.

- Pastor Tom