A renewal….

For the last six weeks our church has been working through a spiritual growth campaign that our staff designed and implemented…..RENEW: Connect, Grow, Serve. This weekend is the grand finale, which we called cityREACH. Today about 400 of our church members fanned out across Bay County and participated in a variety of service projects. I was team leader for a group of 20+ family volunteers at Bethel Village, the women’s addiction recovery program where I work. Our volunteers filled Easter eggs with candy, assembled and wrapped Easter baskets, picked up pinecones, raked straw, and planted flowers in preparation for our big Easter Egg Hunt next Saturday for 150 children whose families are at risk for homelessness. It was a wonderful day of service. I’ve heard reports from several other venues and it seems to be consensus that it was a great day for everyone!

Being the hands of Christ in the world is something that many Christians come to slowly. Perhaps they feel inadequate to represent Christ that way. Perhaps they allow the distractions of the world to command a higher priority in their lives. Whatever their reasons for not serving, it still is necessary for us as church leaders, clergy and lay alike, to set an example and provide opportunities for others to engage in the world. Today I feel that we have accomplished that calling. Many people who’ve been tentative or lukewarm or simply never thought about serving before were meaningfully deployed to be the hands of Christ in the world!