Sometimes churches, even really great churches like Berean, have it all backwards. We think that we are to be catered to and kept comfortable in church with padded chairs, soft sermons and music just the way we like it. Being stretched is not what we want and reaching out to people in the community is for the paid professionals in ministry.
But, this is completely the opposite of what we should be thinking as a church. Church should be each and every member stretching and growing faith and reaching others as we fulfill the great commission given in Matthew 28:18-20 and stated again in Acts 1:8.
We need to be vocal about our faith, talking about Jesus to our friends and families, even if they have rejected Him before. We need to pray for the lost we know and don't know in our community as we tell others and prepare ourselves to talk to them in words and deeds through studying the Bible and meeting together each Sunday.
But, also part of that stretching is to make sure that the church has the infrastructure to welcome non-Christians to our building and effectively minister to them. Colossians 4:5 says, to "Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity." We need to have the resources that help us do this, and because of this vital mission we are starting the Fresh Start ministry up again to specifically invest in some better lighting in the auditorium and ultimately a church van. As funds come in we will also be improving the entrances and repairing the heating and air conditioning systems throughout the church. This giving needs to be above your normal offering and if you aren't giving regularly you need to prayerfully start.
Keep in mind through Fresh Start we have come a long way. We have already improved the Kingdom Kids area with new carpeting, replaced old outdated signs and exterior lighting, put in a security system and added additional storage to name a few things. Now we need to tackle the final pieces of Fresh Start. It is hard to believe sometimes that God will bless us with the resources we need, but our community is a great field that needs to be harvested and as long as we stay focused on that, He will provide us with what we need to accomplish great things. We know this by faith!
Sometimes it is difficult to stay positive and upbeat as we see swings in the attendance and overall giving. It is easy to get caught up in the negative and weekly numbers and live in fear but our God overcomes that fear! However, if you are struggling with the negative come to church on Wednesday nights. Fifty children from our community get to hear the gospel proclaimed! We are making a difference for His Kingdom at Berean. For you number people, if you add the Wednesday Night and the Sunday morning numbers we are impacting Murphysboro more than ever. For this great work to continue we need a new van and lighting for plays and special activities. We need you to get involved in reaching others for God. After all whether you like it or not you are a missionary for Christ.
If you want to contribute for the lighting please put "Fresh Start" in the memo on your check or on the envelope. We will be starting Fresh Start in full and providing more information after the first of the year.