MOVING FORWARD
As we come into the Easter season we are reminded of our real reason for being as a church. We are here to be the visible body of our risen and ascended savior Jesus Christ. Fellowship is, of course, vital to the body life of the church. We need each other and as Jesus prayed in John 17 we need to be united together just as the Father is united to the Son. Such a call to unity is in itself is a tremendous challenge, but there is so much more.
I say there is much more because our church is not simply a fellowship group ministering to its own needs. It has been well said that God has called us out of darkness into his marvelous light and he then sends us right back into the darkness to call others into the light. As a church we are as the body of Christ here on earth not only to minister to each other, we are also called to be salt and light in this world and to proclaim the message of Christ until he physically comes again. That’s why I was incredulous the other day when someone told me that he had been listening to Family Radio while traveling through New York State and heard the speaker say that God has no use today for the church. That friends is outright heresy. Never in history has God had a greater need for his body than now. He needs us as an active, united, outreaching body. I might add that the world whether it realized it or not also needs the church for these same reasons.
This being the case, I have greatly appreciated the support we have had from our church body for the community Lenten Luncheons. Our participation has been vital to the expression of our love and interest in this community. You can be sure that the active part we have taken has not gone unnoticed. Debbie’s presentation at the luncheon this year of the hymn Because He Lives was a real encouragement to many and a real case in point. The power of the Resurrection of Christ comes through that hymn and came through in Debbie’s presentation and I could tell that there were many there who were really taking it in. That’s why we are here, that’s our reason for being. We must continually move forward making use of every means possible to proclaim the gospel.
Such was the vision of Dr. Simpson the founder of the Christian and Missionary Alliance. Back in the 19th century the movie theaters were all closed on Sunday evenings so he would rent them and hold evangelistic meetings in them. People felt free to go into a theater when they wouldn’t set foot in the church. Simpson was widely criticized for taking the gospel into “A den of iniquity” as people put it, but God was leading him to reach out to those in need and that’s where he found them. We need to continue with that same vision.
Of course not everything we do is outside our building and it has been well said that Easter Sunday is the greatest Friend Day on our church calendar. It is that time, more than any other, when people will consider going to church. We need to be proactive about this. This year, working especially through our worship team, a very special cantata has been planned and the gospel will be clearly announced. Let us do everything possible to get as many visitors as possible out to that service.
There are a number of other special services coming up also. On Palm Sunday evening we will be having Dinner and a Concert with Eddie Piper. Again, this can be an evangelistic tool for reaching people in an informal way with the gospel.
Following our Palm Sunday and Easter programs, on May 16, Sue Thomas the retired deaf F.B.I. agent will be here to share her testimony. Sue is a dedicated Christian and her testimony has made a tremendous impact wherever she has spoken. The fact that the TV series Sue Thomas F. B. Eye was based on her life should spark the interest of many who have watched the series. This again is another Friend Day opportunity.
July 4, Independence Day, falls on a Sunday this year. The July 4 period is the peak of tourist season and it is another big date for our church as Paul Veit will be speaking. Paul has a real gift of evangelism and has touched many lives with his presentations. We praise God that he is located here and that we can use him for reaching out to the community.
Our official Friend Day this year will be Sunday, July 25. We are making arrangements to again hold it at the Steven’s Brook School. The week following we will as usual be conducting our VBS program which has always served as a strong evangelistic outreach tool.
August may seem to be a long way off, but we are already making plans to send a mission team to Revere, Massachusetts at that time to minister for a week on the beach reaching out to those who vacation there.
The calendar year of course begins on January 1, but our church year really begins in the fall as the summer season ends and school begins again. We plan to launch that New Year with a concert with Ernie Couch and Revival. This year they will be coming on Sunday morning October 3 and my prayer is that the Lord will use them in a special way to reach many with the gospel.
Even as I write this we are looking at the possibility of adding more outreach programs to our schedule. We do this not to entertain ourselves but to create opportunities of witness. As Rick Warren so well put it, “It is not about us.” It is about the Lord. It is my prayer that as the days, weeks and months go by that we will in our lives and in our church ministry see the Lord lifted up and glorified here in the greater Bridgton area.