Here we are again in the “dog days of summer”. Independence Day (4th of July) always leads us into the dog days. What does your family do to celebrate the holiday? Is it a day for a big barbecue? What about a picnic at the park? Is it just your family? Do you include others? Do you invite your brothers and sisters from the church? Do you invite your neighbors?
This holiday might be a great time to introduce your family, friends, and neighbors to your church lives. I’ve read that in excess of ninety-nine per cent of new attendees to a church are there because they were invited by a person in the pews. In other words, they were invited by a lay person- not the pastor! Isn’t that an amazing statistic? When family, friends, and neighbors come together for fun and fellowship, we are opening the doors to a wonderful opportunity to show the love of Christ and the fellowship of the church.
I believe the future is bright for our Homestead Methodist Church. But it bright because Jesus lives in our heart, and we truly want to share the love of Jesus with the world. Why don’t we, this Independence Day, use this wonderful opportunity to introduce others to Jesus through fellowship?
On another note, I had the privilege this past Sunday evening to attend a “get-acquainted” session for the Global Methodist Church. This event occurred in Manchester, Tennessee at the First Methodist Church there. It was a very informative meeting. I thought I knew about the GMC. But, as I found out in this meeting, there is still much to learn about the organization. I hope it is just the first of several opportunities to learn about the various other Wesleyan denominational groups.
I still do not feel that we are, in any way, ready to commit to another denominational entity. Perhaps we will never be ready. Someone said, “why would we want to jump right back into another restrictive organization when we just got out of one?” That is a fair question. I think the answer, at least for me, is a resounding, “We don’t!” If, and when, we do join some other entity, my prayer is that it will be much less restrictive.
One thing that was said Sunday evening of the GMC that struck a chord with me was that the GMC does not want to be driven from the “top down,” but rather from the “bottom up.” In other words, rather being told what to do, the local church will be freed to DO MINISTRY in their local community rather than being told how, when, what, and where to do ministry in the place(s) where they have told to do ministry. Sounds quite freeing, doesn’t it?
During these dog days of summer, let’s all make a concerted effort to invite, invite, invite our family, friends, and loved ones to be part of not only our home life, but also our church life. And let’s be on the lookout for those people who could be a part of our wonderful church!