Blessed to be a Blessing
I am a blessed guy! I have a relationship with Christ, wonderful wife, great kids, and love serving in the church. When I made the move to Hesston a year ago, I did not know what to expect. This was new territory for me and for the church. There are not a lot churches with family pastors and those that do have very different responsibilities. So, when I shared my job description with trusted friends and colleagues, they were impressed with the focus of this ministry position. Family Pastor was not just a title for doing another ministry (i.e. children's pastor, youth pastor, discipleship pastor, etc.) It truly was to focus on strengthening families (couples without kids, single parents, parents with kids).
Within the last 24 hours, I have had the privilege to be a part of two very different activities that have been a blessing. Last night, I organized a Family Night (the second this year) at church. The purpose of the evening was to provide a meal as well as fun, learning, and service. After a great meal served by wonderful volunteers, I led everyone in some singing (Go by Seeds Family Worship & The Hippo Song). I followed the singing with sharing a passage from Scripture (Acts 20:35) and talking briefly about the importance of giving back. I shared with the kids that the gifts we were about to put together might be the only gift this child receives this year. I then showed a video about Operation Christmas Child. Following the video, families worked together wrapping shoe boxes, making cards to put in the boxes, filling the boxes, and then praying for the child. It was a great evening leading families to spend time together, learning & having fun, and serving together. I look forward to this Saturday when we do a Family Service Project at a local homeless shelter.
The second blessing was a conversation I had today with four women. The purpose of our conversation was to learn more about single parenting. These ladies were sharing from their experiences of being a single parent. They shared from their hearts about what others did to help them through this time. We talked about what the church did well and how it could have improved it's ministry to them. We then brainstormed ways to reach out effectively to single parents in our community. As I reflect on this time, I admire each of these women for their honesty and sharing about a difficult and often avoided subject in the church. I am thankful to have them to learn from and to hopefully minister in a powerful way to other single parents. Their input was so valuable to me as I continue to pray and seek the Lord regarding our outreach in our community. It reiterated to me the importance of the needs of single parents and how we as the church need to do a better job of reaching out and ministering to their specific needs. Will it be easy? No. Will it be neat? Not always. But what I heard today makes me want to do something. I want the church to be a light to our hurting community and I want to give them hope despite their current situation. Can I do this alone? Nope. This will require men and women and youth. Please be in prayer as I seek the Lord in this area and be praying about your involvement in a ministry that meets single parents where they are and meets a specific need in the name of Jesus Christ.
I am blessed and want to be blessing to those around me. I look forward to what God is going to do in Hesston and through Hesston MB Church.
Within the last 24 hours, I have had the privilege to be a part of two very different activities that have been a blessing. Last night, I organized a Family Night (the second this year) at church. The purpose of the evening was to provide a meal as well as fun, learning, and service. After a great meal served by wonderful volunteers, I led everyone in some singing (Go by Seeds Family Worship & The Hippo Song). I followed the singing with sharing a passage from Scripture (Acts 20:35) and talking briefly about the importance of giving back. I shared with the kids that the gifts we were about to put together might be the only gift this child receives this year. I then showed a video about Operation Christmas Child. Following the video, families worked together wrapping shoe boxes, making cards to put in the boxes, filling the boxes, and then praying for the child. It was a great evening leading families to spend time together, learning & having fun, and serving together. I look forward to this Saturday when we do a Family Service Project at a local homeless shelter.
The second blessing was a conversation I had today with four women. The purpose of our conversation was to learn more about single parenting. These ladies were sharing from their experiences of being a single parent. They shared from their hearts about what others did to help them through this time. We talked about what the church did well and how it could have improved it's ministry to them. We then brainstormed ways to reach out effectively to single parents in our community. As I reflect on this time, I admire each of these women for their honesty and sharing about a difficult and often avoided subject in the church. I am thankful to have them to learn from and to hopefully minister in a powerful way to other single parents. Their input was so valuable to me as I continue to pray and seek the Lord regarding our outreach in our community. It reiterated to me the importance of the needs of single parents and how we as the church need to do a better job of reaching out and ministering to their specific needs. Will it be easy? No. Will it be neat? Not always. But what I heard today makes me want to do something. I want the church to be a light to our hurting community and I want to give them hope despite their current situation. Can I do this alone? Nope. This will require men and women and youth. Please be in prayer as I seek the Lord in this area and be praying about your involvement in a ministry that meets single parents where they are and meets a specific need in the name of Jesus Christ.
I am blessed and want to be blessing to those around me. I look forward to what God is going to do in Hesston and through Hesston MB Church.
Like your thoughts for single-parents. That is the toughest job! Thankful God gives what is needed when needed most. I was a single parent from 1999 to 2002. I am very thankful for the many things God had blessed me with in that time. A quote that esp meant alot was "When God is all you have then you will know that God is all you need."
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