I live for the moments when a student’s eyes light up when they realize because of the Resurrection they no longer need to cling to sin. I am moved to tears when a student repents of sin and accepts Jesus as their Savior. There’s nothing quite like it! As a pastor, it’s these reasons and the countless others that have kept me in youth ministry.
And then comes high school graduation…
My mind goes often to the Parable of the Sower (Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23). Part of my job is to scatter the seed of the gospel of Jesus Christ. And it lands on many different types of surfaces (road, rocky, thorny, good). And I watch in the seasons after graduation as many students show what kind of surface had been cultivated in their lives throughout childhood and high school. And the results aren’t very encouraging.
Students are leaving the church. Even worse, they are leaving the faith altogether. In my experience, to say that half the students in youth ministry stay in church would be generous, and I’m not the only one who is seeing this trend.
The blame can be placed anywhere. “The youth pastor isn’t doing it the right way.” “We need more events to attract students.” “Parents aren’t following through with their responsibility to teach their children about faith.” All of these reasons (and more) have validity to them, and there are elements to each that we must investigate in our own selves and church and see what changes need to be made to correct the problem of young generations leaving the church.
For us all, though, I must echo the challenge once again that Francis Chan provided in the video I showed in my sermon several weeks ago. “Would you [the older generation] set the example for the young people?” By doing this, we are cultivating good soil within the next generations.
Can we LET GO of an Americanized version of Christianity that asks, “What am I getting out of church?” If we approach church that way, then the younger people will as well. We must stop thinking that discipleship is merely dropping our children off to be taught about God, but instead REIMAGINE discipleship as breathing and living God every second of every day with every inch of ourselves. Can we do that? Will we REFLECT the person of Christ as if we were the very mirror image of Him to the world? Are we able to unite as a church, TOGETHER for one common purpose: to PASS ON the truth of the gospel to everyone, praying that their soil has been cultivated and enriched to where roots set in and the hope of Christ blossoms into a beautiful image of Jesus Christ?
At ECOB we are calling ALL: the older, the youth, the middle-aged, the singles, the young married couples, the widows and widowers, the empty nesters, the children… ALL… to begin taking on this NEW (though it’s really not that new) approach to discipleship. We must be willing to embrace the five values mentioned above: LET GO, REIMAGINE, REFLECT, TOGETHER, and PASS ON.
And we are going to be providing an opportunity starting September 7th for this approach to discipleship to take place. Wednesday nights will no longer be focused on just children and youth. Wednesday evenings are now going to be a ministry focused on how each of us can take on the responsibility Christ laid out for us in being his followers (Matthew 16:24).
This new ministry IS NOT an adaptation of Children’s Ministry. It IS NOT a new way to do Youth Ministry. This ministry is DISCIPLESHIP, and ALL are needed to make it happen. We are trying to create an environment to cultivate the soils in the lives of all the members and attenders at Eaton Church of the Brethren.
I promise you, this doesn’t mean we are going to cease Children’s and Youth Ministries. Yes, these ministries will be changing, and looking different than they did before, but we are not deleting them. Our hope is with our approach to discipleship on Wednesday evenings, we will be able to cultivate the kind of soil needed for our Children’s and Youth Ministries to flourish! But not just those two ministries… Men’s and Women’s, One Another Groups, Bible Studies, EMT, Missions, Luke 3:11, 2nd Saturdays, and any other ministry I’m forgetting will benefit from our intentional focus on discipleship.
So are you ready? Are you ready for what God has in store for ECOB? Are you ready to set the example for the younger generation? I know I am!
This is the new format for LifeShare. We are soon going to be discontinuing the emails you received before. If you want to continue to receive LifeShare in this new format, you will need to subscribe at http://www.lifeshare.live, where you can see posts about current happenings and posts from Pastor Dan and others.
Before Sunday be sure to read 1 Samuel 1-4; 8-13; 15 and/or Chapter 10 of The Story. To see all reading assignments click here. To hear previous sermons in the series, click here.
This is the new format for LifeShare. We are soon going to be discontinuing the emails you received before. If you want to continue to receive LifeShare in this new format, you will need to subscribe at http://www.lifeshare.live, where you can see posts about current happenings and posts from Pastor Dan and others.
I know it’s not technically summer yet, but it is in the air. Schools are on summer break, families and friends are enjoying or preparing for vacations and it’s finally getting warm. These things and so much more mark a wonderful time of the year when people can enjoy the benefits of sunny days and warm temperatures. Just last week my family and I went to Hueston Woods for the afternoon and enjoyed a picnic. It was great!
While summer has much to offer it can easily become a time of slipping away from the disciplines of our walk with Christ. Since schedules often shift in the summer we can find ourselves having to work harder to set time aside for prayer, reading and study of the Word and even attending Sunday morning worship. Also, since many One Another groups take a break during the summer, this regular accountability can cause us to be less focused on walking with Christ each day.
Proverbs 24:3 says, “By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established; through knowledge its rooms are filled with rare and beautiful treasures.” I encourage you to continue to build your spiritual house through this season by intentionally seeking God’s wisdom in times of quiet, prayer and study. Use the unique blessings of the summer season to engage God’s purposes in your life and honor him. Here are a few suggestions to make the most of your spiritual summer:
Whatever you choose to do, take advantage of this great season and strengthen, not weaken you relationship with God through some creative ways. Don’t take a break from God, even though schedules get busier. God deserves our best and calls us to commit to Him in all seasons. Make this summer a summer of spiritual fun as you seek Him with all your heart!
Praying with you and for you,
Pastor Dan
Before Sunday be sure to read Ruth 1-4 and/or Chapter 9 of The Story. To see all reading assignments click here. To hear previous sermons in the series, click here.
This is the new format for LifeShare. We are soon going to be discontinuing the emails you received before. If you want to continue to receive LifeShare in this new format, you will need to subscribe at http://www.lifeshare.live, where you can see posts about current happenings and posts from Pastor Dan and others.
Before Sunday be sure to read Judges 2-4; 6-8;13-16 and/or Chapter 8 of The Story. To see all reading assignments click here. To hear previous sermons in the series, click here.
This is the new format for LifeShare. We are soon going to be discontinuing the emails you received before. If you want to continue to receive LifeShare in this new format, you will need to subscribe at http://www.lifeshare.live, where you can see posts about current happenings and posts from Pastor Dan and others.
Before Sunday be sure to read Joshua 1-2; 6; 8; 10-11; 23-24 and/or Chapter 7 of The Story. To see all reading assignments click here. To hear previous sermons in the series, click here.
Last week in his sermon entitled ‘The Past and the Future’, Pastor Josh challenged us to consider how we can share our story to tell of God’s truth and character. This challenge is applicable to any and all relationships in our lives with those we know well as well as the stranger. The key is that we continue to tell these stories and to be focused on sharing them with the next generation.
As we move forward as a church in the coming months we are going to be exploring some different ways of being disciples and making disciples. Some of these ways will perhaps challenge our preferences and comfort. What we must be assured of is God’s desire to lead us into stronger relationships with Him. We cannot forgo our obedience to that call. We have taken solid, healthy steps over the years to be disciples and make disciples which have led us to this point. It’s not that those were bad or ineffective. They served the Kingdom well in their time. However, in an ever-changing culture we must continue to seek with all of our hearts the best ways to engage in discipleship with the current culture.
In the coming weeks and months you will be hearing more about some changes we will be implementing in our discipleship strategy. We want you to know that you are an important part of this because it is not simply a program to carry out but rather a way of life of the church. We are incredibly excited as to how this will strengthen us individually and as a body of believers in our efforts to carry out our God-given mission.
Here’s how you can be a part of this journey at this stage:
Thank you for being a church that wants to impact the current and future generations for Christ.
Praying with you and for you,
Pastor Dan
Around three weeks ago the elders presented a challenge to us to meet a need for a new storage facility at Camden Rd. The selling of the Barron St. facility has heightened this need for storage in a more obvious way than ever. Through much hard work and energy our property team has presented the elders with a solid plan for meeting this need with a new storage facility. Like most projects, this requires funds to make it happen. The goal of $65,000 is our target for us to commit to building this facility. I am pleased to say we are well on our way to meeting that goal with a total to date of 34 pledges for the total pledged amount of $35,287.00. Thank you, it’s a great start!
As excited as we are to be at this point, we haven’t achieved our goal. With that in mind, as you prayerfully consider your part, keep note of the following:
Thank you for continuing to seek God’s heart as carry out our mission!
Praying with you and for you,
Pastor Dan
GRIEFSHARE SUPPORT GROUP – Wednesdays, May 25-Aug 17, 6:30 pm. Call the church office to register.
BLOOD DRIVE – Thursday, May 26, 1-7 pm in the Great Room
BABY DEDICATION – Sunday, June 12. Contact the church office by Wednesday, June 8.
READING THE STORY AHEAD – Check it out here
ROCKHOUSE SUMMER CALENDAR – Click here
Everybody can be great, because everybody can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t have to make your subject and your verb agree to serve. … You only need a heart full of grace, a soul generated by love.
–Martin Luther King, Jr.
Becoming true servants requires that our actions are an outpouring of the love and grace that is in our hearts and souls. Most anyone can do an act of kindness for someone once in awhile, but the condition of the heart will set the path and pace for life of serving. Serving, like modeled in Christ, is the way of a disciple of Christ. You can’t truly be a disciple of Christ if you aren’t serving Him in your home, at your workplace, in your neighborhood, through your church. Last week on our Brethren Disaster Team trip to Detroit I shared during a morning devotion one of my favorite verses regarding serving:
Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms. – 1 Peter 4:10 (NIV)
This reminds us that through our belief and acceptance of Christ we are equipped and enabled to serve with the power of the one true God in unique and powerful ways!
The reason that I wanted to share this today is because I have joyfully and with gratefulness watched this in multiple ways over the past few weeks. It makes me so proud of what God is doing through you to make the name of Christ known and bring God glory. Here’s just a few of those things:
Even after having to reschedule our 2nd Saturday Outreach to a week later due to bad weather, eight people worked 35.5 man-hours to install privacy fencing on both the north and south side of the Homeless Shelter and a gate on the south side. On the 18th three people worked another 9 serving hours to clean up, remove supports and trim and dress the posts.
On the last Saturday of April a One Another group made up of 8 adults and 16 kids came out to spruce up the landscaping here at Camden Rd. by weeding and mulching. Their service helps make this place attractive and welcoming to our guests and reflects how we desire to care for them.
As we spent the last days of ministry at Barron St. with our GreenHouse Kids and RockHouse Student ministries programs for the year, each night was marked by prayer for others. The Sr. High youth spent part of their last night praying over the Barron St. facility specifically in how God will empower and bless L& M Products (the new owners) to use it as a sacred space for helping its employees, clients and the community. On the following Wednesday, in a multi-generational gathering that included the prayer balloon launch, prayers reached out to those receiving those balloons to make known God’s goodness and love.
Last week six people from ECOB gave an entire week to go to Detroit to help repair homes damaged by flooding and demonstrate God’s love in action on a Brethren Disaster Trip.
Over the last 2 months and with special concentration over the last few weeks, many have given countless hours to the move from Barron St. From sorting Kitchen supplies, to moving furniture, to sorting items for the sale, to staffing the sale, so many have stepped up to serve your God, your church and our ministry efforts. While at first appearance this may seem inward, we must remember that it is necessary to do these types of things to be good stewards of what God has given us. All of those things being moved, stored, and shared contribute to our overall ministry efforts. God will use every part of it, even if it seems mundane and non-spiritual to us.
Yesterday as we began the moving sale, a story was shared with me that a member of this church came in and purchased a box full of kid’s trinkets and toys. She knew of a ministry that used these types of items to bring joy and encouragement to children suffering from cancer. She was taking this box of goodies to give to them.
Finally, last night I had the joy of gathering with around 30 volunteers who have served in the Wednesday Night GreenHouse Kids ministry this year. These adults have poured many hours of time, prayer and planning into reaching kids and families with the message of Christ. Thanks for making a difference!
Each of these examples, and I’m sure much more over the last month here at ECOB alone, demonstrates with wonderful humility how to administer God’s grace in its various forms. Praise God! Hallelujah!
Praying with you and for you,
Pastor Dan