May 2007 Letter from the Pastor

“You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:14-16)

Steve Sjogren has written a book entitled, 101 Ways To Reach Your Community. The book lists and explains many good ideas for outreach. Sjogren was hoping to include a high percentage of Christians in the action of evangelism as well as reach out in significant ways to a lot of people in their city.

He calls evangelism a biblical bipolar word. He said, “It both excites and depresses us when we hear it. It’s something we feel called to do because the love of God compels us and the Word of God commands us to do it. As disciples we are thrilled with the idea of seeing others come to Christ. But on the other hand, we’re depressed when it comes to the outworking of that value.”

The Vineyard Community Church, in Baltimore, Maryland, where Sjogren serves has a strong emphasis on what they call ‘servant evangelism.’ Their church attendance has grown from 37 people to more than 6000.
Many of the ideas they have used to serve others in their community are listed in the book. At the end of the book, he also has a list of the ‘Top 10 Worst Outreach Ideas.’ Here is a sampling: Carmel apple giveaway at the orthodontist’s office; Free pet embalming; In-mouth denture cleaning at rest homes; Car wash in Amish country; and Free body piercing. (He confesses that this is a made-up list, and he was not involved in these efforts.)

According to Jesus, when the light of the believer shines among men, they see our good deeds and praise the Father in heaven. We can be a part of reaching out to our community and contributing to the Father’s praise.

On page 64 of Sjogren’s book he lists idea #42 as – ‘Oil Change for Single Parents.’ What a great idea!

We have done this for years at the time of our Free Garage Sale. We plan to do this again on June 2nd, from 8:00 a.m. to Noon.

Please consider how you can be a part of this ministry.

There is plenty of work to do including: prayer; advertising; getting everything organized before; being there on Saturday the 2nd to greet people and help them; help with cleanup; in general, ‘letting your light shine before men.’

Please call the church office or contact Val Ruiz to offer your assistance in this ministry. What we do together will contribute to the praise of our Father in heaven.

Pastor Lerud