What a fantastic end to a beautiful day, Father! Thank You for Your people who came together to do something for others! You and You alone are our example and motivation!

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OK, I was going to hold off, but I decided to just go with it. Tonight, we had a wonderful experience! Most of you know I pastor three churches in the Mt. Vernon area. They are all between 10-15 minutes from each other, two being more rural locations, and the newest one is in an older residential area of town. All of them would be considered small churches. Our attendance runs around 10 for one, close to 20 for another, and the mid-20s to close to 30 for the third.
All three churches are at that point in their lives where we are struggling. They want to impact the world, but age is not in our favor. For years, Karen and I were the youngest attendees. A few years ago, a couple our age joined one church, and in recent years, a couple with two young children joined another.
We have tried many things to bring other people in our direction – movie nights, fish fries, live nativities, to name a few. We touched people, but our numbers have not grown. (Now I realize that the Church is far more than numbers. But we all know that if you’re not on the increase, unfortunately, you’re on the decrease. And retirees cannot go forth and multiply.)
Anyway, my newest congregation has had a longstanding relationship with an elementary school in the lot beside them. They support the school in many ways, though again, their impact has lessened in latter years because of an aging congregation. They still do things like a school supply drive before school starts, an Undie Sunday in October, and in December, they traditionally contribute to a “Mitten” Tree – donating mittens, gloves, scarves, and hats for students who need them.
As we talked of these things, my wife’s brain got to rolling, and being the avid Pinterest fan she is, she discovered a pattern for Candy Bar Snowmen with glove hats! So, long story short, we got all three churches on board (their geographic locations all feed into this school), and tonight, we had 27 beautiful people come together to assemble 250 of them. All three pooled their financial resources to make it happen! Then, on the school’s last day of classes before Christmas break, four of our ladies are going to the school to distribute decorated pizza boxes (donated by another member!) full of enough gloves for every child in every classroom!
Personally, I find it all very encouraging! First, please pray for all three churches. We all need to clearly grasp God’s directions for us. Secondly, pray for the children and their families that each pair of gloves represents. I’m sure they run the gamut of excellent solid families to dysfunctional out the wazoo! Some are extremely blessed, while others likely live below the poverty level.
Lord Jesus, use us. Break our hearts for our world. May we be the people we need to be. May we live out Your command as found in Matthew 5:14-16,

“You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” NKJV

Dec 14th, 2023, Thurs, 8:18 pm