Wednesday, November 13, 2013
Awesome Year!
God’s Word has been honored this year through Beyond the Walls, oil change outreach to single mom families at Central Assembly. The Bible plainly says, “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction…” James 1:27. I think our outreach ministry reflects the heart of this scriptural context from James.
This past Saturday a single mom came for the first time who previously had been a student in a Teen Challenge Center. Her vehicle was serviced by our team of willing volunteers. She ended coming back to Central Assembly for Sunday School and Worship, sitting with one of our lady volunteers in Sunday School and another lady from our team during the worship service. We praise God for His work in her life. But also, we thank our volunteers who served this lady and her family with grace, love, and a genuine concern for her well-being.
My heart is overflowing with gratitude for an awesome year serving alongside some amazing volunteers. Each month our volunteers work hard in 3 – 4 hours to change single mom families’ cars and inspect their vehicle tires, lights, and fluids. These volunteers represent housewives, mechanics, salesmen, retired pastors and missionaries, secretaries, accountants, retired ministers who’ve served in leadership positions in our fellowship, carpenters – wow, what a great bunch of people to work with!
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
Divine Outreach Appointments
Sometimes we get caught up inadvertently judging those who come to us for help. We create a box we believe people should fit in before we can reach out to them. This often requires a lot of assumptions on our part. Doing this can add stress to our outreach experience and put undue pressure on ourselves to “mentally qualify” recipients. This assumed responsibility is a load none of us should carry. That’s not to say ministries shouldn’t have guidelines and boundaries. But I personally believe there’s an ultimate God-reason why people come to our outreach and their appointment is not a mistake or unknown by God. I also believe we should pray and trust God to perform His miracle in people’s lives and go about performing our volunteerism with Christ-like compassion.
The bottom line is regardless whether a person comes to us under false pretensions or not; the fact is, they came to us. We now have a God-given opportunity. It’s still a divine-encounter moment and we have a choice. Do we assume things we don’t know or judge based on appearance, the type of car they drive, etc.; or do we love, pray, befriend, and trust God to perform the inward miracle in this person’s life. Maybe what they’re looking for is entirely different than what God ultimately wants to give them. Let’s us be the kind, gentle messenger; His ambassador to announce Good News into their life. Maybe this encounter can turn out to be their miracle, ultimately turning their life around, impacted by a Spirit-filled volunteer.
“God use us to impact those who come to us. Help us to share You. May we learn to truly love the person like you would and earnestly pray our new friends will experience the eternal destiny of Heaven.”
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Hand-Up Compassion
What’s a hand-up verses a hand-out? Recently our team experienced this first-hand. Compassion ministry loves people at the point where they exist in life and seeks to build trust and a testimony of Jesus with them. I’m thrilled to be part of a non-traditional evangelism outreach ministry. Thankfully, ladies on the outreach team are in contact with single moms throughout the month forming amazing redemptive relationships with these single mom families.
Recently a single mom from a violence shelter called our ladies’ team leader. She had never attended an oil change outreach event. She holds down a job, attends college, and raises two boys. During their conversation she rejoiced she was able to move into a place of her own after living one year in a domestic violence shelter. But, she mentioned she did not have a table and chairs and wanted to have a Thanksgiving meal with her boys.
The following evening our ladies’ team leader received a call from a lady in our Sunday School class and asked if she knew of anyone needing a table, chairs, and buffet. They miraculously received a new set and wanted to bless someone with her previous set. The provision for this single mom was met! God is Amazing with small details in the lives of these single moms.
Our church blessed this family as well with a Thanksgiving meal which she was able to enjoy with her two boys, sitting at her new table. When our ladies’ team leader and her husband delivered the food they experienced a blessed time of prayer with this precious family. This single mom has been very open and receptive to the Lord and our church family becoming a greater part of her family’s life.
Recently a single mom from a violence shelter called our ladies’ team leader. She had never attended an oil change outreach event. She holds down a job, attends college, and raises two boys. During their conversation she rejoiced she was able to move into a place of her own after living one year in a domestic violence shelter. But, she mentioned she did not have a table and chairs and wanted to have a Thanksgiving meal with her boys.
The following evening our ladies’ team leader received a call from a lady in our Sunday School class and asked if she knew of anyone needing a table, chairs, and buffet. They miraculously received a new set and wanted to bless someone with her previous set. The provision for this single mom was met! God is Amazing with small details in the lives of these single moms.
Our church blessed this family as well with a Thanksgiving meal which she was able to enjoy with her two boys, sitting at her new table. When our ladies’ team leader and her husband delivered the food they experienced a blessed time of prayer with this precious family. This single mom has been very open and receptive to the Lord and our church family becoming a greater part of her family’s life.
Thursday, October 20, 2011
God Answers Prayer!
God is doing amazing things in the lives of single mom families through the oil change outreach! We give God all the glory. Your prayer and genuine caring creates a great opportunity for God to do His perfect work in their lives.
Real prayer is offered for these moms and they know it. They’re asking us to pray for them. We’re reassuring them we are praying. “Thank-you” volunteers for working at the outreach. Thank you for praying.
Recently a single mom asked us to pray that she could find a place to live. She came back excited this past Outreach Saturday to tell us God wonderfully answered prayer for her housing.
Another lady is finishing Community College as a paralegal. We were praying for a job to open up for her, but she also needed her teeth fixed before interviewing. You see, five years ago she was a meth addict and as a result her teeth were ruined. This need was prayed for. One of her professors shared her dental needs with a dentist in town and he offered her $8,000 dental work for just a few hundred dollars. She’s already paid him a majority of her bill. She recently rejoiced with our team in God’s provision!
Whatever you do to volunteer on this team, your contribution is making a huge impact on these single mom families. They’re helpless at times. They feel desperate for many situations in their life. Yet, faith is springing up in many of them. They’re asking about our church family. Some are worshipping with us. We’re praying for them. Awesome!
I can’t wait to see how God continues His miracles in these single mom families!
Real prayer is offered for these moms and they know it. They’re asking us to pray for them. We’re reassuring them we are praying. “Thank-you” volunteers for working at the outreach. Thank you for praying.
Recently a single mom asked us to pray that she could find a place to live. She came back excited this past Outreach Saturday to tell us God wonderfully answered prayer for her housing.
Another lady is finishing Community College as a paralegal. We were praying for a job to open up for her, but she also needed her teeth fixed before interviewing. You see, five years ago she was a meth addict and as a result her teeth were ruined. This need was prayed for. One of her professors shared her dental needs with a dentist in town and he offered her $8,000 dental work for just a few hundred dollars. She’s already paid him a majority of her bill. She recently rejoiced with our team in God’s provision!
Whatever you do to volunteer on this team, your contribution is making a huge impact on these single mom families. They’re helpless at times. They feel desperate for many situations in their life. Yet, faith is springing up in many of them. They’re asking about our church family. Some are worshipping with us. We’re praying for them. Awesome!
I can’t wait to see how God continues His miracles in these single mom families!
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Outreach and a Can of Olives
Unfortuately, it's not uncommon for single moms to be taken advantage of by some automotive repair shops.
Recently a repair-savy volunteer and I looked at a single mom's car. The motor ran rough and it was reported to have gas leaking on top of the engine. A repair shop told her there was a broken engine mount, the serpentine belt needed changed, and a fuel line needed replaced. The estimated repair cost, $430.
What we saw was unbelievable. A daughter's boyfriend replaced the spark plugs and noticed a vent hose with an open end. Thinking the hose should be closed up, he grabbed a can of olives from the food pantry, stuck it in the opening, and tighted a hose clamp around it to ensure it stayed there. With this he effectively stopped the necessary air flow through the air filtering system. Not good! No wonder the motor coughed and sputtered. This was all done before the car was taken to the repair shop.
The bottom line, there was no broke engine mount; the serpentine belt did not need changed; and the gas may have leaked a little as a result of the can of olives and a clogged air passage. What needed changed was an idler pulley holding the serpentine belt.
This one example shows the value our oil change outreach provides to single moms. This mom was was extremely grateful to the volunteer I brought with me that day. Her anxieties were calmed. I thank the Lord Jesus Christ for our volunteer team!
Recently a repair-savy volunteer and I looked at a single mom's car. The motor ran rough and it was reported to have gas leaking on top of the engine. A repair shop told her there was a broken engine mount, the serpentine belt needed changed, and a fuel line needed replaced. The estimated repair cost, $430.
What we saw was unbelievable. A daughter's boyfriend replaced the spark plugs and noticed a vent hose with an open end. Thinking the hose should be closed up, he grabbed a can of olives from the food pantry, stuck it in the opening, and tighted a hose clamp around it to ensure it stayed there. With this he effectively stopped the necessary air flow through the air filtering system. Not good! No wonder the motor coughed and sputtered. This was all done before the car was taken to the repair shop.
The bottom line, there was no broke engine mount; the serpentine belt did not need changed; and the gas may have leaked a little as a result of the can of olives and a clogged air passage. What needed changed was an idler pulley holding the serpentine belt.
This one example shows the value our oil change outreach provides to single moms. This mom was was extremely grateful to the volunteer I brought with me that day. Her anxieties were calmed. I thank the Lord Jesus Christ for our volunteer team!
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Kindness or Love?
Have you ever thought of kindness as distinct from love? I never really thought about it until the subject came up in our Sunday School class. We were discussing the list of personal qualities found in the New Testament book of 2nd Peter, chapter one: goodness, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love. Our teacher made the observation that if this is a sequential list, then kindness comes before love.
I think we make deliberate decisions to be kind, regardless of how we’re feeling at the time. We make these decisions because we know there are single moms who really need and value our expression of compassion. Our awesome volunteers make these choice decisions to express kindness, often in the face of straining work schedules and adverse health conditions.
Beyond the Walls oil change for single moms gives us a vehicle for this deliberate kindness. A simple oil change is a tangible expression of kindness. If our kindness has the right motive then it cannot help but erupt in genuine love.
I love how the Message Bible reads, “So don’t lose a minute in building on what you’ve been given, complementing your basic faith with good character, spiritual understanding, alert discipline, passionate patience, reverent wonder, warm friendliness, and generous love, each dimension fitting into and developing the others.”
I think we make deliberate decisions to be kind, regardless of how we’re feeling at the time. We make these decisions because we know there are single moms who really need and value our expression of compassion. Our awesome volunteers make these choice decisions to express kindness, often in the face of straining work schedules and adverse health conditions.
Beyond the Walls oil change for single moms gives us a vehicle for this deliberate kindness. A simple oil change is a tangible expression of kindness. If our kindness has the right motive then it cannot help but erupt in genuine love.
I love how the Message Bible reads, “So don’t lose a minute in building on what you’ve been given, complementing your basic faith with good character, spiritual understanding, alert discipline, passionate patience, reverent wonder, warm friendliness, and generous love, each dimension fitting into and developing the others.”
Saturday, May 14, 2011
Ministry Outreach
My heart swelled today with gratitude when I viewed the contribution of the volunteers at the oil change outreach. When thrust into new assignments or a different room location, team members responded with the same exemplary service we’ve grown accustomed too. There’s no doubt our volunteer team has learned to roll-with-the-punches of weather changes (good ‘ole Ozarks), fluctuation in volunteer levels, and client demand. I’m proud of our volunteers!
Today I saw our lady volunteers engaged in genuine conversation with the single moms…I saw our men in the registration area completing the paperwork with excellence…I saw our greeters being gentle and courteous towards the single moms…I saw our lady volunteers in the café area serving single moms with smiles and encouragement…and I saw our men in the oil change area working with diligence to complete the vehicle inspections and oil change. Wow, what a team!
And to top off this spectacular morning, Central’s MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) group shared their resources in ministry with the single moms. They brought boxes of good used-clothing, toys, and a large cake to share with the single moms. In addition, each single mom received a potting plant to take home. It turned out great and the single moms were very appreciative! Thank you MOPS!
Today I saw our lady volunteers engaged in genuine conversation with the single moms…I saw our men in the registration area completing the paperwork with excellence…I saw our greeters being gentle and courteous towards the single moms…I saw our lady volunteers in the café area serving single moms with smiles and encouragement…and I saw our men in the oil change area working with diligence to complete the vehicle inspections and oil change. Wow, what a team!
And to top off this spectacular morning, Central’s MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) group shared their resources in ministry with the single moms. They brought boxes of good used-clothing, toys, and a large cake to share with the single moms. In addition, each single mom received a potting plant to take home. It turned out great and the single moms were very appreciative! Thank you MOPS!
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