It's The Ministry Fair

We had a "ministry fair" at the Teen Center last night. I thought it went pretty well. We had about 100 people move through there. We had local outreach and service organizations come and set up a booth and let people walk through, chat, ask questions and pick up some literature. The goal was to spotlight the people doing work right here in our own back yard, and maybe get some people at our church plugged in locally. I'd love to see whole families get involved with one of these groups. I think it can be a huge thing for a family to work together to serve others. And instead of trying to reinvent the wheel, we wanted to talk to the people who have a good grasp on the people of our community that they work with. For example, it would be ridiculous for us to try to start our own home-building group. But we can partner with Habitat. That's why they're here.

We had 8 local organizations come in. But the best part of the night for me was the 2 student-led ministries we had represented. Christi Stewart, who constantly amazes me with her willingness and desire to serve, has started a blanket ministry for street church. She makes blankets. You buy one. And someone in need gets a blanket. Kind of like the Tom's shoes thing, except right here in our own back yard. Christi Stewart. Remember the name, folks. It won't be the last time you hear it. And one of her classmates, Molly Sayers, has a ministry where she gives underprivileged girls a room makeover. Wow! Did you read that? Am I the only one who thinks this is amazing? They didn't wait for permission or assistance. They asked themselves how they could help people and went for it. And they are receiving incredible support from their families. It's just a beautiful thing. These are the kinds of hearts Jesus needs in his kingdom.

I think we had a pretty good night overall. It wasn't exactly what I thought it was going to be, but it happened. People learned some things they probably didn't know. They got a chance to receive some free information and get involved with an area of service. And that was the whole goal going in. I hope the representatives were pleased. I think it was worth their time. I'm already hoping to do another one. I think stuff like this gets a congregation's juices flowing. We have such a tendency to focus on the 10% that's not going right, we miss the 90% that is. This night was everything that's right for Jesus people. I know I feel a little more hopeful and a lot less alone in this battle.