On the Outside, Looking In

"Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness.  He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world, and taken up in glory."  1 Timothy 3:16

Admit it, you are curious.  You must be, or you wouldn't be reading this blog.  What is it about Central Church of Christ that has people so charged up?  The people who attend this church seem so happy--they are always out doing things together in the community.  The other churches of Christ in the area seem so upset about the things we are doing.  Sometimes, there are even passionate editorials written in the paper about what people at Central are doing. 

Yet, our membership continues to grow, as we now have two services and our numbers continue to increase each month.  People seem to either passionately love or passionately dislike Central--something is creating a lot of passion in this place.  What is it?  The answer is infinitely simple and infinitely complex. 

The answer is.....Jesus.

You see, the story of Jesus has been told and retold, all throughout the ages.  Many different denominations have emerged through the years, there are different churches on every corner in this town that seem to have their own "flavor" of Jesus. 

Some people believe that we should worship Him on Sundays, some on Saturdays.  Some worship with huge bands of instruments, others worship Him simply with the sound of their own voices.  Some have Wednesday night Bible studies, and some rely on their preacher to read the Bible for them and just tell them what it says.  Some churches have hard wooden pews and worn out song books, while others have cushiony chairs and Power Point slides.  Some churches have pot luck meals in members' homes, others in the church building. 

Most all of these church people go to church, sit in a pew, check it off their list of "good things I did this week" and go on about their business.  They sit in Sunday school classes and talk about how they have it all figured out, but their neighbor at the church across town, bless his heart, he is totally wrong in his approach to Jesus, tsk tsk tsk. 

These differences get people really fired up and passionate, and fights break out among "church-going Christians" about all these things.

What about the people on the outside, looking in?  What about the people who aren't born-and-raised-three-times-a-week-every-time-the-door-was-open-my-Mama-took-me-to-church people?  What do they think about all this bickering?

I have gotten to meet a few of these people through our work with Mission Athens.  Most of these people, upon hearing of these squabbles, get a faraway, eyes glazed over look on their face.  They just don't get it. 

It seems so ridiculous. 

What about Jesus?

What have we done with our Lord's story?

Where is the love?

Where is the majesty?

Where is the glory, the chill bumps on the back of our necks, wonder of it all?

Take a moment today, close your eyes, and think about the life of our Savior, Jesus Christ.  He was born in a barn to parents who lived in poverty.  At the young age of about 12, He began His life's work of serving others, sharing food, telling everyone about God's love for them, preparing the way to His Father's house.  He attracted people everywhere He went.  And then, one sad day, this world beat him up, nailed him to the cross, and stuffed him in a tomb behind a rock.

And then, our Lord overtook death; He conquered the grave.  He was seen by angels and by men and women in His beautiful glory, and He ascended to the right hand of God, and there He is today, watching all of us, and I wonder if sometimes, He shakes His head.

Does our Lord look down at His family, the people who have proclaimed Him and think, what are you doing?

We are His disciples here on earth.  There are so many people here who we need to tell His story.  There are millions who need us to feed them, help them, care for them in His name, and yet, we are pointing our fingers at each other, claiming we have all the answers to the perfect way to worship Him. 

We sit in pews when we should be out in the streets.  We cling to those who believe the exact iterations we believe, who practice our same traditions, instead of working side by side with our neighbors from the church down the street, as a unified body of Jesus, fighting for souls all around this world who need us to proclaim His hope.

Is Jesus on the outside of our churches, looking in?  Or is He in our presence, working in our hearts, serving as our purpose, our guiding light, our sole hope of salvation?

I'm all about worshipping God.  I am so thankful that I was blessed by Him to be born in a country where I have the freedom to worship Him any way I choose.  I am so thankful you have that right, too.

I am not trying to minimize any one's right to a different opinion on the right way to worship.  You do your thing....

I am just so over it.

I am over trying to be perfect.  I am over going to a church service only to walk out feeling like I can never be good enough.  I am over churches that seem so much like a club, and only a few people get to be members.  I am over placing tradition over transcendence.

I just want Jesus.

Two years ago, my family and I were curious, too.  We walked into the doors of Central Church of Christ on Friends and Family Day.  We sat down, started singing songs, began to worship, and over the next few months, we all felt Jesus in our midst in a way we just hadn't before.  My children, who before I had to drag to church kicking and screaming, started asking me on Thursday how much longer until Sunday, Mom, can we go to church?  My husband worked like a dog cutting trees in strangers' yards after the April 27, 2011 tornadoes with teams of men from Central.  All five of us have worked together on Mission Athens projects.  And, for the first time in my life, I am going to teach an adult Bible class starting next month.

We have all grown, all five of us.  We have begun to experience Jesus in our own ways.  We are not perfect yet, and we will never be.  We have learned to accept the beautiful truth that Jesus does not call us to be perfect, just to perfectly love Him.

I am not promising you that you would have the same experience if you came to Central.  You may or may not.  It is certainly not a perfect place, how could it be?  We are all imperfect people who worship there.

You see, I have often said Central is like a refugee camp for people from churches all around town.  Some of us are here because we never felt good enough at other congregations.  Some are here because we sinned and our church families couldn't forgive us, not really.  Some are here because we want to be a part of a body of believers that is living the Gospel in action, not just saying the words on Sundays.  Some are here because we fell in love with someone who grew up in that "not so good" church down the street, and we are trying to find a place our new family can grow together. 

You know who some of the coolest people at Central are, though?  They are the ones who found Jesus for the first time in this place.  They are not bogged down by all this bickering, squabbling, and silliness.  They are the ones whose eyes glaze over when we start talking about all of it.  They are the ones we think about and smile, because we have something in common with them....

All of us are here because we want Jesus. 

Do you want him, too?  Do you feel like you are on the outside, looking in?  Curious?

Come and join us on Sunday, August, 26 at 9 am for our Friends and Family Day.  Stay for Sunday School.  We are having a pot luck meal immediately following, and we would love to have you join us.  We really mean that.

If you are curious, we will be talking about the 40-year history of Central, where we have been and where we are going.  I have only been a part of the church for two of the forty years, and I can't believe how much my life has changed.  I would love to share this wonderful experience with all of you.

We are not a perfect church. 

We do serve a perfect Savior.  We are passionate about serving Him in real, meaningful ways. 

We don't really care if other people talk about us, especially if they have never even walked through our doors.

We know He may seem like a mystery, but we are discovering His truths together. 

Come, discover Him with us.

Mission Athens Fifth Avenue Block Party

"And Jesus said, 'Let the little children come unto me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.'"  Matthew 19:14

A few months ago, the Mission Athens team began exploring ways we could have a greater impact on those in the most need in our community.  We invited the director of all of the city's federal housing projects to come to one of our Mission Athens meetings.  During our conversation with him, we learned that Fifth Avenue Apartments housed the largest concentration of women and children living in federal housing in the city of Athens .

During our Central Youth Ministry and Mission Athens combined Spring service project, Spring Into Action, we visited a few of the housing projects around town and worked to beautify their campuses with landscaping, planting flowers and bulbs, and meeting our neighbors.  After that project, we began to think of ways we could continue to build relationships in these areas.

We began planning our Summer Block Party immediately following the Spring Into Action project.  We had originally planned the event for June 10 as advertised on this blog, but we had to push it back due to rain.  At the time, we were disappointed, but now I see God's hand is in it all.

You see, we hosted our Block Party on Sunday, and it could not have been a more fantastic event.   I can't wait to share with you all they ways God blessed us on Sunday.  First of all, following weeks of severe drought, Athens has been blessed with large amounts of rain over the past few weeks.  We are so thankful for the rain; however, we truly prayed we would not have to reschedule our event again.  On Sunday, there was a huge black cloud right over 5th Avenue Park all afternoon.  The wind was blowing, and we were sure we were going to get a rain storm.  However, just before our party started, the cloud blew away, and this is what we saw.

All that dark cloud did for us was cool things off just a bit, and we enjoyed a warm summer afternoon with a gentle breeze.  While it was still a hot summer day in Alabama, it was much more pleasant that many of the 100+ degree days we have endured, and we are so thankful for the heavenly sunlight we enjoyed following that black cloud scare.  Thank you, God!

As we began setting up the tables, food and crafts, our small team quickly realized it takes a lot of hands to pull off an event such as this.  Our Central Church of Christ church family turned out in large numbers, picked up a job and went to work.  It was so awesome to see the body of Christ working together, each using his or her own talents, to serve our community.  Everyone, from the smallest child to the oldest members, pitched in to help make the event such a success.  Here are just a few of the ways our members helped.

Our Grill Master Roy lead a team of men who immediately started grilling hamburgers and hot dogs and did not stop until all 300 were cooked perfectly.  Another of our members had helped us purchase the food earlier in the week at a discount, so everything was organized and ready to go for us Sunday afternoon.  Once again, God blessed us in this, as we had no idea how much to purchase or prepare, but we had the perfect amount of food.  Everyone who attended had plenty to eat, yet we did not have leftovers.  Thank you, God!

I like to call these ladies our Buffet Line Dream Team.  They jumped right in, put in a system for moving people through the line, and I stood back and watched in amazement.  These ladies know what they are doing, and I was blown away by their logistics and strategy.  Clearly no where near as talented with organization of food lines, I humbly stepped away, smiled and cheered them on.  Because they were so extremely capable, I was able to take pictures, talk with our neighbors who attended, and truly enjoy the experience, trusting that all the details were being excellently covered.  Thank you, God, for Central's awesome Ladies!

Even though I am the mother of 3 young children, I truly hate craft projects.  Crafts are just not my thing.  My children, like most, LOVE them.  We knew going into this event that a Bible craft would be a great way to engage the children from Fifth Avenue who attended our event, but I was at an extreme loss and almost started sweating at the thought of having to come up with something.  I have no idea what to do with Popsicle sticks and paper plates--I'm just not crafty.  Thank you God, for Central's amazing Sunday School teachers!  These ladies had Bible verses on the sidewalks with sidewalk chalk, they had balloons, bracelets, and angel wings made from, you guessed it, paper plates.  I stand amazed, and praise God for their talents!

Our Central Youth Group was instrumental in helping us invite Fifth Avenue residents, and they did a great job engaging them in a fun afternoon of football.  We had so many 7-12 year old boys attend, and nothing makes a boy this age happier than playing ball with some friendly teenagers.  I tried to count our visitors, but  the game was so boisterous, I couldn't tell which were our youth and which were our visitors, which was exactly our dream.  Thank you, God, for young people who love to share You with our community.

Finally, I was most thankful for our Children's Ministry on Sunday.  We had so many children from Central attend the cookout, and they were so friendly and playful with the children who attended.  Since the whole point of the event was to build relationships with the kids of Fifth Avenue, we absolutely could not have done it without our children being there, smiling and engaging these kids in play.  I love this picture, because you don't see a "mission trip" here, all you see are two precious little girls racing to the top of the slide.  Thank you, God, for the sweet hearts of children!

As great as it was to see Central's church family come together to create a fun environment, it was much more awesome to see God glorified throughout the day in so many ways.  We were so happy to have so many of our neighbors from Fifth Avenue attend.  All throughout the afternoon, more and more people kept coming over and joining us.  Here are a few of my favorite pictures from the afternoon of fellowship.





We learned a lot on Sunday afternoon about the needs that are right down the street here in Athens, Alabama.  It was such a positive afternoon in so many ways, yet I would be remiss if I didn't share with you some of the stories that broke my heart.  There was a man there, who I was so happy to spend some time with, who shared with me that he had just gotten to Athens from Arizona.  He has fallen on hard times, has no real friends in this new city, and was beginning to wonder if anyone here cared enough to help him.  He said he knew he needed to go to church, but he was so angry about his circumstances and the lack of anyone even noticing him, that he was about to give up on God.  "Your church has shown me that God's love is still real," he said.  "I am going to go to church on Sunday."  I pray that he does, and that we can help him get back into a relationship with God.

Finally, so many of the children we noticed were really enjoying the food.  I want to share with you the story of one of these precious children, as I think it really is representative of what so many of them go through.  My friend Beth and I had the pleasure of meeting a sweet little 5-year-old girl who is excited about starting kindergarten in the fall.  She talked a mile a minute, as most young girls, do, but her stories would break your heart.  She treasured all her crafts, painstakingly picking up every small thing to take home, but not taking anything that wasn't hers.  We walked her back to her apartment so she could leave her "prizes" there, and then she decided she wanted to come back with us to the cookout.  As we walked, she pointed out the landmarks along the way.

"That's where so-and-so lives.  She doesn't have a Mama or a Daddy." 

"That apartment was totally trashed last week.  The lady who lived there is in jail now." 

"I don't know what happened over there, but the police came the other night and took that guy away."

"My Mama is sick, and we have been taking turns taking care of her.  Can we bring her some food?  We don't have a lot of food in our house, only lunch meat." 

"That's where my friend lives.  I think she is boring, but I want her to come to the party, too, and her Mama wouldn't let her come.  Can you come with me to ask her to come with us now?"

"Sure," we said, as we walked over to pick up her friend.

Upon meeting this sweet little girl, I asked her if she had eaten yet, as it was almost 7 pm. She replied, "I had breakfast."  I said, "Oh, I love having breakfast for supper."  She looked at me like I was crazy and said, "I had breakfast for breakfast."

Oh.....

These sweet little girls impressed me so much with their independence and loving hearts.  When we returned to the cookout, they met up with their other friend, and I watched the three of them for a while.  They took the new friend to the buffet line, fixed her plate with all the food, only taking one of each item.  They chose water to drink, and they sat with their friend while she ate instead of running to play and leaving her behind.  After they were finished, they asked if they could take food to their families, and we helped them carry plates back to their apartments.

I didn't want to leave.  After all the months of being nervous and planning and praying, the afternoon had gone so much better than I could have ever dreamed.  I had a hard time sleeping that night.  I was excited, humbled, heart broken, fulfilled, happy, sad, overwhelmed and full of faith, all at the same time.  You see, Sunday was just the beginning of the story, I pray. 

Our Mission Athens team is prayerfully considering how we can build a sustained physical presence in this community, right here near Fifth Avenue Apartments.  We believe this spot in our city needs the love of Jesus, and we want to help these children and neighbors know that there are people here who love and care about them.  Please pray with us that we will find the right path, and that our community will support us in these efforts.  As we saw on Sunday, when we all work together, we can accomplish truly great things for Him.

I will close with one last picture.  I think the smiles on the faces of the hot but happy Mission Athens teammates show you how thankful we all were that our Mission Athens Block Party was such a success.  Thank you, God!

Mission Athens Block Party June 10

"So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all for the glory of God." 1 Corinthians 10:31

Please make plans to join us for our Mission Athens Block Party Sunday, June 10, 2012 at 5th Avenue Apartments in Athens, AL, from 4-6 pm.  We will have hamburgers and hot dogs, games, inflatables, and lots of fun planned for the residents and guests at this community event.

As you read in the last post, "Around the World, Across the Street," the Mission Athens team is making a commitment to create a sustained, visible presence in Athens.  Specifically, we are targeting the 5th Avenue/North Jefferson Street part of town as a starting point.  We have been working towards this goal all year, and it is exciting to see it coming to life.

Our Spring Into Action service project was a great start to this ongoing effort.  This cookout is the second event in what we plan to become a series of offerings in this community.  We have also worked on several home makeovers in this area of town over the past several months, and many of the people who live in this area have been helped through our weekly Dollar Club projects.

We believe that the time has come to Love God, Love Each Other, and Serve the World in a new way, in areas right here at home that represent challenges and opportunities to us as Christians.  Please make plans to attend this event, and if you would like to be more involved in cooking, helping with games, etc., please contact a Mission Athens team member.  Also, please pray for our ongoing efforts as we are entering a new chapter in our Mission Athens ministry.

Around the World, Across the Street

"He said to them, 'Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.'"  Mark 16:15

It's pretty exciting to hear stories about mission trips.  I love the Sundays at Central when we have mission reports from Ghana and India, two countries where we have invested in a sustained, visible presence.  It's always fun to see pictures on Facebook and read the updates from the missionaries whose "lives are changed forever" by the experience they have had sharing the Gospel with total strangers half a world away.  I especially love the pictures of the little children in the Vacation Bible Schools that typically are hosted by mission teams.  There's nothing like those big smiles, great big hugs, and happy faces that just melt your heart.

Typically, foreign mission work involves building and improving structures such as homes, schools, and churches.  Many times, people from many different churches and congregations work together to support foreign mission work.  Often, there are medical teams who go and help people get the health care and medicines they need.  Many times, job training and life skill classes are offered free of charge.  Almost always, there are community meals hosted by the mission team and social gatherings to fellowship with the brothers and sisters in the local area.  And, those Vacation Bible Schools are a great way to get kids excited about learning about Jesus. 

I love this photo of our minister, Bill Perkins, and his new friend he met on his recent trip to Ghana.

The culmination of most mission trips almost always includes a large number of people gathering around a body of water to pray, repent, and be baptized into Christ.  I love the pictures of the faces of people just as they come up from the water, fresh with the tears of grace, alive with the smiles of redemption.

I have never traveled to Ghana, India, Mexico or Ecuador, but I have prayed fervently for my dear friends who have.  I love to hear their stories.  I also pray that if it is God's will, that I will be able to go on one of these trips one day when my children are a little older.  I would love to go together as a family and experience the joy of being an instrument of God's peace together with my husband and children.  I can't wait for that experience.

In the meantime, am I excused from "going unto all the world" because I have young children and a busy job?  I don't think so.  I can "go unto all the world" across the street to my neighbors who don't attend church regularly.  I can also "go unto all the wold" across town to help the children in a local school where 80% of the children are on a free or reduced lunch schedule.  How about we "go unto all the world" in the local federal housing project, where there are dozens of kids living in poverty who need someone to inspire them to to work hard in school, love Jesus, and each other?

Mission Athens is all about "going unto all the world" right here in Athens, AL.  It is astonishing to sit and ponder how many people we may meet in our daily lives who desperately need us as Christians to build and improve structures such as homes, schools and churches.  These same people need help finding safe and affordable health care.  The are yearning for someone to help them with job and life skills, parenting classes, etc.  They would enjoy community meals and fellowship, and what kid wouldn't have fun at a good Vacation Bible School?

It is so easy for us to get excited, to write checks, to pray for our friends who are traveling across the globe to share the love of Jesus.  It is much harder to get excited, to write checks, and to pray for our friends who are ministering to the "least of these" right here at home.  You see, often our judgement clouds our mercy, and we cannot see the soul for the sinner. 

When we are helping people here at home, we are faced with questions like, "How did this person get themselves into this mess?"  "Do they not have a family to help them?" "Shouldn't the government pay for their bills? I already pay taxes to support the needy." "Why don't they just get a job?" "I don't know how I feel about us working with people from THAT church.  What will people say about us in the newspaper this time?"

I don't think I have ever heard anyone ask these same questions about families living in Ghana, India, Mexico or Ecuador.  I'm not saying these questions aren't valid.  They are, and that is why we do  background screening and often say no to people who we believe may be abusing our offers of help.  But, for every one that is a "bad apple," there are ten who are desperate for someone, anyone, to care enough to lend a helping hand.  They hear so-called Christians brag about how God has blessed them, yet these same people look away instead of jumping in to feed these children, love these widows, pray for these sick.  And, do you think a family on the brink of disaster cares a bit about petty theological differences between churches?  Think again. 

Just this week, we have met two young mothers who cannot pay their bills or feed their kids.  As my family gets excited about the summer, these families are facing big summer problems like how to replace the meals provided by school and how to afford childcare if and when they finally find a decent job.  We have also met a mentally disabled woman whose house was robbed, and she lost all that she had.  She has no family who will help her, and is living with her boss who took her in because she is such a hard worker at the fast food restaurant.  A few weeks ago, we helped an elderly woman get emergency medical care that she desperately needed. 

These souls sound an awful lot like the souls we meet in Ghana, India, and around the world.  People who are piecing together meals, shelter, clothing, and security for their families.  People who need medical care.  Sinners who have souls.  Souls that need to be loved.  Souls that need to be saved.

This is one of my favorite Mission Athens photos as we delivered food boxes to our friends who needed a little extra help last Christmas. 

Can you see the similarities in these two pictures?  A hug, a smile, a helping hand.  It is wonderful when we can share these gifts with strangers around the world.  It is also wonderful when we share them with our neighbors right here at home.

So, my friends, my challenge to myself and to all of you is to get excited about Mission Athens.  Go unto all the world by going across the street.  Share the gospel.  Live a missions-oriented life every day.  Pray for the Mission Athens team, that we would not grow weary or become overwhelmed by the tremendous needs all around us, but that we would have the same zeal and passion we see from mission teams returning from their trips around the world. 

Pray that God would open our eyes to opportunities to create a sustained, visible presence in the parts of town where His love is not so obvious.  Pray that we can find ways to work together with other churches to reach the lost.  Pray that we would share our abundant blessings of time, concern, patience, kindness, smiles, hugs, food, and money with people right here in our town who need these gifts of love.  Pray that we would have a sense of urgency, that we can ignite a fire of compassion within our local community, to care as much for these "least of these" all around us as we would for our own families.  Pray that God would change our lives as we are working to change the lives of those in need. 

Pray that our eyes, minds, and hearts will be opened and full of grace and that we would be quicker to jump in than to judge. 

Pray that we could take our own pictures right here in Athens as we gather together around a body of water.  Pray that our hearts would be moved as we watch new souls being baptized into Christ, while we wipe the tears of grace from our own faces, fresh and renewed once again with the hope of redemption.

Spring Into Action

"He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.”   Jeremiah 17:8

This weekend, people all around the world are celebrating Earth Day by planting trees and flowers and talking about ways we can improve our environment.  Most cities and towns will have some type of community event, inviting everyone out to talk about how we can be better stewards of our natural resources.

As Christians, we know that God is the creator of all things in heaven and on Earth, and we believe that not only should we be good stewards of the earth He has given us, but also sowers of seeds in His kingdom, reaching out to those less fortunate and inviting them to share the love of the Lord.

On Friday and Saturday, the Mission Athens team joined forces with the Central Youth Ministry for "Spring Into Action" weekend.  During this event, our members worked side by side with our teens to plant flowers, spread mulch, and beautify two different areas in our community, Fifth Avenue Apartments and Houston Court apartments. 

A few months ago, the City of Athens Federal Housing Coordinator, Mr. Pippens, came and spoke with our Mission Athens team about ways we can best serve residents in the federal housing areas.  The idea for this project during our Spring Into Action weekend was born at that meeting, and many volunteers worked tirelessly to make the weekend a success.

Members at Central Church of Christ donated shrubs, bulbs, plants, and mulch as well as contributing other donations to help our youth have the materials they needed for the project.  Additionally, our youth team planned activities and games for the residents to enjoy as we invited members of these communities to come out and get to know us throughout the weekend.

It was a lot of work, but it was also a lot of fun, as we got to know some of our neighbors and rolled up our sleeves together to improve our community. 

What a beautiful sight to behold--God's children ages 8 to 80 working together side by side in His kingdom to make our little corner of His earth, Athens, Alabama, just a little bit more beautiful.  We thank God for the opportunity He has given us to serve our community, and a huge THANK YOU to all the volunteers who worked so hard to plant seeds of His love in our little town!

Seeing the Unseen

"The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because He has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed." Luke 4:18

On Sunday, April 1, the Mission Athens team hosted a guest speaker at Central Church of Christ from the nearby Lincoln Village Ministry in Huntsville, AL.  Darren Raby is an old friend of the family at Central, having worked as Central's youth minister several years ago.

These days, Darren and his family are devoted to Lincoln Village Ministry.  During his message Sunday night, Darren shared the story of how this ministry has evolved over the past 20 years, sharing both the highs and lows of this journey.  Even when faced with obstacles, adversity, and challenges, the ministry continues to grow and thrive, proof that God's presence is with those who are working tirelessly to help the poor, the orphans, the downtrodden, and those "unseen" members of our communities who many choose to ignore.  You can learn more about the Lincoln Village Ministry by visiting their website at http://www.lincolnvillageministry.com/.

As the Mission Athens team continues to work to shine a light upon and serve those less fortunate in our community of Athens, AL, it is truly inspirational to hear stories like those of the Lincoln Village Ministry.  Over the past 2-3 years, Mission Athens has grown, changed, done many things right and made some mistakes along the way, too.  We are learning, searching, seeking and praying that we will continue to do the Lord's work in our community.  The Bible implores us as Christians to love the unlovable, to see the unseen, and to elevate the "least of these" by helping them, serving them, and loving them just as Jesus did time and again throughout His life.

Throughout the past few years, our team has helped lots of children, lots of elderly widows, and lots of people who are battling life-threatening illnesses.  In most of these cases, it is easy to rally support and assistance.  However, we have also helped convicted criminals, people who struggle with addictions, people who have failed relationships, and people who have made a lifetime of really bad choices.  These are the types of people most folks cross the street to avoid.  But, the cold, hard truth is that each of these people has a soul.  Each of these people deserve to be washed in the blood of Jesus, who died for them just as He died for us.

If we, God's children, don't help these unseen, forgotten, poverty-stricken people, who will?  Our dilemma is not agreeing to help, it is opening our eyes to see the opportunities all around us.  Our battle is not against the will to help--most Christians have lots of good will to help, to write a check, to support a cause.  Our battle is against indifference.  The indifference that causes each of us to blindly overlook the dozens of people we meet each day who need Jesus.

Our daily lives are consumed with our jobs, our kids, our friends, our families, our Facebook, and our sports teams.  Because we only see our small, little worlds, we literally walk right past people at the grocery store, at our kids' schools, and on the street who are desperate for someone to SEE them.  We have become a group of people with good intentions who are too wrapped up in our own little lives to SEE the moments God is giving us to reach out our hands and share His love with these precious souls.

The battle is against indifference.

We don't know what exactly the future holds for Mission Athens, but we have faith that God will guide us in this venture.  Our prayer is that our efforts will grow in our community, touching more lives and bringing more people to Jesus.  We also pray that passion and commitment will grow, and that we will zealously seek out opportunities to share God's love. 

At the end of his message, Darren shared the attached video that challenges all of us to see the unseen as God sees them....His precious children who desperately need us to take action and help them. The video says it all.

Exceedingly, Abundantly Beyond Our Expectations

"Now all glory to God, who is able to do exceedingly, abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to His power working in us."  Ephesians 3:20

All throughout the Bible, God gives us examples of helping the poor and feeding the hungry.  In the book of Exodus, God fed his chosen people manna from heaven when they were wandering in the desert.  In the New Testament, Jesus fed the multitudes with just a few loaves of bread and fish.  At a wedding celebration, Jesus turned water into wine.  All throughout the Bible, there are examples of God and Jesus feeding and nurturing their followers both physically and spiritually.

On Sunday, March 4, the Mission Athens team organized a congregational night of service benefiting the Full Tummy Project.  The Full Tummy Project is a local organization that provides bags of food to elementary school children on Fridays to help them have enough to eat on the weekends.  The program is simple, anonymous, and discreet while at the same time sustaining kids who live in poverty in our community.

Seventeen million Americans live in food insecure households, and as the economy continues to struggle, so do many local families.  School children benefit from breakfast and lunch meals that are served at school, but on the weekends, many of these kids do not have enough to eat.  By simply placing a small bag of pop-top ravioli, cereal, peanut butter crackers, Pop Tarts, fruit cups and juice in their backpacks on Fridays, we can make a significant difference in their ability to grow and thrive.

About a month ago, the Mission Athens team set a goal of creating 500 bags of food during our night of service to provide enough food for the Full Tummy Project to make it through the month of March, which includes extra bags of food for Spring Break.  We solicited donations from the congregation and placed bins in the hallway as well as accepted monetary gifts for the program.  A few weeks ago, we began to worry if we had over committed and would be able to have enough for 500 bags...we prayed fervently that God would provide.

But then, the week before the event, the donations poured in, and once again, the family of faith at Central Church of Christ blew us away.  We collected food donations from co-workers as well as our church members, and we also were blessed with over $1,300 in cash donations to purchase food for the event.

On Friday, we began organizing the donations for the night of service, but we were interrupted by severe weather that once again hit our community.  On Saturday, as the clouds parted and the sun shone on a clear day, we headed out to shop for food for Athens' hungry kids.

On Sunday, volunteers came together and worked tirelessly unpacking all the items and sorting them into bins for our assembly lines that we set up in the church.  Then, at 5 pm, not a parking spot was available as so many of our brothers and sisters showed up and rolled up their sleeves to pack and pray over the bags of food for our neighbors in need.

Among the volunteers that night, we were blessed to see a sweet couple who sustained major damage to their home during Friday's tornado.  They are currently living in a local hotel, and when I asked them what they were doing there, they simply said, "Where else would we be?  We want to help these kids."  What an inspiration to see them sacrificing their time to help others even after they themselves had just weathered such a significant loss.

We had volunteers from the ages of 2 to 82 packing bags.  One of our deacons set up a room for our preschoolers to help out and pack bags, too.  These precious little children packed more than 30 bags for their friends who need food.

We prayed and we packed, and in about 20 minutes, all those helping hands accomplished exceedingly, abundantly beyond our expectations!  God showed up at Central Church of Christ Sunday night and showed us that He is able to provide far more than we could ever hope for.  We were so excited to add together the totals from our four assembly lines and announce to the group that we had packed.......

1,239 bags of food!

Thanks to God's blessings of our generous church family, the Full Tummy Project will not only have enough bags for the month of March, but we will have enough for the remainder of the school year.  What a beautiful sight to behold!