Why Not Now: Prioritizing My Relationship with the Church - Friday
James 1:27
Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you. (NLT)
I spent this past Wednesday night like I do every week—with the freshman boys I lead at Southland Students. And as normal, we started off our small group time with about 10 minutes of wildness. These boys have known each other and me for several years now, which has great benefits, and also… challenges. We started off when they were 4th graders in Children’s Ministry, and while the group has shifted and expanded here and there, there is a core group of 6-8 boys that have consistently attended. What a blessing! But also, over the years, they’ve learned exactly how to break me.
I try my best to be the responsible adult in the group, but it can certainly be a challenge when I’m forced to respond to questions such as: “Hey Drew, you know how we call communion the body and the blood of Christ? Does that mean if I take enough communion, I’ll actually have eaten 1 entire Jesus?”
Or when I find myself saying things like:
“No, we don’t need to burn that Bible that fell on the ground… no, it isn’t fireproof… and no, we don’t need to test that out.”
“No, we don’t need to continue to pray for Clark’s cat—it died two years ago. No, I don’t think it’s going to be resurrected like Lazarus. Yes, I’m sure.”
“Yes, Leah and I plan to have a kid when we can afford to. And I appreciate the thought, but me having a kid doesn’t mean that child is your brother or sister.”
While there’s certainly no shortage of laughter with them, being involved with my boys also led me to Price Hill, Ohio, last year to serve with BLOC Ministries on a student mission trip. Seeing kids giving up a week of their summer break to serve people they had never met, and doing so tirelessly and with joy, was humbling and inspiring.
The third part of our Triangle here at Southland is living On Mission. Being on mission means bringing love to people who desperately need it, and it also teaches us so much about God’s sacrificial love for us. A church living on mission is a church that’s spreading the love of Jesus and meeting people where they are, in the middle of their need, and illustrating the care of the Father.
Here’s how you can start living more on mission today:
Volunteer: There’s a place for everyone to get involved!
Trips: We offer many mission trip opportunities locally and internationally throughout the year, and you can also sign up for updates on all things happening with Missions.
Giving: With initiatives like Dollar Club and Helping Through Him, giving can look many different ways!
Friday’s Reflection
How are you serving people around you and showing the love of Jesus? Pray that He shows you a new way to be involved and impact people both near and far, and take that next step today!
