Cedarville Magazine, Spring 2013

spiritual formation of the individuals and families God has entrusted to us so that we might equip them to take the Gospel wherever they go in life. We are committed to planting churches and partnering with existing, like-minded churches.We regularly discuss howGodmight use all of His people, not just a select few “professionals,” to meet the needs of our cities. When most of us see someone in need, whether we know them or not, our gut reaction is to think, “Someone should help that person. God, why isn’t anyone helping them?” Or perhaps, “The church needs to do something about this. I’ll call my pastor.” It’s not entirely wrong to think those thoughts. To be clear, those are Gospel thoughts. Someone does need to help, and indeed that someone is the Church. But did you consider that God’s solution to the need in front of you is you, or your family? Thinking that solutions lie elsewhere is common, but it overlooks the notion of God’s sovereignty, providence, and His intentional design to meet the world’s pressing spiritual and physical needs through ... well, us! We believe God allows our lives to play out in time and history for a reason. We believe He is so intentional, so brilliant, that people with spiritual and material needs will intersect our lives on purpose. So when the people of Summit Church encounter needs, the line of thinking we encourage them to follow goes something like this: 1. What does God want me and/or my family to do about meeting this need? Perhaps the lack of food, shelter, money, parental care, transportation, etc., is not a need God wants someone else to care for. Perhaps this is a need God wants us to care for. 2. If the need is too large for me and/or my family, then what does God want us and our small group to do about meeting the need? Maybe the families we regularly share life with have come upon this need for a reason. Maybe God wants to shape the Gospel in our lives (and in the lives of others) by our joint efforts to live generously toward someone in need. 3. If the need is too large for our small group, we’ll pass it on to all the small groups to see what God would have us do. Maybe a few groups working together could meet the need and proclaim the Gospel’s power. 4. If the need is too large for several of our small groups, we’ll pass it on to Summit Church’s leaders so we can ask God how He might have our entire church respond. 5. If the need is larger than what our church alone can meet, then we will take it to our 30–40 partner churches in the area to see if God might help us meet the need for His glory and clearly proclaim His Gospel through several churches working together. This kind of thinking doesn’t come naturally for any of us. It is shaped by regular interactions with the Gospel and the sel ess example of Jesus Christ. As church leaders, we seek to infuse this Gospel-motivated DNA into the lives of God’s people by modeling it in our own, teaching it from His Word, resourcing our people to understand and practice it, and celebrating it whenever possible. Practically, this could play out in numerous ways and would likely be different in your community. Here are a few of the ways it has played out in ours. Blessing Other Churches: We often contact area churches to ask how our congregations might pray for them. We seek to bless other area churches and ministries nancially and by supporting their material or service needs throughout the year. When God allows us to nish our budget year in the black, we always seek to give a large portion of the over ow to other area churches. Gas Buy Down: Occasionally we will send families and individuals from our ministry to several local gas stations with $20 bills to buy gas for the rst 50–100 cars that pull in and remind each person that God loves them. We simply call the gas station ahead of time, and we have yet to be turned away. It’s surprising howmuch pain and hurt is confessed and prayed for in 10 minutes at a gas pump. Backpack Give Away: This past year, we partnered with 14 other churches to give away 1,700 backpacks of school supplies to single mothers and their school-aged children. The average cost per church was less than $250. Teacher Lunches andWorkrooms: Every time there is a teacher workday in our area, we choose a school and bless its teachers and staff with lunch or needed supplies. We’ll often send a simple Chick- l-A boxed lunch with a note that says, “We appreciate you!” and list the churches who are praying for them. Sometimes we stock the teacher supply room with copier paper, tissues, hand sanitizer, dry-erase makers, and snacks. Those Easily Forgotten: From dinner for re ghters and police officers to breakfast for the county sanitation workers, from taking small Christmas gifts to the local business across the street to taking gift bags to restaurant workers on a Sunday morning before the lunchtime rush, we are always looking for ways to remind those who are often forgotten that God has not forgotten them and We believe the Gospel will go everywhere God wants it to go because it goes in you, in me, in us ... it goes in His Church. 20 | Cedarville Magazine