Do we sometimes get the discipleship steps out of order?

Reversing the typical “discipleship process”

Pastor Tim Parsons, at The Journey Church in Avon, recently shared screen shots of Twitter posts by Kevin Lester that really resonated with me. Lester proposed Christians reverse the typical “discipleship process” and move toward 1) serve the community with us, 2) build relationships with us, then 3) worship with us. Think about it, if you’ve been attending church for a while, have you ever participated in the music at church and looked at it from a visitor’s perspective? We lift our hands, maybe close our eyes and sing to this invisible Being that the visitor may know nothing about. I can imagine it may seem strange or confusing for visitors. Yet, often that is our first step in evangelism… take the person to church.

I love the concept of first serving alongside individuals and building relationships with them. That is such an important part of being the Church. Let’s be God’s hands and feet right in our community and not only show His love to those we’re serving, but also those we’re serving alongside.

Serving others

Whether it’s with members of your congregation or if you want to invite your neighbors to an afternoon of service, we have opportunities for you to roll up your sleeves. You can prepare a meal for our families at Sheltering Wings or organize a Wishlist drive. You can host a basic car maintenance day to change oil and refill fluids or offer children’s activities. And, let’s be real, if Sheltering Wings isn’t where you find the right fit (say it ain’t so! ha!), we can connect you with other really good partner organizations doing great work. It isn’t about us. It’s about serving Him.

Sincerely,
Cassie Mecklenburg
Executive Director

I want to also take this opportunity to introduce you to one of my new favorite people, my colleague, Joel Reichnebach. Joel is our new Foundations, Corporations and Church Relations Officer. You’ll start to hear from him in future CCC emails. Joel comes to us from Habitat from Humanity and has a heart for helping congregations and community members put their love for God into action through serving their neighbor. He has served as a camp director, youth minister, and worked for K-LOVE and Habitat engaging the community to serve and through fundraising.  Joel is excited to come along side you and your congregations to celebrate what God is up to in your communities and continue to share how you can be a part of God’s healing work at Sheltering Wings.