We are a
church that lives out its mission to Grow
and Go in so many unique and powerful ways. These last two weeks I have
been blessed with the opportunity to experience the Go Share piece of this
mission. We are equipped and called as individuals and as a faith community to
share the Good News that Jesus loves us. We do that in a multitude of ways
throughout the year and perhaps most powerfully during the summer months in the
community around our two campuses: Northlake and Connections.
Our role, as Christians and active participants in the Assurance
community, is to be witnesses for Jesus Christ – spreading the good news of
Jesus Christ and God’s love to those who need to experience God’s transforming love. Assurance shares
the good news of Jesus Christ in word and deed. “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit
comes upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and
Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
Acts 1:8 John Wesley,
one of the founders of Methodism, spoke
of this Go Share: “I look on all the world as my parish; thus
far I mean, that, in whatever part of it I am, I judge it meet, right, and my
bounden duty, to declare unto all that are willing to hear, the glad tidings of
salvation.”
We share
Jesus and connect with our community at Northlake through our Vacation Bible School
where near four hundred children and their families experience the love of
Jesus for a week. Most of those attending are not part of our Assurance Faith
Community rather people drawn by God’s grace that calls us to experience Jesus.
This Go Share ministry of sharing God’s love has the tangible action of Go
serve through the collection of over 4.000 food items that supports two of our
Go Serve ministries: Love in a Bag and Micah’s Backpack.
These are
some of the Go Share God’s love in the community I experienced in the last two
weeks:
·
Jammin’ with Jesus – our weekly Tuesday afternoon summer
Children’s programming on the Connections community shares God’s love with
children through stories of Christ and activities designed to touch the heart
of the children and their families.
·
God’s Garden – our summer camp program on our
Northlake campus allows us to share God’s love to any families in our community
in a safe and fun environment. This is an extension of one of our strong
community ministries – our pre-school and after-school programs.
·
Matthew’s Closet – our clothing ministry based at our
Northlake Campus has opened a distribution and community engagement day on the
last Sunday of the month on the Connections campus where the need is acute. We
draw so many families who are not connected with our faith community and allow
us to share God’s love. This ministry greatly benefits from our community
consignment sales in the spring and fall.
·
SOAR – our summer reading program on the
Connections campus allows us to reach children and families in our community
through a critical need. This sharing of God’s love continues in the community
through our other community activities like Love in a Bag.
·
Mission Guatemala – This annual mission trip allows the
Assurance faith community to touch people in another country who long to hear
and see God’s love in action. As a year around response a small group called
Reach Out shares God’s love throughout the two campus communities as well as
other parts of our local community.
·
Love in a Bag – our summer community engagement and
feeding ministry allows us to share God’s love in multiple neighborhoods within
our community who need a word of hop and love. Both Northlake and Connections
small groups support this ministry throughout the summer. During the school
year Micah’s Backpack in Northlake supports a feeding ministry.
·
Recreational Ministries – our Tuesday community open gym is a
wonderful example of Go Sharing God’s love through sharing a resource He has
given us. Our Peace on the Streets basketball ministry bring youth off the
streets to compete in opportunities to learn about Jesus.
·
Sharing Gardens – our community sharing gardens on
both campuses allow us to connect with the community in a tangible way and
share the love of Jesus. They also provide food for the community as part of
our Go Serve mission.
All of God’s
people are called to Grow in Spirit through weekly worship, daily prayer and
small group experiences; Go serve others through our outreach ministries inside
and outside our church communities; and Go Share God’s love to others that need
Jesus! Contact one of our pastors or lay leaders about how you might live out
this community commitment. Contact Dave Zietlow – dave@assuranceumc.org.
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