- Dec 13, 2017
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This is a first for an old country boy - joining an online Christian forum. I guess you CAN teach an old dog new tricks. Not sure my two cents is worth much. In walking with my God and Savior Jesus Christ going on 47 years, He has provided the opportunity for ministry in a number of areas over the years, which may have relevance for some, especially the younger folks.
As Psalm 90:10 takes on a more immediate personal application, the Lord has challenged me to finish the race strong, rather than just coasting across the line.
To that end, the burden placed on my heart some years back is stronger than ever - reaching the lost for Christ in our rural neck of the woods here in northeast Washington state. The three local churches sure aren’t doing anything about it. Not an easy task, considering knocking on doors uninvited may result in your staring down the business end of a double barrel or hightailing it from an ornery dog.
Then there are the born-again believers, who have chosen not to darken the doors of the dead or dying churches in our area. If you were to round up all these believers in one place you’d have a mega church.
As you might guess, country folks are a proud lot and tend to keep to themselves. Unfortunately, many believers fall into the same category and I was one of them for a while. But the conviction of the Holy Spirit forced me to rethink.
You see, there are many needs in the area going unmet. It all boils down to the failure of the churches and true born-again Christ followers stepping out in faith, despite push back from those who don’t want to see any Christ-centered community outreach.
Things like a youth center, a bible study at the senior center/library, a farmers market, a resource center for those seeking recovery from addiction – these are some of the ideas presented a few years back at the local grange hall by myself and a friend. We were met with ridicule and opposition best described as a work of the enemy.
Worse, the opposition was local pastors and other professing Christians, a couple of whom I had counted as friends. “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” Eph 6:12.
I have determined to once again reach out within the community, having deemed myself sufficiently recovered from the last go round. This time I only seek like-minded Christians interested in a house church for starters. We’ll see how the Lord leads on this. There are house churches in northeast Washington, but none in this area of Stevens County. Maybe this would be of some interest to brothers and sisters in the area?
As Psalm 90:10 takes on a more immediate personal application, the Lord has challenged me to finish the race strong, rather than just coasting across the line.
To that end, the burden placed on my heart some years back is stronger than ever - reaching the lost for Christ in our rural neck of the woods here in northeast Washington state. The three local churches sure aren’t doing anything about it. Not an easy task, considering knocking on doors uninvited may result in your staring down the business end of a double barrel or hightailing it from an ornery dog.
Then there are the born-again believers, who have chosen not to darken the doors of the dead or dying churches in our area. If you were to round up all these believers in one place you’d have a mega church.
As you might guess, country folks are a proud lot and tend to keep to themselves. Unfortunately, many believers fall into the same category and I was one of them for a while. But the conviction of the Holy Spirit forced me to rethink.
You see, there are many needs in the area going unmet. It all boils down to the failure of the churches and true born-again Christ followers stepping out in faith, despite push back from those who don’t want to see any Christ-centered community outreach.
Things like a youth center, a bible study at the senior center/library, a farmers market, a resource center for those seeking recovery from addiction – these are some of the ideas presented a few years back at the local grange hall by myself and a friend. We were met with ridicule and opposition best described as a work of the enemy.
Worse, the opposition was local pastors and other professing Christians, a couple of whom I had counted as friends. “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” Eph 6:12.
I have determined to once again reach out within the community, having deemed myself sufficiently recovered from the last go round. This time I only seek like-minded Christians interested in a house church for starters. We’ll see how the Lord leads on this. There are house churches in northeast Washington, but none in this area of Stevens County. Maybe this would be of some interest to brothers and sisters in the area?
