In this fifth installment of a review of the core values that guide Charles Town Presbyterian Church, we are reviewing Outreach: Serving others by using our gifts and resources to share the Good News of Jesus Christ.
Lately, there has been a great deal of talk about outreach at CTPC. For a long while, we seemed to languish and do very little to show or talk about God’s love. That seemed to change last summer, when not one, but TWO groups went from our church to parts of West Virginia hit hard by the floods last spring. We saw a need, and we responded.
Outreach is the key work of the Body of Christ. In Matthew 28, Jesus commissions his disciples for the work to which he has called them (and us!). He tells them, “Go into all the world and make disciples…” Jesus calls His Church to go into the world and tell people about what he has done for them. “Telling” people about Jesus happens in many ways. We feed the hungry, encourage the disheartened, and we help the helpless. The reason we help people in such ways is simple: People don’t care what you know, until they know that you care. By demonstrating the love of God, we sometimes get to have a conversation about the gospel of God!
Outreach can seem very threatening, because some people don’t want to hear about God or deal with what it means to believe in him. Some people are scared to interact with people from different walks of life. The reality we need to be careful of is this: If we don’t go, we don’t grow.
Since the summer, several other outreach opportunities have emerged. Our Presbyterian Women’s Group is hosting a one-day women’s retreat featuring Kelley Latta on March 25, and they are trying to reach women from all over the panhandle (and ladies, please be sure to order your tickets!). Our Christian educator, Molly Rogers, is starting a bi-monthly small group for moms. Last week, I began my six-week study called the “No BS Bible Class (BS is short for Bible Study). The No BS BC attempts to give an overview of the Bible to unchurched and de-churched people. Last year, when some key people decided to take a break from feeding the homeless on the first Saturday of the month, some other people stepped up and filled that gap, and the outreach continued.
These outreach activities are in addition to what we normally do, and the response has been exciting! The Lord has given us opportunities to reach people with his good news. It is great to see CTPC re-discover this core value.
I pray the energy and desire to reach out continues for a long time to come!
Blessings,
Pastor John