Restored

I have had the privilege of connecting with dozens of congregations in at least five mission centres. In eight of those congregations, I was a member, three I served as a pastor, while with several others I shared as a guest minister for varying periods of time.

Of all of those encounters, three stand head and shoulders above the others in my memory. Those three were the Chattanooga Community of Christ in Tennessee, Highland Manor Ministries in Independence, MO, and Victor Valley congregation in the High Desert of California. The reason these three stand out is because these are the congregations that I saw really making a difference in people’s lives. These congregations knew what their mission was, and they were about it. They became communities of hope for people who previously had very little to be hopeful about. Some of these people were the extreme, inner-city poor. A second group were kids and teens who had wretched family lives. They came to church seeking a source of meaning and order. Still others were people who needed help escaping drugs or other addictive behaviours. All of these found hope within the fellowship of those three communities. Lives were and are transformed and changed by the loving acceptance of people who really cared.

Of all the congregations I have known, these three give me hope that all the work we do to support the church really can make a difference. These demonstrate that it really is possible for a congregation to make a difference in the community and in the lives of people who live there. The members in these churches show me what it means to live out D. & C. 163:2b: “The restoring of persons to healthy or righteous relationships with God, others, themselves, and the earth is at the heart of the purpose of your journey as a people of faith.” When I feel discouraged because of the apparent absence of missional focus in many congregations, the memory of lives changed in these locations keeps me going.

Last week I saw the same kind of hope finding expression in the lives of several campers at Sr. High camp. In this community which gathers for only one week per year, lives were touched and encouraged. Here, people knew they were loved. In this environment they came to believe it was safe to expose their hearts, even for a brief moment, and trust that they would not be hurt. Here, perhaps for the first time, some found people who would love and accept them in the name and spirit of Jesus. For a while at least, they were, indeed, restored. It is amazing thing to see, and awesome to be a part of.

And so, in addition to the three congregations mentioned above, I can add a fourth fellowship to the list that gives me hope; our own Senior Hi Camp. It is a community that lives love and makes it real in the lives of people. Thank God for such a place, and for the incredible lives it blesses.

What gives you hope?

Posted by Carman