The Kerusso | 2019 February

The Kerusso – February | 2019 Kerusso (Greek): “To publish, proclaim openly: something which has been done.”

Journey 2019 - Arizona The EMC started off the new year with the first of four Journeys on the 2019 calendar. On January 9th and 10th, an excited group of EMC pastors, superintendents and lay leaders gathered together at Arizona City EMC with the purpose of going “FURTHER TOGETHER”.

Through the preaching of God’s Word, break-out sessions, and worship services, attendees were encouraged and challenged in their faith journey.

The Arizona City EMC church family made it possible for everyone to enjoy dinner together by preparing and serving two evening meals. This opportunity for connection and fellowship was amazing. A heart-felt thank you to Pastor Ernie Smith and his church family for opening their doors and making everyone feel so welcome.

This Journey ended with the honor of witnessing the ordination of Pastor Frank Gaytan. What a privilege to join with Pastor Frank and his family as they celebrated his journey to becoming an Elder in the EMC. There are three more opportunities to go “FURTHER TOGETHER” with your EMC brothers and sisters. Be watching your email and start making plans to attend a Journey in 2019.

The three remaining locations and dates for USA Journey meetings in 2019 are: Refuge Ministries EMC, Copperas Cove, TX March 19-20 (all day)

Kingdom EMC, Westover, WV May 7-8 (all day)

Crossroads Community Church, Nampa, ID May 20-22 (begins with dinner on the 20th concludes mid-day on the 22nd)

The Kerusso – February | 2019

Page 2

Kerusso (Greek): “To publish, proclaim openly: something which has been done.�

Youth Missions Projects 2019 Want to have your perspective on life radically altered? Go on a short-term mission trip! The EMC Board of Youth and Children is sponsoring FOUR missions projects in 2019. Not sure if you're ready to leave the states yet? We've got you covered there too! All interested youth and adults should go to www.riversideemc.org/missions2019 for more information, to download an informational packet, or to apply.

The late deadline to apply is March 1, 2019 so be praying about which of these opportunities the Lord wants you to be a part of. USA - Illinois

Each one of these trips is going to be an amazing opportunity to share the love of Christ in tangible and eternity-changing ways. Prayerfully consider if God would have you GO on, GIVE toward, or PRAY for any of these incredible journeys!

Contact Brian Gordon for further information.Â

Â

Are you Striving to be Famous, or Faithful?

In the November issue of the Kerusso, we wrote about the importance and significance of smaller churches. The facts are these ‌ despite the more press that larger churches garner in America, more people BY FAR worship in smaller churches in this country. The Barna group’s study of church size released in 2016 notes that 83% of folks attend churches that are less than 500, with two-thirds of those people attending a church that is less than 100 in attendance.

So why are we fascinated by the large churches or famous pastors?

Because we are measuring the WRONG THINGS, clearly. But the Lord is NOT. The Biblical narrative describes Jesus showing His followers that the widow who gave a tiny amount compared to the large contributions of the wealthy actually gave the more significant gift.

We tend to be fascinated by SIZE, but the Lord is concerned with SIGNIFICANCE. Judy Edwards, EMC’s Prayer Department leader shared with her husband (that’s me đ&#x;˜Š ) two articles posted by Focus on the Family that deal with these issues of church size and faithfulness vs fame. The authors are pastors themselves; with Pastor Karl Vaters sharing about the needs and opportunities of small churches, and Pastor Jamaal Williams writing about faithfulness. They are not long articles, and I encourage you to read both of them.

You can find the original articles by clicking: "The Small Church's Biggest Need ..."

"Aim to be Faithful, Not Famous" (The Barna information can be accessed at: https://www.barna.com/research/state-church-2016/) 

The Kerusso – February | 2019

Page 3

Kerusso (Greek): “To publish, proclaim openly: something which has been done.”

A Larger Food Ministry in a Small Local Church Community Outreach EMC We are a small, 16 member church in Woodruff, SC. We started our food ministry with the desire to serve others in need, 6 volunteers and high hopes. We now have about 20 volunteers and give out 150 boxes each month. We currently have access to several food pantries including a new one where we get foods, meats, produce, and sometimes breads. These food items are collected and given out on Mondays all before our Bible study on Monday evening. God supplies and we get it to the community.

All of the food is either received from food banks or from direct donations.

A committed and talented leader coordinates the collection of the food and managing all of the volunteers. She also serves as a volunteer at the local food bank every week. Several trucks arrive every week that are unloaded by hand and supplies are stacked in our community room at the church. God brings our volunteers and the job gets done. This ministry is not hard to do when you hear the thanks that we receive during the monthly give-out.

If you have a need for a food ministry in your area it is not hard to get started.

Having someone who can serve as the Food Ministry director who can train volunteers and keep records is very helpful. You will need volunteers with a heart to serve God and those in need, room to store supplies and food, and a supply of banana boxes to put the food stuffs in for give-out. You may need to warn the volunteers that it is hard work in the beginning. If they are still there after hearing this, let them know that teamwork makes it easier. You will need people to contact food banks, to solicit donations from other food sources, and vehicles as well as drivers to pick up the food. A major food bank can often schedule classes to make sure everyone is on the same page. If you will be giving away meat you need freezers. If you have a lot of produce, you need a chiller or several refrigerators. Temperatures must be checked daily and a log kept. This is a good job for a volunteer who has an hour or so a day to spare. You need a crew to pack the boxes in an efficient and orderly manner. This won’t be a really large crew, but they have to be able to work together. We have 4 ladies that do the job in 2 days. Also, with the packers you need workers that are able to stack the 45-55 pound filled boxes. We have 4 women who handle intake on the big day. These ladies need to be pleasant natured, and can handle the paperwork. You must have some able bodied men to handle loading the boxes into the patrons vehicles since many of the patrons will be seniors and may be disabled. A 45 pound box can get mighty heavy when you are handling 100 or more boxes. We like to keep our volunteers fed and hydrated while they are working and offer them a quiet room for a break if needed.

This is how we started and run our food ministry. Pastor, you are automatically a volunteer for whatever position needs a fill-in. Please call us if you would like to come and see what it takes to provide this service to your community.

Article submitted by: Pastor Karl Boyer Community Outreach EMC Woodruff, SC You can reach Pastor Karl at: (864) 978-7533

The Kerusso – February | 2019

Page 4

Kerusso (Greek): “To publish, proclaim openly: something which has been done.”

A Moment with Max Christ-followers are life-long learners. The Apostle Paul asked his young protégé, Timothy, to bring him “the parchments” near the very end of his life (2 Tim. 4:13) – the upshot is that Paul never stopped learning. We learn from reading, patterning ourselves after worthy mentors, and from experience, but British novelist and philosopher Aldous Huxley accurately quipped, “Experience teaches only the teachable.” Let’s ensure that we all remain teachable!

In that spirit, International General Superintendent Max Edwards shares a monthly inspirational thought with pastors and churches … “A Moment with Max.” About once a month, a new video is loaded to the banner on the EMC website. You can view it at https://emchurch.org Or to view the library of past Moments with Max, download the EMC App from Subsplash at: https://subsplash.com/evangelicalmethodistchurch/app Click on “watch” and then you’ll see all the past “Moments” that are available.

You can also find other important information on the EMC App, such as the EMC Discipline, information about NCD, or Natural Church Development, and PDF versions of the Connection magazine.

2018 EMC Disciplines are Ready!

As mentioned in the article above, you can find an electronic copy of the 2018 EMC Discipline by using the EMC App. Paper copies of the Discipline can now be ordered through EMC Headquarters by sending an email to publications@emchurch.org or by calling 317-780-8017.

2018 Disciplines are $12 each plus postage. Orders of 5 or more are $10 each plus postage.

Credit card payments can be made over the phone or a bill will be sent with the order.

Deeper In Christ Further In Mission

Thanks for reading!

“May the Lord bless you and keep you; The Lord make His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you.

The Lord lift up His countenance over you, and give you peace.” Numbers 6:24-26