|
l |
Miles and Miles of Hope
Click here to read the
Full Story |
l |
|
|
|
|
|
|
When Hope Vickers took the pastorate at Cumberland
United Methodist Church in 1996, the term "outreach ministries" was little
more than a nice-sounding concept. |
|
|
|
"Our church was focused inward," says Hope. "The only ministry
they did was serve a breakfast for homeless people. It was a small group—about
8 or 10 people—and even at that it was only done once a month at another church." |
|
|
|
All that began to change because of two significant factors: 1)
focused pastoral leadership and 2) obtaining demographic
information about the community that showed where the greatest needs for ministry
lay. |
|
|
|
The effect was "surprising" to Hope who saw her congregation of 60
(average attendance) mature and then almost double in size in just a few years.
"Outreach ministry is now our congregation's lifeblood, says Hope. "It's
their way of sharing God's love and grace, giving them a purpose and direction they
didn't have before. . . they were driven to respond to the needs they saw." |
|
|
|
Take Miss Annie, a 70-something widow, whose home, already in a state of disrepair,
was vandalized. Early one morning, a crew of energetic "tool-time" church
members showed up at the elderly woman's door, not leaving until the team of men,
women and children had repaired not only the broken windows, but had rehabbed the
entire house. |
|
|
|
Then there were the hundreds of county foster children, many of whom
were facing a joyless and toyless
Christmas—one without either a mom or dad to hug them, or presents awaiting
them under the tree. Although it was a daunting task, Hope committed her little
church to supplying all 350 kids with toys and clothes. God answered their prayers--moving
the families of Cumberland to give like they had never given before. And it didn't
stop there. . . THERE'S MORE!
Read the full story
of Cumberland UMC's outreach ministry and see how they used the Ministry Area Profile
to help turn the church inside-out. . . -Jenni Keast
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
© COPYRIGHT 2008 PERCEPT GROUP, INC. |
|
|
|
GO TO THE STORY ARCHIVE |
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
