Back in the fall I wrote of how I had been asked to serve as a youth pastor at a church in a community outside of Nashville. Since then I haven't given much of an update. Let me first remind you of the situation we came into. The church has been there for the better part of the 20th century. It sits in a neighborhood, I mean actually in a neighborhood. As you look up from the pulpit you can see neighbors on their porch looking back at you.
Not long after we arrived, we went around to meet the neighbors. This is when you see the bad side of being in a neighborhood. Sure, you are in great proximity to reach out to people, but as is the case with any neighbor, some times squabbles get in the way. We found a lot of people who not only distrusted church in general, they didn't trust the church we represented.
As we have worked and planned the past few months, the continual prayer of the leadership team has been as Jesus instructs us to pray in Luke 10:2 when He says, "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field." And the Lord has answered our prayers! He has sent us people with hearts for youth and children, He has sent some with a desire to reach out to the community, and He even provided us so many musicians that we are running out of room on the platform!
A few months ago our pastor heard a mandate from the Lord that we were to make repairs to the church building that were long over due. Our pastor reminded us that the physical state of a church mirrors the spiritual state, if we were alive and new, then the church should be the same! Corresponding with a study on the book of Nehemiah, we set to work painting, putting in new doors, and adding new flooring. Our pastor told us that God would provide the money for the work that needed to be done, and guess what...He did. As we worked, members of the community would come by to ask what was going on. They had thought the church was closed down and thought we were starting something new.
In the time between the repairs and now, we have had several new families join us and conversions have even taken place!
Last night came the most rewarding moment for me of this entire journey. We wanted to have a community outreach event. So on Monday I went with a couple of the other staff members and we did something unheard of anymore-we knocked on doors. As we invited our neighbors to come join us for a picnic in the church's yard, you could see confusion on some faces, some wanted to know what the "catch" was. We told them there were no strings attached, we just wanted to get to know them.
So last night came our big event. Was it extravagant? Nope. We had food, played music and brought out footballs and soccer balls for the kids to play with. An hour before we were supposed to start, our new friends started showing up. By the end of the night we had over 40 attendees, which means about 30 were men, women, and children we had just meet on our walk through on that hot Monday afternoon.
As we sat and talked I heard their stories. These probably aren't the most "glamorous" parishioners. These aren't the people churches are clamoring to have join them. These are the neglected. These are the ones other churches forgot because, unfortunately, they don't look like they have much to offer (although I can already see that's not the case).
Having spent time in the neighborhood, I knew where they lived. Some have to walk through drug deals to put their kids in the car. Some live with abusive spouses or boyfriends. I listened as I heard of unplanned pregnancies. I heard kids talk about how they don't know their fathers because they've been in jail for so long. But as they spoke I was reminded of the best advice my dad ever gave me. As a young girl he told me, "Lindsey, don't pursue the rich. Go after the people who have nothing to offer you in return. Make them rich in faith, and you will never want for anything."
Please know this is not meant as a brag on myself or my ministry partners. I tell you this because I look around at so many ministers who don't want to "lower" themselves and go to the "other side of the tracks". I pity them. How sorry I am that they will never know the joy of showing kindness to someone who can do nothing in return. How sad that these who think they are too good for "the least of these" will never know what it is to rejoice when God makes provisions. They don't get to develop their own testimonies of "I don't know what we are going to do" turning into "you won't believe what God did."
All I know is, my dad was right. What more could I want than to watch the blessings of God being poured out in the lives of those who need Him the most?
Please continue to pray for the work God is doing in the Old Hickory community. Last night gave me hope that He is working.
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