Keokee Ministry Trip Update

Here it is Tuesday evening, and we have had a very busy day.  Because we lost so much time yesterday because of the weather, we started out at 7 AM. We found the roads very travel safe and went and picked up more materials for the work on the two showers at Charity Baptist Church in Keokee, VA.

The 12 of us have worked very hard and one of the two bathrooms is almost completed. The water for the showers is installed, and the stall is in place. Tomorrow, we will connect the drain and get the sink re-plumbed. The second bathroom has the water for the shower in, the stall is being setup for the fixtures and then the sink will be placed.

We have had a great time of fellowship while serving with Christ for these people in this "holler." The pastor David has spent most of the days with us and is a very encouraging person.

This evening we have had a delicious BBQ dinner (from Johnny Brooks and the Rockin' Pig) and spent a brief time in part two of the devotional study on Romans 1: 14-16. God has given us so much that we are obligated to minister to others, and we should be as Paul was - "ready" or excited and encouraged to minister for Christ.

Tomorrow will come early again, and it appears so many of us are ready to rest and sleep.  Continue to pray for our trip to Keokee.  We covet your prayers for continued safety in our work and for a safe return on Friday of this week.

On a brief side note - please remember my family in your prayers - my cousin Charles Thorpe (in Michigan) died Monday night.

Keokee Ministry Trip Update

I am with a group of men from New Hope Baptist Church who has the missional gene in their DNA, the Baptist Builders of New Hope Baptist Church in Laurinburg. We have gone to Keokee, VA to work in ministry to a local SBC church. We are helping the area by installing showers in this local church so that other ministry and mission-minded groups can come and stay and work. each day this week, I will attempt to update you on what we are doing, and how our ministry to the people in this area is going.

We arrived in Keokee on Sunday afternoon and began to set up our living areas in the Ministry Building for the Association. We had a quiet evening which allowed for us to set up our kitchen and sleeping facilities. This allowed us to prepare for our work on Monday.

On Monday, we woke up to rainy weather - with the threat of snow and sleet for the day. We started the demo and moving of the sinks in the two bathrooms. We were able to get everything ready for the plumbing when we had to leave because of the icing of the bridges and snow. we will be back to continue on Tuesday.

God has really blessed the Charity Baptist Church in this small holler community, and it is a blessing for us to go and assist them.  we are excited to go and work some more with this church.

What's Right about Helping Needy People

"When the church gets social action right, it can impact the world with its message of redemption from sin, and become an example of Christ, who "did not come to be served, but to serve" (Mark 10:45)*

Often I have heard people debating between the social gospel and the evangelistic gospel. Yes, many religions and denominations have swung so far to the social end that any mention of Jesus would be purely accidental. Many others have swung so far the other way, you would be hard pressed to find any ounce of compassion for those in need.

The essence of Christianity has always been - others. God has saved us, not just for our own benefit, but so that we can be a blessing to others. The truth of the gospel is that we are saved by grace through faith, a gift that comes from God. (Ephesians 2:8-9). Yet, the apostle James reminds us that "faith without works is dead." (James 1:20).

 We are called by God to help one another. We find that it has been the Christian Church that was responsible for starting the idea of hospitals, outreach to alcoholics, unwed mothers, education, soup kitchens, food pantries, etc. While the world seeks to denigrate the Christian, we have been busy reaching out and meeting needs. A telephone company once had a slogan - "Reach out and touch someone." This has been the challenge of the church since Christ walked on this earth (consider how many needy people Christ reached out and touched).

Today, I am with a group of men from North Carolina who are at the Kentucky Border in a small town called Keokee, VA. We are there to assist a small fellow-church with the work of installing two showers in their building. The reason they want to have these showers is so that other teams of missionaries can come into their area and help so many others who have needs. We are helping them, so that in turn they can help others who are seeking to help others.

Christ did not come to be served - He came to serve, and if we are to like Him, we also must serve. We hear a lot about DNA today. It can be used to determine guilt or innocence in a legal case. It also can be used to identify relatives to one another. As Christians, we are to carry the DNA of our brother - Jesus Christ. He came to give of Himself, and selflessly serve others.  It's in our DNA - so let's be like Jesus. Let's do what He did - serve others.


* Towns, Elmer L. (2009) What's Right with the Church: A manifesto of Hope. Regal/Ventura CA. p136

March 2 Prayer

Gracious and Glorious God, please, please give me an insatiable desire and thirst for Jesus, for Your Word, my Savior. Open my eyes that I may see myself as You see me, that I may see and love others from Your viewpoint, that You would be the absolute center and guiding light of my life. Refresh my daily walk that I may walk with You in quiet places, in heavenly places, and throughout all of life into eternity. Thank You, God, my source of life and comfort and being. Bless You, Lord. In Jesus' name, Amen.

March 1 Prayer

Dear God, Today I reach toward Heaven and ask You, and depend on You, to be the source of victory in my workplace and my life. May Your banner wave over my work and life so that You might receive glory. I know that You bring love and joy into my life, and I am a better and richer person because if it. Help me to share your love and life with others. I love you. In Jesus name, Amen.