G.R.O.W.

God Rewards Our Work (outreach)

"And you shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Samaria, and    Judea, and into the uttermost parts of the earth." (Acts 1:8)

This is one verse of many which commands us to reach into the world and be witnesses for our Lord Jesus Christ.   Our G.R.O.W. teams seeks to do this in a way that is time effective, and fun.  Our number one principle is EVERYONE CAN BE INVOLVED IN OUR OUT REACH.  

In addition, not everyone needs to visit.  Some workers write effective hand written letters, others send printed letters to those who move into the community, those we know about, and those we know nothing about.  Others can make telephone calls.

Basic visits are mere friendly calls where we invite people to come to our church.  The Bible instructs us to go into the highways and byways and invite people to come.  Along the way, we may have the opportunity to sow, water, and even lead someone to Jesus.   If a visiting team sees an opportunity or need but are unable to go beyond this, we will note this and send one of our pastors.  This is part of the seeking the lost process.

The second principle is that out reach is fun.   Right now some of you are thinking that I am out of my mind, you've never been in an outreach experience that was fun.  First, the fellowship we have is fun.  But the delightful experiences are fun also.   Something recently occurred that brought me joy, and joy is fun!  I was with a group of men at Geri's for breakfast when a lady walked up to the table and spoke to J. Justice.  "You don't remember me do you?"  But JJ did remember.   He had visited her, one of those from our wider out reach effort.   She told him that she planned to come to church.  It's fun when you see that God is using your work to get the attention of others.

The third principle: G.R.O.W  involves quality time.  

If your schedule is anything like mine, you may think that it will be difficult to find the time to involve yourself in outreach.   This is not so.  We ask that you involve yourself in a team that goes out just one Monday per month. That's 15 hours a year.      

The fourth principle involves the Divine Appointment.

If Philip wasn't going, how would he had intersected with the Ethiopian who was searching for God?  And that is something that is spiritual, deep, and mysterious.  Whether we write a letter, and even in visits, we do not always know what the Holy Spirit is doing.   The young man who asked me whether I was saved never realized the impact that  question has on me.  He never saw me again.  But what an impact he had.

OUR NEED

Let me explain the program with a little more clarity.  

1. We send a PRINTED letter to those who are new in the area.

2. We send a PRINTED letter to those living in the area we know nothing about except names and addresses.

3. We send HAND WRITTEN letters to these following the sending of the PRINTED letters.

4. We visit these following the sending of the HAND WRITTEN letters.

5. We also visit and/or write to those who have visited our church, and those who no longer attend.

6. We telephone those who are shut-ins, and others who need encouragement.

OUR OUT REACH IS WIDE AND WE COULD USE MORE OF THOSE WILLING TO WRITE LETTERS AND VISIT.

We have all sort of helps to those who write letters.  Please consider joining us. 

                                                                         Dick Keller