Thursday, 6 February 2014

Serving others in our neighbourhood

There are so many people in our world in need. In Africa we can see the need all around us and sometimes various Churches heed the call and get involved in serving others. This can be by going on mission trips to other countries or even by serving the poor locally. This year our Church community desires to focus on the needs closer to home - the needs in our city. So, we have decided to narrow our focus a little and to get involved in a few projects closer to our doorstep. Sure, there is still merit in going abroad to do mission (and if this is your call, then do it), but sometimes we miss the needs near our own community.

Scot McKnight has an interesting take on this. Read what he says and let me know your comments:

“Why do so many today want to wander off to South Africa or Kenya or India or Russia or Honduras or Costa Rica or Peru to help with justice issues but not spend the same effort in their own neighborhood or community or state? Why do young suburbanites, say in Chicago, want to go to Kentucky or Tennessee to help people but not want to spend that same time to go to the inner city in their own area to help with justice issues? I asked this question to a mature student in my office one day, and he thought he had a partial explanation: 'Because my generation is searching for experiences, and the more exotic and extreme the better. Going down the street to help at a food shelter is good and it is just and some of us are doing that, but it's not an experience. We want experiences.”

Is our mission about an 'experience' or about serving Jesus and others?
Worth thinking about!

Living in Grace
D3LM3

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