Sept. 28, 2001 Edition

CHURCH DEVELOPMENT

An Ignited Methodist Church?

By Dr. Roger K. Swanson
Director of Operation Evangelization

Ever since Pentecost, fire has been a sign of the presence of God as Holy Spirit, warming the hearts of God’s people and giving them light by which to see. The Holy Spirit, as with Peter, also sets persons aflame with an enthusiasm for God and boldness in witnessing that is contagious. On the day in question 3,000 people submitted themselves to baptism.

Can the “Igniting Ministries” campaign of our church ignite our church? I am getting daily reports from neighbors of seeing the television spots and, in the Orlando area, billboards on major arteries. As time passes even more “sightings” will occur. But will they ignite our church? Probably not.

It will take more than slick ads, no matter how well done and sensitive, to revitalize congregations that have lost their will to reach out. But Igniting Ministries, with vital leaders in every congregation, can jumpstart the necessary effort to let the Church begin to be God’s church and for God’s people to act accordingly.

Let this be a time of prayer and fasting for the renewal of God’s church. Paul counsels Timothy to “rekindle the gift of God that is within you.” (2 Tim.1: 6) That gift, received from a loving mother and grandmother, was Timothy’s faith in God. That faith needed tending to stay vital. I can remember, as a boy, on Boy Scout campouts, rekindling fires that had diminished. It required getting down on my knees and fanning the flames. Wesley followed a weekly regimen of prayer and fasting that began each Thursday following the evening meal and continued through Friday until the evening meal.

Let this also be a time of extraordinary welcome in our churches. There is too much taken for granted on Sunday mornings, with not enough celebration and not enough of expressed joy in one another’s presence. Be sure that congregation members are warmly welcomed, and that will spill over to newcomers.

Let this also be a time of invitation. The unchurched, for most of us, are not a faceless crowd. They are friends, neighbors and relatives. It is true that they come on their own, but most won’t. Most people in our culture regard Sunday church as a private party to which they must be invited. We know it isn’t, but invite them anyway.

Who knows, we might become the Ignited Methodist Church!

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 © 2001 Florida United Methodist Review Online