| By John M. De Marco
RIDGE MANOR — Lakeland District churches are
preparing for a Celebrate Jesus mission week this July, brainstorming
ways to intentionally reach their communities through servant
evangelism. Among the group is Community United Methodist Church here,
a congregation that’s building on a foundation of outreach launched
last year after heavy flooding impacted its neighbors.
The Withlacoochee River flooded last September,
causing extreme difficulty for several elderly, ill and disabled
residents. Community United Methodist Church, led by the Rev. Deborah
Nelson, is helping neighbors recover and continues to grow in response
to that lifestyle of servant love. Sunday attendance has soared from
the teens to around 94 as of mid-February.
With help from Florida Conference disaster
relief funding and the hard work of many within and outside the church
walls, the church helped an elderly woman whose husband is in a
nursing home relocate her trailer; provided assistance and counseling
to a young, single mother and her father; and helped install a culvert
under the inaccessible driveway of a man with heart problems. Food
baskets were also delivered last Thanksgiving and Christmas. Now, the
church plans to assist a partially disabled resident who must purchase
a new lot for his mobile home.
Nelson was appointed to the church last June
after graduating from Asbury Theological Seminary and immediately
began laying a foundation for the ministry opportunity that would pour
forward last fall. She started a prayer meeting to seek God’s
intercession for the Ridge Manor community, a group that remains with
a core of 10 to 12 committed prayer warriors.
“It’s been amazing how everything has just
fit together, these neat pieces in a puzzle, nothing we could ever
organize ourselves,” she said. “When I got here, I did a four-part
series on the ‘Prayer of Jabez,’ asking people to pray for that
divine appointment. Then the flood came.”
The outreach enabled church members to venture
into areas of their community they did not know existed, Nelson said.
“We found a lot of poor people who are locked into their situations,
unable to move out. It was neat to watch my people just start to have
a real sense of compassion for those in the community. Our sense of
connection was healed up a bit.”
Resident Larry Aubry’s driveway was washed out
after the floods. A contractor located by the church replaced a
culvert, freeing Aubry from having to use first a canoe and then a
railroad tie to get on and off his property. Aubry learned about the
church after contacting Hernando County for help. The church called
Aubry to offer assistance.
“They did a wonderful job. It was a very warm
feeling, that somebody really cares,” Aubry said.
Church member Louise Gerheauser has coordinated
the disaster relief efforts and is excited her church may be a focal
point for such outreach and assistance for years to come. Flooding is
a regular event in the area. “…I came to this church because of
our new pastor. When the floods came, she said, ‘I think I have a
project for you — you’re a people person.’ I said, ‘Just name
it, I’m going to jump in.’”
Jesus is being celebrated long before summertime
in Ridge Manor, according to Nelson. She says the kindness embraced by
the church is as unstoppable as the moving of the Spirit.
“God keeps bringing people in, and they’re
staying. People are saying, ‘What’s going on at Ridge Manor? Let’s
go and see,’ ” Nelson said. “It’s created a sense of
hospitality in our community, where people want to see what the church
is all about. We’ve learned to live beyond ourselves.” |
