More Great Reading About How One Church Transformed Its Community
Check out the story of this Jacksonville church in “Wizard of Odds.”
These quotes jumped out at me:
“The key to any successful ministry is obedience. Jesus was obedient unto death, even death on the cross. He’s our example. Obey. No matter what it looks like, you obey. Obedience is better than sacrifice, and God has honored our obedience.”
“A local church ought not just drive in on Sunday, have an hour-and-a-half of preaching and singing, and then leave. If you’re in a community, then you ought to affect that community.
I ask other pastors, “If your church were to leave the community you’re in, what impact would that have? Would they miss you? Would they weep?” I think our community would miss us if we weren’t here. I hope they would. We have built relationships with the people of our community and with retailers in hopes of saving this community. That kind of networking can save a community.
We are the community.”
“I talk to a lot of pastors who are applying for grants and all this kind of stuff. I say to them, “You don’t need a grant now. You need the ministry first.”
In other words, you need to target the ill of your community. Identify the greatest need, then motivate your people to attack that need. You don’t need a building first, but a burden.
A pastor first needs a burden for a specific need in a specific place. When you have a burden, you’ll begin to change things, and people will join you in that work.”