In my travels I see two attitudes toward community in congregations of the Church. One is to view the Church as a sanctuary, an island, a refuge where people can go to escape the community. Congregations like this do not participate in community activities, even if they are wholesome ones. They exist aloof and apart from what is happening. The other view is to be a part of every good thing that takes place locally--to be a part of the community. In our recent visit to an inner city congregation in Trenton, New Jersey, the Church was this latter type of congregation. They were having blood drives in their building. The mayor was holding a town meeting in their building. They serve the homeless a meal once a week in their building.

The Dowagiac congregation has determined we want to be the latter kind of congregation. Our food pantry serves the community. We have a booth at the Cass County Fair to teach and let the community know we care. Tomorrow we will have a candy shower for kids in the downtown area from 6:00 to 7:00 outside Larry Brewer's store, and we have a banner and an insert card to let the community know we care and want to be a part of all that is good and wholesome. We will have a float in the Christmas parade on December 3. Come and be a part of these attempts to be good citizens in the community so that we can be seen as "Praising God and having favor with all the people" (Acts 2:47).


Next Sunday is the first Sunday of the month, and we have a fun tradition of having a potluck together each first Sunday of the month. PLEASE plan to stay and enjoy a wonderful meal and visit and share with your church family. Do not forget to set your clocks back to go on Standard Time.

December 4--There will be a special appreciation dinner for the ladies, prepared and arranged by the men of the congregation. Please save that date and plan to be with us for a night of good fellowship, fun, good food, and a celebration of the wonderful women who serve the Lord so faithfully here.

 

INTRODUCTION:
WHY IS THIS TRUE?
HOW WAS IT DONE?
WHAT WILL YOU DO WITH THE WORD?
"There is only one book, more important than the food we eat. More than a helpful guide full of useful advice"--Sir Walter Scott.
"To whom shall we go, you have the words of eternal life."

What is the future of the congregation here in Dowagiac? How can we grow and make sure that when the leadership here has gone on to the Lord that there will still be an active working group of God's people at this location and in this community? We have been having quite a bit of discussion about this subject in our fellowship meetings, and it is an important question.

There are many ways that congregations do what is described in the Bible. We know that some congregations in the Bible met in the homes of people, and that there was no formal structure to the congregation. In other cases there were elders and deacons in congregations that were meeting in a variety of places, but there was apparently no full time evangelist as such. In other cases, such as Timothy, there was a individual who was the primary leader and motivator of what was being done, and Paul's letters to Timothy spell that out in some detail.

This past lectureship trip we had the joy of working with two superb congregations--both growing and being very successful in their community. The first was in Kittanning, Pennsylvania, where Larry Krause is a personal working evangelist. What I mean by that is that he spends his time meeting people in the community, studying with them, visiting them, and conducting special classes. He does some preaching, but that is not his first love nor his great talent. Members of the congregation do a fair share of the preaching, but Larry is a driven public relations man. The congregation is growing, stable, and well respected in the community.

The other congregation we were with was in Trenton, New Jersey, where Clarence Matthews is the preacher. He has been there for many years and labors to do extraordinary pulpit sermons and public presentations and does the counseling that comes from his preaching. The congregation loves this man, and bring friends and neighbors to hear him speak. Every member is active in urging their friends and family to come. They have a kitchen that feeds indigent and homeless people and then bring them to hear the message Clarence has for them. This is a different model than Kittanning.

Both congregations are healthy, growing, dynamic, and preaching the gospel. We need to look at all models, decide how we want to function, and look for and pray about the Lord leading us to the kind of congregation we want to be in the future.