As we celebrated Missions Weekend last week, Jesus’ transformative work in and through his people, for God’s glory, was evident. At Saturday’s Ministry Fair, 14 of Central’s local partner ministries shared information about their work and opportunities for you to get involved and make a difference in our very own community. For example, did you know Crisis Aid has distributed more than 1.5 MILLION pounds of food throughout the St. Louis region and has helped more than 63,500 families, just since the start of 2020? 

On Sunday, our focus zoomed out from the local area to our global missionaries. We learned how the Lord is working in places such as Honduras, the Middle East, and the Philippines, hearing testimonies from some of our full-time missionaries as well as our friends who have recently been on short-time trips. When Michael Miller told us about Arle, I think most of us were able to relate in some way when Michael said Arle, a former Micah resident-turned-chef, could not believe that God would be using him to change other people’s lives. Stories such as these stir our hearts and help us to appreciate God’s grace and unfailing love for us.

Experiences like last weekend are sometimes described as a “mountain top” experience. We feel encouraged, energized, and are ready to take on whatever opportunity might come before us. But then something happens. We get distracted by life’s routine challenges and the moment passes. “Where is that business card I picked up on Saturday?” “Oh, I was going to follow-up with that one missionary, but now I don’t remember why.” Before we realize it, a day or two passes and soon a week becomes a month. We begin to feel like the moment – and opportunity – has passed.

The good news of course is there are always opportunities to make a difference, to belong to the mission. As our pastors have reminded us this fall, “belonging to the mission” doesn’t mean shoehorning more activities into our schedules. Perhaps you are in a season when your life already feels over-scheduled and taking one more commitment to be somewhere seems overwhelming. That’s alright. Belong to the mission by praying for our community or by including one of our global missionaries to your prayer lists. But maybe you do have capacity right now to get involved more. If so, that’s wonderful as well. There are ways to plug in, to use your unique gifts – time, talents, “treasure” – with local ministries this very week. 

By making ourselves available to be part of the transformational work Jesus is doing, we become instruments in his hands as he blesses others and we also open our own lives to his blessings. If you are feeling a calling to take that next step and get involved with a local ministry partner, you can the next step by contacting Pastor Ben who would be happy to help you find a good fit. If you would like to pray for our missionaries, we encourage you to read about our many global, national, and local partners by clicking here. Whatever route you choose, welcome to the mission, because you belong.