So Thankful
date posted: Nov 20, 2007
I love this time of year. Fall colors, colder temps, the hints of winter and coming snow, basketball season just a few weeks away . . .and Thanksgiving is next week. (The Lions may actually be playing for something this Thanksgiving!) I am continually convinced that I am the richest man in the world. I have a wonderful family and a loving church family. I have the privilege of trying to keep up with the people called the Spring Arbor Free Methodist Church, a dedicated group of thoughtful, devoted followers of Jesus Christ who quietly make an extraordinary impact across our county – in our schools, our Township Boards, businesses, health care, Spring Arbor University, etc. Our people also are serving around the world – Janette and Joel Miller and kids in Mexico, Patrick and April Barrett and kids in Costa Rica, Emily Janson in a whirlwind world mission, Dustin Weber in the middle east, Danny Lacy with OMS, Wayne and Barb Vibbert in Burundi, etc. Since August, our people have served in Rwanda, Kenya, Burundi, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Guatamala, Romania, and Nigeria.
Our two adopted daughter churches in Jackson have two talented core groups wonderfully committed to leading people to faith and community in Jackson. Our Kids Hope team of mentors and prayer partners devote quality time each week to help children at Warner School improve in their writing, reading, math, and social skills. Our various service teams routinely fix cars, fix plumbing, old porches, move furniture. On October 27 about 30 of us weatherized over 20 homes, saving each household hundreds of dollars in heating bills this coming winter.
I walked through the building last Wednesday evening and found the place humming with activity – Wildfire for 5-6th graders (one neighbor told me at the door how her “adopted” daughter loves Wildfire!), prayer service, Woman to Woman, Men of Action, KidsClub, membership class, worship choir rehearsals. After the main programs were over at 7:30, people were connecting in every hallway, the Worship Band was rehearsing, the Finance Committee was working to ensure our fiscal health. After that meeting, I walked through the parking lot and saw the light on in the Sharing Place where the Stewards were meeting to wrestle with the ongoing challenge of helping so many people with so few resources during a tough economy. All but a handful of people were volunteers, giving of their time and talents to the glory of God.
I heard on the news last week how a significant number of charities designed for war veterans relief were given an “F” by an independent watch dog group. Some of those charities are quite well known. A charity earned an “F” grade if less than 35% of donations actually went to help people. I couldn’t believe it – 35%! The bulk of the money given to those charities went towards high salaries and benefits for the charity directors and hefty advertising and administrative overhead.
In the church, well over 90% of money raised goes towards ministry – to teach, to help, to build, to house, to minister, to send, and to support mission here at home and around the world. There are no fundraising costs (although admittedly, we paid a small stipend to a consultant who was helping us with our renovation planning). Giving comes out of the devotion of our own people who love God and who value the power of the church – the Body of Christ carrying out His mission in the world. We are stewards of that mission. What a blessing it is to give of our best to the only cause that has eternal ramifications. What a joy it is to serve our Lord along with you.
I am so thankful. After all, I am the richest man on earth.
Pastor Mark Van Valin