Colleagues in Ministry + Colleagues in Evangelism
Everywhere you look, God is working. The prophet Isaiah observed: “Behold, I am about to do a new thing: now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.” 43:19 NRSV
Vital ministry is work and it’s joyful work. There is joy in the Lancaster Convocation. Each church is blessed with unique gifts and unique charisms, and so last year, we got together and applied for a ‘Shaped by Faith’ grant for coordinated youth ministry. One of the markers for good youth programming is Vacation Bible School. How God worked in our midst was remarkable, we engaged in collaboration by coordination, and built a month of quality children’s ministry with and for our neighbors in four unique VBS programs.
A few of the churches who took part in this work had well established programs while others of us were newer to the scene. We encouraged each other, mentored each other, prayed for each other, and promoted each other. We were able to communicate with one voice through an online registration process, build a bulletin insert, and schedule our programs consecutively which accounted for over a month of quality children’s ministry. The ‘Shaped by Faith’ grant allowed us to put on a generous Bible School experience and allowed us to completely transform the way we communicate about them, working hand in hand with the work of the Evangelism Committee to promote vital ministry by sponsoring this beautiful video.
It is a blessing to see God working in our midst. Behold….it springs forth.
