Kingdom Investment
Dear Praise Family,
I’m sure many of you aren’t familiar with the name Edward Kimball. Edward Kimball was a Sunday School teacher at Mt. Vernon Congregational Church in Boston, Massachusetts, in the 1800s. In 1854, a new student began to attend his class. At the time, that student wasn’t there of his own volition, but as a requirement given to him by his uncle, who took in the young man and gave him a job in his local shoe store. This young man’s uncle saw his propensity for mischief and figured that if he were required to be at church, it would help to keep his tendencies at bay.
One day in 1855, Kimball decided to visit his student at work in the stockroom of Holton Shoe Company and had a talk with him about the love of God. During that visit, this young man saw the love and grace of God, and his life was changed forever. He recognized the grace that had been given to him and desired to help others know it as well.
Soon after, this young man moved to Chicago with aspirations of becoming successful in selling shoes, which he inevitably did. He used the wealth he gained to start Sunday School classes for the kids of Chicago, which led to serving in many other ways throughout his life. He ministered at the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA), continually grew the Mission Sunday Schools, started a church, helped start ministries that taught and trained women, led revivals in the United Kingdom, and eventually started his own Bible schools, through which millions of people have been impacted and grown closer to Christ. This young man’s name was Dwight Lyman Moody, or D.L. Moody as most know him.
This is just a mere snapshot of the ministry of D.L. Moody. So much more has been done for the Kingdom of Christ that we may never know! And yet, while we know D.L. Moody’s name, most of us have never heard the name Edward Kimball, the simple Sunday School teacher whom God used to ignite a flame that spread and built up the Kingdom of Christ.
The reality is, many of us will never be D.L. Moodys. We will never be the ones who become famous for our ministries. In fact, we are more apt to be Edward Kimballs, making little investments in people’s lives that, nevertheless, have a significant impact on the Kingdom. All of this is for His glory!
With that said, we’ve been asking you, our family at Praise, where God might be leading you to serve. As we move toward the ministry year, we have areas that we’d love to see filled, where small investments can make a big difference! We are looking for help in these areas:
Sunday School teachers and helpers (even those willing to be substitute teachers!)
Youth Group Devotional volunteers
Audio Visual help – people willing to help run sound, and run our ProPresenter program, which displays lyrics and Bible verses used in our worship services. Training is available!!
Help with our Kitchen Crew, who lovingly sets the table for our church to enjoy fellowship!
We have also been seeing the need for new ministries at Praise, too. One, in particular, is our desire to have Small Group ministries, or groups that meet in people’s homes to build up and encourage one another in faith. Would you consider if God is leading you to be a Host (opening your home for a small group), a Leader/Facilitator (one who leads discussion in these groups), or even just to join a group?
Above are just some of the areas where we could use help. However, maybe God is laying a ministry on your heart that isn’t listed above! How can our church help you carry out a ministry that He is calling you to? We’d love to help with that too!
If you would like more information on some of our areas of need, or if God is leading you to help, please call or email the church office or Pastor Evan. We’d love to have a conversation with you! Until then, I look forward to seeing how God raises up people to serve at Praise out of the joy of our salvation in Christ! And I look forward to seeing how God uses our small investments to do great things for His Kingdom!
Sincerely In Christ,
Pastor Evan