April Monthly Letter
Dear Reconciler Family,
On the weekend of March 25-26, my wife, Jannice, and I were invited by Pastor David Allen and Pastoral Team Member William Harring to visit their congregation, the Open Hearts Fellowship in South Carolina, where we conducted a seminar on the topic of the Ministry of Reconciliation. Special thanks to congregant Marie for suggesting it.
The Mother Emanuel Church and slave cabins in Charleston,
South Carolina, as seen from our tour bus.
On Saturday, they blessed us with a grand tour of their beautiful city of Charleston. It’s such a rich city that it took all day to cover just SOME of the highlights! The tour guide pointed out that Charleston was one of many American cities whose history was influenced by the slave trade that rolled in from Europe, Britain, and Africa, as well as other localities. As expected, some of the scenes and commentary by the tour guide were hard to take. But it was also quite educational.
Our tour guide was very entertaining. He also mentioned that Charleston is a city of many churches, including the Mother Emanuel Church, where Dylann Roof killed 9 church members. The surviving members of this resilient church continue to serve God.
On Sunday, we attended a worship service in our Grace Communion congregation. It was a wonderful service, highlighted by praise, worship, and vigorous fellowship! The worship leaders were very uplifting as the Holy Spirit led them, and we followed them in songs, praise and prayers.
Another highlight was watching the children moving about and enjoying the services. They didn’t seem bored at all. We believe they will no doubt have a great future in the church. As we know, scripture admonishes us to come into his gates with praise in Psalm 100:4! They were indeed praising our Savior.
In my message, I covered the passage in 2 Corinthians 5:17-20: “All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: That God was reconciling the world to himself, Christ not counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God was making him appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.”
I also emphasized the fact that God has given us the Ministry and Gospel of Reconciliation. Reconciliation is not something that SOME OF US have a duty to practice. It is a Mandate from God THAT WE WILL be reconciled to Him and each other! It’s a major part of being a follower of and servant of Jesus.
I included videos on the following topics: “A Time to Reconcile,” showing the urgency that Jesus places on us to be reconciled to Him, the Father, and each other; “Reconciliation: A Move of God,” and “What Is Jesus’ Dream?” I emphasize the DVD’s because visual impact helps drive home the message powerfully!
Thank you all for your kind support in helping to keep hope alive and showing the world who Jesus is, and for honoring His message to be reconciled to God and one another. What a privilege!
