Thursday, August 14, 2008

Finding Significance in Insignificant Places

Last night was our last itineration service. We thought that we would only have a 10 min window to share and at the last minute the pastor asked us to preach. It was a great opportunity and we felt like our last service was one of our best.

This blog post was written a couple of months ago, here and there along the way. I wanted to post it before we arrived back to the DR. Just a couple more miracles to add to this digital miracle web log!

A few months ago, Nelson and I attended West Florida District Council. They gave each of the credentialed ministers a book, “Finding significance in insignificant places” by Randy Valimont. I could relate to that title. My mission field is little island in the Caribbean, my hometown is called Niceville, Florida. My home district is one of the smallest in our nation. All of this adds up to a pretty significant measure of insignificance!

Yet in all of our travels to places both significant and insignificant, we are blessed and inspired to hear the stories of miracles in the midst of obscurity. At the West Florida District Council, we found ourselves in the company of two these choice servants of God. Two pastors pastoring in what would seem to be the prize winner for the insignificant places award. They both have these amazing stories. It won’t be published in Newsweek or even the Pentecostal Evangel, (not exactly the most significant of magazines anyway!) But I wanted to make sure that their stories are told. Even if that means that only my boys will be the ones to read it!

I first met Ricky Teddar while he pastored in Appalachacola, FL. He faithfully pastored in this tiny church for several years. We were invited to preach at his church but a hurricane came through the Sunday that we scheduled our visit. HIs tiny church supported us $100 a month. I later found out that one of the members cleaned the church and the church paid her $100 a month. After seeing our video, she told the Pastor that she would clean the church for free if he would give the $100 that she usually received to our ministry. When Pastor Teddar told me I was so humbled that someone was sacrificing in such a big way for Jesus.

Recently Pastor Teddar took a new church that was struggling financially in our district. He said that the first thing he did in the midst of such economic difficulties was to have missions convention and recommit to their missionaries. Right away they saw God come through and stabilize the finances of the church. So the people began to plan to purchase a 23 passenger people mover bus. This was a big purchase, it would cost $57,000. Pastor Teddar decided that the first thing that they would do was give $5700 to Speed the Light. The young people got busy with fund raisers and in two weeks the Lord helped them to raise all of the $5700!! Everyone was excited!

But the next step was to raise the $20,000 down payment. The people sacrificed and gave and in just a matter of months they had the $20,000 down payment and were able to finance the rest of the $37,000. Just shortly after the bus was purchased a man in the community came by the church during a local outreach and he saw the bus. He found Pastor Teddar and began to ask him a lot of questions about the bus. Pastor Teddar thought his questioning was odd but other than that he didn’t give it much attention. Then just a couple days later he got a call from this man. The man asked him to come by his house. Pastor Teddar said it was a Wednesday night and extremely inconvenient for him but he made the time to visit this man anyway. That night the man wrote a check for $37,000. The bus was purchased free and clear! What a miracle. Now that’s significant!

Pastor Bo Sentirfitt is meek and mild mannered. He is so passionate about the Lord and his Global cause but you would never know it because of what he says, you know it because of what he does. I love his church because they are always serving their community. They bus kids in for Wednesday services, they feed the kids both supper and the Word of God. When the kids go back to school; the church does a huge outreach and gives out school supplies and backpacks. I believe that this is what a powerfully pentecostal church looks like.

His church is a very small church in the sticks of West Florida. But this year it was the number one missions giving church in the district. How did he surpass churches that are three times and more the size of his church? He got creative! The church bought a home and the people of the church donated time and supplies to renovate the home and then they sold it and made a SIGNIFICANT profit. So much for insignificance!

I don’t know if these guys have read the book, they wouldn’t need to. Obviously, they have found significance in insignificant places.

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