Praise
the Lord for this Friday. Sunday is coming. Just got a note from Sunita ans
Andy. They are in Corfu , Greece, spending a week there. Praise the Lord for
summer ministries as the Lord deploys His church around the corner and around
the globe. Summer is not slumbering. It is for tilling the ground, planting the
seeds, and getting ready for the harvest in His Kingdom. There is a verse in
Hebrews which our friend warren Ayer brings to mind from time to time:
Hebrews 10:24 "And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and
to good works."
I praise the
Lord for the Church of Jesus Christ our Lord. I have been part of Family of God
from my birth. I am so blessed .. beyond belief to be part of the Church of
Jesus Christ our Lord. Whenever I think about the Church of Christ around the
corner and around the globe I get excited. May the Lord continue to pour upon
His church His grace, His anointing, and His power afresh in all seasons. May He
provoke us to love Him and serve Him in season and out of season, for He is
worthy.
What kind of
contribution does one church make to its local community? More specifically,
what’s one church worth—in purely financial terms? According to a 2009 survey,
on average, every year one inner-city church contributed $476,663.24 to the
local economy. That’s based on research by Ram Cnaan, a University of
Pennsylvania professor who considers himself nonreligious. His 2011 survey
concluded that one church alone, First Baptist Church in Philadelphia,
contributed over $6,000,000 a year to the local economy (more than ten times its
annual budget). Based on Cnaan’s research, some of First Baptist’s financial
contributions include:
• Volunteer hours worked: $94,770 (weekly hours x 52 weeks x $20.25)
• Reduced crime rate: a reduction of $64,416 (crimes within neighborhood compared with surrounding neighborhoods x $2,210)
• Getting people off drugs and alcohol: $78,750 ($15,750 per person helped)
• Building enhancements/Capital campaign: $60,000 (estimates that half of expenses are spent locally)
• Helping people gain employment: $725,000 ($14,500 per arranged employment)
• Suicide prevention: $58,800 ($19,600 per person saved through clergy intervention)
• Divorces prevented: $22,500 ($900 per couple)
• K-12 School: $3,489,926 (# of students x $9,666)
In 2011 New York Times editorialist Nicholas Kristof wrote a column praising the work of many evangelical Christians. Kristof began by noting that at times evangelical leaders act hypocritically and don’t reflect Christ. However, he also went on to write: "But in reporting on poverty, disease and oppression, I’ve seen so many others. Evangelicals are disproportionately likely to donate 10 percent of their incomes to charities, mostly church-related. More important, go to the front lines, at home or abroad, in the battles against hunger, malaria, prison rape, obstetric fistula, human trafficking or genocide, and some of the bravest people you meet are evangelical Christians (or conservative Catholics, similar in many ways) who truly live their faith. I’m not particularly religious myself, but I stand in awe of those I’ve seen risking their lives in this way—and it sickens me to see that faith mocked at New York cocktail parties." Nicholas D. Kristof, "Evangelicals Without Blowhards," The New York Times (7-30-11)
• Volunteer hours worked: $94,770 (weekly hours x 52 weeks x $20.25)
• Reduced crime rate: a reduction of $64,416 (crimes within neighborhood compared with surrounding neighborhoods x $2,210)
• Getting people off drugs and alcohol: $78,750 ($15,750 per person helped)
• Building enhancements/Capital campaign: $60,000 (estimates that half of expenses are spent locally)
• Helping people gain employment: $725,000 ($14,500 per arranged employment)
• Suicide prevention: $58,800 ($19,600 per person saved through clergy intervention)
• Divorces prevented: $22,500 ($900 per couple)
• K-12 School: $3,489,926 (# of students x $9,666)
In 2011 New York Times editorialist Nicholas Kristof wrote a column praising the work of many evangelical Christians. Kristof began by noting that at times evangelical leaders act hypocritically and don’t reflect Christ. However, he also went on to write: "But in reporting on poverty, disease and oppression, I’ve seen so many others. Evangelicals are disproportionately likely to donate 10 percent of their incomes to charities, mostly church-related. More important, go to the front lines, at home or abroad, in the battles against hunger, malaria, prison rape, obstetric fistula, human trafficking or genocide, and some of the bravest people you meet are evangelical Christians (or conservative Catholics, similar in many ways) who truly live their faith. I’m not particularly religious myself, but I stand in awe of those I’ve seen risking their lives in this way—and it sickens me to see that faith mocked at New York cocktail parties." Nicholas D. Kristof, "Evangelicals Without Blowhards," The New York Times (7-30-11)
Let us plan to
be in the House of the Lord this coming Sunday, the Lord's day, in worship,
praise, witness, and service. When the saints march in to battle, Satan
trembles. Let us pray for the ministry of Jesus Christ around the world and
around the corner. Let us invest our time, our talents, and the treasures the
Lord has entrusted to us in His Kingdom to work in such a way that the gates of
hell can not prevail against it.
In
Christ,
Brown
Super
Summer Music Festival
Saturday, June 30, 2012 at 6:30 PM
Location: First United Methodist
Church
53
McKinley Avenue, Endicott
Sponsored by: Union Center United Methodist
Church
Musicians include: Aric Phinney, Yancey
Moore,
David
Berry, Emma Brunson, DianneGlann.
Weekly
Television outreach:
Friday
7: PM
Time
Warner Cable channel 4.
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