Dave s Laptop October 13, 2015

Transcription

1 Dave s Laptop October 13, 2015 I ve had quite a day. I spent most of the day in the company of several Baptist church planters in the neighborhoods of Baltimore where they are building relationships and planting Baptist churches. There are actually dozens of Southern Baptist church planters at work in Baltimore, which has been designated by the Southern Baptist Convention as a SEND City, or a city of special spiritual need. According to the SBC statistics, at least, Baltimore City has about 629,000 residents, with about 840,000 people in the metro area. And according to the best statistics available, only about 10% of those persons have been born again (John 3:3). There are more known heroin addicts in Baltimore than there are evangelical Christians, and that s counting Christians pretty liberally. According to the SBC, 70% of Baltimore students drop out of school after the 9 th grade, and 40% of Baltimore s children live in generational poverty. The goal of SEND Baltimore is to plant a disciple-making, reproducing congregation in each one of Baltimore s 258 neighborhoods, as well as 100 churches around and just outside I-695, so that Baltimore is transformed into a dynamic center of health, financial security, family strength and spiritual vitality. 1 P a g e

2 I want to briefly tell you the stories of the guys I was with today, beginning with Mark Swan, who wasn t actually there today. I met Mark several months ago, and he and Amy and their two children are planting the Fire & Light Community Church in Reisterstown. Most recently pastoring a church in Dundalk, Mark and Amy have moved to Reisterstown to launch a congregation among former residents of Baltimore City who have moved a little farther out in search of a better life. Our MISSION Team has visited Mark and Amy in the building where they meet, and we hosted their congregation last Saturday night as they baptized four young people in our baptistry. 2 P a g e

3 We began today with Dan Hyun, the Korean-American pastor of Village Church, not far from Johns Hopkins University... but it might as well have been on another planet. Located in the Hampden Neighborhood, once an industrial powerhouse, the church was old, and showed its age. Even so, after six years of Dan s leadership and love, the congregation requires two services, which are largely filled with people who are of the street in every sense of that word. We heard a powerful testimony from Rob, one of those persons, an ex-addict and ex-con, of the work that God has done and is doing in his life and in that community, where he has lived all his life. From there, we drove to a park on Greenmount Avenue, a street notorious for drug dealing. There, Charlie Brown (really!) and his wife, Diane, are using the park as a base for establishing Graffiti Church: A Church that Serves. It was clear as we stood in the park that the neighbors knew and liked Charlie. Their family lives nearby, which is a pretty huge commitment in itself. Isaiah 58:12: Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins and will raise up the age-old foundations; you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls, Restorer of Streets with Dwellings. 3 P a g e

4 Next we headed to the harbor area to the Canton neighborhood, where Nehemiah and Rose Cole and their three children are establishing a church with West African Muslims, of whom there are tens of thousands in Baltimore. From Liberia, Nehemiah and Rose have worked with Muslims in Mali and Senegal prior to their work in Baltimore. Our last stop was with Tim Mull, who is beginning a church in Fells Point. As you probably know, Fells Point is the oldest and most densely populated part of Baltimore. Known for its vibrant night life, historic charm and its draw for young professionals, there are NO CHURCHES in Fells Point. Many in Fells Point are separated both from God and from one another, creating a great void in their lives that is often filled with empty and destructive things that leave them emptier than before. Tim and Leslie are actually friends with Neville and Karey Johnson, and name of their church is TRIBE: Be a Blessing. They are trying to relocate to their ministry area from Prince George County, but are finding the cost of relocation to be pretty overwhelming. Actually, as impressed as I was with the passion and commitment of these young families, I came away pretty distressed to know that the North American Mission Board, which appoints them, pays them only $1,500 a month. And one of my concerns from watching Mark Swan at work is to see that he gives most of that away as he tries to meet the needs of those to whom he ministers. Jesus told us long ago that You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Columbia, and in all Howard County and in Baltimore, and to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8, edited). We are in the process of ramping up our missions giving quite substantially. These young families are in fairly desperate financial condition as they try to reach Our City. They need encouragement, friends, and support. What might God be calling us to do? 4 P a g e

5 With respect to this city in which many of us grew up, are we going to sing another verse of Ain t It Awful, or is God calling us to make a difference in one of the most spiritually needy cities in our land? And what sort of difference might we make? Pray hard. Listen well. Let s talk. Dave 5 P a g e