Transcript
Speaker: Hello, I'm Chad Konechny, Executive Pastor at First Baptist Church in St. Johns, Michigan. Today's topic is Beyond Handouts, a Christian vision for helping the poor. Joining me in studio today is Josh Lader, the director of Beacon Hope Family Care Ministry.
Speaker: Honored to be here. Thanks for having me, Chad. So glad to have you. Josh, you're relatively new to the Beacon of Hope Family Care Ministry, but you're not new to the mid -Michigan area or serving people in general. So why don't you share a little bit about yourself with our audience and and let them know the path that God used to bring you here to Beacon of Hope.
Speaker: And that is a good way to put it, the path God used, because I never would have seen it. it's It's been a fun ride. I was raised just down the road here in Langsburg, just kind of... couple miles from where we sit right now and I was blessed to be raised. In a home where my mom and dad...
Speaker: they they made it very clear that everything is God's and he tells us how we're going to use it. And so meeting needs was something that was lived out in front of me from from a young age. So I give them a lot of credit for representing that to me. And then when I came out of college, I really kind of had a struggle in my heart, kind of felt a pull, like, am I supposed to go into full -time ministry? But I was going into the the state police, and I felt like I was supposed to do that, too. And some very wise men in my life, and through a lot of prayer, God said, hey, son, listen to me.
Speaker: the state police is going to be your full -time ministry. So I spent 25 years serving in the state police, and it's amazing the things God did that I didn't realize then were preparing me for now. Working in prevention services and working with the chaplain's corps and amazing nonprofit organizations all over this state and getting to see firsthand what need looks like.
Speaker: and And that it really is a real thing that it doesn't matter where you are in the state. There are people that not only have the need for God. but also have physical needs as well. And then when I retired from the state police, God called me to serve as a pastor, and it was during that time I met you, and we said, hey, let's let's meet for breakfast once in a while, just praying for each other's families, praying for each other's ministries, what God was doing here at First Baptist Church, not knowing that...
Speaker: you are going to share at a coffee one time and say, hey. the The director of Beacon is thinking about retirement. and God kind of put on my heart to just mention this. And as I prayed about it with my wife, God said, hey, there's a reason for that tug on your heart.
Speaker: that this is where i want you to go and so the beautiful thing is many people don't know that When I was about five years old, just down the street here in St. John's, I gave my life to Jesus Christ after devotions with my mom one night. And it's just funny to me that 45 years later, God said, hey. remember where you gave your life to me.
Speaker: I'm going to take you back to that spot, and that's where I'm going to ask you to serve for me. So we're blessed to have First Baptist Church as our our church family. We love it. The Beacon of Hope staff and volunteers and team, our neighbors, it's just we are right where we feel God has us, and it's been a world that only God can plan.
Speaker: You know, God is so great that Just a mile down the road, he brought you full circle and so that you can have an impact for his kingdom here in our local community. And, you know, when you think about a local community like ours here in St. John's and Clinton County, a lot of people on the outside might say, oh, man, things are must be going great for them there. But the reality is is that you know from your work at Beacon and Hope Family Care Center that that there's a lot of people that are hurting in this area. So why don't you explain some of that to us because people just assume that things are going well.
Speaker: Absolutely, and and it would be easy to do that. You walk to downtown St. John's, it's so beautiful, the parks, no matter where you are, you're you're seeing people have fun, you're seeing a community that takes care of each other, and you think, oh, well, there's obviously no no problems here. But the truth is, some people ask me. you know
Speaker: beacon of hope. Do we actually have some homeless folks here in our neighborhood? And the truth is that that we're around neighbors and friends and family members and people that are that are struggling with poverty every day and we might not know it. And the important thing is... that when we look at the issue of need and poverty that we're not looking at a statistic or a number.
Speaker: We're looking at lives. We're looking at a person. We're looking at a soul. You know, one of my favorite authors, C .S. Lewis, he said one time that there are no ordinary people. You've never talked to a mere mortal. and And when I see that in this context, it's...
Speaker: You don't see a percentage of poverty. You don't just see a stat. You have someone created in the image of God who's living next to you, walking by you in St. John's, and there's a need there. And as we look at it that way,
Speaker: You know, it... It's easy. to look online and say, what what's poverty look like in the state of Michigan? Oh, well, the poverty level's right around 13%. You go, okay, what does that look like in my community? and you You dial into Clinton County and you see a number.
Speaker: This has 7 .8%. And you think, okay, compared to 13, it'd be easy to say... That's great. And then when you say, what does God say about... those individuals made in his image. That's 7 ,600 individual people.
Speaker: that I'm walking by everyday. in Clinton County. who have that need. And those are neighbors and friends and some of them. we wouldn't even know in talking to them that they have that need. But when we look at you know what God uses Beacon of Hope to do, we can see that play out in in the needs that we're allowed to meet with. God's meeting them using us. We're not meeting the need.
Speaker: You know, you mentioned homelessness and and people outside of our area might think, well, you know. An area, a rural area like St. Johns, Clinton County, there's no homeless that takes place there. What's that look like?
Speaker: it It looks very different from what people would assume. of God's blessed me to be in a lot of different countries and a lot of different places, and sometimes you walk down the street and and you see homelessness right there and indicators of it. we have We have amazing people that are in our community that may be living in a car by themselves or with a family. There's a lot of vehicle homeless. You may have people that are couch homeless where they're staying with a friend for a week or two until that doesn't work out and they need to move for whatever reasons. And you have some people that are even tent homeless. And when you look at tent homeless, this time of year in Michigan. If you're not from Michigan you may not know but the leaves are changing which means that tent is going to get colder pretty quick here. So the needs for each one of those people.
Speaker: does look a little bit different. And so this year, when we look at just distributions for Beacon as a whole, there's over 5 ,400 individuals that have come through the door of Beacon and said, could we please have some help? And God's given us the ability to meet that need. And that's that's over 1 ,800 household disbursements of groceries going to families where they've got everything they need for food for that week.
Speaker: And then we have emergency food as well. And when we talk about those needs, there's over 400 household disbursements just since January. that have been made that God's allowed us to give through Beacon for people in an emergency situation that needed food. And to your homeless question, Chad, there's 76.
Speaker: 20 families in Clinton County who have received food specific to their needs in their homeless situation just since January. So that kind of gives you a little picture of what we have. So the needs are great, even in communities like ours. So so we're talking about poverty alleviation. What does what does that look like? And how do we start to begin to think through addressing some of those needs as as Christians and as followers of Christ and as churches?
Speaker: How do we begin to to address some of those things? Well, as a ministry, as an extension of the church, we have to start with that that godly worldview of of what we're looking at. and You start with saying, every single person I meet is creating the image of God.
Speaker: And they're imperfect just like I am and you are. and And we need a perfect God. And it's God who meets the needs, not us. So when we start, we need to say, what what's my perspective going to be? And the Word of God is always obviously where where we start and test everything to. There's some awesome things that have been written by some people that are helpful when we look at this too. When helping hurts.
Speaker: or or how to help without her helping without hurting those are two good books that i know i've read a lot of churches you know for deacons we use them at beacon of hope to give that perspective of let's make sure that when we're trying to meet a need.
Speaker: that we're making sure that we're representing God. as we meet a physical need. but we're not doing it in a way where paternalism sneaks in. And paternalism would be where, hey. I can solve your problem. I'm going to do everything for you. There's a loving way to come in and say, hey.
Speaker: What can you do for yourself? outstanding God's given you that ability. let's Let's shore that up and encourage you to do what you can do for yourself. But this need over here with food, let me help you with that. But it's not from a standpoint of I have and you don't. It's God's providing, and it's with the goal of long -term helping you get to a point where where you can stand on your own.
Speaker: And it's it's a loving way to do that. And people say, well, isn't that kind of harsh saying don't do things they can do for themselves? The best way I can describe it is there's a story from when I was in Africa. And and my buddy and I in 2013 were outside of school, and we're on a missions trip, and we're watching kids play soccer. And it it was a riot. And we brought some soccer balls for these kids, and there was a little bush. a tree in the middle of the soccer field and they kicked the soccer ball into the tree and it had three inch thorns on it and it popped the ball.
Speaker: So we pump up another ball and throw it out there. they kick that ball into the tree and pop the ball. and And the elder for the village there, Papa Joe, He says, oh, that that always happens. that's That's why we asked you to bring soccer balls.
Speaker: And we said, Papa Joe, do you do you have a shovel? And he said, yeah. So we took the shovel and we dug around the roots of the old tree and we moved it out behind the building and we filled the hole in with dirt. He goes, oh, praise God. God sent you guys so you could fix that problem.
Speaker: That was an amazing lesson for me. that it's possible for people to be in a situation. where repeatedly they don't have resources and they can't help themselves that sometimes even when there's something they could do for themselves They need someone to lovingly say, hey, I love you, I care about you. this one you could do, and I said, Papa Joe.
Speaker: you have the shovel. you had the tree. That could have been moved before we got there. So that's the loving heart that I mean. It's not me saying do it yourself. it's
Speaker: it's actually a way to love them and encourage them and what God's allowed them to do. Sometimes those outside perspectives just just help us to have clarity and into how how we can move forward and how can we address some of the the needs that we have in our own lives. And the reality is is, as you've said, we all have them. Emotional, spiritual, physical, material, we all have needs. And God is the one who provides for all of those all of those things. 100%. You talked a lot about food and and in talking about people who maybe have needs in those areas. How does the Beacon of Hope address that?
Speaker: Well, it's it's a ah lot of fun to see what God does. because through partnerships with the food bank. through partnerships with nonprofit organizations, partnerships with other partners in the community, and...
Speaker: First Baptist Church. You know, every single volunteer that helps give food on a Tuesday, it still blows my mind. Every single person that's here on Sunday praising God, worshiping together, doing small group Bible study, Sunday school together, and then they're showing up on on Monday to help with a truck and Wednesday with a truck and Tuesday, Thursday, Friday for food disbursement. It couldn't happen without the hearts of God's people saying, we're going to show up and we're going to be part of this. And it's it's really amazing to me. that
Speaker: the way God brings things in. And there's some amazing stories we don't have time to get into today, but we say, oh, okay, well. we have a whole bunch of cream cheese and we don't have any bagels we'll have to look and see if we can get some bagels and somebody calls and says hey I have a bunch of bagels. Is it okay if I donate them? You go, okay, God, we we see. You had it covered before we even thought of it. And that's what...
Speaker: is important to remember is that we can't possibly meet all the needs that are in our community. And it is the Lord who's behind all of this. but But even with that, it seems overwhelming for us to try to address. all the different things that people might be facing. How does the Beacon of Hope accomplish that? It seems so overwhelming.
Speaker: Well, again, it all starts with with where God's put us and what his word says. And it's amazing because, you know, what Jesus told us, love the Lord your God with all your heart. And if we're loving the Lord our God with all our heart and soul and mind and we're doing that first, that puts us in the perspective to say, okay, God, how do you want to use me? How do you want me to move? to this need you've called us to. And then...
Speaker: to love your neighbor as yourself. And this is this is such an amazing correlation because if if roles were reversed, how would I want to be treated? Would I want to be a number? Would I want somebody to say, next, here's your food? No. If it was my my mom or my daughter or my son, what would I want? I would want someone to say, hey.
Speaker: Jesus loved me. God loves me. And that is where this love is coming from that I'm giving you. And then you look at Proverbs 19, 17, and I love that verse for our Beacon family because it says, you know, whoever is generous to the poor.
Speaker: Lends to God. And you might say, well, God doesn't need me to, let there's nothing Josh later has that God needs me to lend him. But amen when you look at it, thanks. So you know me very well. yeah so So what we have here is we have a situation where we say, God's saying, hey, this person has a need.
Speaker: And when you meet that need... You're not just recognizing they're creating the image of God and I've put you in a place where I'm going to meet that need through you. But that is an act of worship. that you're obeying me and honoring me and taking care of that person. And it's it's not just about money.
Speaker: You know, it's remembering that it's that it's about things that are broken. You know, there's broken relationships underneath all this, a broken relationship with God that that may need to be repaired, broken relationship with other people around them. A lot of situations we see are from broken relationships. Some even have a broken relationship with how they see themselves, Chad. And then in their needs in the world, there's often broken relationships that need mending there. And as we meet that physical need, we can identify those other things and say, I have food for you.
Speaker: But man, I've got Jesus. And that's what you need. yeah So much more than than just meeting the physical needs, although what a joy we have in being able to... Give great. products and food and care to people and we just get to bless them in that way. So so as we're meeting those needs and we're we're helping with those things, like what does success look like when you're talking about trying to alleviate poverty and break some of these cycles of brokenness.
Speaker: Well, so many things in this world nowadays are measures and metrics, aren't they? Yeah. you know well how How much does it cost to make a widget? What are we selling for? What's our return on investment? What's this? And it's interesting because it can get tempting to say, well, what are the stats?
Speaker: Now, do we keep track of numbers? Yes, because we want to make sure that next week we have enough food to meet the need of the numbers of people coming in. But is it the number? that we care about Numbers are part of the process of logistically making sure the ministry is wisely using what God's given us. But the measurement is in the success. that his life's impacted.
Speaker: Our lives being impacted, our families being served, our relationships being built. When someone comes in, it's like, oh. Hey Chad, how did the job interview go last week? That's very different from, hi sir, go down there and get something. Those relationships, it's salvations.
Speaker: you know It excites me that people have come to Christ through their interaction with saying, I need food. And and like Jesus told the woman at the well, that you think you need water, but here's here's the real thing you need, the spiritual drink that will solve your problem forever. And then not just that, but but discipleship, being able to plug people in and saying, that person came for food, they got some food, they were introduced to Jesus, now they're in discipleship, now they're plugged into the local church, now they're around men and women that are going to disciple them and love on them, and they're going to hear the word on Sunday. And then ultimately,
Speaker: If you can see... how amazing it is when God says, I've met this person's needs to the point where they can stand on their own. I will change his name to Jim, but but one example recently, and it's neat because you were there, yeah um but a gentleman came and he said, I'm living in my car.
Speaker: You know, and and I need some food. And he was almost like apologetic. I'm sorry. Hey, that's why God put us here. So a homeless kit for a car. So a cooler, some food. Hey, it would it be okay if I did my laundry? Absolutely. Get some laundry. Can I take a shower before this job interview? Absolutely. All the things that God has set Beacon up to do.
Speaker: And then, one day, he shows up unannounced and he was using the vehicle he's living in. to do DoorDash and he had taken extra deliveries so that he could buy some things and donate to other families that had needs. As he was receiving the love of Beacon, he was giving back.
Speaker: And when we were meeting the other day, I got that phone call and he said, hey, you know, this is Jim. Can I stop by and tell you what's going on in my life? And he stopped by.
Speaker: And he had a house, which we were able to help him with housing services and local housing services helped him out. Ended up being a residence that... is tied to someone that's in our church, which is another weird God connection. So he's got a house. He's got a job lined up. He's he's got a polo and jeans on, and he's walking with his head held high, and he's saying, look what God provided for me. And it was so beautiful for him to be able to say, I don't need the help anymore.
Speaker: But I wanted you guys to know as friends what God's done in my life and... How can I give? What is the need? That for me. isn't going to show on a statistic. It will probably show one homeless person served this much food, but in the kingdom of God.
Speaker: That is a soul introduced to Christ and a man loved on by people who answer God's call. And sometimes God is gracious enough to let us peek behind the curtain and see what we're doing. But sometimes we don't get to see that. But either way, it's a calling for us to be involved with these kinds of ministries and in impacting people this way. Don't you agree? 100%. It's a calling for sure. it's I see it as part of the the Great Commission. All of us as Christians have that great commission. We're supposed to be sharing the gospel. We're supposed to be discipling people. We're supposed to be baptizing people. And at Beacon, I think there's there's, I don't want to say a sub -commission. I'm not making a theological statement. But one of the commissions for Beacon that I see is in John 4.
Speaker: There's that amazing thing I mentioned earlier, that the woman at the well, and I wish we could talk about it for 30 minutes, but we can't. But you have a woman that comes to the well to draw water because she thinks she needs water. She meets Jesus Christ.
Speaker: And he shows her very quickly and lovingly and gracefully what you really need. is me. I am the answer to your true spiritual thirst. And during that time, the ironic thing is, his disciples go get groceries, so to speak, and she leaves. She leaves the water.
Speaker: at the well and she runs back to tell other people, come meet this amazing man that knew everything about me. when the disciples come back. They've probably gone to the same town for groceries where a bunch of people came to Christ because of that woman's testimony. They come back and they go, here Jesus, we got food. Have some food.
Speaker: And Jesus with love looks at him and says, I have a food you know nothing of. And then he actually makes the statement that... My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work. Jesus acknowledges physical need.
Speaker: But what he did is in that moment, yes, this is your physical need. Maybe it was healing. Maybe it was food. But here is your more substantial spiritual need. So I see that as the commission for us to to meet that deeper, more important need. And that is so beautiful because that's what ministry looks like. But but in a lot of churches like ours,
Speaker: locally, around the country, or around the world, sometimes people will say, well, yeah, but when you're when you're dealing with food insecurity and you're helping to meet those physical needs, you're really kind getting into the social gospel and we really want to do real ministry. How how would you address that?
Speaker: and somebody that maybe asks you some questions about something like that. I think it's ah it's a heart issue before God as a person in the ministry. Are you doing something because you want to do it for for that attention and to have that program, or are you doing it because it's a ministry God has called you to? If if you're looking at at your priorities and you're saying, our priority is the gospel.
Speaker: Our priority is discipleship. And God's called us in this time and place. He's given us these people in this time and these means and everything he's equipped us with and this calling as a church to meet this need in this way. and the goal is to meet that physical need and say, you know what?
Speaker: It is for the purpose of showing Christ's love. for being an extension of the church. for meeting the needs of the people around us, and we are going to show the gospel. And then when we lead them to Christ, then we're going to disciple them and hopefully baptize them. and hopefully We have one person here.
Speaker: that that came. Through beacon of hope who is in the membership class right now that to me is saying, you know what, this is being done for the right reason. And then then just our identity. It comes to your identity. Is your identity a program?
Speaker: Or is it a ministry? Because programs have measurements and metrics and statistics. Ministries impact people, and it's a kingdom impact. So to them, I would say, hey, if God hasn't called you to it, then don't do it. That's true with anything. Don't don't just do something to do it. But if God's called your church as a ministry in this,
Speaker: Do it for the right reasons. Follow him in that and he will bless you in ways you could not imagine. Man, that is really amazing. And and hopefully that gets... our listeners excited, because it gets me excited. And then when we see like that we have people acknowledging their brokenness and their need for Christ, right like and that's something that we all have. You and I have the same needs as everybody else. We all need the Lord. We all need Jesus. And so so how do you value people that are coming to your ministry?
Speaker: in those hurting seasons? what is how do How do you make sure that you are encouraging them to see themselves even as image bearers? You just remember simply that they are created in the image of God and they have the exact same kingdom need that I do.
Speaker: I was born separated from God. I'm an imperfect man. I will never be perfect. But I have a perfect God who said, I love you. And even though man is separated from me, I have established a way that you can get back to oneness with me. And if I look at any other person on this earth, and as a ministry, if we look at anybody,
Speaker: through an optic or lens other than that, we're failing. So the first thing is to go, that man, that woman, that child, they are in need of Jesus Christ and they were created in the image of God. And because of that... God has asked me to love on them.
Speaker: And and it's it's important that we live out that grace and that love. And quite honestly, people that aren't used to that, they might bristle a little bit like, what is this? i don't like Why are you being nice to me? and And it's funny because the staff was just talking the other day that sometimes you will have people that that sometimes may be a little resistant to the kindness until they go, why are you doing this?
Speaker: Oh. God love me. So I'm loving you. And then that's that open door to say, okay, what's this what's this God all about? And it's not it's not a God thing. It's the God who wants a relationship with you. And that is amazing because it's kind of the Abrahamic covenant. We're blessed to be a blessing. 100%. But it's it's more than just meeting physical needs. We're talking about the spiritual needs. And so how do you make sure that you're addressing spiritual needs and and having eternal impact into people, not just feeding their bellies?
Speaker: but feeding their souls as well. Absolutely. Well, one important thing is if if someone does come in and they say, I need some food. But I really don't want to i would want to participate in a Bible study. or I don't want to come to church.
Speaker: You're going to be loved on and you're going to get food just like everybody else. And even if you don't want to come and join a Bible study. Even if at first you don't want to come and attend church, you know what? You are going to serve be surrounded.
Speaker: by over a dozen people who are saying, hey how are you doing? What can I do for you? Let me love on you. And they're going to realize this is a type of treatment I don't see anywhere else. They're joyful. They're not doing this because they have to. And so it's it's really a matter of just living out Christ's love for those people. And then as people do say, okay, I'm curious about Jesus, openly sharing who Christ is, sharing salvation with them. And I'm not just saying, okay, ah you've heard the gospel. You're good. Saying, would you like to jump in a Bible study with like -minded men or women? Would you like to continue to grow? And hey.
Speaker: I've had people say, well, going to church is intimidating because I don't know anybody. I go, oh, cool. Well, that's solved then because you just met me and you met him and you met him. So come sit with us. I listened to a volunteer the other day on the phone. Give someone directions.
Speaker: in the sanctuary where they would be to come sit with them and other Beacon people. And so it's all about just that relationship, us having one with people. and making sure that we give them the utmost relationship they can have with God.
Speaker: That's amazing. and and you know, but it seems maybe overwhelming. Like, if there's people out there, if there's churches, if there's other Christians out there that are struggling, like, oh, I'd love to do something like this. I'd love to see God.
Speaker: ministering in our community being the light of the gospel in our community doing something like this like what are some resources that you could point them to, how would you encourage them to take those first steps?
Speaker: My lovingly blunt answer would be... you take god out of the equation it is impossible you take god out of anything we've talked about today and beacon doesn't happen man you know but when it's when it's him doing the work and he's called us into it. I always jokingly say, he's driving the bus and he's letting us ride. As long as we remember that, what I would tell someone who's starting out is, first of all, it sounds like the little boy in Sunday school answer to everything, but it's pray.
Speaker: You know, if if you're a church or good and you're out there and you say, hey, we think we might be called into this, start with prayer. And ask God the question, hey, is this something that I want to do that I'm asking you to make work? Or God, is this you calling me into it and you want me to join?
Speaker: you in it. and And he's going to bless it if it's his idea and he calls you into it. And then I would encourage you to get that passionate team. Those people that want to do it, not like, hey, you four have been assigned to this, you know but if you've got if God calls you to that, he's going to raise up certain people and you're going to go, wow.
Speaker: Jeff's got a spark for this. That's that's his heart. he's He's gifted. and God's given him talents and abilities and gifts to serve in that way. And then then read. you know We talked about Helping Without Hurting and and some other books, and we we talked about resources. Maybe read that to make sure that your heart in a benevolence program is in the right place and an understanding of where we come from from a godly perspective and how to do that. And then this seems simple, but just educate yourself with what's already in the community. If if somebody else is doing the same thing a half a block away and it's being done in a godly way, efficiently, effectively,
Speaker: maybe you need to look at that and then say, hey, how do we align with that maybe? But if it's not being done and God says, yep, green light, this is what I want you to do, you know, just start identifying resources. If someone's not in Michigan and they're hearing this, I'm not going to give them details about the the Greater Lansing Food Bank because food bank rules are different in all the states, but do you have food banks in the area? Do you have nonprofit organizations that are food rescue? Do you have big box stores or local bakeries that can support you? Start assessing those kind of needs.
Speaker: Educate yourself on the true needs of the community. I would say just walk around, talk to people, do a windshield survey, take a look at stats online. And then another thing that is an open door. I don't know of a ministry that if you called them and said, hey, you're doing this, we're thinking about starting. Would it be okay if we bounce some ideas off you? Our lead pastor, Pastor Brandon, he he spoke to a large number of pastors recently. And there were three churches that said, we're thinking we might be called to do this. And so he told the pastors, hey. Give us a ring.
Speaker: And so we have plans for some teams to come visit. and Do I know everything? No. You know, but... I have people around me that I'm blessed. to serve with and work with and if they're starting out we're going to open the doors and we're going to walk through and sit down as brothers and sisters and say what can we share with you and then a few other things just just wrapping up for that question i would say identify the scope of your ministry You know God has called us to provide food to people. People need housing.
Speaker: I'm not an expert in housing. But thank God we know some people that are right next door that we can say go to housing. There's other needs. People may have utility bills and things like that. Hey, you know what? We're going to point you to that research resource. And the reason to identify that.
Speaker: is to make sure we don't have mission creep. God called us to do this, and we want to honor him in doing this really well, not to be an inch deep and a mile wide and do a hundred things mediocre. So I would encourage you to just identify that early on. And then one thing that I rely on that God has blessed us with. We have a group called Friends of Beacon. And if you're watching this and you're a Friends of Beacon person, I love you and I pray for you every day. It is amazing because...
Speaker: Friends of Beacon is a group of godly men and women that are out in the community and in our church, and they pray for us.
Speaker: and And they give and they support us and they volunteer. And it's important, I would tell you, start communicating with those people early on. You know, in the bulletin at your church, let them know what's going on. In your prayer letter every week, let them know what the prayer is. If there's people hurt or going through surgery or if there's a need, share that. We have a Facebook reel that goes out once a week saying, hey, this is what the needs are for our pantry. And just keep engaged with those people. And if we did not have the Friends of Beacon volunteers from First Baptist Church helping at the level that they do, just because God's called them to do it, we wouldn't be able to achieve the mission that God's given us.
Speaker: And then the last thing I would share is just... As a ministry, as a person, wherever you are, from volunteer to director, anywhere in between, Have the humility to constantly assess number one with God. and say are there any course corrections you want me to make any adjustments and listen to other people if they say have you thought about this have you thought about that take that information in because just because we've always done it a certain way or since i've been here i've done it this way
Speaker: God may give somebody an amazing idea and a gift to see another way to do it. So just just be humble in receiving that information and the most important thing. It's God doing it. It's never us.
Speaker: And I think as long as we give him the honor and the credit and praise and glory, and when people say, thank you, Chad, for blessing me, we go, I appreciate you saying that, but just so you know. God bless you, I'm just the middle guy. that ah I think God's hand will stay on it as a blessing for any ministry.
Speaker: It truly is amazing to... use the gifts, the talents, and abilities that God gave Us as individuals. but the body of Christ here in this local community to meet these needs and to see God fanning the flames of those ministries and and taking root in people's lives and and changing them. There really is nothing better than seeing God do that kind of work and allow us to be part of it.
Speaker: Amen.
Speaker: So we hope that this conversation has been a blessing to you. Thank you, Josh, for for helping to us to understand some of these things. But we hope that you will join us next time as we discuss apologetics in the public square. Our desire is to... honor Christ and to help to move the church forward. So if this has been a blessing to you, we'd encourage you to support us. And you can do that by hitting the like button, by hitting the share button, making sure that your friends and everyone around you hears about this podcast and and how it was a blessing to you. And we'd also encourage you to subscribe so that you don't miss any of our next episodes. But until next time, we want to encourage you to stay rooted, stay bold. and keep moving the church forward.