Fill… Spill… Thrill…

Bishop David deFreese
Nebraska Synod, ELCA

“For truly I tell you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you bear the name of Christ will by no means lose the reward.” (Mark 9:41)

They simply gave themselves… and it made a huge difference!

They took time, made the effort, worked hard, shared… and now a community of faith is renewed in hope, alive for the sake of others.
Relationships were born, faith was lifted.

The story really has a sad element. A once vibrant congregation, living in the inner city, had more than 1,000 worshippers each Sabbath. But the neighborhood changed, members moved elsewhere, and times were different. Over decades, the deterioration of active members dwindled all the way down to just 30 in worship, and you can picture what happened to the physical plant of this church family.

A group of our youth and their sponsors spent a week scraping, patching and painting… inside and out. Each day, they worked long and hard. The parish’s members came and talked with them… thanked them… spoke of how encouraging it was to see their church facility cared for once again. They told of how they wanted it to be inviting, welcoming, so others might know God’s goodness. They also wanted to share, bringing grateful treats for the workers… expressing appreciation for the transformation that their building was experiencing.

This is where the story has a good element. The building was not all that was transformed. The pastor told of how greatly encouraged he was by the group’s sharing. How they made it look good, so others would see the church trying in this needful neighborhood. He was thankful to share in the group’s morning devotions, to get to know them, to feel the heart of the church from far away Nebraska.
He was refreshed.

On the last day of work, a woman on the sidewalk thanked the group for the amazing improvement they had made. She said how beautiful it was, and what a good statement it made in and for the neighborhood. The woman said that she had some landscaping skills and she wanted to share her gifts. She said others had commented, too, and they offered to help her, donating their time and materials. We want the church to be strong, she articulated.

Another man came by, thanked, and expressed surprise at how good things were looking. He wanted to know what time the faith community worshipped God.

The youth group and sponsors wanted to work longer, but we needed to return to Nebraska. Someone from that inner-city parish will be visiting them this fall in Nebraska. One of the sponsors recently wrote: “We are planning a return trip (to Minneapolis) this fall with our families so we can enjoy the city and go to church at Bethany. It will be fun to visit the people with whom we worked and developed relationships… I truly believe it touched all of us in a special way.”

That is just a result of one of our groups from the Synod Youth Mission Trip.

God uses people as instruments of God’s care, as catalysts for hope, and partners in expressing love.

We respond to God’s love. We are the church. We do mission!