This article was written for the December 2007 issue of the Proclaim.

 However, it is of such magnitude and importance that we feel it should be shared again.

If the church is going to be effective, it has to go beyond the walls of the building, beyond the service times on Sunday, and beyond the people in the pews.  It has to go into the community and touch the lives of those around us.  We are not of this world, but we are still in this world; and, Jesus told us in Matthew 5:13-14 that we are to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world.  We can only do this if we open ourselves up to those who need us even though they may not be members of our congregation.

At Lannie Road Baptist Church, we have reached out to some extent through activities, events, relationships, benevolence, and counseling.  I thank God that I belong to a church who chooses to open their doors and their hearts to try and minister to anyone who is willing to seek help.

Over the years we have given away an enormous amount of food to families in need.  We have offered our facilities to allow families to grieve the loss of a loved one; and, we have even provided meals for them, served them, and cleaned up afterwards.  The testimonies of people that have been healed or otherwise blessed through our prayer list is to many to recall but has served to make our church known throughout as a praying church.  We have counseled with couples on the brink of divorce, folks hooked on drugs and alcohol, and others with terminal diseases in an effort to show forth the power and the love of Almighty God.  We have opened up to them with BBQ's and Sings, Festivals and Halloween Alternatives, Car Washes, VBS, and more.  We've trimmed trees, fixed pumps, repaired homes, given away holiday baskets, and visited them in the hospital.  We have reached into a nursing home and purposely brought in folks who are mostly forgotten and sometimes disabled, and treated them with love.

Even though I am proud to be a part of all this, I am aware that we still must do more to reach the people of our community.  We can start by seeking to affect our neighbors with our daily testimony.  If each of us will seek to establish open communications with the ones who live closest around us, allow them to see into our lives and experience the power and the love of God, they will be drawn.

Pray for your church as we seek to allow God to put us out there for His Glory and His honor.  You should also be ready to volunteer every time we reach out to minister.  May God make of us a church that truly cares for the community that He has placed us in.  Let us be a Community Church.