“It was a joyful day of worship and service in the heart of our community.”
Community Grace Brethren Church in Warsaw, Ind., is committed to investing in their community for Gospel impact. They have a goal for 10 all-church outreach events, called Grace in Action, throughout the year. Lego building events, conferences on specific topics, soccer camp, and preschool art camp are just a few of the ways they seek to connect with their community.
In June they held a large worship service in Central Park, a community area about a mile from the church campus. Several people from the community heard the service and joined. Following the service the group relocated to the nearby lake for baptisms. After the baptisms they hosted a cookout and shared lunch with anyone in the area.
Mark Montel led the food portion of the day. He said, “The church picnic at Center Lake Park was a good opportunity to get into the community to serve, to be seen, and to minister to the public. Chris Rager made sure that everyone in the park was invited to join us for a meal and ice cream. I think the ice cream was a big hit with the church family and the public! Everyone was welcomed by the church family. I really like the concept of serving the community and getting our church outside of our four walls. It shows real caring for the salvation of others and good living by being exposed in this manner.”
Thanks to generous members supplying 10 flavors of soft serve ice cream from The Igloo, the congregation handed out ice cream to everyone on the beach. “From what I heard and saw, I’m pretty sure we hit 100 percent of everyone there,” said Reg Overstreet, lead pastor. “Our church was well equipped and radiated Jesus on our faces.”
See a highlight recap here and photos from the day here.
This story appeared in GraceConnect eNews. To subscribe to the weekly e-newsletter that includes news and information from congregations in the Charis Fellowship, click here.
