Hello, My Dear Friends,
In response to her ordination service on Sunday at Imagine Church, Dr. Brittnye Lee referenced the call that each of us have to serve God in some form of ministry. It doesn’t have to be a professional capacity, but often even our volunteer service has the potential to make an eternal difference in someone’s life. I have long believed that when we give an affirmative answer to God’s call, we never know what may hang in the balance.
Dr. Wallace Chappell told the story of a Sunday School teacher in London back during the dark days of World War II. She never felt fully capable of being a Sunday School teacher, but she knew that her service was desperately needed, and she, in fact, ended up teaching for years. She even kept a diary detailing her service to God through the more than a decade in which she taught.
Not long after the outbreak of the second World War, she received a letter which she opened and read. Here is what the writer had penned: “I am a young soldier in the 503rd Infantry Regiment of the 2nd Battalion of our nation’s troops, and tomorrow I will be going into battle for the first time, and you are the reason I am not afraid. Years ago when I was quite young, you were my Sunday School teacher, and I will never forget the lesson you taught on May 6, 1930, about Jesus being a child’s hero. I made note of the date because as you taught that day, I invited Jesus into my heart and it changed my life. Jesus is still my hero and I know he will be with me as I face battle, but I never thanked you properly for what you have made possible for me.” And it was signed, Murray Thomas.
The woman read his letter with tears streaming down her cheeks, then went to the shelf and pulled out the diary she had kept all those past many years. She found her entry for Sunday, May 6, 1930, and read what she had written: “Oh, I must talk to my pastor and tell him that I should resign. I just don’t believe I was cut out to be a Sunday School teacher. Today I tried to teach the children about Jesus being a child’s hero, but the boys all just cut-up and misbehaved. Oh, all except for one at the end of the row named Murray. But I guess he was just tired.”
No, not that day. For on that particular day as she taught, a little boy’s heart was awakened to the Spirit of God and to the reality and presence of God in his life, which changed him forever.
To those of you who volunteer and teach in our Imagine Kids, in our nurseries, in our preschool classes, to those who lead life groups or assist with our youth, to those who serve on the music team or tech team, the welcome team or safety team, the hospitality team or who volunteer and serve in any capacity, you never know what hangs in the balance. More than even our ability, God desires our availability, through which God most often will accomplish great things.
It all begins when we say yes,
Bruce Jones, Pastor
Imagine Church
