|
|
This Is What Church is About
August 2 2012 / ShareHim in Dominican Republic B, Jul. 6 - Jul. 21 '12 #567by Tim Madding
Personal Testimony of Tim Madding.
Traveling in the passenger seat of the car, as the Adventist radio station played a Spanish song, the pastor and I, in broken English, communicated about his church we had just left. The church was a new church plant meeting in the living room of a home and was one of his five churches. As we drove to a member's home, he shared with me his vision of planting several more.
After passing countless scooters and the occasional vender of fresh produce on the street, we arrived at the home. This church member had lost her unborn child just a few days before and on this Sabbath afternoon, the pastor and I were going to make a visit to encourage and pray with her. Stepping out onto the street, I saw several other cars stop in the road. Members from the home-church filed out as the young, broken hearted woman came to the street to meet us all. I realized then that her whole church had come to minister to her. As they each embraced her and spoke what I could only imagine we're words of encouragement, the thought struck me that this is what church is all about.--God's people encouraging each other in Christ. No soul going unnoticed.
After a few minutes of prayer we all got back into our cars and left. The pastor and I, with another Spanish song playing on the radio, went to visit another of his churches where he would also equip them in ministry.
After passing countless scooters and the occasional vender of fresh produce on the street, we arrived at the home. This church member had lost her unborn child just a few days before and on this Sabbath afternoon, the pastor and I were going to make a visit to encourage and pray with her. Stepping out onto the street, I saw several other cars stop in the road. Members from the home-church filed out as the young, broken hearted woman came to the street to meet us all. I realized then that her whole church had come to minister to her. As they each embraced her and spoke what I could only imagine we're words of encouragement, the thought struck me that this is what church is all about.--God's people encouraging each other in Christ. No soul going unnoticed.
After a few minutes of prayer we all got back into our cars and left. The pastor and I, with another Spanish song playing on the radio, went to visit another of his churches where he would also equip them in ministry.