Ideas

“We don’t have an official program with a bunch of volunteers, but we do our best to unite multiple churches and nonprofits in any kind of disaster or critical incident,” Isbell says.

For years, families have turned to St. Paul United Methodist Church in Fort Smith, Arkansas, for help with necessities. As the church worked to meet their needs, Rev. Steve Poarch noticed that these families also were in need of diapers.

Coblentz named the church’s new effort the Bread Breakers Ministry. Volunteers started out making around 50 sandwiches a week, but they quickly broke their own record.

Moore has had church members tell her that they were too scared to do something missional, but because they love animals, this outreach was a natural fit for them.

Because the church is big on families, many events are geared toward kids, including bull riding for teens; Little Wranglers, an event that lets kids ride a horse, milk a pretend cow, “brand” goats with flour and a mop, and barrel race with stick horses; and a special needs kids rodeo.

All the big productions and illustrated sermons are designed around the idea of having something congregants can invite their friends to.

Whether I’m working with a church plant of 40 people or a mega-church of over 35,000, some things are universal and should be present regardless of church size.

The story of Christmas is perfect for shedding light on the hope we can find in our darkness. Jesus came into a world filled with pain, a world where people searched for hope and longed for the Messiah to come but were constantly disappointed.