As we consider Bronx Bethany's strategy for mission engagement (loving God, growing together, serving the world), let's take a few minutes to reflect on how our church recently approached the strategy of serving the world.
Over this summer, our pastoral staff launched Summer Serve, a series of workshops and community events designed to serve persons and create awareness of issues outside of Bronx Bethany. For the first time, our annual Street Fair included a health and wellness component (including a mammogram van, children's dental care van, stations for checking blood pressure and blood sugar, and mini-workshops on health and nutrition). Several Wednesday evenings were devoted to classes on immigration law, caring for children with special needs, health insurance, boundaries and relationships, and social justice. There were also off-site service projects (painting community fire hydrants and cleaning up trash near the I-95 entrance ramp in our district), and a month-long missions trip to Colombia, South America. This evening, Summer Serve wraps up with a "Back-to-School" youth rally at a local public school, where our teens and young adults will give away school supplies and share the love of Christ with our community.
It's been a busy summer, one in which we have fully given ourselves to this strategy of serving the world. And, interestingly, this process of serving the world has re-ignited in some the excitement of serving Christ. We have heard testimonies from men, women, and teens who spoke of the impact of Summer Serve on their prayer life, their level of compassion for the disenfranchised, their reading of the word, and their diligence in preparing themselves for works of service "in the Bronx and in the world".
The summer will soon be over, but the call to serve the world remains. May the fire that was ignited in Summer Serve continue to burn brightly, to the glory of God.
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