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Immanuel Lutheran Church
The Beacon Online - December, 2011
The Birthing of Love…In the Name of Christ
As Christmas approaches, a life-changing ministry is in the process of being birthed across our county. It all began a few months after I arrived in town. A colleague, Pastor Eric Kieb (then of Mitchell United Methodist Church), emailed Negaunee pastors with an invitation to gather as clergy for prayer. A few of us said yes…gladly! Thus began the rebirth of the Negaunee Ministerial Association (NMA) and with it the mutual wrestling with the challenges and opportunities of ministry as the body of Christ in our community. It’s a wonderful gift to be able to pray with fellow Christians, but it’s also dangerous…because it opens one to new leadings of the Spirit of Christ.
Fast forward a few months: During an NMA gathering, Pastor Dale Niskanen (of Eastwood Apostolic Lutheran Church) floated the question “Is everyone else satisfied with how you’re helping people in financial crises, or do you struggle as I do?” He was referring to the steady flow of people who stop by or call our church offices asking for help with everything from food to medical bills to utilities to rent. In fact, none of us were satisfied. We all had some sort of discretionary fund with which to work – Immanuel’s is known as the Good Samaritan Fund – and we all connected as appropriate to area helping agencies, but all of us to a person felt occasionally duped – some folks know how to “work the system” – and all of us understood that throwing money at a crisis doesn’t necessarily provide transformational, long-term help.
Fast forward once again: After much prayerful reflection, we invited clergy and Christian agencies from across Marquette County, asking them if they had similar questions (or helpful answers) to ours and if they would be willing to gather here at Immanuel for conversation and prayer. What has resulted thus far is a group of church and agency leaders (including Lutheran Social Services and St. Vincent DePaul) from eight different denominations gaining a vision of transformational ministry for both people in need and the local church of Christ by affiliating together under the umbrella of Love INC - In the Name of Christ! (Go online to www.loveinc.org for detailed information.)
Imagine what could be: A person/family in need comes to Immanuel amidst a trying financial crisis. It may be a first-time experience for them; it may be one more in a series of many such experiences that even span the generations of their family. They are lovingly welcomed and received but told that the next step toward assistance is to call our Love INC clearinghouse. (If they are abusers of congregational care, only wanting money or a quick fix, they may go onto the next congregation, but they’ll simply receive the same clearinghouse phone number they received at Immanuel. Transformative care is coordinated and consistent.) Once they call the clearinghouse phone number, trained volunteers from our churches will perform triage by asking standard questions and refer them to our Love INC director. The director will connect them not only with appropriate financial resources from our congregations and greater community but also connect them with particular ministries offered by our various churches. Budget counseling, reading lessons, transportation assistance, auto maintenance, and one-on-one mentoring are just a few of the ministries that volunteers from across our congregations might offer in the name of Christ. What’s offered depends on the passions and gifts of God’s people. Services from the broader community are not duplicated, but the Christian church is mobilized and coordinated to care. Relationship is maintained and a person/family has opportunity to discover the church to be a caring community and the Lord Jesus a caring Savior who camps out with them.
Allow me to emphasize once again: Services from the broader community are not duplicated, but the sleeping giant – the church! – is mobilized to care in Jesus’ name. Through Love INC we can also link up in better mutual ministry with agencies, both faith-based and secular. We have even received word that AMCOC (Alger/Marquette Continuum of Care) has been very interested in what we’re doing and would like to coordinate with us.
More could be written, but I’ll leave you with that taste. As Christmas approaches, a life-changing ministry is in the process of being birthed across our county. Christ’s gift this Christmas to all of us is life-transforming love! Want to be a part of it? Let’s talk. Love In the Name of Christ – the Wonder of Christmas – was meant to be shared.
In Christ, Pastor Steve