Being somewhere around 1,500 hundred miles from Seminole we encountered snow on May first. The temperatures hovered just above freezing all day and therefore the snow did not stick. Most of the day it either snowed or was drizzly.
We had waffles with fresh whipping cream and strawberries for breakfast. Mary always goes the extra mile to make us feel welcome. She has taken to the team from Seminole like I saw her take to the many teams from Paradise. The waffles were delicious. We spent the morning listening to Mary tell us about how the church came into being and updating us on the last five years. Mary has such a passion to see this church firmly established. The history of this church is filled with challenges, hopes, and many disappointments. On a couple of occasions they thought they were close to getting a pastor only to come up empty handed.
Jase, Mike, and I drove over to Melfort, a town about the same size as Humboldt close to an hour north from here. We met Brad, Jeff, and Todd Goudy. These are three brothers who have all preached and helped FBC Humboldt during the past couple of years. Todd is the pastor of Immanuel Baptist Church in Melfort. His church nearly disbanded before he went there. There were only five people but the church has dramatically turned a round. Today the church averages about one hundred and fifty in attendance. Brad has done some lay preaching and Jeff is serving as interim pastor at Humboldt along with several other different ministries. Jeff only comes every other week and is contemplating giving it up so as to invest his time in other places.
We spent a good portion of the afternoon visiting with these brothers about what God is doing in Saskatchewan and Humboldt. God is at work in this province. Yet there is much work still to be done. It is estimated that there are forty to fifty towns in this province alone with no evangelical church much less a Baptist one. That does not take into account the many small farming communities where there really are no towns but there are people living without a gospel witnessing church in these communities. There could be hundreds of such communities.
We discussed at great lengths the challenges facing Humboldt. The church has no pastoral leadership. The town is closed to the gospel due to the heavy Catholic influence here. The few people left in the church are tired and discouraged. It is a hard work. All the bothers seem to think that the best solution would be to combine the Baptist and Bible churches to get at least one solid church. I think they reported the Bible church has barely twenty people coming while FBC has less than a dozen. These three brothers seem content to let the Baptist Church disband and to begin meeting with the Bible church. My question to them concerned what the Lord wills for FBC Humboldt. Nobody seemed to have the answer to that question.
We talked late into the afternoon. Some of what they said I agreed with. At other times my heart did not bear witness with their direction. I felt extremely awkward when we returned from this meeting and the ladies from Seminole and Mary all wanted to know how the meeting went. Mary was quite persistent. There were things I did not feel at liberty to share. The little I did talk about did not sit real well with her. She is resistant to disbanding and joining these other churches.
I went straight to my bed after dinner crying out to God for His direction. I recall feeling like I had heard from the Goudy brothers and I had heard from Mary but God was the one I most wanted to hear from. My one question for the Goudys, Mary, and for the Lord was and still is, “Does God want this church to exist?”
I prayed until my eyes could barely stay open. I woke up this morning pleading with the Lord to speak to me. I read the last part of I Samuel, all of Second Samuel, and ten chapters into the book of I Kings looking for God’s answer to that question. I don’t know that I found a direct answer other than the peace in my heart.
I have enjoyed watching Mike, Jase, Beverly, Stephanie, and Shalea all relate to these people. I can see a bonding taking place and God giving our people a heart for Humboldt. It is a hard work. The town is gospel hardened and only the Lord can make this work. Seeing the persistent faith of this little church is inspiring.
It’s pretty frigid outside. The climate is hard here. Snow in May is unexpected in Texas. In many ways I think the weather outside epitomizes what this church has been through. Their journey has been like a never-ending winter filled with snow, blizzards, and cut off from most others. Just when they thought spring had arrived four more inches of snow fell a week ago and we had more snow and freezing rain since arriving here on Friday.
Today we get to lead the worship service. We will meet as a team later this afternoon to debrief what we have experienced. God draws me to the work here and after making this trip eight times I know it is work. To see this church turn the corner and to see God use these people to reach the lost of Humboldt would be worth more than I could ever put into words. God, thank you for giving us your heart for Humboldt.
No comments:
Post a Comment