Wednesday, March 5, 2003
|
Wednesday, March 5, 2003 |
|
My home is your home ...sharing houses of prayer By JOHN HATCHER This coming Sunday, March 9, we will have as our houseguest and church guest Solomon Kato. He is an associate pastor of the Kampala Pentecostal Church, the largest church in Uganda and one of the strongest evangelical voices in East Africa. He comes to the United States annually to attend the board meeting of Evangelism Explosion International in Fort Lauderdale. Solomon and I met initially several years ago on my first trip to Uganda. He is father of three bright and delightful children, all who are active in the church's ministry. One of his greatest contributions to Christianity was his leadership in reviving the church throughout the countryside after the ruthless dictatorships of Amin and Obote. He has stories to tell! Let me invite you to come and hear a hero of the faith. On another topic, let me give you advance notice about a coming unity event: Sunday, March 23, six churches will gather in the center of Fayetteville at the Edgefield Baptist Church for praise and worship. The 6 p.m. service in addition to Edgefield will include New Generation Christian Fellowship from Griffin, New Covenant Metropolitan Church from Ellenwood, North Fayette Baptist Church, Community Christian Church, and Outreach International Center. The pastors of these six churches have been meeting on a weekly basis since 9/11 for prayer, encouragement, and fellowship. Come early to get a seat, because it will be standing room only after the praise begins. The six pastors in our accountability group presently are rotating our meeting site by visiting the church sites of each pastor. Last week we gathered at Community Christian Church located on Kenwood Road. That church has been ably led by Rev. Dean Phelps. Just recently he has led the church to call a co-pastor who will assist in ministering to a greater diversified population in the north Fayette area. It's one thing to meet with fellow pastors at a common area like IHOP, but it is an altogether different thing to visit where that pastor conducts the work of God, preaches the Word, and ministers to the needs of his or her flock. Here's the fact: most pastors rarely go in to other houses of worship. We often wonder what it must be like on the inside, but seldom do we enter in the other world of another pastor. Sad, but true. In going on the inside of our friends' church houses, we get sharper perspectives of their ministries. As I admired beautiful quilts hanging on the walls at Community Christian Church, I could see the devotion of its members and the special place their church held in their hearts. The week before we had prayer at North Fayette Baptist Church where Dr. Jim Willis is the founding pastor. What a delightful time we all had, as we were hosted to a feast of a breakfast truly prepared as for kings. As always, we gather around, lay our hands on the resident pastor and pray for him, his family, his church, and God's ever widening purposes for his life. I sincerely advise all pastors to huddle with a small group of fellows pastors with some sense of diversity to pray and encourage one another.
John Hatcher is pastor of Outreach International Center 1091 South Jeff Davis Drive Fayetteville, Georgia 30215 770-719-0303 |
