The Feeding of 5,000

We experienced a multitude of people coming through the doors at Mt. Bethel on Saturday. Maybe it wasn't 5,000 and rather than fish and loaves, it was fish and hushpuppies, but a multitude was fed.

In April, one of our members, a 35 year old husband and father of two, was diagnosed with metastatic malignant melanoma. It starts out as skin cancer, and in his case, it spread into his endocrine system and quickly to some of his major organs. He's undergoing treatment that has a 5% chance of success, so the prospects seem pretty grim.

Mt. Bethel has rallied around this family, not just because they are part of the church family, but because they are a family in need and we can do something to make a difference for them.

Saturday, several of our men and women showed up at the church around lunchtime, heated up some peanut oil, and fried almost 200 lbs. of catfish. By the time I got home Saturday night, I was greasy and tired. Together, we raised $6,000 for Jason and his family. I enjoyed listening to the buzz around the church that afternoon, which carried over to Sunday morning. People who estimated they would raise $2,000 to $2,500 were clearly blown away by the difference that was made.

475 people came through the door on Saturday. Some drove from an hour or more away. Many live in the community and have no church home, but saw a flyer. Not bad for a 230 member church!

I think more has happened than feeding a multitude and helping a family through hard times. I think some eyes were opened and God is laying the foundation for the vision and getting people where they need to be to help the church pursue that vision. Saturday was a teaching moment.

Two years ago - almost one month after I arrived here - some of our leadership hosted a fish fry. The 2007 fish fry was to raise money for our building debt. Not because we weren't able to make payments, but because we wanted to pay as much as possible on the principle of the loan. When the dust settled, we raised about $1,800 for the building.

Everybody being blown away by Saturday's turnout blessed me with numerous teaching moments. I've had frank conversations where I didn't have the opportunity before. Many people didn't see the difference in the fish fries until the tally was made and it became clear that there is a difference between fundraising for "selfish" purposes - money we spend on ourselves - and fundraising for "selfless" purposes - money we spend on others.

God blessed the generosity of a few and multiplied their sacrifices to bless someone else. In so doing, the Kingdom of God became visible to dozens of people. Eyes were opened to what the mission of the church really is and the fact that God blesses our efforts when we pursue his ends.

People are buzzing at Mt. Bethel. The community is buzzing around us. God is up to something...

As you read this, say a prayer for Jason and his family. Today (July 28th) he is undergoing a PET scan to determine if his treatments are working or not. Hopefully tomorrow he'll get his results.