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Serving our Community with the Love of God

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“…by love serve one another” (Gal. 5:13).

 

April 29, 2023

 

 

While we may plan many wonderful, inspiring and fun events at our churches, which the community is invited and encouraged to attend, the truth is most never will.  There are thousands of people right here in our county that do not attend anyone’s church.  Most are lost and in need of Christ.  Jesus’ love for the lost motivated Him to go from place-to-place preaching, teaching and healing so that many could be touched and saved by the Savior’s love.  The Lord sent His 12 disciples out to do the same.  God is still sending believers out to where the lost are so that they might see the love of the Savior in the actions and words of the Christians who are serving them.

 

“Love Anson,” is a local church/association wide emphasis that can help us to go out beyond the walls of our church to reach out and serve those who need to know about God’s great love for them.  Our prayer and desire is for them to see the love of God in us! 

 

“Love Anson” is a day where each church in our association is encouraged to reach out to its community to demonstrate the love of God in real and concrete ways. Each of our churches are different, just as each member of the body of Christ is different and has different abilities.  Each church is encouraged to prayerfully consider what resources (both human and material) that God has blessed them with, and the needs of the community around them, and then decide how the Lord wants them to demonstrate His love in their local community. This ministry is flexible and adaptable to any size church. You and the Lord decide how your church will demonstrate the love of God in your community.  If one church discovers a need that is bigger than they want to tackle alone, they could ask another sister church to join them on a particular project.

 

Love Anson is about loving and serving the people in our own local church field. It is about showing and sharing God’s love to people who might not ever hear otherwise. Please resist the temptation to serve your own members on this particular day.  Meet the needs of your church members on another day, preferably at least four weeks before or after Love Anson Day, that way, you will keep your focus, at least for one day, on reaching out to the lost and the unsaved.

 

Imagine the excitement of involving a 1/3 to 1/2 of your church in mission action!?  Imagine the excitement of 10 - 15 or more of our ABA churches engaged in mission service at the same time! Imagine having several choices of mission action projects from which the members of your church can choose to participate in.  Some might be more comfortable doing yard work for a lonely senior citizen, another might prefer to be part of a team that builds a much-needed wheelchair ramp.  Another might want to pass out free Bibles to people shopping in town. What kind of needs do you see around your church? What can your church do to show God’s love?

 

Let’s show Anson County that Jesus loves them and we do too!  Love Anson is one great way to do that!  Our mission blitz date is April 30, 2022.  I hope that your church will join us in loving Anson for Jesus!

 

 

Suggestions for Organization:

Form a Love Anson Planning Team made up of three to six members to develop possible projects that your church can use to show the love of Christ to your community. (The larger the church, the more team members are needed). Team members should be people who have a genuine love for Jesus and missions.  The ability to organize and enlist others is a real plus. Some of the team members will want to be project leaders of the individual ministry projects that your church chooses to engage in too. Prayer should be an important part of each Planning Team meeting. (Encourage your church to take part in the Pray Anson prayer emphasis during the month of April!)

 

Job Descriptions:

Love Anson Planning Team Leader works with the pastor and the Love Anson Planning Team to plan, promote and carryout mission and evangelistic projects on Love Anson Day. This leader should preferably be someone other than the pastor because he already has a “full plate.”  It is still very important for pastors to be involved with the team and fully support the Love Anson Ministry Day or it will not succeed very well. The team leader should be someone well respected by the church, has a love for missions and is a good organizer.

 

The Love Anson Planning team members work with the pastor to plan, promote and carryout mission projects that the congregation will take part in on Love Anson Day to help the hurting and to win the lost.

 

The Love Anson Project Leader leads a specific project on Love Anson Day.  He or she plans for the number of people, finances and materials that are needed.  They make sure that everything is ready, onsite and prepared for the mission project to get started on Love Anson Day, May 1st.  They also help enlist people for their project.

 

Suggested Timeline: (Please adapt according to the needs of your church)

• Enlist Love Anson Planning Team Leader: February 19, 2023

 

• Enlist Love Anson Planning Team members: February 19, 2023

 

• First Planning Team Meeting to begin planning mission and evangelism projects that could involve up to half of your active attendance in meeting needs. February 20, 2023

 

• Finalize projects to present to the congregation before Love Anson Commitment Sunday. Decide if a lunch is needed. If so, will the church provide a lunch, or will you ask people to bring a bag lunch? Most church insurance plans will cover church events like Love Anson, but make sure that yours will too. On Love Anson Day will you meet at the church for a brief devotion and prayer time and then send each one off to their jobs or ask the Projects Leaders to have prayer with the group before they start their work? March 12, 2023

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• Enlist a Project Leader for each Love Anson Project. March 26, 2023

 

• Conduct Love Anson Commitment Sunday. The Pastor brings a message that challenges the congregation to love their neighbors and explains how your church’s Love Anson projects are an opportunity to demonstrate their love for their community and Christ.  Give church members an opportunity to sign up for projects after the service and for the next two weeks. April 2, 2023

 

• Give Project Leaders the list of project volunteers for their project and their contact information. April 23rd 

 

• Drop any projects that don’t have enough volunteer participation to carry them out successfully and ask any volunteers to join other projects. April 24, 2023

 

• Love Anson Day!! Show God’s love as you carry out your projects to meet real needs for the glory of God!  April 30, 2022 Post pictures of your church demonstrating God’s love on Facebook and your website! [Please email or call the ABA office to report the number of people who were served, witnessed to or won to Christ on the following Monday or Tuesday.]

 

• Love Anson Celebration Sunday! Have one person from each team share briefly about their ministry during the regular worship service and then praise, thank and glorify God for the lives that were touched, both the volunteers and those who were served! April 29 or  May 7, 2023.