I previously mentioned that Circle Church having reached the magic number of 200 in the summer of 1968, we contacted the District Superintendent to inquire whether any churches within our own denomination, the Evangelical Free Church, would welcome our assistance. There were three. Two exist to this day without our help. The last died with our help! Its name was the Zion Evangelical Free Church.
Zion Church was located in the explosive Austin area of the city which is racially altering and was at this time deeply embroiled in conflicts stemming from the busing of school children. In a period of three to four years, the church had dropped from an average membership of 350 to a dismal thirty, as members regularly exited to the suburbs.
It is difficult even now to describe adequately the events which took place in our disjointed union, since the emotions, personalities, and relationship involved tend to color clear thinking. In many ways we felt the whiplash of crashing into failure for many, many months, even years.
Because of the drastic outcome of this venture, we have examined our motives to see if they were as honorable as we thought they were. Personally, and I sincerely believe I speak for the rest of the membership, I was not trying to build a huge kingdom of my own—for example, one of the nation’s ten largest Sunday Schools. In fact, I was studiously avoiding it.
My heart yearned for the city and I longed to see Christ walk its concrete canyons. How better could this be effected than by seeing His church experience renaissance—lights coming alive in neighborhoods citywide? We were willing to forego a powerhouse base of our own, if we could only play a role in this overall renewal.
———————————————
Sunday’s coming. Do you have your sermon ready? Is it relevant? Will it effectively motivate your congregation to walk more in step with the Master? What about that Sermon Series you’ve been thinking about?
Or, if you’re someone who plans well ahead, have you asked yourself what you will preach for your Easter Sermon, your Advent Sermon, your Christmas Sermon?
David Mains and Mainstay Ministries can help. We offer a wide variety of Sermon Starters and Full Sermons that will give you Sermon Ideas to help you prepare for regular Saturday or Sunday sermons, Mid-week Bible Sermons, and Sermons for special occasions.
We also offer assistance as you create Topical Sermons, Sermons Series, and sermons for special times of the year. We have resources available to help you with Advent Celebrations, Advent Sermons, Christmas Sermons, Easter Sunday Sermons, Patriotic Sermons, and more.
For more information on how to create better Bible Sermons and how to turn Sermon Ideas into Sermon Outlines, and then into effective, meaningful Sunday Sermons, please click here to visit David Mains’ website.
You will also find a variety of resources for pastors and congregations at the Mainstay Ministries website. Just click here.
