The Kingdom Assignment
A year ago something remarkable happened in the life of The First Baptist Church, Midland. A member of the congregation returned to Midland after a visit to California bearing news of an exciting program she had discovered while visiting The Coast Hills Community Church. The founding pastors, Denny and Leesa Bellesi, had created a ministry they called The Kingdom Assignment. After learning about this program, the congregation grew excited and suddenly someone anonymously donated a $10,000 gift embracing this new possibility.
So, one Fall Sunday morning the pastor, John Dick, shared a sermon focused upon discipleship and concluded with a challenge to the congregation. People were invited to come forward to accept an envelope which contained $100. Their assignment was to use the money to in some way enhance the Kingdom of God. There were no strings attached and all a person had to do was share their experience after 90 days. The story-sharing took place at a church wide dinner celebrating the good things that were happening.
The results of this endeavor were remarkable. As people began telling their stories, it was clear the seed money was being used to begin new ministries throughout our community. Some people donated their $100 to worthy organizations, while many others literally started their own ministries. For example, one member started something he called “Recycle a Bicycle”. An avid cyclist, his intent was to find a few used bikes people no longer wanted in order to fix them up in time for Christmas. He was then going to distribute them to needy children. To date, Chuck has recruited a team of about 40 people from throughout the community and they have rehabilitated nearly 200 bicycles which have been given to children and to adults needing transportation. His $100 has grown to be worth thousands of dollars and the ministry has just begun. Another member of the congregation started a ministry he calls “Instruments of Peace”. In a similar way Roland, whose passion is music, found good instruments no longer being used and sought out youngsters who would never have the opportunity to learn an instrument. He has recruited music teachers throughout the mid-Michigan area to give lessons to these students free of charge and many other initiatives have grown out of this endeavor. Roland’s $100 has turned into thousands of dollars in services and gifts and the ministry continues to grow larger every month. Yet another initiative has to do with providing school supplies to elementary children. One of our members took her money and began by purchasing supplies at the local Staples and Office Max when they were offering items for pennies on the dollar at the start of the school year. Her vision then grew from this local endeavor to linking with a ministry in Cincinnati called Matthew 25. By taking the remainder of her money and adding to it, she is renting a truck to travel to their warehouse where the vehicle will be filled with all kinds of school supplies to be distributed throughout our city and county.
These stories were multiplied many, many times over through the creative and energetic initiatives of members in First Baptist. Many new low income food programs have been established… a backpack ministry so students on free lunch in our neighboring elementary school have food to eat over the weekends, a new HOPE (Helping Other People Eat) ministry team has been organized, a chapter of Angel Food Ministries has been started. In addition the church is now ministering to people in prison on a regular basis, reaching out to shelters meeting the needs of victims of domestic abuse, aiding homeless shelters, and the list goes on. One gentleman in the congregation kept his $100 in his wallet and upon seeing a need used it to take action in the moment to help an individual. Growing out of that experience came his personal commitment to replace that $100 out of his own pocket so he will always be prepared to respond when the opportunity presents itself. In his words, this project has “given him eyes to better see the world all around”.
No one could have imagined how this new approach to ministry and mission would explode throughout our community. It came to us at God’s perfect moment and the impact has been unforgettable. It is no coincidence that since this initiative unfolded, many new young families are making their way into the life of First Baptist. And most recently, the church was notified that the international organization for The Kingdom Assignment has chosen First Baptist, Midland to honor as one of its outstanding congregations. Pastor John Dick and his wife, Paula, along with Kay Norris who brought this idea to Midland have been invited to California to represent the church, to tell their story, and to receive the award on behalf of the congregation. John says that “never in his life has he ever seen any ministry take hold of a church lending itself to such significant outreach throughout the community. The family of faith has taken a $10,000 gift and multiplied it many, many times over all in an effort to enhance the Kingdom of God. We will never be the same. It has opened a whole new chapter in the life of our church, and is enhancing week by week our impact upon and our standing in the community.” If you want an assignment that will change your life and your church, give John a call. He’ll be glad to share the details.