Feb 09 2009
Posted by admin under Uncategorized
The Church as a Life Saving Station
by Gary Shockley
While visiting Assateague Island off the coast of Virginia six years ago I had my first lesson on the United States Life-Saving Service (USLSS), a turn-of-the-century ocean-rescue organization and predecessor of the Coast Guard. The primary task of the people serving in the USLSS was to be on the lookout for ships in trouble and provide assistance to bring sailors and passengers to safety.
To be most effective, Life-Saving Stations were placed in close proximity to the areas where shipwrecks frequently occurred so the crew could respond quickly to the needs of those lost at sea and have the greatest chance of saving them. Because of the ever-changing coastline many of the Life-Saving Stations were built to be portable. The crew could literally pick up and move its entire community to a more suitable life-saving place. By the end of their 43 years of service the USLSS saved an estimated 150,000 people from a watery grave.
New churches that launch mission and ministry initiatives where the people are, have a greater chance of not just surviving, but thriving in our postmodern world. Healthy churches planting new communities of faith become life-saving stations that effectively reach out to the least, the last and the lost in the stormy sea that surrounds us.
Is your congregation a life-saving station?