BE AN ANTIOCH CHURCH
This week Linda and I traveled back to Pa for the funeral of our brother-in-law, John Fogelsanger. (See eNews from 2-15-08 for photo.) John fought the good fight and went on to glory to receive his crown last Saturday. The memorial service was yesterday. He served in many capacities at the church over the past five decades, including deacon, church treasurer and council secretary along with his wife, Mary Ann (Linda’s sister), who served as church organist for many years and continues to teach an adult Sunday school class. Theirs was a mutual ministry of dedicated service to Christ and the Church. John will certainly be missed by his family and friends. Well done good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of your Lord.
The visit to Shippensburg reminded me of how valuable a Christian family and a soundly Biblical church was to my development as a Christian. It was through the Shippensburg congregation that I came to know and love the Lord and His word. There I was baptized, nurtured as a young believer and supported through difficult times. There I responded to God’s call to ministry alone in the darkened sanctuary on the evening of December 7, 1971. There I met Linda and there we pledged ourselves to one another in marriage. The list goes on. The Shippensburg bethel is one of my “God places” where over the years the Lord molded and guided my life. I suspect that every believer encounters such locations on their spiritual journey. There is Biblical precedence for such in characters like Jacob, Moses, Jesus and Paul. I thank God for such places. It’s always a blessing to revisit them to remember and renew commitments.
As I thought about it more I realized that the Shippensburg Church of God possesses a long history of touching lives for Christ. Their story is not unique, but it provides an example of what I call an “Antioch Church.” (See Acts 11-15) Shippensburg COG was born in revival in 1828 and has remained committed to prayer and evangelism ever since. In the last four decades she sent no less than eight of her young people into full-time Christian service. That’s one every five years on average. In olden times she planted the Newburg, Orrstown and Lurgan Churches of God. The last two no longer exist, but the first continues to thrive under the ministry of Pastor Dale and Pamela Miller. In 1973 Shippensburg mothered our Greenvillage congregation which is also prospering under the leadership of Pastor Ron and Miriam Dull. Over the years the Church supported and continues to support many missionary enterprises, both CGGC and others. She always placed ministry over facility. Twice she rebuilt and many times remodeled. Being located in town the church bought adjacent property to provide for parking and ministry expansion. The success of current church ministries owes a lot to these church-smart decisions. One last thing—throughout her history, the Shippensburg Church found support for the work via generous givers.
This brings me full circle. How did this story unfold? Over the years, leadership at Shippensburg (both pastoral and lay) kept the great commission (Matthew 28:16-20) central and everybody worked together doing their part. (Ephesians 4:16) This is true in every Antioch Church. Certainly there have been ups and downs as in any story, but the overall direction is forward for Christ and the Kingdom. Now I will put the point on this discussion. Is yours an Antioch Church? When will your congregation send someone into Christian service? When will they mother another congregation? Is your fellowship actively engaged in missions in your community and in the world? Are church-smart decisions being made for future ministry? How’s the financial support for the work? Finally, what’s your part and are you doing it faithfully? If any of these questions seem problematic, I suggest the foremost solution. Pray! Then see what you can do to encourage your congregation to be an Antioch Church. Blessings!
Ed
Windows on the North West Side of the Sanctuary
Mary Magdalene (left), The Woman at the Well (center), The Good Shepherd (right)
