Congregations have the opportunity to address needs all around them through literacy ministry. Take a journey with us through 50 Ways to explore the possibilities. We’ll use our new poster as a guide, blogging our way through the church, community, and capitol. But not in the order of the list. We’ll cover the first two, and then take a seasonal approach – making connections with calendar and other considerations.
Ministry through literacy may be done at many levels and with various age groups. Churches are full of people with diverse skills, passions, and gifts. Each member can take part in assisting and equipping other members in the areas of literacy and education.
#1 Pray
Churches large and small can pray. Not every church can host a family reading fair on the Border or begin a program to teach English to speakers of other languages. But every church can pray for its community.
Many studies have been conducted on the efficacy of prayer—whether and how it works. Some measure impact of the one or ones who pray; others the object of the prayers. This blog will not add measurably to that discussion. What can’t be denied is that a church praying for its community is more aware of need and more willing to address that need.
Pray with me as we drive from my church north a couple of miles:
It’s hard getting out of the parking lot on school mornings. That’s where parents park to walk their children to school. Pray with me for the children and their families. For the teachers and others who work there.
Our neighborhood is changing. Residents of several homes would be greatly affected by immigration legislation now pending. Pray for persons living in the shadows, fearful and hopeful.
The businesses on the corners have changed in thirty years. Bustling grocery stores and restaurants are now in third, fourth, and fifth iterations. Changes in the global economy has impacted how people are able to make ends meet. Pray for the ones looking for jobs.
As we continue north, we’ll pass by many apartment complexes no longer the upscale singles destinations in the original developers’ minds. Here Katrina refugees lived for a season. Now refugees from other kinds of storms may be seen walking to the Laundromat. Pray for people figuring out how to cope with life’s challenges.
Now we arrive at the elementary school our church adopted last year. Our smallish church with less than 100 attending services. Yet, because we prayed and got involved, persons have been blessed.
What does it look like down the street for you? Join me today, please, in praying for our communities.
