LCMS World Mission Blog

Where Messiah Lutheran Church is participating in the LCMS Transforming Churches Network (TCN). “Messiah Lutheran in Memphis, Tenn., was like most churches that wanted to reach out to the community-they had good ideas and good intentions, but there wasn’t a plan. Messiah Lutheran had conducted several outreach activities, but had seen little success. After discussing this challenge with their TCN coach, Messiah Lutheran put together a focused plan that outlined how to build on each event to make an even greater impact in the community. The church determined that the local fire station would be a natural fit for their outreach efforts, which met their desire to work with underserved groups. The church planned a Valentine’s Day dinner for the firemen and emergency medical technicians (EMTs) at the station. At the dinner, they donated 33 much-needed air pumps, which only cost a few dollars each, to the station. Twelve people from the station attended the event. One of the firefighters now attends church at Messiah Lutheran regularly, and often brings trainees with him. Now, two of those trainees are in the adult confirmation class. Later in the year, the church worked with the same fire station to offer a Thanksgiving dinner to fire victims. Ten families were identified by the fire station and Red Cross, and each family received a basket of food from the church. The families were really touched by this act of kindness and began to think of Messiah Lutheran as their church home, even though they had never attended before.

“The church also gathered Christmas lists for all of the fire victims. Through this ‘Christmas Tree Project,’ the church purchased gifts and placed them under a special tree in the narthex of the church. The Sunday before Christmas, the families were invited to a special dinner where they received the gifts and were able to take pictures with Santa. Thirty-five of the fire victims were in attendance at this event. The families were also invited to the Christmas Eve service. Twelve people came back for that service. In fact, 50 of the 150 people in worship on Christmas Eve were first-time guests, including 16 children who were invited to play in the handbell choir.

“The next year, Messiah Lutheran’s Valentine’s Day dinner served even more-90 people, including Red Cross volunteers, fire victims, and guests from the previous Christmas Eve service, attended. Messiah Lutheran is seeing positive growth in all areas as a result of their outreach efforts. Pastor Schmidt’s new member class now has nine participants and the optimism and enthusiasm within the congregation has gone off the charts.”

This story was originally published on the Transforming Churches Network Web site at http://portal.revitalization-lcms.org.