“Have I lost church members? Are they alive? Is my church still standing?”
Pastor Keith Warden didn’t know what to expect after Hurricane Katrina came tearing through Picayune, Mississippi – devastating everything in its path. “And I think that one of the most emotional moments in my life was when I turned onto the boulevard where our church sits, and still seeing it stand there and still seeing that steeple pointing up to the Heavens, and just realizing that we’re still here. And we’re still going to be able to have a place where we worship and we reach this community from.”
Living down here in south Florida, I’ve personally experienced some very minor hurricanes in comparison to Category 5 Katrina. Now I know that this happened last August, and many of you probably don’t want to hear about it again . . . but I can’t help sharing this story.
I’ve driven through Mississippi countless numbers of times – not to mention the numerous relatives that I have living throughout the state. Even knowing the extent of the damage, I was still shocked at the complete destruction that still litters the area. It was hard for me to reconcile that the scenes I was viewing this past weekend were the very same ones that I have viewed time and time again since I was a small child.
So why was I traveling in southern Mississippi this past weekend? Once again, I was covering another story about how God is moving in the hearts of believers. The people of First Baptist Church, Picayune have always seemed to be passionate about missions. And in obedience to the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20) they decided to give a large sum of money to go toward the support of International Mission Board missionaries and their various ministries around the world.
Then Hurricane Katrina ripped through their neighborhoods.
How would this catastrophe impact these Christians’ hearts for missions and their goal for helping share the Gospel around the world? According to Pastor Keith, the response was not, “Well things are too tough. I can’t give.” The response was, “God has been too good. I have to give.” In fact, not only did this church meet their goal, they gave above and beyond their means . . . surpassing all of their expectations.
Pastor Keith said that “people would walk up to (him) and give (him) their offering envelopes and make it clear that, ‘I’m still committed and I’m still intending to be faithful to God, regardless of what condition my house is in, or regardless of what condition my car is in. My commitment is to be faithful to God and to His church.’”
Wow! In the midst of their own great loss . . . of friends and relatives, of jobs and income, of homes and finances . . . these children of God still focused on the needs of others.
In Pastor Keith’s words, “I think there’s no greater gift that we can give the Kingdom of God than a willingness to offer up our resources to the Lord and say, ‘Use this for Your glory, and use this to spread Your fame throughout the world.’ And so I know that in my heart, as a pastor, I know that what I believe to be in the heart of our people as a church, we want every missionary, we want every person that God has sent out . . . around the world, to be able to focus on that agenda, focus on that eternal mission, without being concerned about resources, without being concerned about materials and supplies. Time is just so short, and the mission is just so important that if we don’t resource everything we have to achieve the Great Commission, then we have failed our God . . . And so our prayer is that we can continue to be a giving body, a sending body, a going body, so that the world may know that He is King of kings, and He’s Lord of lords.”
Pastor Keith Warden didn’t know what to expect after Hurricane Katrina came tearing through Picayune, Mississippi – devastating everything in its path. “And I think that one of the most emotional moments in my life was when I turned onto the boulevard where our church sits, and still seeing it stand there and still seeing that steeple pointing up to the Heavens, and just realizing that we’re still here. And we’re still going to be able to have a place where we worship and we reach this community from.”Living down here in south Florida, I’ve personally experienced some very minor hurricanes in comparison to Category 5 Katrina. Now I know that this happened last August, and many of you probably don’t want to hear about it again . . . but I can’t help sharing this story.
I’ve driven through Mississippi countless numbers of times – not to mention the numerous relatives that I have living throughout the state. Even knowing the extent of the damage, I was still shocked at the complete destruction that still litters the area. It was hard for me to reconcile that the scenes I was viewing this past weekend were the very same ones that I have viewed time and time again since I was a small child.So why was I traveling in southern Mississippi this past weekend? Once again, I was covering another story about how God is moving in the hearts of believers. The people of First Baptist Church, Picayune have always seemed to be passionate about missions. And in obedience to the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20) they decided to give a large sum of money to go toward the support of International Mission Board missionaries and their various ministries around the world.
Then Hurricane Katrina ripped through their neighborhoods.
How would this catastrophe impact these Christians’ hearts for missions and their goal for helping share the Gospel around the world? According to Pastor Keith, the response was not, “Well things are too tough. I can’t give.” The response was, “God has been too good. I have to give.” In fact, not only did this church meet their goal, they gave above and beyond their means . . . surpassing all of their expectations.
Pastor Keith said that “people would walk up to (him) and give (him) their offering envelopes and make it clear that, ‘I’m still committed and I’m still intending to be faithful to God, regardless of what condition my house is in, or regardless of what condition my car is in. My commitment is to be faithful to God and to His church.’”Wow! In the midst of their own great loss . . . of friends and relatives, of jobs and income, of homes and finances . . . these children of God still focused on the needs of others.
In Pastor Keith’s words, “I think there’s no greater gift that we can give the Kingdom of God than a willingness to offer up our resources to the Lord and say, ‘Use this for Your glory, and use this to spread Your fame throughout the world.’ And so I know that in my heart, as a pastor, I know that what I believe to be in the heart of our people as a church, we want every missionary, we want every person that God has sent out . . . around the world, to be able to focus on that agenda, focus on that eternal mission, without being concerned about resources, without being concerned about materials and supplies. Time is just so short, and the mission is just so important that if we don’t resource everything we have to achieve the Great Commission, then we have failed our God . . . And so our prayer is that we can continue to be a giving body, a sending body, a going body, so that the world may know that He is King of kings, and He’s Lord of lords.”
What more can I say?“Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the saints. And they did not do as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then to us in keeping with God’s will.” ~ 2 Corinthians 8:2-5 ~
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