Afire!
Last Sunday, I saw fire in church.
First Baptist in Vernon had a note-burning ceremony to celebrate the early payoff of their mortgage on their beautiful family life center. Pastor Don Moore and the church family planned a touching ceremony.
He summarized the many ways the church has been able to minister in the community by using that building. They have an archery ministry with fifth through twelfth graders and an elementary age basketball ministry. God has brought many to know Him through those ministries. They have a large gathering of senior adults from the community who meet for fellowship, and the pastor shares a devotional from God’s Word. They have a wild game dinner next month, and the list goes on and on. The building is not only used to enhance fellowship within the church, but to show God’s love to the community.
He thanked the church members for their sacrificial commitment to pay off the debt.
Then the Pastor asked the four members of the original building committee to join him for the note-burning.
They had built a wooden frame to hold the mortgage paper (or maybe it was a copy of it.) As those four lit the paper, it burned in just seconds, but the applause went on for minutes.
God’s people celebrating His blessings.
Paper afire. Hearts ablaze. Oh, it’s such a joy to see God’s church in action.
Congratulations, First Baptist Church of Vernon IN.