“Have You Heard The News?”

I stepped out of Customs @ Toronto airport last Thursday night, eagerly seeking out my wife’s face. After a satisfying greeting, she asked “Have You Heard The News?” I responded with “What news?”

Having spent the last 14 days between London, UK and Beirut, Lebanon, local – or even Canadian – news was sketchy at best, without a laptop and internet access.

 Midland was hit with a tornado that damaged businesses and residences in the area of HWY 12 – King St. and Smith’s Camp.

 While I was on the Mission/Study trip the trip leader quoted Schuller loosely, “Unless your church is more concerned with the needs of the community than the needs of the church, your church will not grow.” Certainly that is a challenging statement, one that deserves careful consideration rather than an immediate baptism.

 Here, I was, eager to share about so many needs in London, in Beirut … street children, and camps for children at risk; the plight of Palestinian refugees living in camps for 60 years (without commenting on the politics, just concern for a people who seem to have little hope for a future); churches surviving and thriving in countries largely Muslim; churches in the UK that have reinvented themselves through creatively reaching felt needs in their communities … AND I will share them, here in this blog, and elsewhere in the days ahead…

 And yet, here, in Midland, some very urgent and practical and immediate needs. Check this photo out: a man we know, his home a write off, much of his property for home and employment lost.

 So … fellow believers, you gain credibility for Christ as you express His concerns for the needs of others … and His provision. What needs in YOUR community need your help?

TTYL