United – a community for one!
Christians are known for many things, but unfortunately being united is not one of those things. It seems that, now more than ever, there are divisions within our churches, that people are making such a big deal out of, that we often forget to proclaim the cause of Christ to a world in need, because we are so busy dealing with so much division. Just take a look around. Have you ever wondered why there were so many different churches just in our community of Cedar Springs? We have the Baptists, the Methodists (United and Free), the Reformed, the Independent Bible, the Wesleyans, the Church of God, the Full-Gospels, the Evangelical Frees, and the list could go on.
Each of these denominations and different churches are a result of division. To put it plainly, church leaders couldn’t agree on what the Bible taught about certain subjects, and so instead of just agreeing to disagree, they divided. It’s sad, but true. Now, each of these churches plays a vital role in our community, and my intention is not to put one above another. My intention is to simply point out that the unity that Jesus prayed for in John 17:20,21, is unfortunately not present among the body of Christ as a whole. This is not uncommon; most communities across America are experiencing this same problem. Usually church leaders are known more for their disliking of other church leaders and their disagreement over other doctrines, than they are known for their cooperative effort to proclaim the good news of Jesus.
Well, it’s not going to be that way in Cedar Springs! The Cedar Springs Ministerial Association believes that there are way too many things that unite us, and it would be a shame to spend all our time bickering about the things that we disagree on. On August 29, we are going to have our 2nd annual community worship service. We have set aside this Sunday as a Sunday to unite. We will be holding a morning worship service in downtown Cedar Springs at Morley Park. The service will begin at 11:00 and will be followed by a free community picnic and a praise and worship concert afterwards.
The purpose of this event is for the body of Jesus Christ to come together for one Sunday and praise His Holy Name. We simply want to lift high the name of Jesus, because after all, He is what it’s all about! I want to encourage you to consider being a part of this event, and if you know someone who doesn’t know Jesus, bring them along and we’ll introduce them to Him. As children of the One and Only True God, let’s join together and make a statement, we are united – a community for one!
Pastor Kevin Reed
Grace Evangelical Free Church
4714 13 Mile, Rockford
