Somewhere Out There…..
“If you see some brother or sister in need and have the means to do something about it but turn a cold shoulder
and do nothing, what happens to God’s love? It disappears. . . . My dear children, let’s not just talk about love;
let’s practice real love. This is the only way we’ll know we’re living truly, truly in God’s reality.” (1 John 3:17-19, THE MESSAGE)
Somewhere out there is a five-year-old boy who doesn’t know that right now plans are being made by a congregation he’s never heard
of to offer a neighborhood vacation Bible school that will change the direction of his life. The songs he will sing will stick in his
mind, the stories of Jesus will enliven his imagination. The puppet show will make him laugh, the teacher will make him feel loved
and welcomed, and the hospitality of those followers of Christ will so touch his mom and dad that they will take a small, unexpected
step toward faith.
Somewhere out there is an elderly woman who feels like everyone has forgotten her. Her world has shrunk to her small apartment, the
weekly trips to the grocery store, and the visits to the doctor’s office. Her television has become her best friend. She doesn’t know it,
but right now a nearby congregation has awakened to the calling of God to invite people like her to a weekly lunch and to a chance
to serve others. Soon she’ll use her long-neglected skills to knit baby blankets that will wrap medical supplies bound for Central
America, and this taste of community and purpose will save her life and give her a rebirth she never imagined possible.
Somewhere out there is a young couple stressed to the breaking point by personal debt. Fear squeezes the life out of them and fills
their hearts with an unmitigated worry and an all-encompassing anxiety. The simple joy of shared companionship has given way to
nonstop arguments about money. They don’t know it, but one of their colleagues is praying for them, and asking God for the right
words with which to invite them to come with her to a seminar at her church about managing money. The long path to new life and
restored relationship will take them through the doors of a church they’ve never heard of and into a community that will shape them
forever.
Somewhere out there is a teacher who thinks no one else cares about the children she has given her life to serving. Her school room is
rundown, and there’s less money now than ever before to provide the resources she needs to do her job. She has no idea that a congre-
gation is preparing themselves for a new ministry that will change her circumstances. Six months from now she will weep with joy as
strangers repaint and refurbish her classroom. She cannot imagine that droves of people will step forward to volunteer to tutor, to read
stories, and to coach basketball. She has no inkling of the effect this will have on her and on her students, and how this will open the
door by which she rediscovers her own faith in Christ.
Somewhere out there is a young man whose inability to cope with the basic mechanisms of daily living has caused him to lose his job,
to stop taking his meds, and to slip through the cracks of every social, community, and family network. He kept falling and falling un-
til now he sleeps on the streets, carries cardboard for bedding, and digs through trash for dinner. He has no idea that a congregation is
gearing up to offer a soup kitchen, and that this ministry will change his life. He cannot imagine that as he is served a meal, someone
will engage him in conversation, treat him as human, listen to his story, learn his name, and reconnect him to his family and to the
social networks that will allow him to live again a basic life with dignity. He has no idea that God, working through people desiring to
follow Christ, will restore him to a life he barely remembers.
Somewhere out there in an African village a young girl and her little sister read stories together in bed, both of them safely protected
by a mosquito net bought by the youth of a rural church in the Midwest. No one can see it now, but she will grow up to become a doc-
tor, relieving the suffering of thousands. She will live a full life that never would have been possible without a simple net and many
generous young hearts across the globe
People ask me what I hope happens when a congregation focuses on the Five Practices. When I picture success, I don’t see smiling
pastors with good preaching material or church committees with well-developed strategic plans. I imagine that somewhere out there,
somewhere in Texas or California or Virginia or Michigan or Mozambique, somewhere in a town like yours or a neighborhood near
you is a person who has no idea of the change that is coming his way or the grace that will transform her. I picture the person un-
knowingly prepared by the Spirit of God to receive the embrace of Christ that people will offer when they come alive with purpose
and fulfill the mission of Christ.
Somewhere out there is a person God plans to use you to reach. Somewhere out there is a person God will use to change your life as
you reach them. Somewhere out there is a person for whom Christ died, and for whom your church was built, and for whom God has
uniquely prepared you to reach.
Questions:
• Who are some of the “somewhere out there” people you and your congregation are reaching?
• Who are you uniquely qualified and perfectly situated to touch with the grace and ministry of Christ whom no one else can
possibly reach?
Prayer:
Lord, may I not miss the person you have prepared me to reach on your behalf, and not fail the calling you have given me in Christ.
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