Today was my first day in Fargo, ND. To my surprise it is not as cold as I was told. Thank the Lord for that one! This morning we had the opportunity to worship with the church that is hosting our group. This was a reality check for me because it was the largest Southern Baptist Church in Fargo. This church had a loving and very welcoming congregation of roughly 50. This was very sobering to me because back home I attend a church that has roughly 1200 to 1400 on a Sunday morning. Not only was it small but it is one of about 3 SB churches here. Now this services was awesome it was not the big production that we as Southern Baptist have come to expect from our medium and large churches. I was so humbly reminded that it is not about what is involved in the service but are we there and present to focus on our attention on Glorifying God. A member of the congregation did a welcome and read this passage to focus our hearts and mind on the service and it spoke such truth into my heart.
Shout for joy in the LORD, O you righteous!
Praise befits the upright.
Give thanks to the LORD with the lyre;
make melody to him with the harp of ten strings!
Sing to him a new song; play skillfully on the strings, with loud shouts.
Psalm 33:1-3
After church we ate lunch like good SB. Then we did some orientation for the week with one of the sojourners that is heading up Sojourn Fargo (a church plant with a twist). His name is John Fisher and he is an alum of WKU along with the other sojourner Jeremy Robinson who is also an alum of WKU. Jeremy holds a special place in my hart because he was my bible study leader at WKU for my first two years. These guys have an amazing vision of how to reach Fargo for Christ. It is by no means a quick fix but a very relational approach to ministry. They both are bi-vocational pastors. They believe that this is necessary because they understand that financial support given to them may not always be there so is how they approach it so they can continue to be there when the money may not be. Also this style of living gives them the opportunity to take part in what they call "intentional living". This is where they live normal lives but are seeking opportunities to share the gospel with those they make connections. Who do you have the closet connection to on a daily basis? Your coworkers. On top of that they both are married and John has a little girl that is one years old. On a lighter note John's little hates boys and so during the worship service this morning she gave me and one of the other guys the stink eye all during service.
Another interesting aspect of their ministry is that they have not immediately sought to find a building and start their own church. They have decided to build relationships with people and then over time encourage people to either come partner with them in starting a fellowship with them or to partner in with one of the established churches in Fargo. This is huge because there are not many people who are actively living to seek God's purpose for their lives. They have run into many people who went to church and were confirmed at a young age and then have wondered off on their own path and may frequent a church from time to time but not living out what they claim to be. They say they are "religious" but do not have a personal relationship with our creator. This saddens my heart to think that I have gone overseas to share the gospel with those who are "lost" and I have missed my own fellow countrymen. I have understand the need for international missions but I had never fully understood how important it was for "home" missions.
This week we have a very special opportunity to help these guys out. There are three campuses that are in Fargo-Moorhead area that crosses over the two states of North Dakota and Minnesota. We are breaking up and going and surveying these three campuses to help them figure out where are the hot spots on campus and how can they get involved on campus. This task may seem very easy to me but I understand that as a college student I should be able to walk on a campus and find out these things. For someone who is not a college student then it could be difficult to make these connections. Then two nights out of the week we are going to the Fargo Dome to make sand bags. This city floods almost annually. Last year the river crested at 41 ft. That is almost double what is considered flood stage and almost 10 feet above what their natural level system can handle. So we are going to help them try to get started on having one million sandbags in reserve before the snow really starts to melt.
This is a recap of day one in Fargo. Please pray for us as we make our way out on the campuses that we make connections and find ways for Sojourn Fargo to make impacts on them. Also that we keep up our spirits because there are 20 members on this trip and one shower for all of us to share. It might get a little tense around here.
Here is a scripture that we as a group pondered over this evening in our devo time as a group:
That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life— the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us— that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. 4And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.1 John 1:1-4
