By: Gene Miller, Marysville Area Ministerial Association President and Agapé Community Fellowship Senior Pastor
God is moving and there are incredible things happening in our community. A lot of focus has been put on all of the things that have gone wrong this year yet there is a tremendous amount of good that has happened as well. The churches of the Marysville Area Ministerial Association (MAMA) as well as the Hope Center have played an important role in reaching those in need this year.
We have seen extra precautions taken to try to slow down or to stop the spread of the virus. People have focused on staying healthy and keeping others healthy. That’s the way a community should work! But even more important, we have seen many, many people look for and find a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ as well as more focused time with family and other close relationships. A lot of the idols that we have allowed to take the time and attention that God deserved were ripped away–things like sports, materialism, and entertainment.
As we look to the future I pray that we never go back to normal! What do I mean by that? We want to see more intentionality, more purpose, more moving outside the four walls of our church buildings and really focusing on meeting the needs in our community. I know our church, Agapé Marysville, and many other MAMA churches continue to meet safely and protect those that are more vulnerable since Scripture tells us that we should not neglect the habit of meeting together. This is not the first pandemic that The Church has had to deal with over the centuries, and just like then, we’ve seen the church actually step up and work very hard to make sure people’s needs were met within our community.
We are so blessed to have the Hope Center already in place. It has been such an integral part of helping many of those in need. The vast majority of pastors that I have talked to have actually seen an increase in giving that corresponds with the increase in needs as well!
As far as what the future holds, God is moving in powerful ways, I truly believe we will see revival in our community as God’s Kingdom continues to expand. The enemy is running scared. When we see violence and chaos break out we know that it is the enemy reacting to what God is doing. We need to continue to pray and expect God to show up in big ways. God created us to be in community and relationship with others. For those who are alone, lonely or looking for something more, we invite you to join us. God is growing His kingdom here in Marysville and Union County.