By: Mike Kelly
Retired Pastor
I wrote last week about a couple of people I consider visionaries: Co-Co Sumner and Fred and Jean Bittinger. Co-Co started a clothing ministry that helped tens of thousands of people around the world with clothing.
Fred and Jean helped make Christmas special for thousands of local children over the years.
And there were lots more like them. Patrick A. knew people who needed furniture and he would take his pick up truck around town when he’d see something at the curb that someone he knew might need.
The Church stepped in and rented a storage unit for the things he found and bought him a big van to carry those things in. People in the community heard about it and began donating their used furniture.
Soon the church purchased a 15-foot box truck and 4,000 square feet of warehouse space and 20 families a week were getting their needs met by being able to upgrade their furniture…all for free.
And there was Rita A. She had a passion for homeless people. She and her husband even converted some of their home in order to be able to take in homeless people.
The church was able to get a matching grant to help cover the conversion costs. Ultimately, their heart led to the Sanctuary homeless shelter.
Martine had a vision for feeding families. She started a food pantry that began on Sept. 11, 2001. It fed hundreds after the fears of 9-11. That vision led to buying over $100,000 a year of food to help feed families in Williams County.
Then, there was Steve A. He was Rita’s husband. His passion was for drug and alcohol addicts. He drove to Alvordton two or three times a week to conduct Bible studies with the men at Fresh Start Recovery Home there.
Then, he’d go with one or two other men every Sunday to pick those guys up so they could come to church.
These are the kind of people I was talking about last week. Men and women wholly committed to God that he called, equipped, strengthened and used to change lives.
But, there is more to their stories. You see, almost all of these people were broken more than most. Some of them wouldn’t have been welcomed in most churches. But God used them just like he chose David and Esther and Rahab.
Co-Co weighed about 300 pounds but stood only 5 feet tall. And she often smelled bad and talked out of turn and had no filters. Fred and Jean were still living in the hippie era of the 60s.
Fred was a tunnel rat in Vietnam and never got over the PTSD…or the need for a little chemical help. Patrick was from the hills and not real cultured.
He talked tough and acted tough and scared a lot of people. He is still one of my best friends. Martine was a little more “normal” in most ways but she was once a 16-year-old runaway. Rita was Steve’s wife and genuinely nice.
Steve, on the other hand, was a guy who never met a stranger but was also a Vietnam Vet who fought the drug habit most of his life. He often reminded me of a 5-foot-4 Santa Claus on speed. He was also my best friend while he lived.
I shared all this to remind you that God has a plan for you and a use for you in His kingdom. Your background, lifestyle, education, personality are all factored into his plan for you.
All you have to do is be wholly committed to Him. Ready to say “Yes, Lord” to whatever he might ask. Are you?
———————–
Mike Kelly is the founding pastor of Bryan’s Grace Community Church (retired) and Board Chairman of Bryan’s Sanctuary Homeless Shelter and Williams County’s Compassion (free) Medical Clinic.