By Michele Dyer, LIFE Group Leader
We had such a great time at Set Free Church on Saturday!
It was incredible to see God orchestrate the whole project and to get to be part of what He so obviously wanted to accomplish for this amazing ministry. Here’s how it all came together….
Since engaging in the world is part of the function of a LIFE Group, we knew we wanted to be involved in serving others together. Our group recently went through PLACE together and we learned about one another’s gifts, talents and passions for serving others. It was a great way to get to know one another and to discover some of the collective desires and talents we have as a group for serving others. After we finished PLACE, we went through the study Experiencing God by Henry Blackaby. When you do this study, you become keenly aware that God is at work all around you, and it’s key to pay attention to where you see Him working so that you can join in the work He is already doing. So, with all the pieces of this puzzle coming together, I think we were all on high alert about how God might be leading us to do that.
One Saturday, one of our members, Kilynn, was at Set Free Church helping with the MDU (Medical/Dental Unit) and had a conversation with the pastor about repair work that needed to be done at the church. That same week, I had a conversation with a friend who works at Home Depot who told me that they often donate materials to help with service projects that involve repairs. Set Free also came up in conversations that others in our group were having. Needless to say, God had our attention! Realizing that we had an architect and three others in our group who were skilled in construction, we knew we were poised to be able to help, so each of us went to work using our own gifts and abilities to help them accomplish the work they needed done.
Everyone chipped in….some doing planning and preparation, others doing the heavy lifting and hard work when it came time to do the repairs. Home Depot (and some friendly neighbors) did, in fact, donate all the materials to get the job done. Our families were all able to serve together and the men of Set Free worked alongside us. It was very special to witness everyone coming together, each contributing in his/her own way, to serve and encourage each other.
We will be going back over the course of the next few weeks and for Engage Middle Tennessee on April 23 to finish up several projects but, when all is said and done, two bathrooms will be newly outfitted with new vanities, toilets and fixtures; masonry repair will have been done to stop leaks in the front entry; brand new tile will replace broken flooring in the main foyer; a new bar will be built for serving meals; and the stairwell will be re-plastered and brought up to code. I may even get to teach PLACE for the guys in April! Most importantly, we’ll have a lasting partnership and friendship with the men of Set Free. We’re all very excited about the great Kingdom work God has ahead for us through this partnership.
