I recently took a trip to the Gulf Coast and then the coast of Georgia. I know, I have really been suffering for Jesus! First, on April 14, I was honored to preach at Christ Wesleyan Church in Daphne, AL, which is co-pastored by my friend and colleague, Dr. Rob Haynes. This two year old church plant has the majority of its members in Wesleyan style Class Meetings and I shared with them how Fellowship Bands can also be a part of following Jesus together.
From there, we headed to Epworth By The Sea, a retreat center at St. Simon’s Island, GA, to serve on the retreat staff for The Order of the FLAME, sponsored by World Methodist Evangelism (WME), a sponsor of our ministry with Inspire. The FLAME retreat is aimed at encouraging and training pastors as Faithful Leaders As Mission Evangelists (F.L.A.M.E.).
During the week I was privileged to talk and pray with pastors from multiple denominations including the African Methodist Episcopal Church, the African Methodist Episcopal Church, Zion, the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church, the Wesleyan Church, the Nazarene Church, the United Methodist Church and the Global Methodist Church.
It was encouraging to see this cross-section of the Methodist movement focused on lifting up the name of Jesus and taking seriously the task and ministry of evangelism. I had some engaging conversations with participants around missional discipleship and the critical importance of Fellowship Bands and House Fellowships in developing Christians who are growing in their love of God, but also their love of neighbor by being everyday ordinary missionaries. It was an inspiring and encouraging week both for me personally and for our work with the Inspire Movement.
Brian
*image is of Chapel at Epworth By the Sea, St. Simon’s Island, GA
