Sometimes the most exciting ministries...
Illustration
Sometimes the most exciting ministries are started with not much logic and little more than someone stepping out in faith to the beckoning of Christ. The ministry of Wayne Gordon was just such a venture.
Starting out at the local inner city high school as a football coach, he soon discovered that the school district had no weight equipment for players to train with. He went to the Chicago Bears and got some weights donated. He then opened a storefront weight-training center and charged kids a quarter to use the facility. In addition to weights, the kids got a small dose of prayer and Bible study. With the extra quarters he bought a washer and dryer for laundry, eventually hired some moms to help run the place and gradually expanded his ministry.
Wayne then approached denominational leaders to start a congregation. Those leaders, however, thought that such a venture made no sense. The area was too unstable, too economically limited, too risky. Undaunted, he continued on, organizing a congregation and reaching out with faith and the ability to do what seems impossible that comes with it. Today that south-side Chicago congregation is a large and vital presence, with dynamic worship, life-changing community involvement, several pastors and other staff people, and a bright future. All this because someone dared to step out in faith and do what Jesus asked -- no matter how impossible it might have seemed to the rest of the world!
Starting out at the local inner city high school as a football coach, he soon discovered that the school district had no weight equipment for players to train with. He went to the Chicago Bears and got some weights donated. He then opened a storefront weight-training center and charged kids a quarter to use the facility. In addition to weights, the kids got a small dose of prayer and Bible study. With the extra quarters he bought a washer and dryer for laundry, eventually hired some moms to help run the place and gradually expanded his ministry.
Wayne then approached denominational leaders to start a congregation. Those leaders, however, thought that such a venture made no sense. The area was too unstable, too economically limited, too risky. Undaunted, he continued on, organizing a congregation and reaching out with faith and the ability to do what seems impossible that comes with it. Today that south-side Chicago congregation is a large and vital presence, with dynamic worship, life-changing community involvement, several pastors and other staff people, and a bright future. All this because someone dared to step out in faith and do what Jesus asked -- no matter how impossible it might have seemed to the rest of the world!
