Sunday evening, May 4th, my wife and I had the pleasure and privilege of attending a celebration service with the members of four churches who have recently completed the twelve month process known as Reaching the Summit. All four churches have seen remarkable and significant change in the past year. Change is sometimes considered a dreaded thing in churches today. But the people of these four churches gladly talk about what they’ve experienced using words like incredible, a complete 180, and phenomenal. Change can be good. If you do not believe me, just ask the members and staff of Mansfield, Milstead, Grace, and East Newton Baptist Churches in the Covington, Conyers area of Georgia.
What we witnessed and heard at this celebration service and what these churches experienced varies according to the congregation but here are some of the facts and words of testimony.
- Two of the churches had not baptized more than three people in any given year for at least ten years. Some years they recorded no baptisms. A third church had baptized six, one of the past ten years, otherwise their numbers were the same as the first two. From May until December of 2013, two of these churches baptized eight and nine people. One of those has baptized five since the first of the year 2014. The third church baptized seventeen during the process.
- One church, as stated by one of the members, has experienced a complete 180. The church had been slowly declining and had leveled off when they decided to venture into the Reaching the Summit Process. Their Sunday morning attendance has increased by sixty-eight percent (68%). On Palm Sunday this church began a second service to accommodate the influx of people. They have started at least one new Bible study class on Sunday morning and have a new-found excitement in the church, spreading to the community.
- Each of the four churches have openly testified to spiritual growth in the church evidenced in and through the members. Throughout the process a consistent emphasis is placed on the spiritual intentionality of the church members, the health team and the pastor and staff.
These are only a fraction of the testimonies coming from the members of these churches. Last May, these churches began a journey; a journey they thought would take them 12 months to complete. Near the end of those twelve months each member of every health team realized, this is not a twelve month journey. The twelve months was only setting the stage, preparing them for the journey of a lifetime and beyond.
Here are links to videoed testimonies from three of the churches. Others will be uploaded to the SonC.A.R.E. Ministries channel in the next few days.
Mansfield Baptist Church http://youtu.be/Dc0RSFKPg4E
Milstead Baptist Church http://youtu.be/OYhbH-NL02k
Grace Baptist Church http://youtu.be/qmpq8sqjTbA
For more information on the Reaching the Summit Process and how your church can benefit from it contact George Yates and visit SonC.AR.E. Ministries.