By Rev. Garison Taylor


e live in interesting times, be it global economic worries, global health worries, or just the fact that it is increasingly         Truth as “everyone [does] what was right in their own eyes.” I answered a new call in June of 2020 in the middle of Covid. Although we had been   our “known” community.


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Moving to a small town to do ministry where no one knows you, and where those who live here have grown up here and have had a deep-  do effective outreach. On top of that, generations of division, whether real or perceived, also adds challenges. - ture, history, and brilliance; it is also small and elderly. I state all of this because of the complexity of desiring to do outreach and have VBS for  church has the desire, but not enough able-bodied members who can play and teach.  us as a church to have a group of young people from another church come and help us put on a VBS. I began reaching out to churches, espe- cially ones that were no longer going to Appalachia, a mission trip for high school students formerly hosted by C.E.M. (as I didn’t want to steal or divide from that ministry). Last December, I got a phone call from a church that had heard our plea for help. 


for a week of VBS and service. This group of young people and their leaders did a fantastic job. From the teaching material that the church wrote, to the games played in the heat (it is central Florida in July), to singing mu- sic, and serving the community at our local care center, these youth served without complaint and with joy in every moment. They helped open doors for us to reach out to the parents and kids and to continue to have gospel conversa- tions with them.


Though we have not seen a great influx of families attend- ing our church, or even had huge numbers attend VBS, seeds have been planted. One of the children who attended stops by our house most days to play, hang out, and eat our food. This child has no background in church, he knew nothing of Jesus, and he knew continued on the next page


November/December 2022 7


Cover Story


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