Signs of Life
by Blake Brown, Pastor of Southwest Harbor Congregational Church, Southwest Harbor, Maine
Every year, we wait and watch for the first signs of life each spring. Yes, yes, I know that summer has barely come to a close, but here in Maine we face a long, cold winter; so the first signs of life in spring are welcomed with enthusiasm and celebration. So it should be with spiritual signs of life. We should look for them not only in our own lives, but also in the life of the church, and celebrate them with enthusiasm as we see what the Spirit is doing. Here at Southwest Harbor Congregational Church in Southwest Harbor, Maine, there have been many spiritual signs of life and growth in the years since several dozen brave souls took this church back from theological liberalism in the early 1990s. As we look back, we see what the Lord has been doing here and stand in awe!
A Biblical Model of Leadership
In the later 1990s, the members began a study of church polity and realized that a church should have a biblical structure. With the leadership of the previous pastor twelve years ago, they began to plan for and implement the selection and ordination of elders. Since that time, elders have been installed and have begun to lead the congregation spiritually while at the same time shaping the deaconate to help with the physical needs of the body. There is still much to be done in both these areas, but praise God we are now doing it the way the Lord has intended… A Sign of Life!
A Thirst for God’s Word
At the beginning of our new life there was a dearth of God’s Word here at SWHCC. At that time we were yoked with a nearby church so that the pastor had to split his time and duties. Ten years ago we became independent of the other church and began an adult Sunday school hour. We began with a dozen or so adults who began feeding on the meat of the Word. God has blessed it and currently we have over 30 adults meeting each Sunday morning before worship. We also have seen an incredible growth in our children’s Sunday school from just a few to welcoming 28 children this fall… A Sign of Life!
A Desire to Rebuild
Each year we could look forward to the basement Sunday school rooms flooding, the septic system backing up and the steeple losing more shingles. Then, ten years ago, a group of men starting meeting each Monday morning for four hours to care for and work on the church building. They called themselves the GOMers (Grumpy Old Men). Little did anyone know that the GOMers would begin a transformation of the building that is staggering. They have ushered in a physical renaissance of our 130-year-old building, which was in dire need of TLC. Today we look around and are thankful to them, but most of all to the Lord for instilling in them a love for God’s property… A Sign of Life!
A Heart for the Youth
Ten years ago there was a vision cast for SWHCC to be reaching out into the community through the youth. At the time there was no youth group and only one teenager in the congregation! Today there is a part-time youth director and a vibrant and growing youth group that is 40+ strong each week! (That represents 30% of the 120 children in the local K-8 elementary school)… A Sign of Life!
A Love for Each Other
Several years ago a group of ten people began meeting in a home once a week to discuss the sermon and how it applies to their lives. Today there are four such groups with almost half of our membership meeting weekly with the goal of spiritual intimacy through “Discovering each other in the context of the Word”… A Sign of Life!
A Love for the Lost
In the Fall of 2009 several area pastors began meeting and praying for Christ to begin to redeem the island communities. That prayer was answered in the form of The Alpha Course. Beginning in the fall of 2009 our church partnered with three other area churches of different denominations with the same purpose of sharing Christ’s love in our communities. Over the past four years we have cooperatively run an Alpha Course with the goal of fulfilling our commission to “share the hope that is within us.”… A Sign of Life!
A Love for Missions
Last year SWHCC, in cooperation with two other area churches, sent our very first team on short-term missions to Haiti. They served the Good Samaritan Project (www.gsphaiti.org) in multiple capacities, such as teaching and preaching, administrative help and children’s ministries, as well as medical aid from a trained EMT. This has kick-started a short-term missions mindedness here with plans to do disaster relief this spring as well as possibly returning to Haiti in 2015… A Sign of Life!
There is so much else that the Lord has been doing here that space does not allow, but it suffices to say that the Lord has blessed us and kept us, He has turned His face toward us and been so very gracious toward us. He has given this dear church a period of love and peace that few have ever experienced (Numbers 6:24–26), and we give all praise to Him for that.
