Serving together Saturday was cool

This past weekend, before the glory that was the UT/Auburn game (very sad sarcasm there), we had our first Ridge Church service project.

KARM (Knox Area Rescue Ministries) is a great ministry here in Knoxville. Their mission is "to seek to rescue the poor and needy of the Knox Area by providing services in Jesus' name." They do great work with the needy and homeless folks in our area. To give you just a glimpse of the scope of KARM's ministry, they served 371,876 meals last year (that's over 1,000 per day!). To get some other cool facts about KARM, check out this page.

Saturday, a group of Ridge Church peeps served at the new KARM thrift store on Merchants Drive, helping to sort the clothing donations they've received. The store will be open soon (if it's not already!) so check it out! KARM's thrift store operations pay for about 25% of the meals they serve at their ministry center. The other 75% is paid for by the donations of "viewers like you."

The Ridge is looking for "a few good ministries" to partner with as we move forward with our church plant. We are committed to seeking the welfare of the city we live in. (See Jeremiah 29:3-7--but rest assured Emily and I do not feel "exiled" to Knoxville!) We also want to follow Jesus' last directive to his followers: take His Gospel to all the nations/peoples of the world. (Acts 1:6-11) Since we're in Knoxville right now, Knoxville is where we'll start!

It's important that a church be about both helping the needy and sharing the truth of Christ's life, death, and resurrection with them. Many churches have created an imbalance there. Either they only help the needy and never share the story of Christ's love with them, or they only preach to them and never help them with thier problems.

The Ridge firmly believes in ministering to the poor as a way to "earn the right" to tell them about Jesus and help them in their suffering. We also believe in telling the poor about Jesus so that our ministry can have a spiritual impact as well as physical, social, and emotional impact. It's kind of like the old "chicken and egg" riddle...

Deuteronomy 15:11 is one Bible verse (of a great many) that supports helping those who are in need. However, Christ also strongly commanded us in the Great Commission to "make disciples" (followers of Christ) in the whole world.

Perhaps the Great Commandment sums it up best in Mark 12:28-31: "And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, 'Which commandment is the most important of all?' Jesus answered, 'The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.'"

So, in short, we're going to be all about loving God and loving people at Ridge Church. And serving our community's ministries, schools, and neighborhoods is one way we're going to show that love. Join us and see God do some awesome stuff!