This past weekend I went to Grundy, Va, a small mountain village in the heart of Appalachia (an hour east of Pilkeville, Ky). On Saturday I visited a wonderful orphanage in Grundy that ministers to over 250 children from 6 weeks of age to seniors in high school. Most of the children at the Grundy Mountain Mission houses today are from Ethiopia and the majority of them have Muslim roots.
This wonderful ministry was started by a churchman in 1921 because his heart was stirred with compassion for children with no parents. Over the past 90 years thousands have gone through the Grundy Mountain Mission School and most have come to know the Lord because church people have donated millions of dollars and countless hours to live with and teach these needy kids. Today all of their graduates have the opportunity to go on to college because Christian people have generously provided scholarship money for them. It’s an amazing demonstration of the love of God extended to unbelievers.
On Sunday morning I preached for the 9th anniversary of the New Hope Christian church in Grundy. Bill Neeley is a former elder, businessman who helped found the church and is such a gentle, gracious minister that he is beloved by the church and community.
Two hundred attended the worship service in a modest structure they had sacrificed to build. Probably over half were living below the poverty level. A father and his teenage son came forward at the invitation and gave their lives to Christ and were baptized. That family was originally from New Orleans, having been dislocated by hurricane Katrina. They came to live in Grundy because relatives were living there. Someone invited them to visit New Hope, the church embraced them, included them and now the family belongs to Christ and the church.
Sunday evening the New Hope church was hosting a cook-out on their property and especially inviting area college students to come and enjoy a complementary hot dog, hamburger and drink.
When I got home I picked up the weekly newspaper from Southeast Christian Church and read that they had 51 new members the previous week (Most were first-time conversions) and there were 21,263 in worship. Last month the Southeast church took up a spontaneous offering for the victims of a vicious tornado in Southern Indiana and over $125,000 was collected.
I am again impressed that there are numerous churches of all sizes that are having effective ministries and winning people to Christ. We don’t read about them in the headlines but they are the salt of earth and helping to preserve the moral foundation of our culture. The fact that the church is usually ignored shouldn’t surprise us – salt doesn’t get much credit. You never hear someone get up from the table and say, “Wow! That was good salt!” No salt adds flavor and performs its function behind the scenes.
But the Grundy Mountain Mission, New Hope Christian Church and Southeast Christian church represent the work of God in the world – and the Lord is transforming numerous lives through the ministry of His church and His people. That’s encouraging!
– Bob
