The fifth annual Bash outreach last week was a smashing success!  It was a record-breaking event.  The Thursday morning session broke all previous attendance records with 156 children attending.  That record proved to be short lived when 181 children showed up the very next day!  On Friday evening the church was packed with children and their families for the closing rally.  Many boys and girls accepted Christ as personal Lord and Savior, and over 70 Bibles were given away to children who had never before owned a copy of God’s Word.

Ministry doesn’t just happen.  The Bash outreach involved a team of 90 servant-leaders from River of Life.  This team was made up of all age groups serving in various capacities.  Some worked in registration; others served in crafts and snacks.  Several were coaches who led teams of children throughout the Bash weekend.  And then there were those who served with sports, games, security, media, and the list goes on.

As beneficial as Bash was for the children who attended, it was equally beneficial for those serving.  We learned once again that it is more blessed to give than to receive.  Obviously, there was a blessing in watching God work in the lives of these precious children.  But there was also the blessing that comes with teamwork and the establishing and strengthening of relationships within the Body of Christ.

In football many members of the team stand on the sidelines while others are on the field playing the game.  And of course, there are the spectators in the stands.  But when it comes to ministry, everyone is needed on the field.  As ministry opportunities continue to present themselves at RLA, I encourage you to get on the field and get involved.  No matter who you are, you have something to offer.

So thanks to all those who worked hard to make this year’s Bash such a successful outreach to our community.  Our community is better, our church is stronger, and heaven is richer for it!

Pastor Todd Weston

Late one night, a man had gone to a party and had too much to drink, so he decided it would be best to walk home.  He found a shortcut through a poorly lit cemetery and, in the darkness, stumbled into an open grave.  He tried to climb out but the walls were too slippery.  Again and again he fell back into the grave.  Finally, in exhaustion, he settled in a dark corner to wait for sunlight.

A few minutes later, another man in the same condition was cutting through the cemetery and fell into the same grave.  He, too, tried desperately to climb out, and was equally unsuccessful. As he was about to give up, he heard a voice from the darkness of his pit: "You may as well give up. You’ll never get out of here."

He did!

A little motivation can go a long ways!  It can enable you to do things you never thought possible.  The first pastor I worked for right out of Bible College drilled this concept into my young mind: success in life and ministry depends on being a self-starter!  Don’t wait for someone or something to motivate you.  Learn how to motivate yourself.

It’s like Paul told Timothy, “Stir up the gift of God which is in you” (2 Timothy 1:6).  It’s in you.  You just have to stir it up.  Paul was telling Timothy to be a self-starter.  He was saying, “If you sense your motivation diminishing, you are the one responsible to turn it around.  If the spiritual embers of your soul are cooling, you must stir them up until they are hot again!  Don’t blame your lack of motivation on anything or anyone else.  You are responsible.” 

So stir up the gift in you.  Shake off that spirit of apathy and get passionate again.  Get motivated and stay motivated.  Don’t be a starter and a quitter.  Be a starter and a finisher.  It’s your job.  No one else is going to do it for you.  So get to work.  Get motivated!

Pastor Todd Weston