To kick off the Week of Prayer for North American Missions, we played the game, “To Tell The Truth.” during our morning worship service. Three ladies dressed up like Annie Armstrong. We had three persons who asked questions and a host. This idea came from the WMU, SBC web site. The questions were asked and answered by the three Annie’s. The information helped the congregation to learn more about Annie Armstrong who was a strong missionary advocate for North American missions.
In order to help the congregation to see the progress we are making with the North American missions offering, we are using a visual aid. We have placed a map of North America on a board, drilled a hole in the center of each state, and placed a strand of clear Christmas lights on the back of the board. Our goal was set and evenly divided among all states. Each time that amount of money is given a light is pulled to the front of a state. The board sets on an easel at the front of the church for all to see!
Our WMU meetings are held the first Tuesday of each month at Fants Grove. We have several older ladies that were once faithful members who are homebound or in nursing centers. Those ladies miss being with us and we miss them. We wanted to do something productive for them. During the month of March we decided we would take our meeting to National Health Care in Anderson, South Carolina and visit one of our ladies who suffered a stroke some years back. You could feel the excitement build as we sensed the spirit was with us. We enjoyed singing together a medley of songs about God’s love for us. One of our members, Elaine Williams brought an inspiring Bible study on the topic “Upsy Daisy” in which she shared that even when our lives are turned upside down, God loves and cares about us. She gave each lady a packet of daisy seeds with the name of a North American missionary tied to it with a colorful ribbon. This would remind us during this week of prayer to remember our North American missionaries. We took a gift for our friend to encourage her and to let her know that we love and miss her. We also wanted our friend to know that she was still a vital member of Woman's Missionary Union.
Fants Grove would fit into the category of a Small Membership Church. The majority of the members of the church and of Woman's Missionary Union are elderly. They have not let that serve as an excuse not to get involved. As you can see, missions and WMU is alive and well in that church. Way to go, Fants Grove Baptist Church and thank you for your leadership, Teresa!
