Church Community Partners To Create Devotional
In the spring of 2020, after COVID-19 restrictions were in place, a group of pastors from Pequea Valley-area churches began meeting virtually, along with Adam Nagle, director of The Factory Ministries in Paradise. The idea was to share thoughts about what each was doing to help people deal with the uncertainties of the times.
"I think (we wanted the) churches to be a voice of hope to the community in a time of chaos and insecurity," said Greg Petersheim, executive pastor at Grace Point Church in Paradise and one of the authors of a new devotional that brought together writers from Bellevue Presbyterian Church, Gateway Church, Hershey Mennonite Church, Keystone Church, Maple Grove Mennonite Church, Ridgeview Mennonite Church, and Pequea Baptist Church, along with The Factory. "We wondered what we could do together with one voice to say there are promises you can rely on that stand true," he shared.
In January of 2021, the group began writing the devotional "Trust Me," which is based on the promises of God found throughout the Bible. The devotional is available in booklet format and as emails delivered on Mondays through Fridays beginning April 5 and running through Friday, May 21.
The idea of community was integral to the project from the beginning. "This felt like a way of saying, 'It's not just one of us. It is all of us,'" said Audrey Kanagy, pastor of Ridgeview Mennonite. Making that concept real included the devotional's writers processing as a group why they were undertaking the project and what it would look like when completed.
Nagle had experience writing a journal program that pulled together God's promises, which was used to help organize the 23 writers to share their wisdom on God's loving and unchanging nature, faithfulness, forgiveness, and more. Kylie Stoltzfus, director of communications with The Factory, formatted the writings for email and the booklet. The booklet was printed by Factory Prints.
Because the devotionals are timeless, the group brought them to the attention of Universal Bible, a phone app that could offer the writings to a worldwide audience. According to Scott Feather, pastor of Gateway Church in Parkesburg, the group is currently in the process of having its work added to the app.
Nagle noted that there is beauty in the church community coming together during a time when division has been prevalent. "That's the heart behind this," said Tim Rogers, pastor of Grace Point. "The churches wanted to offer an alternative vision of what a community that heals should look like." He believes that the group and the devotional draw attention to ways to move forward together that transcend division and worry. "The 'Trust Me' piece was 'Let's (let people know) that there's a God who does care and the churches will do the best we can,'" said Rogers.
Kanagy agreed. "We can use this at any time, but many of us talked about the value of all of us doing it at the same time," she said. "It's not just a unifying thing for us as pastors, but as a whole Christian community."
Readers who would like to sign up to receive the "Trust Me" emails may do so at http://www.tinyurl.com/trustme21. Copies of the devotional may be picked up at any of the participating churches and at The Factory Ministries, 3293 Lincoln Highway East, Paradise.
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