Invest Today, Payoff Tomorrow
Hello Church Family,
I hope that you are doing well and having a good start to this very hot week. I am not going to pretend that I know much about investing in the financial markets or retirement funds, but I know that it is something that we all need to do. I am thankful for the people who take care of managing these things and help us to have a secure financial future. Today I want to focus on a different type of investment and that is the investment we make in other people. This morning I dropped off my youngest son, Brennan at the student center to go to summer camp for the next few days. I am excited for him, as I know that camp can be a wonderful place for students and children to grow in their faith and to make life-changing decisions. I am thankful for the student ministry leaders who are accompanying our students to camp and who will be investing in their lives this week. I am also thankful for the group of volunteers who will join me in two weeks as we take our kids to summer camp at Camp Oak Hill. Each of the students ministry leaders and children’s camp counselors are investing in the lives of our young people. Although they may not see immediate results in their investment, their time spent will pay off.
Over this past week, I have seen an investment that I made in the life of a family pay off. The joy of being on staff at Hyland Heights for over 20 years is that I can see how God uses time that I spent in the past to give God glory today. A few days ago a young man, who was in our children’s ministry several years ago and who is now almost 20 years old, contacted me and said that his girlfriend wanted to be saved. He said she had many questions and had a great desire to make this commitment to Christ. I was excited to meet with them, and witness her make that commitment to Christ. It was one of those moments when there is no doubt that the person was sincere and their life was changed. Not more than an hour after I left their house, I received a text from a different young lady who was dating the brother of my former student. She too was under conviction and wanted to make a decision for Christ. Last night, Amy and I went back over to their house and as soon as the conversation turned to spiritual things, with tears in her eyes she said, “I am so ready to do this”. I can say without a doubt that she too accepted Christ and we now have two new sisters in Christ! I hope that in the near future, we will witness these two young ladies being baptized and make their decisions for Christ public.
I'll tell you this not to brag in myself but to brag on the goodness of God. You see, by investing in the life of this young man years ago in kids ministry (and continuing to invest in him through his teen years), God used that to impact his girlfriend. This in turn, showed the second young lady that coming to Christ is simply knowing you need him, repenting of your sins, and committing your life to Him. Again, investment made in the past was paying off in the present. Jesus said in Matthew, ““Do not lay up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also”. That is a mandate, not a recommendation. My challenge to you today is number one; please pray for our students, student leaders, and kid’s camp counselors over the next few as they invest in our young people. Secondly, who are you investing is? Spend some time this week showing God’s love to someone. The results may not be instant, but God will use your investment for His Kingdom. I hope you have a great week. Go out there, and invest in someone today.
God Bless!
Pastor Mike Summy
Children's Pastor