In our teaching team meeting last week, I was reminded of the importance of John Wesley’s “Means of Grace.” John Wesley believed that "means of grace," include both "works of piety" and "works of mercy." As one website states: John Wesley taught that people must be Christians in both word and deed, which were to express the love of God. He believed that Christians must grow in God's grace, which first prepares us for belief, then accepts us when we respond to God in faith, and sustains us as we do good works and participate in God's mission.
Wesley’s “Means of Grace” is so vitally important because in the two-fold process of developing our personal relationship with God in worship and prayer – and then living out that radical relationship with God by actively serving others – we truly model the life that Jesus lived. Jesus would spend solitude with God, but He also healed the sick and served the hurting world that He came to save.
What is indelibly exciting to me is when I see this lived out not just in the lives of individuals, but when entire ministries model this “Means of Grace.” In all honesty, I would like to claim that in the planning for Axis this summer the means of grace was on the forefront of my mind. However, truth be told, as an Axis Leadership Team, we simply planned the summer activities. As I was musing about what to write for this newsletter though, God reminded me that Axis gets to live out the means of grace in the month of June. Not just individually in regards to the lives of students and volunteers, but as a collective whole.
On June 6-11 Axis is heading down to East St. Louis to build, paint, clean, and serve our friends in that community. We have the opportunity, as a ministry, to participate in “works of mercy.” That very next week, during VBS, several of our Axis students will be serving and helping in a myriad of ways to help our Children’s Ministry fulfill their mission of “Leading kids to Jesus for the adventure of a lifetime.”
The next week, on June 20 – 26, Axis will travel down to Beulah Camp for an intensive week of spending some serious time with God in worship, times of solitude, and in community with each other. It is a week full of “works of piety” as we draw near to our amazing God and develop our relationship with Him both as individuals and as a Student Ministry of New Horizon.
With all this in mind, please pray for us as we embark on living out Wesley’s “Means of Grace” this June. Pray that God will use us as only He can, and that we will discover the richness of His presence in new places and fresh avenues. I am consistently blown away by the support and love that you pour out upon me, our students, and the entire Student Ministry Team at New Horizon.