During my first years in ministry I had the benefit of learning from Pastor Merv Tonkin who had been appointed as my internship supervisor. We would often meet under a tree in a park, have lunch together and talk about what I was doing in ministry. And I gained some great insights.
Now not everything he told me I necessarily did. For example, when Pastor Merv was pastoring in Port Hedland, he preached the same sermon three times in a row. Strange but true. He told me that when he got up to preach he was so strongly impressed that he would put aside the sermon he had prepared and preach the sermon from the previous week. It was only after the third time that it found its audience and brought a significant change in the life of one of the listeners.
But one of the things I did admire was the way Pastor Merv worked in his community. You see he was a champion at sharing Jesus. And the way he would do this was to start a Signs round. He would work his block, dropping off a Signs magazine and then after the third time he would go to the door, meet the people and ask if they were enjoying the magazine. If they did not want it he would move on and start the process again with someone else. Simple!
Pastor Merv met a lot of people, made a lot of friends and led a lot of people to Christ. All through a simple magazine called Signs. Signs of the Times magazine is the Church’s front-line missionary tool that anyone can use to share Jesus. It can be put in a letterbox, left on the bus, put on a shop counter or given to a friend. Or if you don’t feel you can do this there are many front-line ministries that need your support to provide literature (Signs) to people they are ministering to.
Pastor Merv taught me many things. But the one that stands out above the others was how easy it was to meet your neighbours and share Jesus through Signs. This month is Signs month and I invite you to subscribe to your mission magazine and start your own community ministry or support a ministry by donating to a Signs project. Why not make a difference and give it a try? It is easy as going to signsofthetimes.org.au and clicking on subscribe.
