What’s in Your Toolbox?

Every minister that has been at it for a while has a toolbox of ministries—ideas, programs, “tricks of the trade” he has used in prior places of service.  These are tried and true ideas he can implement in a new place of service which will enhance his church’s effectiveness as well as the congregation’s confidence in their pastor.

Pastor David Grinnell of People’s Memorial Christian Church, Burlington, North Carolina has Operation Inasmuch in his toolbox and he knows how to use it!  It served him well in a Baptist church in Jefferson and Hickory, North Carolina and it has “worked” well again recently at People’s Memorial where 136 volunteers completed 24 projects serving 972 people in need in the Burlington community.

The story of how Inasmuch came to be a staple in Grinnell’s ministry toolbox is a testimony to the fact that God is still using Inasmuch to mobilize believers beyond the walls of their church building. In the church in Jefferson Grinnell went through a time when he couldn’t sleep.  One evening in the middle of the night, he got up and said audibly to God:  “Lord, I think you must be trying to tell me something but I don’t know what it is.”  He opened his Bible and began flipping through the pages asking God to show him what he needed to know.  When he came to the “inasmuch” passage (Matthew 25), he paused and he sensed God asking him:  “What are you doing to do what this says?”  Then came another divine question:  “What are you doing to lead ugateamunited.com/online/ your church to do what this says?”

Grinnell had to answer honestly:  “Not very much.”  But at least he knew what the Lord wanted him to know.  He prepared and preached a sermon for his congregation the following Sunday on the “inasmuch” passage and the congregation responded overwhelmingly.  He says:  “Dozens of people came forward wanting to be the hands and feet of Jesus.”  Some time that afternoon, he thought to himself:  “Now what?!”  And he had no answer.

A couple of weeks later he was attending the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina when he discovered the first version of the Inasmuch book.  He quickly grabbed it up seeing that it provided the model whereby God’s specific directions for him and his church could be carried out.  If you would like to hear the full story of how David Grinnell found Inasmuch, you can hear it on the Inasmuch YouTube page at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=glFPfhAWK-Q&t=54s

Please note that the Inasmuch ministry did not take the initiative to introduce Inasmuch to Grinnell or his congregation.  In fact, he did not even know the Inasmuch ministry existed until 2016.  Only in his current congregation has he brought in Inasmuch to equip them to plan and conduct their first Inasmuch Day.  What his story shows is that God is working in the hearts of some of his leaders to move them out of the seats and into the streets.  He is guiding some of his people to put the Inasmuch model of community ministry into their toolbox . . . and use it!