I watched, with pride, as my daughter reminded me what church and faith is all about.
It was Sunday morning and we had taken the church to the community. There were over 35,000 people at the Festival and there we were, the Sallies (or Salvos) right in the middle of it. Big "Red Shields" out front, chocolate shields with our church details, flyers advertising our programs and mission, and our people in the new Church branded (Shield and Cross) shirts - there was no mistaking who we were, or Whose we were.
But back to my daughter: She sat at a table with crowds of children around her for 7 hours that day. Children of all nations and faiths came to have their faces painted, there were butterflies and Spidermen all over the place. Muslim girls in their head scarves, and islander boys, no matter who they were or what language they spoke: I heard my daughter asking about their lives, I heard her telling them how beautiful they were, I heard her sharing her journey with them, I watched as she engaged with them where they were at, and I saw them going away happy, excited and encouraged.
I don't know that the artist ever explicity mentioned the name of Jesus, or God, or Church - but I know that childern left knowing they were special!
That's sounds like a ministry that Jesus would be proud of to me.
