Can you say “Awkward?”

3 Uncomfortable Encounters that Explain Why Blessing Point Ministries Exists and Why You Should Consider Supporting Us

I thought I would share three uncomfortable experiences I had recently that underscore God’s call on Blessing Point to help heal churches with painful histories. The following events took place on the same day, within an eight hour period, on a recent ministry trip I took to St. Louis.

Awkward. There’s no other way to describe how I felt sitting next to a transgender person on the flight to St. Louis. I thought she was a girl, but her very deep voice gave him away. Welcome to our new cultural realities! Half way through the flight my discomfort deepened when she/he got out a book on witchcraft to read. I wondered how it came to be that I was in this seat, next to this person, having this experience, on the way to a meeting of Christian leaders to talk about healing churches with painful histories.

Secondly, when I arrived at the hotel I discovered I had left something at home which I needed for my trip. I walked to a downtown tourist shop to see if they had the item. On the way I saw a woman with an umbrella stroller sitting in the shade of a tall building. She appeared too old to be a mother and I saw no feet dangling from the buggy. But she was rambling on as if talking to an invisible infant. Accurate or not, it appeared this woman was unstable emotionally.

Then later that evening, when the air conditioner in my room failed, I encountered the third uncomfortable experience. I went downstairs to the lobby to see about getting it fixed. While waiting to speak to the desk clerk a lady came running into the hotel shouting, “Call the police! A woman is being assaulted in the parking lot!” Sure enough, a lady was being attacked by a violent man. I watched as three courageous pastors intervened. They were there for the same conference I was.

As I tried to sort out this pattern of experiences (something we do when we work with hurting churches), I sought the meaning of it all. Here is what I settled on: Blessing Point Ministries DOES NOT exist to heal churches so Christians can simply enjoy more “warm fellowship” together. It exists so that churches can offer the power of reconciliation to empty, broken, confused and lost people, like the ones I came across during that eight-hour period.

One church we worked with last year saw six people come to Christ in the last two months! A regional body we served saw its highest attendance at their district youth camp and many young people became converted. When churches and Christian organizations get healthy they still face challenges, but they trend in a positive direction. That means lives changed for the Kingdom. That’s the kind of fruit we covet!

When you support Blessing Point, you are not only helping heal congregations limited by unhealed painful events from its history, you’re helping them become ministries of reconciliation (2 Cor. 5:18).

Twice a year we ask friends to partner with us financially. This is one of those times. We appreciate so much your prayers for us, but would you also consider a contribution to enable us to help churches get healthy enough to bear “reconciliation” fruit once more? The churches we serve will appreciate it. And someday the lost folk who are reconciled to God though these congregations will appreciate it too!

Rev. Mark Barnard, President – Blessing Point Ministries

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2 thoughts on “Can you say “Awkward?””

  1. God bless you, Mark. Your understanding of Blessing Point’s ministry, to heal the church so that she can reach a lost and broken world, is spot on. We don’t seek for healing so that we can feel better, but so that we can feel the world’s pain and confusion and point them to the same One who healed us.

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