My name is not important, but I want to tell you a story - the story of how Camdenton Community Christian Church came to be a church that is the talk of the town.
CCC is over 160 years old. At its inception, two small rural congregations were led by the Spirit to covenant together, forming Linn Creek Christian Church. When the dam was built in 1930 and the church building submerged in the creation of the Lake of the Ozarks, the church built a new building and moved to Caulfield Street in Camdenton, a few blocks from the center of town. By the early 60’s the congregation outgrew its facilities and were led by the Spirit to move once again, this time to the outskirts of town. At this juncture, however, the name was changed to Community Christian Church to reflect the ideology that we are a church for all people of the community and a church that serves the community.
We are known in town as a church that is active in benevolent ministries, and in fact our pastors or members have been instrumental in starting most of the local outreach ministries. Many of our members are involved in leadership and volunteering throughout the community or in organizations that promote community well-being. But the last ten years have seen a new outgrowth in the talk about our congregation, and that’s what I really want to tell you about.
The year is 2018 in Camdenton, Missouri, a small town with the feel of a larger city. A few miles down the road is Osage Beach, the destination for vacationers, shoppers, and convention-goers. The last 20 years have shown incredible change in the Lake of the Ozarks area, and Camdenton has been no exception. Although the population of the lake area was growing significantly, Community Christian Church did not experience proportionate growth. After trying several programmatic approaches, and expending energy on building and remodeling the facilities, the congregation felt a desire for more spiritual depth on a personal basis.
As I sat in the chair at Madge’s Hair Salon recently, I listened to a conversation that is typical of the kind of talk about our church that happens all the time. Let me tell you about that conversation.
Cindy began by thanking Madge for inviting her to attend church a few months ago. Cindy hadn’t grown up in church and didn’t realize what a difference God could make in her life. After accepting Christ, she had invited several coworkers to join her in worship on Sunday, and was excited because she thought they were going to accept her invitation.
Before Madge could respond, Pauline, another stylist, jumped in with her story of how Madge had been such an inspiration to her. Pauline had attended another church for many years, but had never attended any of the Bible studies that were offered. After hearing Madge share insights from her Bible study at CCC, Pauline was motivated to attend Bible study at her own church, and was really enjoying it.
A young man who was in the waiting area immediately spoke up to tell his story. He had gone through a very difficult time after his divorce. At Madge’s recommendation, he accepted a Stephen Minister from Community Christian Church. With the help of his Stephen Minister, he was able to pick up the pieces of his life after the divorce as well as develop his spiritual life through prayer and study. With tears in his eyes, he expressed his appreciation and surprise that Community Christian Church would provide that kind of care to someone who wasn’t even a member of the congregation.
Bob, the local golf enthusiast, shared his excitement at meeting a new guy on the golf course who was looking for a really dynamic church with a praise band he could join. Bob told him about the third worship service, which was recently added at Community Christian Church. The informality and the praise and worship style, sounded like just what the guy was looking for!
The conversation continued with a young woman whose son attends daycare at CCC. His enthusiasm and probing questions about Jesus have motivated her to start attending Sunday School and worship services.
Pauline shared how much her mother enjoys the interaction with the daycare children when she attends adult daycare at Community Christian Church, but her favorite activity is Bible study, where the older adults are encouraged to address the difficult questions that are important at that time of their life.
Just when I thought it couldn’t get any better, a jogger came running into the shop to return a book on prayer that Madge had loaned to him. He asked if membership at CCC is required in order to join one of the prayer groups, and Madge assured him that the groups are open to anyone who is interested in the power of prayer. She went on to explain that there is a prayer group that meets just about every day of the week. Some are during the day, others are in the evening. Some meet in homes, while others meet at the church.
As I was getting ready to leave after my haircut, John breathlessly rushed in, apologizing for being late. He had been detained while dropping things off at the Homeless Shelter. One of the men staying there had shared his need to make a fresh start in life, and John was directing him toward community resources that could help with job training and placement. John had also told him about the church bus that picks up people who need transportation to worship services. The man was concerned that he didn’t have proper clothes for church and wouldn’t be accepted because he was homeless. John assured him that CCC welcomes all people, regardless of their circumstances in life.
Amy commented that it seemed that everyone at Community Christian Church was involved with prayer, Bible study, and community activities. She just didn’t understand how it was possible to motivate so many people to be so involved.
Madge began to reminisce about how CCC became such an active, caring church. She said, “I remember about ten years ago when some CCC members started to hunger for a closer relationship with God. We decided that we weren’t as interested in being known for our numbers or programs as we were in being known for our spiritual depth and enthusiasm – an enthusiasm that would consistently draw people back and encourage them to live lives of faith and commitment. Once we made that decision and committed ourselves to prayer, study, and seeking God’s will for our personal lives as well as our congregation, God started to open doors for us. We try to nurture our own spirituality so we’ll be able to reach out to others, whatever their circumstances, and show them God’s love and acceptance. It wasn’t long ago that everyone in the congregation looked the same, dressed the same, and acted the same. That’s no longer the case. People of various ages, economic levels, education, and ethnicity now sit side by side to worship. We try to see Jesus in everyone we meet. Once we started to seriously seek God’s will, everything just snowballed. We started to get new members, and our long-time members really got involved in the life of the church. Small groups – prayer, Bible study, fellowship – started to spring up. I think we learned that when we take care of the really important things in life – our relationship with God and each other – all the so-called ‘programs’ fall into place.”
Now I didn’t tell you this story so you would know what a wonderful Christian Madge is. In fact, she would be very embarrassed if she knew that I shared this with you. I told you this story to illustrate the kind of interactions that take place every day in Camdenton and the surrounding area. In businesses, in schools, at the hospital, at sports events – anywhere you look – members of Community Christian Church are living out their faith as they go about their daily lives, led by the Holy Spirit. I wonder where the Holy Spirit will lead us in the next ten years?!