Delivery

The message of salvation has come to us, sent "special delivery" by Jesus coming to earth, in the form 
of a man, so that He could die in our place and bring us to Himself. 1st Thessalonians 2 states:
10 You are witnesses, and God also, how devoutly and justly and blamelessly we behaved ourselves among you who believe;
11 as you know how we exhorted, and comforted, and charged every one of you, as a father does his own children,
12 that you would walk worthy of God who calls you into His own kingdom and glory.
13 For this reason we also thank God without ceasing, because when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you welcomed it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which also effectively works in you who believe.

Christ came to proclaim the message of salvation, to illustrate our need for a Savior and to give His life in order for that to come to pass.  We were in no position to save ourselves and did not even have the means to do so. But, God in His mercy saw us in our sin, and provided the sufficient substitute - Jesus came to pay our penalty because we could not.  Out of His great love, God has saved us and commissioned us to share what He has done for us.

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God has brought the message of salvation to us, sending His Son to die so that we might live - and we are called to deliver His message through our obedience to Him. Romans 10 says:
13 For "whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved."
14 How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?
15 And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: "How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, Who bring glad tidings of good things!"

The coronavirus crisis has dramatically altered a variety of areas in which we live our lives. For instance, in the restaurant industry, dine-in has been replaced by such notions as home delivery and curbside pickup. The availability of products and services delivered to our homes was already established prior to the pandemic, and delivery systems continue to make sure that these things we need or desire are coming to our homes.  And, worship services are being delivered to us through online and other platforms.

A major Southern Baptist conference center in Oklahoma that is accustomed to having between five and eight thousand students attend its summer camps had a dilemma going into the summer of 2020.  Falls Creek Baptist Conference Center decided that since the students couldn't come to camp, they would take camp to the students, in the form of 14 Falls Creek Road Shows, according to an article on the Baptist Press website. 

Program Director Todd Sanders stated, “I thought the whole Road Show experience was really positive on a number of levels,” adding, “All of us coming together as Oklahoma Baptists made a well-rounded event a success.”

Over 3,000 people attended the 14 events, with over 400 total decisions being made, including 120 professions of faith in Christ. Plus, a Virtual Falls Creek was offered, that still remains online, which, based on Sanders' comments, "includes group Bible studies, sermon and worship set videos, breakout video content and other resources to help churches have a student camp event."

The article relates that:

In March, when the pandemic was beginning to affect the whole country, Sanders and other group leaders, as well as Hance Dilbeck, executive director-treasurer for Oklahoma Baptists, and other leaders began planning what to do if the Falls Creek summer weeks could not happen.

“Dr. Dilbeck presented the idea of the Road Show, and that is what stuck,” Sanders said. “I don’t think we referred to it necessarily as ‘Road Show’ at the time or even knew what that meant.”

So what about the content for these Road Show experiences?  Baptist Press quotes Sanders as saying, “We wanted to platform the Gospel and offer an invitation. We also wanted to offer students an opportunity to connect with missions and ministry.” It goes on to report:

Sanders said what helped students answer the call to ministry was hearing Caleb Freeman’s testimony. The 19-year-old, along with his father Jeremy Freeman, pastor of First Baptist in Newcastle, Okla., shared how he miraculously recovered from a severe car accident in December 2017.

The Road Shows also shared a video featuring two Oklahoma Baptists who are now serving in international missions. Brian Baldwin, student evangelism and missions partner for Oklahoma Baptists, gave a missions mobilization emphasis at each Road Show.

And, there was a special presentation for graduates: "U.S. Senator James Lankford, former Miss America Lauren Nelson-Faram, North American Mission Board leader Shane Pruitt, as well as state pastors and Falls Creek worship leaders and speakers gave encouraging messages for the Class of 2020."

So, it was all wrapped up and delivered to students across the state.

This is yet another example of how ministry continued in a creative and effective way, even in the midst of a pandemic.  And, there are several lessons for each of us.

This Road Show concept demonstrates out-of-the-box thinking.  The leaders, faced with the cancellation of a summer of activities, looked for ways for ministry to go on.  So, they took to the road, delivered to students across the state - and they took it to the stream, by offering a virtual option.  When we encounter a barrier to what God has called us to do, it's helpful to know that He is a source of wisdom, and we can seek Him for direction; after all, it's His work, and He is very good at providing ideas and resources.  

We can consider how we can get the gospel to people.  Sometimes we expect people to come to our church or ministry activity, and certainly these are effective models.  But, we can consider how we can get the message to the people, outside the traditional church structure.  After all, isn't that what Jesus did?  He went to where people were in need, they assembled - out of doors, in many cases - and He preached to them.  He even provided food in miraculous ways.  And, He continues to get the gospel message to us, a message of a God whom we could not reach because of the barrier of sin, who reached down to us, who came to us by sending His Son, so that we might know Him. 

God has "delivered" us.  He brought the message of salvation to us through Jesus, the Word who become flesh, and He has now delivered us, according to Colossians 1, out of the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light.  He is our deliverer, who is actively working in the lives of His people today.