Reaching Out to the Community and the World
By Andy Rector
In 2018, Southeast Christian Church in Louisville, Kentucky, experienced gains in many ways. รขยยIt truly was a year of growth,รขยย said Dave Stone, senior pastor.
Growth occurred in evangelism: รขยยThe majority of people who were baptized in 2018 were baptized by the person who led them to the Lord,รขยย Stone said.
Growth occurred with the facilities: Construction began on the Chapel in the Woods, only a quarter mile from the main campus. The chapel is designed for weddings, funerals, and worship.
There also was numeric growth: รขยยOur attendance grew more than any year in the past 16,รขยย Stone said. รขยยIn fact, every campus grew, and all of this happened in spite of the fact that we didnรขย™t start a new multisite campus in 2018.รขยย
All six campuses continued to reach out to their surrounding communities during the year. รขยยOur people have a heart for service, and they are deeply involved throughout our region,รขยย Stone said.
People at each site helped their neighborhoods by mentoring students and building frames for housesรขยย27 in totalรขยยfor those in underserved areas. Southeast also continued its รขยยCelebrate Christmas Togetherรขยย program.
รขยยIt is our gift to the community,รขยย Stone said. รขยยItรขย™s free and has become a great encouragement and outreach for those who maybe canรขย™t afford many Christmas activities. It is a nonthreatening and easy invite for our members to get co-workers and friends inside of Southeast.รขยย
Southeast satellite campuses continued to serve beyond their local communities by reaching out to the world. For example, all six campuses worked together to pack 1 million meals to help with famine relief in Africa.
Southeastรขย™s Elizabethtown, Kentucky, location, which opened in 2017, began last year by packing 44,000 meals.
รขยยEntire families can serve together,รขยย said Michael Kast, campus pastor at E-town. รขยยI love looking across the room and seeing moms, dads, and kids serving together, shoulder to shoulder. Even though the jobs were fairly simple, the food made a huge impact to those in need.รขยย
During July, Southeastรขย™s lowest attendance month, the church rolled out รขยยAt the Movies,รขยย a sermon series designed to make it easy for people to invite their friends to church.
รขยยIt caught some real momentum,รขยย Stone said. รขยยIt grew each week, as people who had never invited a person to church invited freely. Somehow, other than Easter, it became our highest attendance month of the year. God truly showed up and it gave us great momentum going into the fall.รขยย
And fall is when Stone announced he will pass the baton of leadership at Southeast to Kyle Idleman sometime this year. รขยยHeรขย™s been given more and more leadership responsibilities and our members are excited for him to lead,รขยย Stone said.
Idleman said he feels both humbled and confident as he assumes his new role.
รขยยBeginning with my dad [Ken Idleman], and then Bob Russell and Dave Stone, I have had a front-row seat to see leaders who walk in true humility and integrity,รขยย he said. รขยยI am especially grateful for the way Dave lives that out. Not everyone gets to follow someone they genuinely love and respect. I donรขย™t take it for granted.รขยย
The handoff to Kyle Idleman has been รขยยcarefully planned for years,รขยย Stone said. รขยยThe future looks brighter than ever for Southeast.รขยย
Andy Rector is a writer and graphic designer from Louisville, Kentucky.
Author: Christian Standard
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