Something Special in a Mainline Denominational Church
September 21, 2017Something Special in a Mainline Denominational Church
There was a time when mainline denominations shied away from conducting what might be called those “old fashioned revival meetings.” In efforts to portray themselves as thoughtful Christians, not carried away by emotional manipulations from the pulpit, mainline church leaders reacted negatively to what they often saw in wild-eye preachers who often came across as demigods.
The good news is that most mainline church leaders have grown beyond those negative stereotypes of revivalist preachers and now make room for what is often referred to as “traditional evangelism.”
Such is the case for Jessica Winderweedle, the pastor of the Kingston United Methodist Church, (located just a few miles north of Princeton, NJ). Jessica is having me speak to her people at 7:00 PM on the evenings of Sunday, October 1st, Monday, October 2nd, and Tuesday, October 3rd. One of the members of her small Methodist congregation and a driving force behind this evangelistic effort is Professor Kenda Dean, a professor at the prestigious Princeton Theological Seminary. These meetings are a daring effort for Jessica and Kenda to attempt at a time when such meetings are generally not the norm for mainline denominational churches, and usually not attempted by a small congregation. What they are doing deserves our support.
Needless to say, I am thrilled to be the preacher for these meetings, and I hope and pray that some really good things come out of this special evangelistic effort.
I know many people in the Princeton area and I hope that many of them will show up to support these meetings. I, personally, need your support. The Kingston United Methodist Church needs your support. If what happens there in early October proves effective, efforts like this one are likely to be replicated in other small but dedicated churches. Pray about this and attend the meetings if you can.
