Church Over 40 e-news is back! We’ve moved from Indiana to Wisconsin to coordinate the Pastoral Ministry Program of the Kern Family Foundation in Waukesha. This program provides scholarships for evangelical seminary students through 7 seminaries, and follows the students through the first several years of their initial postgraduate ministry experience.

Saying goodbye to our congregation in Indianapolis was very difficult. That church was founded in 1832, and we had served as senior pastor since 1991. We will always remember those years with gratitude. We are especially grateful to God for allowing our church to become better at understanding and reaching out to unchurched people.

Rumors of the death of mainline congregations are greatly exaggerated. Any congregation can grow again if, and this IS a “big if,” it develops a passion for reaching unchurched people.

In Luke 15 Jesus tells three parables: The Lost Sheep, The Lost Coin, and The Lost Son. In each story, Jesus emphasizes God’s desire to find the lost. In our book and web reviews this month we feature Adam Hamilton of The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection in Kansas. This church has a mainline Protestant heritage. They have learned to understand and reach out to unchurched people and introduce them to Jesus Christ.

Jesus said, “Do you think the work of harvesting will not begin until the summer ends four months from now? Look around you! Vast fields are ripening all around us and are ready now for the harvest. The harvesters are paid good wages, and the fruit they harvest is people brought to eternal life. What joy awaits both the planter and the harvester alike!” (John 4:35-36)

We hope and pray that your summer includes some of that joy, whether through planting, harvesting, or both.