Cayce UMC discovers new ways to become disciples God can use

By Porsche Barton

CAYCE—How have you made God’s love known this week? In an effort to find new ways to be disciples God can use, Cayce United Methodist Church continues to spread His words of love and compassion through what many call their “love board.”

What began as a challenge to show and give more love, thanks and honor to God and His people has turned into a church-wide phenomenon. Each week, church members are encouraged to write down testimonies of God’s love by giving their accounts of how they’ve shared it with someone else and posting it on the “How Have You Made God’s Love Known this Week?” board at the church.

The Rev. Joseph James, along with other members of the church’s committee on nominations and leadership development, wanted to create an open space where the congregation could share and even dialogue about how they reciprocate the blessings God has placed in their lives.

“We wanted to help people understand we don’t have to have a special role in the church; we make God’s love known every day,” James said.

“The idea was we wanted to get our congregation thinking about all the ways we serve our community,” said Collin Crick, a member of the committee, noting the purpose was also to infuse thoughts about individual involvement and inspire each other to do more and even replicate some of the actions from the board.

Members have shared a range of things to show there’s no limit to what can be done to reach out and help others, from “I drove my friend to the doctor” to “I read to a second grader” to “I took my wife out for dinner.”

They are encouraged not to write their names on the cards.

“It’s not a pat yourself on the back kind of thing or about telling people what you did,” James said.

Since the campus is large, the committee also decided to make the board movable so everyone could have a chance to participate. The board was made available to other fellowship areas of the church, including children’s groups.

“We didn’t want anyone to miss out on the opportunity,” Crick said.

“The children have really grasped it,” James said. “In fact, a lot of the responses are theirs.”

Crick said the experience has been enlightening, especially considering the way members are truly “being” the church on a daily basis.

“You get to see how others are affecting the community in positive ways,” Crick said.

It’s a message about how God’s love transcends all else, they say, and one more way to help people to become better disciples God can use.