This year Adventist Community Services is celebrating 50 years of ministry with a convention in Dallas, Texas. We all know that ACS has been around for longer than this, and we can even trace it back to Bible times with Dorcas, whom Peter rose from the dead. Lovingly, for a long time, our centers were called and still may even be referred to as “Dorcas” centers.
The purpose of our pioneers who started a community service program knew that this ministry would provide opportunities for soul-winning, and they recognized that the church they began was organized for service. They understood, as is stated throughout the book Welfare Ministry, that the work of service to those in need would help us to understand the mercy of God, and unselfish giving of time and money would develop our characters. In fact, White even says that this work is our “God-appointed work,” to relieve those who are lost by meeting their basic needs and directing them to Jesus.
Adventist Community Service Centers strive to do just that. Despite maybe being called a “glorified garage sale,” the ACS center is in fact a center of personal ministries as part of the grow cycle. There are many who may think negatively of our centers, but by the grace of God the reputation of the ACS is changing, and your ACS leaders and volunteers recognize the mission, are front-line soul-winners, and follow Jesus’ method of soul winning as it is outlined in Ministry of Healing.
Let’s look at the GROW MICHIGAN cycle, and apply it to ACS, as if we are getting the soil ready for planting a garden.
How to Prepare the Soil to Plant a Garden.
- Test the soil: In the beginning stages of ACS service you need to test the area around you. Go door to door asking what the needs are, let the community know that our church wants to help. Talk to the community leaders, service leaders, form relationships, and let them know that your church is here ready to serve. Find out what will best serve your community, being sure not overlapping other services. If you are an established ACS, keep in contact with your community. Challenge yourself: will they miss you if your service center disappeared tomorrow?
- Add compost: Once you establish the needs of the community, let the community know. Advertise, visit local leaders, and connect with other nonprofit organizations. Communicate, feed the soil.
- Amend problem soils/add nutrients: As you know from the pandemic, sometimes you just need to adjust. Some ACS clothing centers found out they needed to add a food pantry to their centers. Meet the people where they are.
- Till the Soil: As you meet those who come to the centers, get to know them. Find out about their families, are they doing ok, can we pray for you? Know their names. Be genuine, show disinterested benevolence.
- Add mulch: Once you’ve established a relationship, ask them if they would like to study the Bible, come to our church, be a part of our family.
As in any process this cycle takes time, it would not work well to throw the mulch on before you tilled the soil. That will only cause a problem. We need to remember that every person that crosses the thresholds of our ACS centers is a soul to be won for Christ. Our centers have served almost 30,000 people in the last year alone. This may be the only chance we have to connect with them. They may say no, but the Lord honors our efforts. There are so many more ways to serve, blanket ministries, homeless ministries, diaper ministries, laundry ministries, shoes ministry, seminars to better lives, health ministries. ACS should be a safe place to get their needs met and to meet Jesus.
Welfare Ministry, page 81 says, “Earnest preserving effort must be made for the salvation of those in whose hearts an interest is awakened. Many can only be reached through acts of disinterested kindness.”
