This past week was a unique week as Southside participated in the 40th annual National Crusade for Christ. We hosted a health fair on Saturday, June 22. We were a site for door knocking on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. We took groups to hear the nightly preaching and participate in the worship gatherings on Sunday through Thursday. Needless to say, it was a draining but very enriching week.
There are several people that I want to thank. Marvelus and Jaymie Sattiewhite did a great job of organizing the health fair. Bill Sloan and Virgil Palmer were tremendous in arranging the plan for door-knocking. The visiting guests who walked our neighborhoods came from Florida, Tennessee, Illinois, and other states. They just fell in love with our church and that was in large part due to Bill and Virgil. Matthew Morgan and Justin Vandaveer were a big help in driving the door-knockers around. Charlie Mudd, Shirlean Nelson, and Jaymie Sattiewhite joined each day to walk the neighborhoods and did a great job.
Dana Gardner gathered an awesome kitchen crew to feed lunch to our guests on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. Lori Brookshire, Barbara McNeil, Vikki Cooney, Ashley Arnett, Lisa Kile, Faith Davis, and Jan Hegi were all tremendous in their work. The food was great and the hospitality was warm.
Each night, we had vans transport people to the Crusade evening gatherings. A special thanks goes to Jim McKenzie, John Cummings, Josh Denham, and Gary Antczak for helping drive. It truly takes a team effort to serve and our church did a good job.
Southside made a splash at the Crusade. While that was not the point, it is encouraging. Many people commented to me about how appreciative they were that we were engaged in the Crusade. Racial unity is not easy, but the gospel calls us to transcend race through Christ. My prayer and hope is that this experiment in racial unity this past week will grow and develop in the future within Fort Worth and beyond.
On top of all of this, the goal of the Crusade was to reach out evangelistically to our neighborhood. Several neighbors requested more information about Southside through the work of the door-knockers and we will follow up with them. One gentleman was also baptized on Monday night at the Crusade who lives close by.
We closed our time with the door knocking volunteers by circling up and singing a song, expressing our love for one another and love for the Lord. It was an honor to work together with other brothers and sisters for Christ. Thank you to everyone who helped out, and to all who attended the worship gatherings and other Crusade events!
