M25 at St. Philip
The Mt. Bethel Youth and College Department are joining with St. Philip this summer on Tuesdays for a program called M25. Our first M25 was this week. Fifteen excited students came to St. Philip with footballs, soccer balls, and hula hoops. Most of St. Philip’s children come from an apartment complex that is behind the church, so we headed that direction in search of kids to play with. Before long, we found a good field to play in, and kids started to come out to play. There were a few kids who already attend St. Philip, but most were kids we had never met. It was such a blessing to look across the big field to see everyone playing and smiling despite the heat! At the end, I had the chance to tell the kids about Sunday School and Church at St. Philip and that we will be coming back all summer! The new soccer field at St. Philip can’t come soon enough!
As if the day hadn’t already been wonderful, another huge blessing came. One woman who had been very active at St. Philip had recently stopped coming. I had been told that she had hard feelings toward some people in the church, but we had not been able to contact her to talk with her. I had been praying about a way to get to talk to her, and the opportunity presented itself. Her son came out to play with us, and I sent him home with a note telling his mom that we missed her and to let us know how she is doing. We headed back to St. Philip to get some water and cool down before the Mt. Bethel group got back on the bus. We had a time of prayer, and one of the prayers was for relationships in the church that are strained to be healed. About 5 minutes after the prayer was over, I was in the office alone and heard a knock on the door. The woman I had sent the note to had come to visit. We had a great time talking, and she said she will be back this Sunday. Praise the Lord! God is already answering prayers through M25, and I can’t wait to see what God has in store for the rest of the summer!
Kelly Gutting, SPUMC Program Director
