by Keith Butler
pastor, First Assembly of God, Berryville, AR

Some wonder why our church puts so much emphasis on Wednesday night ministries. My view is as follows, and I'm most happy to share why I view Royal Rangers as so important to our church.

What Jesus asked the Church to do was to go into all the world and make disciples. Many times, when we hear these words, we think of going overseas and taking the Word to those who have never heard it, but He said that we are to start in our own Jerusalem, that is what we are doing.

If we are interested in saving the sinner, we know that the ages the Royal Rangers program works with are the ages that we are most likely to have the most success. We have found that to be the case. It is our opinion that most people will be saved by the work of those working directly with the unsaved. Then they come to Sunday morning or evening services to make their public confession and be baptized.

Most of the boys that our leaders work with come to us with all the problems of third world countries. They come to us needing the feeling of being loved, care, direction, understanding, and help in improving their lives. We give them all this. We transport them, feed them, and listen to their problems. We allow them to fully participate in the program, knowing that the cost is great and that they cannot pay it.

Our leaders come to every Wednesday night service after much prayer, knowing that they are going to deal with things that only God can handle. When they go on outings, they know that they are taking some boys that have never had the opportunity to do the things that other boys have done. They will be going on the outing with all the problems that they carry with all the time; lack of trust, anger, envy, and a great deal of fear.

Some would say that this is a great drain on the church budget. It is! But we view it as a "Home" mission program. There is no other way to see it. If we use the Royal Rangers program to reach every boy in our area, it is a home mission program. Just as we would not expect the very poor to be able to pay those that bring the message of Jesus to them, we cannot expect these very poor kids to pay their way.

I, as the pastor, am the leader of our Royal Rangers. I do not work directly in the program, but I back the program and talk about it every chance I get. The leaders need by prayers and those of my congregation. They need to know that I know the job is not always easy. That without the working of the Holy Spirit in their lives, they can not do the job. They and all the other missionaries that work on Wednesday night know that I am always there for them. That my door, my time, my gratitude is always here for them.

I feel that my church would not be doing the job that Jesus commissioned us to do, if we did not have the Wednesday night emphasis that we have.

This information provided by the National Royal Rangers Office