Sent to Feed Sheep
By Carmal Hendren
Assistant Director of SEND Ministries
REACH Discipleship Training School (DTS) ended November 18, 2011 with a commissioning service for the 21 REACHers. The service was held at Mechanicsburg Christian Fellowship in Mechanicsburg, Ohio. The theme of the service was taken from the passage in John 21 where Jesus asks Peter three times, “Do you love me?” Peter says, “Yes, Lord, you know I love you,” and Jesus replies, “Feed my sheep.”
The evening began with a powerful time of connecting with God through worship, led by Rachel Beachy of Columbus, Ohio, and several REACH alumni. After worship, the REACHers performed a skit in which they first voiced their personal fears, doubts or excuses against doing an assignment like REACH, then answered Jesus' question, “Do you love me?” with a scriptural promise that applied to their specific fear, and finished with a an affirmation of love for Christ and a resolve to “feed sheep” based on Christ's love for them and their love for Christ.
The evening continued with a commissioning talk given by Conrad Esh, pastor of Crossway Vineyard Church in Urbana, Ohio. Esh challenged the REACHers and their friends and families with the message of God's father heart for his children and how it draws us in and also motivates us to share Christ with the world.
The service ended with a time of prayer. REACH teams spread out through the auditorium and their family and friends gathered around them to commission them through prayer to service and ministry in their various outreach locations (North Africa, South Asia, Chile, the Himalayas and Malawi).
