i was looking up the obituary of my great grandma Oma Maddox on my dads side when i found a awesome article wrote by Robbie Knox . here is the article • What exactly is mobile ministry? Is it a bus route, a van, or a limousine that picks up children for Sunday school? Could it be the grandparent who faithfully brings her grandchildren when the parents refuse to come? The answer is all of the above. Mobile ministry is about reaching people. My father-in-law recently told us a story of a woman whose husband never came to church; however, it did not stop her. Every Sunday, regardless of the weather, nshe would line all six of her children up and begin the nearly mile-long walk to the house of God. As her little “train” followed behind, they would stop to pick up other “passengers”—kids in the neighborhood or anyone along the way who wanted to come. Her daughter, Martha, said that they used to think her mother was the pied piper. Everywhere she went, kids followed behind. She did not have a bus, a van, or even a car to bring people to church. She simply used what she had, and today I commend her for her example of mobile ministry. Oma Maddox, a charter member of the Greater Lighthouse Pentecostal Church in Madisonville, Kentucky, recently passed away at age 94. Sister Maddox was not a wealthy woman by the world’s standards. According to her children, money was usually scarce. She was not considered a scholar. In fact, her education was limited to a fifth-grade level. However, she was rich beyond measure, she was wise beyond compare, and she left behind a legacy of which her friends and family can be proud of. When the Lighthouse was begun in the 1940s, Sister Maddox was one of the first Sunday school teachers and she taught until she was 93. When my wife, Krista, was eight years old, Sister Maddox was one of her teachers. Krista has often told me that Sister Maddox used to tell them that she would never lay a loaf of bread on top of the Bible. She instilled in her pupils a love and respect for the Word of God. She encouraged them to hide God’s Word in their hearts. She would offer the children a “prize” for memorizing chapters of the Bible, not just verses. More often than not, the prize was a crisp dollar bill= straight from her pocket. Many things can be said for Sister Maddox, but probably the greatest tribute would be simply to say that she was real. Seven years after Krista sat as a student at Sister Maddox’s table, she returned to the classroom as a fellow teacher. Sister Maddox was still there handing out prizes for memorizing Psalm 121, doing sword drills to fill in the time before the parents came or the buses left, and teaching the kids to honor and respect the Bible. • Many years later, when Krista worked as the Sunday school superintendent in the church I pastored, I often heard her reference her beloved teacher. Sister Maddox is an inspiration to keep going when the circumstances seem more than you can bear. She is a witness that you can do a work for God even if your spouse does not come to church. She is a prime example that you are not limited by your age or ability—only your availability. Mobile ministry comes in many forms, but the goal is still the same. We must reach the lost. Mobile ministry does not usually touch the lives of the wealthy or elite. Most of the time it reaches the child in the projects or the teenager nobody wants. A wise man once told me that if you are willing to take the ones that nobody wants, God will give you the ones everybody wants. If you can drive a bus, pick up kids in the church van, or help out in the mobile ministry of your local assembly, I encourage you to get involved. If your church does not yet have a mobile ministry, do not be discouraged. Mobile ministry.
Posted on: Thu, 04 Jul 2013 23:04:02 +0000
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