CHAPTER HEALTH
CHAPTER HEALTH
By LAURA Helgerson
EXERCISE all enjoy the fellowship of
WE our Chapter Family . The gathering of God ’ s kids is biblical and essential to a strong chapter . The Bible declares that we should not forsake gathering together because we encourage and support each other when we gather . It can often be healthy for the entire chapter membership to remain strong and united .
But included in the aspect of fellowship is the need to “ exercise .” Now hold on a minute ; I am not talking about joining an exercise club and paying dues to work up a sweat with 20 or 30 other sweaty folks . I know some of you were sweating just thinking about it . The word exercise is an action verb , and it takes effort and commitment to see results for the work . The exercise I ’ m talking about here takes effort and commitment , but you probably will not lose weight while doing it . This , of course , is gathering with as many chapter members as possible and hitting the streets with the love and Gospel of Jesus Christ .
Unlike a diet plan that some started at the beginning of the new year , ministry should not fade away from our lifestyle . The chapters that are often growing in CMA seem to have a desire , joy , and fellowship in ministry exercises . Yes , it can include ice cream and maybe some fried chicken , but the real focus is to share our faith with the ones God puts before us .
I began my ministry in CMA with the Light House Riders in Virginia . At that time , I was amazed at how we were united to get together , often weekend after weekend , at some event , not just to hang out together but to exercise our testimony and faith . The only sweat we experienced was riding in the heat of the day , but it was all worth it to be at the right place and time to share Jesus . We
even found that by exercising our testimony , our testimony muscles were growing and were on the path of boldness and strength , walking in Christ ’ s love for others .
Our goal as CMA ’ ers should never be simply looking for members . It should be seeking the lost , as Christ came to seek the lost . But if we sit and don ’ t exercise our testimony and faith , our CMA chapters will grow weak , and the overall health of the chapter may diminish . CMA
Peter and Laura Helgerson oversee the Northeast Region as National Evangelist . 13⎪JULY 2023⎪www . cmausa . org