SALEM FAMILY RECIPE

Our challenge is to pray for at least ten minutes a day (as a start) to help center our minds and hearts on the Lord our God. What do you pray for? Anything and everything. When do you pray? Whenever you can. How do you pray? A good paradigm is A - C - T - S. Adoration (God, we adore you for...), Confession (God, this is where I've missed the mark...), Thanksgiving (God, we thank you for...), Supplication (God, I ask that you...). Prayer is the bedrock of our Christian life, and it is essential that we grow in the spiritual discipline of prayer. As a church, we also come together for communal prayer services and take our call to be in constant prayer seriously here at Salem.

Our challenge is to read, at minimum, one chapter of Scripture a day that we may grow in God's grace. As Global Methodists, we believe that scripture is the Word of God so far as it is necessary for our salvation. When we read scripture, we learn the truth of the Gospel, the story of God's relationship with His people, how to live upright, moral lives, and all things necessary for holy living. We believe that as we read God's Word, we should seek the Holy Spirit to guide us, that we may be convicted and transformed. As a church, we have reading plans available for all who wish to challenge themselves, and we take the Word of God very seriously in Sunday School, teaching, and preaching. 

Our challenge is to commit to attending church services and Sunday School weekly. Christianity does not exist on an island. We aren't called to go through life alone. We are meant to live in Christian Community, as all members of the church are part of the body of Christ. Our challenge is to make the commitment to attending church every week. That may mean making sacrifices. That may mean shifting your priorities. That may mean making some changes. But, regular church attendance is vital to all of our spiritual formation. We are meant to do life together. We are meant to have community to fall back on both in good times and in bad. Our church family should be exactly that, a family.

Our challenge is to invest our time, talents, and treasure into our local church. Why Time, Talents, and Treasure? A large portion of the Christian world likes to compartmentalize spirituality. We give God A, B, and C, but X, Y, and Z are off-limits. Time, Talents, and Treasure are usually those "X, Y, Z" things that we don't like to give away. As Christians, we are called to give these things away freely. We are called to commit to a lifestyle of generosity. God owns everything, from the money in our bank, to every breath we take, to every spiritual and practical gift we have. All we can do is steward it well. Good stewardship of God's belongings means using them in any way we can to build His kingdom.

Our challenge is to serve in at least one area of ministry regularly. This goes back to 'Invest.' We are meant to invest our time in doing good works for the Lord. While we recommend serving inside the local church, the goal should be to serve anywhere that God calls you to serve. It might be here at Salem, it might be a local food bank, it might be a shelter, it might be a non-profit. You never know where God will call you. Where you serve isn't important. What is important is that you find a way to give back. When we serve others as Christians, it teaches us the value of selflessness. It teaches us to love our neighbors as ourselves and to put others above us. This is especially true when we find ways to serve the least of these. Where can you serve?

Our challenge is to evangelize in our local community regularly. This is an area where we've really fallen short as the modern church. Evangelism has, in some ways, become a "four-letter word." But, everything we do as a church should be rooted in evangelism. While providing tangible, physical needs is an important role of the church, the primary role of the church is to make disciples of Jesus Christ. That only happens when we share our faith with others. Every one of us (yep, not just the pastor!) are called to evangelize. Whether it's sharing the good news with a stranger standing in Food Lion, passing out invite cards to your neighbors, or even stopping to pray with your server at a local restaurant, we are all called to share the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ!