Lynwood Baptist Church congregation celebrates mission work

When was last time someone in your community thanked God for your church?

That question -- posed at a conference a few years ago -- sparked the Rev. Derek Staples' interest.

"If there's something that a church ought to be able to say, it's that it wants to have a godly influence in its community," said Staples, pastor at Lynwood Baptist Church in Cape Girardeau.

To highlight that influence, Lynwood began holding "Mission Celebration" every 18 months, with activities that target work in the community.

This weekend, the Lynwood congregation is celebrating its mission work with several community projects, guest speakers and prayer walks throughout Cape Girardeau.

Staples said volunteers will help remove a tree from the yard of the church's mission home, build bunk beds for the Safe House for Women and help insulate and drywall office space at the Vision House.

Some Lynwood workers will also travel to Charleston, Mo., to help with construction work on the ministry center of Shining Light Baptist Ministries.

Other members of the congregation will hold "prayer walks" throughout the city, walking or driving through neighborhoods and praying for those who live there.

Five different groups will walk through various areas of the city, including South Cape Girardeau, around Arena Park and also around Southeast Missouri State University, where walkers will pray for help reaching international students on campus.

"We did this two years ago and prayed for every house in Cape Girardeau," said Staples. "This year, families will be assigned to streets and they will pray for God to bless every family on that street."

A pastor from a church Lynwood adopted in New Orleans will speak here as part of the event. Dr. Jerry Rankin, president of the International Mission Board, will speak at Lynwood on Sunday as part of the weekend celebration.

"Our main goal is that all the world may know Christ," said Staples. "That's also our slogan for this weekend. We're trying to get people involved, but also trying to get a message to the community that we thank God for the privilege of ministering in Cape, Jackson and Scott City."

cmiller@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 128