From Wikinews, the free news source you can write!
Tuesday, August 3, 2021
Good morning! Here is a powerful word of wisdom to start your day! Today’s word is “connection.” Always remember the power of connection. Feeling that you’re not alone but part of a larger community of faith, hope, trust, and love. It’s a powerful antidote to loneliness, discouragement, and depression. Baptist Children’s Homes president and CEO Michael C. Blackwell learned the power of connection while serving Ridge Road Baptist Church in Raleigh, North Carolina in 1970. He was 28 at the time. Today, he is 79. During his ministry at Ridge Road Baptist Church, he formed connections that continue to this day, extending over 50 years. Because Meredith College and NC State University were just around the corner, they also began a vibrant and vital college ministry. They paired those college students with church youth, as well as with an adult family in the church, and some of those connections continue to the present day. At his age, he has seen some of those people retire. He and his colleagues started a drama group that went across North and South Carolina, an outreach ministry to nonchurch youth and soon grew the college ministry to nearly 200 students. One of the girls in his youth group, then aged 15, later went on to be on his Board of Trustees. Blackwell, of course, grew and learned a lot during that four-year chapter of his life, but one invaluable lesson he will never, ever forget is the power of encouragement and connection. Start forming friendships and connections! Try it, you’ll like it!
