Synergism
Author: Mark Roelofs, Trailhead Church
Over the past week or so I have been privileged to witness something profound and powerful. I have witnessed synergism. Synergism is the interaction or cooperation of two or more organizations, substances, or other agents to produce a combined effect greater than the sum of their separate effects. Simply put, synergism is when two or more people use their gifts (time, talent, and/or treasure) together to accomplish something for the greater good of others that would have been difficult or even impossible to accomplish on their own. I was privileged to witness this synergism not only once, nor twice, but three times. I would like to share these occasions with you in the hopes of inspiring more synergism in our churches and community in the future.
You see, I am one of the pastors of the Trailhead Christian Fellowship Church north of Townsend. An all-church rummage sale was organized by members of our church’s outreach and missions committee for the county-wide garage sale that took place on Saturday, July 23. Proceeds of the sale were to go towards our building expansion project. Donations from our church body poured into our shop on Friday, July 22, until it was full. Items included almost anything you can think of that would appear at a rummage sale, from hunting and fishing equipment to table saws and tools to household items like pots and pans and dishes to even an Oculus virtual reality headset.
My wife and I were overwhelmed for a bit because many of the items needed to be priced, and all of it had to be organized. Our concern was soon alleviated as a group of fifteen or so had every part of those tasks joyfully accomplished within the next couple of hours. More volunteers showed up on Saturday to help with the sale and greet shoppers as they arrived and then to load the remaining items up after the sale was complete. A good sum of money for our expansion was raised through the sale. More importantly, I saw people grow in their love for each other and in their love for and service to the Lord. I am usually not a fan of rummage/ garage sales but due to our willing volunteers, the participation of the community in the sale, and the love that was demonstrated, I can honestly say that the whole weekend was a fantastic experience!
Trailhead has been hosting Vacation Bible School this past week, and once again I have been very impressed with the team of volunteer adult and youth leaders as they have cheerfully carried out the gargantuan task of pulling off a successful VBS so that the families of our church and community can grow in their knowledge of and joy in our great God.
Finally, last night (Wednesday, July 27) members of our church held a free movie night for the Townsend community. I am not skilled in mechanical or technological matters, but others are, and they employed those skills to put a movie on a big screen and pop popcorn to the delight of all those who came.
The Apostle Paul says in 1 Corinthians 12:27, “Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.” In a way, in that chapter, Paul is describing synergy. To say that I am proud of the people of our church for the synergy I have seen over the past week would be an understatement.
And, I pray that this synergy would only increase in our churches and community even more.
Article Images
Click on Image Thumbnail(s) to view fullsize image
PhotoCredit: Mark Roelofs
Image 1 Caption: Mark Roelofs
