Lessons learned from Mountain Community Fellowship.

During our Thursday Night share time, former Bruner's Chapel member and deacon Bill Mills shared with us a passage that has been central to the practice of Mountain Community Fellowship. 

1 Peter 4:7-9 (NLT)
⁷ The end of the world is coming soon. Therefore, be earnest and disciplined in your prayers. ⁸ Most important of all, continue to show deep love for each other, for love covers a multitude of sins. ⁹ Cheerfully share your home with those who need a meal or a place to stay.

1) Specify your prayers. (“Therefore, be earnest and disciplined in your prayers”)

Mountain Community is a church that is centered on prayer. The five elders of the church meet weekly to pray about the needs of the church, and prayer is not just “tacked on” in their meetings, often times it is central. As they prayed weekly for God to provide for their needs, we heard story after story of God’s miraculous faithfulness to their church.

One neat story on prayer was when pastor Jason Hutchinson was without a church and was praying to plant a church in Paintsville. When he drove to the KBC training, he prayed the whole way there and prayed when he got into his hotel room. He prayed when he woke up in the morning and then prayed on his drive to the KBC building. The first word he heard when he walked into the building was “Paintsville” as two men were discussing building a church in the town but needed a pastor.  

2) Show deep love for each other (“Most important of all, continue to show deep love for each other, for love covers a multitude of sins”)

We were all blown away by how much the church loved each other! It was visible, it was felt, and it was real. Even though I am not a hugger, I was hugged a dozen times during the Sunday morning greeting by the elder ladies of the church. Everyone felt welcome and loved! Goth people, tattooed people, drug addicts, atheists, and even a self-proclaimed vampire were in attendance. No one was judged for the clothes they wore or for how dirty they were.

3) Share your home (“Cheerfully share your home with those who need a meal or a place to stay.”)

All of the leadership of Mountain Community Fellowship practiced an exemplary hospitality. They would each share stories of the various people they had opened their homes to so that they could get back on their feet. Bill Mills told us, “My house is God’s house, and if He wants to use it to build His kingdom, so be it.” He also said, “I used to think that being a Christian meant that if someone needed a place to stay, I would get them a hotel room and fulfill my Christian duty. God’s word says to share my home.” How easily could we share our homes with those who need it?

May God bless Mountain Community Fellowship, and may we learn from their example!

- Bro. Dave