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Student Ministry

Posted on September 26, 2006 ...

I recently ran across this story and I have to share it with you. Enjoy!

?¢‚Ǩ?ìOn a dangerous coast where shipwrecks often occur, there was once a crude little life-saving station. The building was no more than a hut and there was only one boat. But the few devoted members kept a constant watch over the sea. With little or no thought for themselves, they went out day and night, tirelessly searching for THE LOST.

Some of those who were saved and various others in the surrounding areas wanted to become associated with the station and give their time, money, and effort to support the work. New boats were brought in and new crews were trained. And the little life-saving station GREW.

Some of these new members of the life-saving station were unhappy that the station was so crude and poorly equipped. They felt that a more comfortable place should be provided as a first refuge for those who were saved from the sea. They replaced emergency cots with beds and brought better furniture into the enlarged building.
Now the life-saving station became a popular gathering place for its members and they began to use it as a sort of CLUB. Fewer members were now interested in going to sea on life-saving missions, so they hired lifeboat crews to do this work. The life-saving motif still prevailed in the club?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s d?ɬ©cor and there was a memorial lifeboat in the room where the club initiations were held.

About this time, a large ship was wrecked off the coast and hired crews brought in boatloads of cold, wet, half-drowned people. They were dirty and sick and some of them were foreigners. The beautiful new club was in chaos. Immediately, the property committee hired someone to rig up a shower outside the club were victims of the shipwreck could be cleaned up before coming inside. The outsiders made the life-saving station extremely dirty.

At the next meeting, there was a split in the club membership. Most of the club?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s members wanted to stop the life-saving activities because they felt they were unpleasant and a hindrance to the normal social life of the club. But a small number of members insisted on life-saving as their primary mission and pointed out that they were still called a life-saving station after all. The dissenting members were voted down and told that if they wanted to continue saving lives, they could start their own life-saving station down the coast, and so they did.

As they years went by, however, the station experienced the same changes that occurred in the old station. It evolved into a club and yet another life-saving station was founded. History continued to repeat itself, and if you visit that eastern seacoast today, you will find a number of exclusive clubs along that shore. Shipwrecks are still frequent in those waters?¢‚Ǩ¬¶ but most of the passengers drown.?¢‚Ǩ¬ù

North Cleveland family, as we continue to GROW, let?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s not forget that our mission is to reach THE LOST, and that we aren?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢t to become a CLUB but rather remain a LIFE-SAVING STATION. I?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢ll see you on the boat. ?¢‚Ǩ‚Äú Much Love, Nathan