Seth Thompson, Part 2: A Hospital for Healing
January 24, 2020
Love God and love others – that’s Seth’s approach to ministry. But as anyone who’s worked in a church or nonprofit knows, outreach is rarely easy. In this episode, Seth explains how his church has served the community and discusses some struggles with church programming.
Low-income retirees, recent convicts, and children from rough households all live in the area that surrounds Fairview Church. Figuring out how to serve these different groups can be challenging, but it can also happen organically. A relationship with two children and their grandfather led to Fairview starting an after-school program to address learning issues for kids who lacked support and supervision.
Listen in to this conversation to hear Seth talk about how this program ended and why pastors often struggle to accept seasons of rest.
Jump Through the Conversation
[1:56] Loving others even when it’s hard
[6:48] Specific groups of people Seth and Fairview minister to
[8:17] Story of building relationships between two kids and their grandfather
[11:35] Creating an after-school program to meet observable needs
[14:45] Why it’s ok for church programs to naturally end and why that can cause pastors to struggle
[18:55] Why rest and sabbath are important
A resource of the Chattanooga House of Prayer