Kingdom Ready Blog

by Mark E. DeYoung

The Isolated Members Ministry (IMM) is a project of the Church of God General Conference that seeks to identify and minister to people with a tie to the Church of God and its teachings who do not live near to any congregation holding to these truths.

The IMM’s Case Statement is:
“There have always been a significant number of isolated members that share a like precious faith and common heritage with the Church of God. They have spiritual needs that cannot all be met by churches of other denominations that may be in their area. The Isolated Members Ministry purpose is to identify isolated members of the Church of God, discover their needs, and develop strategies for meeting those needs. The Isolated Member Ministry invites pastors and churches join with the IMM to seek out and bless the lives of isolated Church of God people.”

This project is in its infancy. We are seeking now to develop a list of people who are isolated members. These might include people who have relocated in an area where there is no church of like precious faith, people who were a part of a church that has had to close or no longer affiliates with the Church of God, students who are away from their home churches to attend college, and people who have come in contact with the faith we hold dear but are not located near any active church.

Upon identifying these people, we hope to discover how we can best help them in their spiritual journey. This might include such things as:

1. Making them aware of other people in their area who are also isolated members of which they might be unaware and helping such people connect.
2. Making sure people are aware of resources that are available to them including such things as publications, Cogcast, seminars, blogs, and web sites.
3. Helping isolated members discover their gifts and talents and give them opportunity to use those gifts to the glory of God.
4. Hosting Church of God Gatherings when appropriate to give them an opportunity to worship and meet others in a similar situations as theirs. (We have already held to such gatherings in western Nebraska that have been a blessing to all involved.)
5. Aiding them to be able to attend Christian Workers’ Seminar, Church of God General Conference, and other such national gatherings.
6. Linking them to pastors and churches who are closest to them geographically so these pastors can minister to them in times of need such as sickness and funerals, and so these isolated people might feel a connection to a church they can occasionally attend.

As we identify and meet with isolated member we will discover how we can best minister to them.

People can help the IMM by letting us know of isolated members and by offering suggestions as to what this ministry can do to most effectively help Church of God people who find themselves isolated from Church of God congregations. Names, addresses (including email addresses), and suggestions can be sent to:

Isolated Members Ministry,
Church of God General Conference,
Box 100,000,
MORROW GA 30260.