DAVID BROWN: Five churches unite to help community

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   The Bible is filled with verses encouraging believers to be one in the Lord, such as, “How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity” (Psalm 133:1-2). Yet, all too often local churches decline to work with each other on special projects to reach out into the community, perhaps fearing that some of their members might like how things look elsewhere.
    Over the last two decades in Cherokee County, many attempts have been made to bring multiple congregations together in the spirit of love and fellowship. When it works, it’s a beautiful thing that brings people closer together; when it doesn’t, it’s usually because not enough people showed up.
    This weekend, five local church groups are coming to together at MountainView Church, 69 Fall Branch Road in Peachtree, for an evangelism training and outreach event. The other four congregations are First Baptist Church of Murphy, Marble Springs Baptist Church, Red Oak Baptist Church in Andrews and Shepherd of the Mountains in Murphy.
    The students will engage in worship and teaching from noon-3:30 p.m. Saturday, then spread out across Murphy collecting toiletries for the Hurlburt-Johnson Friendship House, the only homeless shelter in the tri-state area. The event wraps up after 5 p.m. on campus.
    “We hope to be in booths at Black & White Antiques and Brother’s Restaurant collecting for the shelter,” said Justin Daugherty, youth pastor at MountainView. “It’s an event specifically for middle and high school students to train them how to share the gospel with their friends. They’ll receive teaching from the folks at Dare2Share ministries.”
    Worship will be led by MountainView’s praise band live as well as the group Vertical Worship via satellite. I’ll be playing at the noon service because somebody has to make the drums go boom.
    I love the fact that multiple local churches are sharing their collective faith together. And I especially love the fact that the students aren’t just getting together to hear another lecture, but are out in the real world talking with people and helping those in need.
    “And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity” (Colossians 3:14).

National Newspaper Week
    Oct. 6-12 is the 79th annual National Newspaper Week, a celebration marking the impact of newspapers in the communities we serve. This year’s theme is “Think F1rst – Know Your 5 Freedoms.”
    It’s fashionable today to disparage the news media, but that’s not what the Cherokee Scout is – we’re your local newspaper. We are dedicated to providing news and information that’s of interest to the good folks of Cherokee County – that’s it. No agenda, no conspiracy, just a group of local residents working hard to keep our community in the know.
    Covering local news is the biggest part of what we do at the Scout, but we also sponsor dozens of events and serve as a community watchdog. Our associates volunteer with charitable and non-profit organizations across the community. Giving back is part of our makeup.
    To all those who have had kind words to say about the Scout this year, your encouragement means the world to us. And to all, I simply add: Thanks for reading.
    David Brown is publisher of the Cherokee Scout. You can reach him by phone, 837-5122; fax, 837-5832; email, dbrown@cherokeescout.com; or via Twitter @daviddBstroh.