Culture Changers!

Have you ever heard of Rev. Dr. Michael E. Haynes? He is a retired pastor from Boston, now in his 80s. He pastored the same historic church for over 50 years. His ministry in the tough Roxbury section of Boston served a neighborhood overwhelmed with drugs, gangs, violence and racism. Dr. Haynes said of his ministry, “Those three or four city blocks are what I’ve given my whole life to. It’s been my world.”

Some would be discontented with such a “small” ministry. But Dr. Haynes knew how to make the most of what God entrusted to him. He sought to reach the youth of his neighborhood and be a culture changer one child at a time.

Many experts believed the youth of that neighborhood were beyond hope and destined to lives of violence, addiction and crime. But Dr. Haynes believed those kids could be reached and changed. In an article referring to the young people Dr. Haynes has influenced in 50 years of ministry, the Boston Globe wrote, “They are now surgeons, presidents of school boards, high school principals, journalists, policemen, lawyers, political aides, FBI agents, former UN officials and bankers." Many have also gone into vocational ministry.

Dr. Haynes believed the future good of those four city blocks depended on raising up a generation of leaders. So he expanded his ministry to begin a leadership training program. His program drew the attention of a local seminary, and soon his church became an extension campus of the seminary. Today, his church is one of the leading urban training centers in the USA, training people in six languages for leadership in urban ministry.

Though retired, Dr. Haynes is still intent on affecting the culture of his city and the country. And he still lives in the same four-block neighborhood of Roxbury.

Have you ever considered how your ministry as an IOT is affecting the culture where you live? Maybe others have given up hope for the kids in your area. But, as you faithfully train teachers and send them into your local neighborhoods and schools, you are making an impact on a generation! You are a culture changer!

Some people aspire to greatness. They want to have worldwide fame and influence. But God’s idea of greatness is all about faithfulness and servanthood. Maybe you minister in a small town or rural county. Maybe you will never move beyond the “four blocks” of your home area. Be faithful to the task God has given to you. The children whose lives your ministry touches may go on to have great impact in the world, further influencing the culture for Christ for generations to come.