March, 1997

Dear Pastor,

Greetings in this Lenten season from the Woodland Drive-In Church to all my partners in Christ. One of the greatest challenges I face in ministering at the Woodland Drive-In Church is preaching—primarily because of the unique nature of the audience I have. Some of the people who worship there regularly have been coming for at least twenty years. They have made this their “church home,” because they have agoraphobia, they love the idea of the sky as their ceiling, they have long-term illnesses that keep them from attending a traditional church, they help out in our ministry, etc.

On the other hand, almost every Sunday I see cars that I do not recognize. That is, almost every Sunday someone is attending the Drive-In Church for the first time. I have no idea whether these people are seekers, who have not attended a church in years, or are long-time attendees of other churches but who are visiting us as a result of some specific need.

The challenge I face, therefore, is to help long-time attendees grow in the faith and yet to make sure that those who may be in church for the first time in years hear the simple gospel message, “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved.” It has always been an important part of my preaching to include an evangelistic appeal in a way that fits integrally into the message, and yet I do not allow each sermon to be “the same sermon every Sunday, just a different text.”

In other words, what I want you to know is that no matter whom you might suggest to attend a service at our church, they will be fed with the simple gospel message as well as learn something they may not have known before about the greatness of our God and the teachings of the Scriptures. We see ourselves as a service church to you, offering to serve any of your members who, for as long a time as necessary, find it all but impossible to sit in a church pew.

We covet your prayers on our behalf.

Sincerely,
Verlyn D. Verbrugge