Yard sale provides missions opportunity

Imagine a yard sale that spans from Alabama to Michigan and lasts three days, drawing tens of thousands of visitors. No, I’m not making it up. Ask Pastor Wayne Spivey about the Hwy. 127 yard sale, and he gets excited—really excited—about it. But, it’s not because of the potential treasures that some hope to find (such as the lost works of an early American photographer worth a hundred million or two) or the wondrous excursion that some travel the first week in August. Rather, it is because he has led the members of Harrodsburg Baptist Church to see the multi-state yard sale as a grand ministry opportunity.

For the second year, members of the church offered those passing through their city, which sits along the largest yard sale route in the Eastern United States, if not the world, a free cookout. An individual donor provided hot dogs and hamburgers. Church members, Sunday school classes and other groups contributed soft drinks. Men from the church towed their barbecue grills to the church yard, and women and youth then served the passersby. Some even went so far as to act as car hops, taking orders directly from people in the cars, Spivey said.

But the greatest part, according to Spivey, was the servanthood spirit of the church members and the strong Christian witness they gave. Adult and youth choirs sang and other groups performed for those who took a break from shopping long enough to picnic under a tent on the church grounds. The event’s main purpose was to be a positive witness of the love and generosity that Christ has to offer to a lost and dying world. And Spivey knows of at least one salvation decision that resulted.

The backs of the red t-shirts worn by the more than 75 volunteers displayed these words: “Go make disciples.” Their selfless service to weary travelers on a hot weekend in early August reminds other Baptists whose buildings stand near yard sale or market venues, parade routes, art and music festivals sites, or other community-wide activities and celebrations of ready-made opportunities for witnessing and ministry that await.

Western Recorder issue date: August 17, 2010