New and Improved Inasmuch?

         Back in the day when marketing departments for manufacturers wanted to get a fresh look for their products from consumers, they would slap the words New and Improved  on the label.  Often there was little if any change made to the ingredients or makeup of the product but if the public thought it was new and improved, they might buy it. 
          Lately, Operation Inasmuch has undergone some changes—both a new look and a new focus.  To put it another way—a new label and new ingredients.  We believe both are what God wants for the Inasmuch Ministry.
          First, the look.  A member of the Board of Directors and the Campus Liaison collaborated to design a new (and improved) logo for Inasmuch.  The logo incorporates an OI for Operation Inasmuch with the figure of a person with his hands lifted up as in worship.  The subtitle:  Serving the Community as One is meant to highlight the value of collaborations as congregations cross denominational and racial lines to serve people in need together. 
           Now the focus.  Operation Inasmuch will shift much of its focus to building the Kingdom one church at a time.  The strategy is to promote biblical discipleship that gives appropriate priority to serving people in need in the local community, to equip congregations to become truly missional, and, finally, to multiply Samaritans.  Operation Inasmuch will never abandon our promotion and training congregations to conduct one-day Inasmuch events, but going forward we will give greater emphasis to lifestyle ministry.  This ministry is precisely what Jesus did and what he called the church to be about.
           That phrase multiply Samaritans could use some explanation.  In giving what we call the parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus was providing a model of what it means to fulfill the most basic law of God—to love God totally and to love neighbor as much as self.  When he said at the end of the parable, “go and do likewise,” he was saying THAT is what I want you to do.  THAT is how I want you to live.  And, by implication, THAT is what the church is supposed to be about!
(To know more about how you and/or your church can move toward lifestyle ministry, read The Samaritan Way: Lifestyle Compassion Ministry by David Crocker, available at the online store at www.operationinasmuch.com.)
           Is the Inasmuch Ministry new and improved?  New look—Yes.  New focus—Yes, as the Father leads.  Stay tuned.

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