| Will we build on Saving Stations legacy? By Timothy B. Warner Working with the 2002 Saving Stations in our conference, I received a summer full of surprises. Admittedly, I was unprepared for the magnitude of a long, hot summer of moving the tents along I-270, I-495, I-95 and I-695. But the Holy Spirit speaks to us when we least expect it. Walking along the streets of the city, I found myself both shocked and appalled, amazed and ecstatic. What was it I discovered along the way? First, simply being present where the Holy Ghost is working is important. Saving Stations are a ministry of presence in the community. Every participating community and congregation was blessed by the Saving Station experience. For the congregations, at a bare minimum, being in ministries of service, justice and worship outside their buildings and in the community represented a profound first step on the journey to becoming the mission-evangelism machines the Great Commission commands every church to be. 
Admittedly, some churches simply brought the same dysfunction that occurs week after week in their sanctuaries outdoors under the tent, but because Jesus is still in the mix, by virtue of the Holy Ghost, people were blessed. Being present, in the name of Jesus, matters. While I celebrate this fact, I also have concerns. At some of our most successful sites, like New Beginnings in Severn and Monroe Street in Baltimore, the conference had very little presence. The Saving Stations woke us up to the astounding need in the communities. The Holy Ghost is working, but are we? Secondly, I learned that being intentionally in the community transforms the way one thinks about doing ministry. The church and what it does in the name of Jesus are on the slippery slope of irrelevance when its members remain in the sanctuary, trying to envision ministry. One simply cannot lead or influence where one does not go. For instance, we consistently encountered more youth than adults this summer. In fact, I would venture to say that there were 10 children for every adult. Our experience indicates that there are thousands of youth (most of whom responded to the tent without adult supervision or urging) within a mile of most of our churches. Most of these children were hungry for genuine relationships. At one of the stations, we were doing some heavy lifting after the Rev. Mark Waddells phenomenal Christian magic show. I asked one of the 7-year-old Saving Station regulars to move back. With profanity and defiance, he demanded, Whos going to make me? Sadly, that child responded appropriately to his setting. His personal experience had not given him any reason to respect the church. The vacant lot on which he cursed had once held a Methodist Church. What does this tell us about youth ministry? Should we be focusing more on the youth who are already in our churches more than we do on the unchurched but interested youth on the streets? In what ways could we better focus our conference youth efforts on these communities? Should we be teaching our youth about discipleship by helping them to participate in meaningful ministry and evangelism to their peers in the cities? How many other of our ministries could stand in the light of their relevance to the community? The reality is that we dont even know which questions to ask unless we are in the community hearing from God. Third is a lesson we all know, but enjoy being reminded of: the connectional system works. And finally, being present in the community makes us vulnerable to the leading of the Holy Ghost. Are we bold enough to follow? Will we continue to put down the tent stakes in the cities, suburbs and rural regions of our conference on behalf of the Kingdom? Are we, as a connection, willing to take the risks, allocate the resources and spend the time that is necessary to do what God has shown us needs to be done? Associate Council Director Timothy B. Warner was coordinator of this summers 20 Saving Stations in Baltimore and the Washington, D.C., area. | 
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