Like many of you, I spend part of my fall Saturdays watching my favorite college football team
on television. Go Dawgs! I plan the entire day around game time. I love hearing the roar of the
crowd and getting a sense of the stadium atmosphere. I also love watching from my recliner in
my den, where there are no lines for the restrooms and the snacks are free.
What I miss watching the game this way is seeing the marching bands (which I love) and seeing
the full routines of the cheerleaders. At least the TV crews show occasional shots of the
enthusiastic young people charged with keeping the energy of the crowd at near frenetic levels.
Every team needs cheerleaders. They lead the crowd when the game is going their way, and
they don’t stop when things could be better. They are constant and unswerving in their
dedication to their team.
Every church needs cheerleaders, too. There’s always a need for people who will joyfully invite
others to worship and reach out to those who are absent. Every congregation has a need for
members who talk about the ministries of their church with enthusiasm and love.
Rome First has some excellent cheerleaders, but we always need more. And don’t worry, you
don’t have to be able to do backflips to be a church cheerleader!
One of the most enthusiastic church cheerleaders I ever met was a lady named Helen. Helen
was a strong-willed woman who loved God and her church.
She also loved people. Each Sunday she noticed who wasn’t there and often followed up with a
phone call to let the individual know that they were missed. If she had the person’s address, she
frequently mailed them the Sunday bulletin along with a note. She wanted to see people in
church and made it her mission to encourage attendance and participation however she could.
Even as her own health declined, Helen kept cheering for her church.
I remember getting a phone message the Tuesday after Easter one year. Helen had called to
rejoice about Easter worship and left a message saying, “Hallelujah! You preached to a full
sanctuary!” It was indeed something about which to rejoice and give thanks. It was pre-COVID,
and the size of the crowd was unusually large, even for Easter.
Helen never stopped cheering for her church and what God was doing through its ministries.
How can you cheer for the work of Rome First? It’s not about glorifying us, of course. The point
is to cheer on God’s work that is being done through our church. We have much to cheer about,
and God is still doing new things in us. Get your pompoms ready and encourage those around
you to worship, serve, study and fellowship.