Wednesday - Local Communities

34 When the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they came together. 35 And one of them, an expert in the law, asked a question to test him: 36 “Teacher, which command in the law is the greatest?” 37 He said to him, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. 38 This is the greatest and most important command. 39 The second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. 40 All the Law and the Prophets depend on these two commands.”
Matthew 22:34–40 (CSB)

Mission trips are a good thing. We are instructed by Scripture to go out into the world and spread the gospel. And the majority of the time when mission trips are mentioned, our inclination is to think areas further away—perhaps developing nations or places where we are told the gospel has not been preached, where some have never even heard the name of Jesus.

Again, these are good things. But we also often tend to overlook the LOCAL needs for mission work. When we say we live in a fallen or broken world, our own neighborhoods and communities are NOT excluded from this. We can take a look at these heart-breaking statistics of the Lynchburg/Bedford County/Campbell County areas as proof.

  • Financial Struggles: Approximately 20% of Lynchburg lives in poverty and approximately 40% are ALICE (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed)
  • Substance/Mental Health: Service usage jumped from 17.6% (2018) to 46.5% (2021)
  • Unintended Pregnancies: 23.9% of VA women report mistimed/unwanted pregnancies (2022)
  • Youth Mental Health: Lynchburg 12th graders report higher suicidal ideation and attempts than state/national averages.
  • Provider Shortage: 1,831:1 ratio of mental health providers (vs 531:1 statewide)
  • Child Welfare: In Lynchburg, Campbell and Bedford counties, substance exposed newborns rose from 4 (2000) to 181 (2022) representing a 4,425% increase. Bedford County had the highest CPS referrals - 1,522 in 2024. Lynchburg and Bedford accepted approximately 1,000 children each in 2024 mostly due to physical neglect, physical abuse, sexual abuse, and substance exposure in that order.

Seeing numbers like these as a portrait of the place you live can be jarring. And it hopefully stirs our hearts to act in some way. That is also a good thing. And while there are many community outreach programs and even Christ-centered efforts to reach out to those being affected by these numbers, it’s clear that our communities have a long way to go.

The conditions of the world and our very neighborhoods have changed significantly since the Pharisees attempted to trick Jesus with this question recorded in Matthew 22…but these two basic principles have not. Equipped with this sort of care and love for your local community, we’re not only “showing up” for those in need; we’re serving as a reflection of the love of Jesus.

Reflection Questions:
Where do you see the brokenness in our community and in your neighborhood? What breaks your heart? What do you hope for?

Prayer:
Take a moment and talk to God about these things. As you pray, consider Psalm 37:1-7.