Provocations & Pantings

The Protos Fellowship (Louisville, KY)

Providential Placement

For the past two years, I have had the joy of working third shift at UPS. What makes my job unique is not just the time slot but moreso the fact that I am surrounded by thousands (literally) of people–mostly college age folks–who do not know Jesus Christ. I have really enjoyed hanging out and getting to know many who work alongside me. During this time three things have happened: first, I have become broken over their separation from God (life’s greatest treasure); second, God has deepened a genuine concern and tangible love in me for them; and third, I have longed to develop a ministry that will help them come to know Jesus Christ but also ground them in God’s Word through a relational and sustained commitment.

How Did Protos Come About?

In the city of Louisville, there are over 25,000 people who work third shift. Because of the time of work, most third-shifters will not attend church on Sunday mornings because they will keep their same sleep schedule on weekends as they do on weekdays. This large block of people, I have come to realize, is a massive mission field, one which churches in this city have no specific work being done. As God allowed me to lead some of my coworkers to Christ, I wanted to plug them into a local fellowship that will help nurture them and allow them to develop their spiritual gifts to serve and build up the body of Christ.

While praying and planning the Protos Fellowship, I held discussion groups and Bible studies at the UPS Cafeteria on Thursday nights, including Don’t Waste Your Life (initial outreach) and portion of Wayne Grudem’s Systematic Theology (for new believers). Most recently, I handed out 100 Spread the Word New Testaments to everyone in my immediate workplace as a Christmas gift with an insert explaining the new study which begins January 4, 2007. As a group, we will be going through the gospel of John to learn about who Jesus is, why He came, and what significance His life, death, and resurrection has for us today.

What Is The Protos Fellowship?

The Greek word protos means first, preeminent, supreme. As Christians, the most important thing is the gospel of Jesus Christ and the glory that is due His name. The Protos Fellowship came as I meditated on 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 which says:

“Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you–unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures . . .”

Paul reminds us that the gospel is to preached, received, stood upon, and the means by which we are saved. It is to be delivered in the same manner in which it was received–a process of believing, living, and delivering that makes up the gospel-centered life. This gospel, as Paul stated, is the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ as communicated to us through the Scriptures. And it is this message that was preeminent in the life of the greatest missionary Christianity has ever known.

How You Can Be Involved

The Protos Fellowship is seeking other like-minded Christians to work the third shift for the purpose of reaching this particular group of people with the gospel of Jesus Christ. Louisville is a unique place to live with two Ford plants and the UPS National Air Hub employing tens of thousands who work third shift. If you would like more information or stay updated on the current happenings of TPF, please check out our blog or email me at gospelcentral[at]yahoo[dot]com. If you don’t live in Louisville, I would humbly ask for your prayers as we seek to reach a group of people who live and work in the night, a people who need to see the Light, a people who need to be embraced by the love demonstrated by cross of Christ. Thanks for your interest, involvement, and prayers. May God use TPF to causes His praises to ring from the darkest corners of Louisville.