First Person: A Shamgar Church

Do you know who Shamgar is? I wouldn't be surprised if your answer to that is "no." Only one verse in Scripture mentions him, and it doesn't say a lot. Judges 3:31 says, "After him was Shamgar the son of Anath, who killed six hundred men of the Philistines with an ox goad; and he also delivered Israel." That's it. He's barely a footnote in Scripture. Yet, Shamgar is one of the greatest examples of faithfulness in Scripture.

Shamgar: Did What He Could, With What He Had, For the Glory of God

Bob Pitman, former pastor of Kirby Woods Baptist Church in Memphis and professor at Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary, once preached a sermon on Shamgar from Judges 3:31. In this sermon, Dr. Pitman says that Shamgar did three things. First, Shamgar did what he could. Shamgar wasn't much of a person, but he did what he could. Second, Shamgar did what he could with what he had. An ox goad is not a typical weapon. It certainly isn't an ideal weapon when taking on an army of 600 Philistines. Yet, Shamgar did what he could with what he had. Lastly, Shamgar did what he could with what he had for the glory of God. Judges 3:31 says that Shamgar, just like the rest of the judges, "delivered" Israel. Israel, as God's chosen people, was a backslidden nation that God constantly sought to rescue and preserve. The person God used was a servant of Him. This means whatever that person did was to the glory of God. Shamgar's deliverance of Israel was to the glory of God. Shamgar did what he could with what he had for the glory of God.

A Shamgar Church

I originally came to Range Hills Baptist Church a little over a year ago for pulpit supply. And just under one year ago, I became her pastor. This is my first pastorate. Not to overshare details, but when I came to Range Hills, I would describe the flock as these things: neglected, hurt, disappointed, and hungry. A once thriving church was left directionless and constantly on edge.

Range Hills is also located in a difficult place. We're located in the Frayser neighborhood of Memphis. Frayser is very lost, very needy, and very neglected.

Wet-behind-the-ears, the second I became her pastor, I just wanted to do anything to minister and to reach the lost. Yet, coming into a shaken church, that desire is risky. In seminary, the advice is not to change anything for at least the first year. This is sound advice, but often a new pastor's definition of "change" and a church's definition of "change" are very different. A shaken and neglected church also typically has a few people who accomplish the majority of the labor to keep the church afloat, leaving them burnt out. Among others in the congregation, that was primarily the other two ministers on staff. To preface, the other two ministers on staff are the Lord's kindest blessing to this young pastor. Both are bi-vocational and work full-time jobs outside the church, yet do so much to help Range Hills succeed.

Nonetheless, when I became pastor at the end of November 2024, one of the first things I did was sit down with the other two ministers on staff and plan out our 2025 calendar. My goal was to have a monthly evangelistic outreach where the members of Range Hills would have the opportunity to share the gospel at least once a month. To be honest, I was scared to share this vision. Adding work to those who are already feeling burnt out certainly isn't conventional wisdom. Yet, when I told the other two ministers on staff this was the goal, they bought in immediately. They were just as excited to do ministry and reach the lost as I was. Even more so, when this vision was presented to the church, there was genuine, heartfelt, and spirit-empowered buy-in. Range Hills Baptist Church decided that we were going to do what we could.

Yet, there has been a hurdle all year to doing what we could: we don't have much. Range Hills is a small church. I don't mean comparatively small, I mean statistically small. Our resources are limited. We live God's hand to our mouth. That limitation can lead to fear. "What if what we do isn't good enough?" "What if it's costly?" "What if I burn out essential volunteers?" That limitation can also lead to insecurity. "We can't possibly do this as well as the bigger churches." "What if people think it looks cheap?" Yet, Range Hills Baptist Church chose to do what we could with what we have.

Then, the hardest part of planning outreaches: ensuring evangelism happens. In my experience, outreach events spend so much time doing everything else that the very purpose gets lost. Yet, for an outreach event to be to the glory of God, the gospel must be shared. Therefore in our planning, we decided that we would plan specific outreach events that focused on the ability to share the gospel. The first conversation is about whether the event easily allows the gospel to be shared. The second conversation is intentionally planning when, where, and how the gospel will be shared during the event. Range Hills Baptist Church decided to do what we could with what we have for the glory of God.

We decided to be a Shamgar church.

The Lord's Movement

Being a Shamgar church is hard. Ox goads aren't good weapons. The enemy is much greater than 600 Philistines. Yet, the Lord has seen our Shamgardian efforts and has decided to bless them. I could tell you of many ways the Lord has, but I want to specifically tell you about our Trunk or Treat event, as it is the best practical representation of this.

On October 31, we hosted a Trunk or Treat in our church parking lot. Due to Halloween falling on a Friday, we made our start time 5:30 p.m. so that our people could leave work and decorate their trunks quickly. We did what we could.

We only had six cars and 13 volunteers. Church members throughout October brought bags of candy. The sun went down at 6 p.m., so we used one of the church members' battery-powered work lamps and the headlights of two cars to light our parking lot. We put out signs that another church member made. We did what we could with what we had.

We also set up a table separate from any of the cars with our church-wide evangelism method. We use the Date the Word Birthday Verse evangelism method. It's a simple process as we ask someone for their birthday, we use the Date the Word app to find their birthday verse, we share the verse with them, we ask them if they have a date for their second birth, and then share the gospel of how to be born again. We did what we could with what we had to the glory of God.

During our event, God used our Shamgardian efforts exceedingly. With just 13 people and two hours, we had 39 gospel conversations with five professions of faith! Of these gospel conversations, six were had by a young believer who is learning to love evangelism. One was had by a young believer who was just saved a little over a month ago. The Lord saw it in His good pleasure not only to allow us to share the gospel so many times, but to teach young believers how to share their faith. We were also able to invite even more people to church. The Lord can do so much with Shamgardian effort!

But the schemes of Satan are at work when you let what you can't do prevent you from what you can do with what you have for the glory of God.

Don't Lose Hope Pastors

Pastors, I write this not to brag about myself or Range Hills Baptist Church. Yet, I do write this for a somewhat self-serving reason. I need to be reminded that the Lord uses little Shamgar churches. I need to be reminded that the Lord uses Shamgar pastors. But I don't think I'm the only one who needs to be reminded of this truth.

Brother, I know for certain there are things you wish you could do but just can't. I know there are things you can do, but you don't have the resources to do it as well as you wish you could. And I know the temptation to think God can only use the big, grand, and excellent things for His glory. And I know how disheartening that can be in your ministry. But the schemes of Satan are at work when you let what you can't do prevent you from what you can do with what you have for the glory of God. For my Shamgar pastors and churches, take heart, God is glorified in Shamgardian efforts.

Written by Klayton Carson, pastor at Range Hills Baptist Church in Memphis, Tenn.