Sharpening & Sharing in Selmer
- Jon Christensen
- Apr 6
- 2 min read
As our Chainsaws For Jesus team headed to Selmer, Tennessee to love on the people there by sharpening their chainsaws, praying with those affected and sharing Jesus, we prayed, "God open the doors for us, use us, and let us bless at least one person today. Keep us safe, go before us and help us meet the right people so they will position our ministry in the heart of the disaster zone so we can help the most people affected by this tornado. Dear Lord, please show up." That was our prayer. Spence Maners, Sela Christensen and myself arrived into Selmer, TN around 9:00 am about 24 hours after a EF3 tornado killed nine people and wreaked havoc on this little Tennessee town of 4,500 people.
I had tried calling Sheriff Guy Buck over 15 times to find out where command central might be. The phone lines were down so my calls would not go through. But God directed us on a route that led us exactly to where he was standing and the very first person we met was Sheriff Buck who sprung into action and told us exactly where we needed to go, who we needed to talk to and gave us his thoughts on where we could be most helpful. That led us to the Agricultural Center which was an area being set up for supplies, volunteers, and ministries to operate from as a base camp, but that was not where Chainsaws For Jesus needed to be. We operate best in the heart of the disaster zone. That is where the chainsaws need sharpening, that's where we get to minister to the hurting souls affected by the storms, and that is exactly where the people Sheriff Buck directed us to talk to sent us that morning. Our team was directed to go to the First Baptist Church parking lot. That is where we set up our tables and chainsaw sharpening equipment, one block from where many people died and were injured. It was the epicenter of the disaster zone. God answered our prayer. Over the next six hours, we sharpened 42 chainsaws and loved on numerous people with the Gospel. Three Chainsaws For Jesus volunteers were blessed beyond measure.
The following 34 second video is what Chainsaws For Jesus is all about:
Jon: About 100-200 yards from here, homes were destroyed, people lost their lives and if God asked you the following question, why should I let you into my kingdom of heaven, what would you say?
City Worker: Uh, that's a tough one there (nervous laughter).
Jon: Isn't it though? It's a pretty important question, isn't it?
City Worker: Yes.
Jon: It's all about where you'll spend eternity in heaven or hell. Right?
City Worker: Yep, I try to do right when I can
Jon: The Bible says in John 3:16, For God so loved the world that he gave His only son.....(The Gospel).