Otto Wegner and The City of Philadelphia

On Tuesday February 2, we had Pastor Otto Wegner come and share with us. Otto has pastored a number of different churches, his main passion is urban ministries. Otto has a philosophy that poor people are easier to reach than rich people. "Money buys isolation and Privacy. You can't tell a rich man what he needs, but a poor man will tell you what he needs," says Pastor Otto. He talked about planting churches and ministries where they are needed. He talked about the changes he has seen in rough neighborhoods where he has developed ministries and seen great improvements. He says, "Why go to a neighborhood where everything is already nice? Go where change is needed." If you Cater a ministry to the needs of the people and go where the people are, the ministry will be sustained. Otto says he uses the same philosophy as McDonald's, they go where the people are who will continue to buy their products. Otto has a umber of ideas that he believes which he calls shibboleth's, according to Judges chapter 12. Pastor Otto was talking about raising support for churches and it's difficulties. Otto and his wife PAt became Assemblies of God U.S. Missionaries and had to fund-raie all of their support. They also had to fix up both churches which otto is now pastoring, Highway Tabernacle Assembly of God Church and Resurrection Life Church in Philadelphia. Otto says, "Dogs bark, lions roar, fish swim, and Christians give." Another great idea from Pastor Otto about raising support is, "if you need something, you ask until you find the person who says yes and you don't worry about the 75 who say no." This was really encouraging for me because I know a a World Missionary at least 1 year out of every 5 years of my life will be spent asking people for money in order to live and fund my ministry. Asking people for money is not easy, but it is very humbling. The advice otto gives to young minsters is, "We teach what we believe we reproduce who we are. If you do not learn to control yourself, someone else will control you."