In all that we do as a church we seek to be obedient to the directives of scripture and fulfill what God has for us. All while being dependent upon His lead, empowerment, and grace. At the end of His time on Earth, Jesus gave His followers, and in turn us, a mission. He directs us to go out and declare His truth, to teach all that he taught. He tells us to make followers of Him. This is a steep order.

It is not something that we can do alone. We need each other. We need the power of the Holy Spirit. Nor is it something that can be done simply by gathering together for a weekly meeting. It is going to take far more than that. It is going to take commitment, striving, and investment.

Stayin Home

To do this we are going to have to do a lot of work internally. We will have to spend time together, growing in unity. All of us have to become individuals who can operate as a team. We are going to have to teach each other and learn from each other. This happens Sundays, Wednesdays, when we come together in fellowship, when we invite each other to interfere in our lives. One way we intentionally do this is with all church workdays.

The last work day we made some improvements to the sanctuary doors, making them more inviting, better protected against the weather, and more energy efficient.

Workdays go far beyond getting a few projects done around the church. They are a tool of discipleship. I have always loved church workdays, because what we physically see happening is a representation of what we intend to be happening spiritually. We come together and make improvements on the church. We chip off the weak areas, replacing the rot and decay with new stronger materials. We improve the “character” of the building. We spend time getting materials ready to be used in ministry. The church building and physical assets becomes more equipped and ready for ministry.

Meanwhile more importantly the church body (the people) are doing the same. We work, sweat, and sometimes even bleed together. We laugh, correct, and teach each other. We get to know each other better. We become more united. God never fails to use these days to achieve His purpose in our lives so that when the day is over it isn’t just the church building that is more equipped for ministry, but also its members.

Projects Are Not the Point

We appreciate your help in pitching in with projects. Undoubtedly there will always be physical and practical needs. But they are never meant to be the focus. It never fails that at the end of a workday a final group stays well beyond when the work has stopped. We sit together and look at the new improvements, what we got done and appreciate the work God has allowed us to do, but more importantly the people that He has called us to do it with.

Let’s continue to invest inwardly, growing in unity and strength, becoming more prepared, refining our character. It is only when we do so that our efforts in reaching out will be found fruitful.

Reaching Out

This time of year is always a busy one for getting out in the community. If we are to make disciples, we need to go beyond our walls and find the would-be disciples of Christ and get to know them. We have two main avenues through which we do this: our college ministry (Street Level) and our Community Group

Street Level is still in the start of a new year and we have continued with coffee giveaways, campus tables, and hitting the halls with fliers for our Bible Study. Likewise, the community group has been getting out to local parks giving away ice cream and meeting new people.

One new door of outreach that God has opened has been at some local high schools. We have gotten to know some students and staff who are part of a high school Christian organization.  This past week we got to go to a regional event to talk with a high school student about authentic faith and making their lives count for Christ and His kingdom. Please pray that these relationships would grow and God would reveal how we can play a part and be a blessing to the work that He is doing in these students.

God has given us a mission and it isn’t an easy one. All that we have as individuals will not be enough, we need each other. Even all that we have together won’t be enough. We need God’s lead, and His Holy Spirit. Which is good, because I don’t want to do this alone.  All together we can do this. Let us “go forth and make disciples teaching them to obey knowing that Jesus is with us always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:19-20)