February 2012
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To know Christ and to make Him known
Dear Friends, A church is a community of faith inviting people into a relationship with Christ. Unfortunately that is often not the popular concept of church. Many would see the church as an irrelevance, whereas it is actually the key to meaningful living. Many would think that church is just a Sunday morning activity for those who are into that sort of thing. The gap between reality and perception can be huge. How do we change the public perception of the church? In the past we have relied a lot on people coming to our church services on Sundays to hear the Gospel preached (hopefully!). For many people now, Sunday is the new Saturday, because shopping, family social time (including outings), sport etc is now a natural part of their Sunday. Though Sunday morning is a very important and precious time for us as a congregation, it is not the only contact time for meeting other people. For many outside the church the change from their totally secular world to a vibrant worshipping community of Christians is a huge cultural change and a total transformation in thinking. Their contact with ‘church’ – meaning a gathering of God’s people- can also be at other times of the week than on a Sunday and even at other locations. It is important that we try to meet informally with members of the community and provide more opportunities as a Fellowship for this to happen. Churches that we know run after school clubs and other groups to meet up with children and young people. Some help people address important issues such as parenting and debt, or help develop skills and share interests, or tackle questions about our faith through Christianity Explored etc. There are already a number of groups that use our church hall, such as ballet, a play school, exercise classes, choral society and camera club etc.. There are also, of course, a number of occasions where groups of people are attracted to church premises at specific times such as Christmas, Remembrance Day, Easter, Harvest, weddings, baptisms, holiday clubs and other special services. Making opportunities to meet with others outside our Fellowship involves time and people with appropriate skills and the availability of suitable facilities. We are usually good at being aware of our limitations, but perhaps not so good at seeing, grasping and creating opportunities. We need to pray for God’s vision for our church and our willingness to follow where he leads. There will be opportunities to share conversations with others about our faith, but it is also a matter of providing opportunities for people to see a community of faith in action. People need to see Jesus living in our midst. They need opportunities to read our lives, - our attitudes, words, priorities, faith, relationships, compassion, love, care, and confidence in God etc. They need to hear why we believe and why church is important to us. On March 4th, after the service, there will be a visual presentation of our Development Plan to inform and challenge us. The plan sets out to create space where we can engage better and share with the community more effectively and also to provide more and better spaces in which to meet. Do please commit this to fervent prayer asking God to show us His way forward at Eastwick Road Church. May this exciting year with important events nationally also be a significant year in our growth as a church. May God bless you abundantly. With my love, David |
