It’s the Friends We Make Along the Way
God Provides so Tenderly
Refreshing the Soul
“I rejoice at the coming of Stephanas and Fortunatus and Achaicus, because they have made up for your absence,”
- 1 Corinthians 16:17
If you had asked me two and a half years ago what my life would look like, I would not have guessed it looked like it it does. My family has gone through nearly every transition or difficult scenario short of divorce (praise God for an amazing wife) or relocation in the last two years. Most notably, as said wife and I were discussing recently, our friend groups have changed.
When you change jobs, change churches, swap ministries, you tend to have some fall off. Not necessarily fallout, but just the circumstances of your life change and so do the relationships in it. I can think of those with whom my relationship has deepened since it all started, those who went their way and we went ours amicably, and sometimes my family (kiddos included) have felt the holes left by people we love. If I’m not careful I will mope about missing my dear brother who is in long-term missions in Asia.
However, Rachel and I were just discussing how God has tenderly met our needs. Many many prayers have gone up for God to bring close friends to strive together for the Gospel. Brothers and sisters of similar conviction and mutual love.
Last night we had our WVBA Worship Night (more pics below). It was a time of recognizing that our churches are marching shoulder to shoulder for the advancement of the Kingdom in our cities around Oregon. Some of these people I had never met, some I count among some of the most precious relationships I have right now. Even folks who made a trek simply because they were invited. Of course, not everyone we love was there. But, God has been opening our eyes to those who He has brought to fill up our hearts and make up for those absences we feel from time to time.
The Christian life is the church life.
Let me say it again for those in the back. The Christian life is the church life. Christianity is not a solo sport. It doesn’t include annual drafts where we jump ship and try something else, only to do it again in a few months or years. We need each other. We need each other more than our Sunday gathering. Our Sunday gathering is essential, it must be a part of our lives, but if that’s where the church starts and stops being the church then we’ve missed the point. The Lord’s Day is a springboard for the rest of the life and ministry outside of those too few precious hours. It fuels us with worship and holy zeal, love for one another and exhortation in our hearts, so that we can live together. To call and chat, to come by for a visit, to daily exhort one another, to meet up for a late night encouragement, and be a faithful witness to the world. We have to stop treating the church, and our gathering, as a Monday morning staff scrimmage at a medium sized business.
We are untethered from the local church because our understanding of it is too small. It was a Sunday event, not a family gathering with OUR King and Savior, brothers and sisters hearts filled up together by God and one another.
If you leave Sunday morning and don’t think about your brothers and sisters at all during the week, I would encourage you to do some serious reflection and then seek a remedy to what you find. We have been united to Christ and by Christ to one another in love and affection.
Surveying and Evangelism
Mid June we will be blessed to have Calvary Baptist bring a missions team up to help the plant do some groundwork before we go public. This will include a day of training on evangelism, prayer, and surveying. Then the next day will have a prayer walk, surveying, and, Lord willing, evangelism. Our survey efforts will be simple: gather a general sense of the state of the neighborhood we’re planting in and their knowledge or relationship to Christ and the church. This will help us be conscientious in our efforts to engage with the neighborhood for the purpose of Gospel transformation.
This Saturday we will be present at the Ryan Meadows Garage Sale. What will we be doing there? Slinging beverages for the low cost of just one question about God, the Bible, or faith. We stole the idea from NCM with their Midnight Evangelism. This will be year two of attending this event and we are eager to meet our neighbors and have many Gospel conversations. Please be praying for us.
Prayer Requests
Pray for our evangelism event at the Ryan Meadows Garage Sale this Saturday. If you want to come down and join us let me know, we’ll be there all day!
Pray for a dear brother Ryan O’Malley and his family who had his last Sunday at Cultivate Church. He’s served that body for many years and is now transitioning into NAMB full-time to support church planters.
