Is it Time for a New Church Start?

From Pastor Gary ….

Is it Time for a New Church Start?

I always wanted to be part of a new church start. It would be so exciting to establish a new witness of God’s grace. A place where I did not hear “We’ve never done it that way before.” A place where every idea got a fair hearing because we were starting from scratch.

A new slate, ministry speaking, that would require us to answer some important questions about mission and ministry. New questions about how to fulfill our mission to “Preach the Gospel and make disciples of Jesus Christ.”

If we were part of a new group of Christians starting a congregation by scratch, we would have to answer questions such as this:

· What is a church? Why are there churches?

· What is the purpose of the church? What is the vision of this congregation going to be?

· Who are the people we are trying to reach with the Good News of Jesus Christ, and why?

· Why are we starting a new church when there are already lots of churches?

· How shall this new church start be organized?

· What will worship look like, sound like, feel like, taste like? Will worship be the first thing we do together, or will it follow some other activities?

We may not answer all these questions as we start – or ever. But we would be given the opportunity to ask them, if we were starting a new church. After all, we would not be able to answer the age-old question that dogs many established churches: “What did we do last year?”

We are journeying through two pandemics together in 2020 – the coronavirus and racial justice. So perhaps our natural drive to “return to normal” is a bit misplaced. We are living through some extraordinary times in our nation’s history. Perhaps this is a time for us to rethink everything.

What would happen if we decide to think about the time when we eventually return indoors for worship in the Sanctuary not as a time to simply pick up where we left off, but to re-launch?

Let’s put everything on the table. Let’s dream together. Let’s spend some time praying together and listening to God, to each other, and to our community – especially those who have not been a part of our inner core prior to March 15 when the pandemic hit us.