Community Update from Dr. Bob: 5/8/2024
I don’t know if you heard Pastor Brett’s sermon this past Sunday, but it’s one we should all listen to. He talked about the valley where our church building sits: it is home to 4,600,000 people. What is our vision for reaching these people God has placed right where we are? What if we started by trying to reach just 1% of those people? That’s 46,000. Although God surely has a bigger vision, let’s just start with that. How will we positively impact 46,000 people in our valley? We have gifts, we have time, we have resources, we have imaginations. What might we do?
Following a discussion of the parables of the talents (Matthew 25:14-30)—where God expects us to use and risk what we have in order to multiply his Kingdom—Pastor Brett asked the important question: “How could we use what we have?”
Certainly, we’d have to start by being creative and thinking outside of the box. Obviously, designing good programming and hoping people come will not get us where we want to go. So how could we start breaking down the barriers between us and the surrounding community? This building could be a Kingdom asset and a sending center and a training ground—not just a place to come and a break from the world. Rather, we could become a part of what God is wanting to do rather than isolating ourselves from it. We could think about sending ordinary disciples, equipping them to make more disciples. We could think about raising up church planters and ministry leaders to go out and start new initiatives that would bless the surrounding neighborhoods. We could think about ways of casting the seed further out, and further out, and further out.
Pastor Brett made several very important points, but one I’d especially highlight is this: God is not done with southern California. Yes, many Christians are moving out, going where they can be more fully surrounded by other Christians, where they feel more comfortable. But what if God is doing a new thing? And what if he is calling us to be a part of that new thing?
Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland. Isaiah 43:18-19
Pray with me that God would give us the heart of compassion and the courage necessary to experiment and try new things. Pray that he would give us the strength to release control and take risks that could further the Kingdom of God. Burying our talents in a hole feels safer, certainly. But God had harsh words for those who chose safety and comfort out of a heart of fear.
Join us this Thursday night at Vision Discernment night (online on Thursday; in person on Monday) where we can talk and dream about this more. And be sure to join us next week on Sunday morning when we’ll be wrapping up the Kingdom Churches series with a look at a local church that has a very special place in God’s heart: Community Church Rancho.
And if you missed this past Sunday’s message, please take time to listen HERE. It’s an important one for the future of our church.
