Community News 1/29/2025
COMMUNITY
If you have a keen eye, you may have noticed a new poster in the church lobby this month. It’s an expression of our pursuit as a church. We want to “make resilient disciples, seeking to saturate the inland valley with Good News.” This is our hearts’ desire. This is what we’re organizing around as a church. This is, I believe, God’s vision of who we are becoming.
This language is a big picture summary of the goals and outcomes that our board had established for this season of transition (you may remember the three big posters in the worship center through much of the fall). Click the link below for more details. Ok, resilient disciples… good news… but what does it all mean? How does it work? How do we go about that pursuit?
Resilient disciples are marked by and seek after three things:
- PRESENCE: We seek the presence of God through a culture of prayer and worship; we hunger for God. We want to be with Jesus.
- FORMATION: We practice intentional spiritual formation, learning how to walk in the way of Jesus and not the ways of the world. We are being formed into the likeness of Christ. We want to be like Jesus.
- MISSION: We joyfully join God’s mission in our community and around the world. Our lives are marked by sacrificial serving, gospel generosity, and surrendered living. We want to do what Jesus did.
Presence: to be with Jesus. Formation: to be like Jesus. Mission: to do what Jesus did.
Can I invite you to take a moment of Spirit-led reflection:
- God, where are you working in my life in these three pursuits?
- Where would You have me grow, as I pursue maturity in Christ?
- Which am I apt to overlook? Which am I apt to over-emphasize?
This is for all of us. Over this past teaching series, God really impressed on my heart my own need to prioritize prayer and hunger for God (“Presence”). Jesus has been inviting me to grow in prioritizing His presence – being with Him.
Where is He calling you to take a next step?
This weekend, we’re kicking off a new teaching series, The Way of Jesus: Hope for Everyone. We’ll be back in the gospel of Luke (Luke 3). This series will help us practice all three of the pursuits of a resilient disciple. I can’t wait to see what God does when we come hungry for more of Him and His way in our lives!
May we continue to pray, “Lord, have your way, in my heart, in my home, in this church.”
With Joy –
Pastor Brett
