Thursday, April 3, 2008

Go Out and Change the World

How many churches in Culpeper have seating capacity for 500 or more at their worship venue? 250? 100? 50?

As of 2006, Culpeper County had a population of 44,622. We cannot hold this many people in our sanctuaries. Nor should we. The people are out there. Out there is where we should go.

We have church on the road side Monday mornings. You can have a cup of coffee at church in Starbucks on Monday and Tuesday Nights. The River is planning on serving coffee at the Relay for Life as well as creating opportunities for people to connect with one another and God throughout the coming months. For where the church goes, the tangible presence of Christ follows.

But you see, this is not just about my congregation. As we continue on this journey, as this River keeps it course, we find we are doing more and more with our sister congregations. We had a movie night a few weeks ago that had people from at least four different congregations. We kinda lost track.

When Jesus returns, He will come for His Bride. He is not coming for a harem.

I see The River continuing to go out into our community to seek the lost, the poor in spirit, the maligned and the least of these. And I encourage my beloved sister churches to likewise go out. Go where God calls you to go.