[Almost] 2 Months In
“To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.”
Is it just me, or does the growing anticipation of Christmas make everyday between October 31 and December 25 move at warp speed? I can still feel the visceral anxiety of trying to keep the kids' glitter-ridden halloween costumes away from the couch, and yet, Christmas is only 13 days away. How can this be?! Without sounding too much like the caricature of an old man on a park bench, time goes too fast.
Despite the last two months going by so quickly, it's not been without it's momentous joys. After nearly four years of praying and preparing to plant The Parish Church, we finally began the tangible phases of the process as we met with our Core Team on Sunday, October 29, 2017. Both Jessica and I are overwhelmed with gratitude for the individuals the Lord has sent to The Parish Church. Every single one of them has an incredible story and passion to be a part of something that makes known the name of Jesus! There's no doubt that the Spirit is at work.
Our Core Team makes up our inaugural Missional Community and we meet both on Sundays for an intentional time of teaching through Scripture and Wednesdays for a 'Family Meal.' Both have been rich and formative as we seek the Spirit to move in and through us to show and share the gospel of grace in Petaluma. It's incredible to see the relationships forming and our commitment to Christ and one another deepening. Though the road ahead of us is sure to bring struggles and challenges, it's a breath of fresh air to be pursuing gospel-centered community where we're not having to drag people along.
Along with our Core Team, we're meeting families and individuals who are joining us to explore the vision and mission of The Parish Church. The conversations about the gospel, church, mission, etc. seem endless, and we're soaking it up. Though we're nearly 2,000 years removed from the church described in Acts 2, this certainly feels like an archetype of what Luke describes.
As we move forward, our pursuits are the same - to be a people in relentless pursuit of Christ, allowing his gospel to saturate our lives and our city so that every man, woman, and child has a daily encounter with Jesus! I'd invite anyone reading this to join us in prayer to that end. May we never cease rejoicing in him as he calls us to live as 'ambassadors of reconciliation.'