Moving Forward: The Local Church
Tuesday, June 30, 2009The other Sunday night, I taught at a church in the uptown area of where I live. We met at the home of the pastor, a historic 1912 California bungalow, which sits across the street from a small tree lined park. The evening was a typical summer night. A cool breeze cut across the lawn as the church gathered in the shadows of the backyard. A meal was provided of hot dogs and favorite side dishes. I knew most of the people so the conversation was easy and relaxing. I enjoyed the evening catching up with friends.
During the summer the church comes together for an informal time of fellowship, a meal, and teaching from Scripture. They usually have a theme for the summer. It's a good idea, plus it keeps those who are teaching to stay on track. This year the chose as their theme "Moving Forward." It's an appropriate theme considering that they are in transition. They recently have sold their property and are meeting a few miles to the east from their old campus. New beginnings are a time of mixed emotions. There is an excitement and anticipation in seeing what will come each and every day. It can also be a time of uncertainty as to what the future holds. Change can bring us into unfamiliar surroundings that we may not want to enter. For these believers, they represent the thousands of churches across our country that are in the same situation. They are trying to take the Gospel of Jesus to a younger generation without losing their church.
Older, established churches who have been ministering for fifteen, twenty, or thirty plus years still desire in continuing doing the work of the Lord. They seek God's direction in how to reach the next generation for Jesus. That's why I write these blogs about college-age ministries. I'm an advocate for the local church and especially those that have been around for a while. I love helping churches connect with younger people. It's not easy making the transition from generation to generation, but we do have a Blueprint that has helped the Church through many centuries of transitions. I want to take us through a few of those "helps" in the next few weeks.
