I go to a church called First Free. More specifically I attend a service called Quest. One of the big problems I have had with the church (read as a whole, not just my church) is that it is way to inward focused. Come join us, we are here, at church. I personally believe that the church should be a place with an outward focus. Very few people are going to come to the church because it is there. More people are likely to come if we come to them. We have to be thinking about people outside of the church.
I want the church (my church, well, and every church) to exist outside the walls of the building we meet in. I love what I see several churches in my area doing.
The Journey is a church that has a main campus near where I live. From what I understand, they have more of an outward focus than many churches. The get out and do things.
There is a church in Kirkwood called Greentree Community Church. From what I understand, their plan is to never own their own building. They meet in a school. Their reason is that the church is a people, not a place. The rent they pay to the school helps their community. A building could be seen as a waste of money. Not that I totally agree with everything I just wrote, or that they believe that either, its just what I understand it to mean. Very cool stuff.
Another church that meets in the city is called Mosaic Christian Church. They have a motto of sorts that says, Love God, Love people, Serve the world. Now, that is what I'm talking about. The other cool thing is that they also meet in a school and have to pack up their church every week into a trailer to store somewhere else. They say it is like, "have a church, will travel." Awesome stuff. One of the things they do to serve the world is meet in popular public places and hand out water bottles on hot days. I love it, they just get out and love people.
So, where am I going with this? Well, my church has never been good at service outside the church. We have probably one of the best kids ministries in the area, if not the country. There are always a ton of volunteers. But if you want to serve outside of the church, there are a few people that can point you in the right direction, but no programs set up. That is where last night's meeting comes in. I am going to be a part of the Get Out team. Our goal is to provide a way to serve our community. We have a lot of planning to do to find opportunities our community needs, then equipping and recruiting people to fill those needs. But we have started.
I was considering leaving my church for a while, until I found out that we were actually going to be emphasizing service. I am really way too excited. So, service is today's awesomeness.
For the thing I suggest you do to make your day a little more awesome (make sure to vote in the poll so I don't have to continue to type all that out) is obvious, do some service work. Look up homeless shelters and stuff (i.e. Sunshine Ministries), or popular charities (i.e. the United Way), or even the Red Cross. Just get out and do something for someone else. Also, if you want to help with my churches Get Out team, totally let me know.
Here is my picture, I'm doing laundry at the folks house today.
Thanks everyone, you all rock! Talk at you (as in, not with you, like I'm leaving a voicemail, but you read it) tomorrow!
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