I cannot even believe that the info meeting has come and gone! It was a moment that we had spent many months in prayer over. However, the reality is that now, it's time to get to work! It is time to meet our neighbors. It is time to be in prayer, as a church, for the community. It is time to dig into the Word of God and prepare our minds for action. At the info meeting, we talked about the importance of relationship development over the next several months. We are not simply inviting people to a new church so the church can be full. We are working to build relationships with people so that through us God might save their soul! It's fun to have friends and fun to be neighbors, but remember that the heartbeat of what God has called us to is to make disciples! In the Great Commission, Jesus tells us to preach, baptize and disciple. Preach. It's the first thing. "Tell them about me," Jesus says. But we must realize that the first step in proclaiming Jesus is this, "Hi, my name is... What do you do? Where do you live? Hey I have kids too!" Over and over, throughout the Gospel accounts of Jesus, we see Him being relational with people. People matter to Jesus. People must matter to us too. It's not about the amount of them in the church. It's about the amount that we care for them and display the love of the Savior. After all, it was Jesus who said that the second most important commandment is to "love your neighbor as yourself." (Mark 12:31)

I can't wait to see what God will do through us, in this community and beyond, as we begin gathering together! I can't wait to serve Jesus together with you!

Grace & Peace,
John

(You can reach Pastor John at jwhite@thevillagemi.com)