Jesus, for more than the church...

Our people must also learn to engage in good deeds to meet pressing need, so they will not be unfruitful.
-Titus 3:14

Some of the values I have sought to instill from the beginning as a church in this neighborhood are expressed in this phrase I read somewhere:

-New more than the old
-Edge more than the center
-Lost more than the found
-Going more than the staying

Living that out has been a challenge but one of the areas that it has been fruitful has been during our First Friday events and now with our Family Movie nights once a month. Both of these events have drawn many people that are not Christians. Last night the cafe was filled with over 50 people and the majority were kids from the neighborhood that do not attend a church service yet. Bill and Sue who head up this event, provide popcorn, pop and candy and a movie. Sue is out on the streets inviting, passing out flyers and after the movie the team makes sure each person that comes is invited to the children's program or a service.

I met with a couple for pre-pre-martial counseling last night that came to First Friday last week. He had stopped in when he saw the First Friday sign and ended up coming that night with his fiance and son. That provided me with a chance to share truth and wisdom for them and hopefully help start laying a foundation for a christian family.

These are fairly easy first contact type activities but they help formulate ethos of the growing body. We are planning a neighborhood block party for mid June to celebrate our 1 year anniversary as a church. We want to look for more and more ways to throw parties, engage the families of our community and teach believers that church life is about sharing Christ naturally, reaching out in service and love and being active in walking out our faith not just talking about it all the time.