Colossians 1:3-6
I bring greetings to our Northern California/Nevada sisters and brothers on behalf
of the 726 new Disciples congregations that have been started since 2001. These new
churches have reached out to more than 45,000 new persons for Christ over the past
decade. This is more than all of our denomination’s established church’s outreach combined
during the same period. I would like to share a story of one of our new church
planters, Doug Kriz, at Grace Christian Church in Prosper, TX.
Prosper is one of the fastest growing areas of the country. Each day one new family
moves to the Prosper area. These new residents need a place to connect with God.
Grace Christian Church has been formed to extend the Reign of God to these new people.
Some are new to the faith and some are new to Disciples.
Pastor Doug recently shared this story of one such young man who is trying to find
his way in life. “If we are too enamored with our successes and the people we already
have ‘on board,’ it would be impossible for us to effectively to reach out to people like
Will. Will and I were having coffee last week, discussing the future of a local community
organization. During our coffee meeting, I could tell something was bothering him.
I asked, ‘How are you doing, Will?’ He looked at me and said, ‘I am a house of cards,
Doug.’ He explained to me that his marriage had deteriorated to the point that he had
no hope left. How old, he wondered, do the kids need to be before he can gracefully
exit? He spoke about a friend’s house his children like to visit during Christmas: a house
that was warm, friendly and full of people. ‘My home is the opposite of that house,
Doug. It is big, and showy, and empty, and devoid of love.’ The spirit opened a powerful
moment for ministry, but it also reminded me why we are here. We are not here just
to gather people. We are here to plant the gospel in peoples’ lives and to help them grow
as disciples of Jesus Christ. We are here to help people like Will find the peace and direction
that only Christ can offer.”
We ask that you pray for Doug and Meredith as they share the faith on our behalf.
We also ask that you pray for the 17 new congregations that have been started in the
Northern California/Nevada Region since 2001. Together we are reaching out to new
people for Christ so that lives might be transformed. Our faith communities are diverse
in many ways with fifteen different languages in the mix. It is like Pentecost anew. God
is active in this old church that we love. In this Lenten Season as we prepare to celebrate
the resurrection in our lives may we, each of us, step out in faith as Doug and
Meredith have done. May we share the transforming grace with others as Grace Christian
Church is doing in Prosper, Texas.
Prayer: God, strengthen the many and diverse congregations serving your children.
Strengthen me and my congregation that we might likewise serve your children.
Amen.
Charlie Wallace serves as minister of New Church Strategies for
Church Extension in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).