Honoring the Faith of those who have gone before us

Missio Dei Church has gone from a strong core of about 17 adults to a congregation of 50 in about a month. More people means that we need more space. In our prayers about making a move, we were clear that God wanted us to apply wisdom to the move. The space had to be centrally located, which means we couldn't move outside the city. The space had to be available during the week for the various things we would like to accomplish. The space had to offer room for continued growth. And among many other things, the space had to be affordable. Trying to find such a place in our city would definately require divine intervention.

Such intervention came through an unexpected means. In an effort to network with other ministries that embrace the Gospel of Jesus, the Christ, God brought me to a pastor of a small dwindlng church downtown. The pastor and I got along really well and they offered me shared use of their three story building. Of course, all of this still has to be approved by their congregation, but the commitment to seeing Jesus made famous was very encouraging. This guy knew that much about what Missio Dei is all about would be very different than what their congregation was all about, but as we shared stories of God and His leading and movement, we acknowledged that it is the same Jesus.

My hope is that we can encourage these folks. There seems to be a tendency in churches to magnify the cultural divide between generations. Older folks tend to look at the younger generation with disdain and often lament the supposed degredation of standards. Younger folks tend to look at the older generation as prudish, out of touch, and with a "we can do it better than you without you" attitude. My prayer for Missio Dei Church is that we embrace the Gospel which should humble us enough to learn from this older generation that has stayed faithful to Jesus for so many years. They have a wealth of wisdom in the rearing of children, finances, and other things that we can learn from. I also pray that they would be excited and want to learn from us as well. While not all of our folks are young, most seem to be committed to the Gospel of Jesus with a wreckless abandon. I praise God for the opportunity of journeying with all of these people. I am thankful to our tribe at Missio Dei because they allow me to pastor them.