Death or Life?

Jesus said, "For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it." (Mark 8:35)
Over 10 years ago a dream was born, a dream to see the Word of God come alive through His people. The dream is to have a Church for the unchurched, a place where we would tell people, "Come as you are and met God as He is!" For the first 7 or 8 years life after life was touched and changed. Many who had never known the mercy of God found new life, often at the very door of death.
Ironically enough; success breeds apathy and apathy; discontentment; discontentment; carnality and carnality; abandonment.
What had been a thriving congregation a decade ago has undergone many transformations. Thousands of lives have been touched not only in Ohio or in America, but also around the world.
Now, this much is certain; every ministry like every person has a predetermined life-span. It's easy to speculate that if this event hadn't occurred or if that particular person had been more faithful or if we, as a congregation had tried harder, our position today could be so much different from what it is, but then no situation is beyond the will or control of our God.
Does the caterpillar understand that new life lies ahead as it surrenders to the tomb of cocoon, which surrounds it? Does the worm who can only crawl realize that the gift of greater beauty and limitless flight is beyond the confines of its self-imposed translucent shell?
What future is there is remaining where you are? Life is change and change is life. Without the willingness to venture where we have never gone before we are condemned to remain where we are, even death itself is the final transformational step into the unknown.
If we cling to what we are; we may never know the possibility of what we are to be.
Within the next three weeks our Church will reach a new plateau; either we will finish the course that God set for us or we will cocoon until we emerge into new life for New Hope. Please join us in prayer for God's direction.
Next week (March 29) we will share a Love Feast and the Word - the Next Sunday, April 5 is Palm Sunday; - we will commemorate Our Lord's Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem. The following Sunday, April 12 (Easter Sunday we will meet for an Early Sunday Easter Service at 7:30am to celebrate our Lord's resurrection victory.
By April 19th, the course will be set and together we will discover the direction of ministry.