Do you understand what God has made you a part of? Your’re  a member of the greatest and most effective community ever – the Church. We don’t just go to church we are the Church!
It has outlasted empires. Out distanced religions, idiologies and philosophies. Survived natural, political, sociological, economical upheavals. It’s been battered and bruised. Come to the brink of disaster. It’s shot itself in the foot more than once. And through it all when the dust settled the Church has remained standing.

Unstoppable

The Church has not just held on, it has thrived in the most adverse circumstances. In 1966 the Communists in China closed all the churches and outlawed Christianity. All looked lost. But alas, ten years later, far from being wiped out, the Church had flourished. It couldn’t be stopped. Closed off from the outside world, the number of Christians swelled to fifteen million. The number of churches had grown to 40,000!

What makes the Church so unstoppable? The answer is the Life that flows through it. The Church is the living Body of Christ in the world today. It’s the community of the Holy Spirit – the very life of Jesus Christ gives animates and brings it to life today.

Irreplaceable

It’s the church at its most basic level – Christians living in community – that reveals its genius and strength. Where the Church yields to Christ’s leadership it’s given access to the power of his kingom here and now, defeating darkness, bringing life, love adn justice, spreading like some beautiful, unstoppable life-giving virus.

This powerful otherworldly life – the distinctive characteristic of Jesus himself – is most clearly demonstrated when we serve one another and the world around us. This is how the church becomes God’s answer to today’s problems.

I believe this was the secret of the church in China. When circumstances forced it to rely on the Holy Spirit and to care for one another and to serve their neighbors without the help of professionals, its membership was transformed into a priesthood that multipied the ministry thousands of times and advance the kingdom.

Let’s get it on

I believe that each one of our lives here in the NBV can take on eternal importance. I believe God has a place and a way for each one of you to make a difference because you’re part of an amazing and enduring worldwide community called the Church. You can start by simply getting on board here locally in our church. Commit to showing up regularly. That’s important. You can’t be a part and contribute if you’re not around. Make it a priority to be an active part. Discover and use your spiritual gifts in the service of our church, our neighborhoods, and to our world.

Our church leadership and I are committed to offering you practical help so together we can be the amazing Church Jesus had in mind. We’ve planned sermon series on subjects you’ll find practical and helpful such as: How to do the works of the kingdom; Finding and using your spiritual gifts; Learning spiritual survival skills for urban living and much more. You’ll also be given opportunities to begin putting this all to work by participating in projects that will serve our North Brooklyn neighbors in practical ways.

Leap Of Faith proved just how beneficial and exciting making a concerted effort and putting our faith to work together can be. So come on, let’s get on with the business of being the Church.

See you Sunday
Mike T

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