One of the truths about God is that His love for us never changes…(check out Jeremiah 31:3. However the way He interacts with people and how He demonstrates this love does change.
This is important for us to keep in mind, because in the past Lutheran congregations generally relied on the families to sustain and grow the church. The equation generally worked as follows; people had children, children remained in the area, they became members and the church grew. But this is not the reality now. Think about how many adult children of our members are involved in our congregation. The reality is a lot less than there used to be, some people have rejected God’s vehicle the church, others have moved away geographically, some have moved to other congregations. Think about the consequences of this. I realise this situation hurts many people and we should never give up on highlighting God’s love to those who have strayed. However this situation also helps us see that as part of God’s community we exist for the entire Portland-Heywood community not just one section of our community. The challenge for you and me is to consider; what do we need to do as individuals and as a congregation to help people connect to God and His church community that appears in our congregation? Then do it!!!
And remember this is likely to be different then some years ago.
No comments:
Post a Comment