Redeeming Our Community
By: Clint Fisher, Upper elementary principal
As followers of Christ, we are called to extend the kingdom of God to the lives of others. Christ is King, and His kingdom extends over all creation. Christ came to redeem people, call them His own, bring them into community together, and present them spotless before the Father.
We can extend the kingdom of God by working against the fallen and broken parts of our world.
COVID-19 has introduced many new levels of brokenness, including the loss of community. We all hunger for relationships. We all thirst for connection. And we all feel the deficit when we are not in community.
Yet, God has called us to redeem community from this brokenness and begin to take back opportunities to build community, even if it may look different than before.
Building Community
A significant part of building community is working together as one. It is not just the simple laughter of friends. It is the committed, holding, helping, encouraging, lifting, celebrating type of friendship that we all long for deeply.
In the days and weeks ahead, even as we continue to follow guidelines that keep us safe but sometimes feel restrictive, we have several opportunities to redeem real community within and beyond our covenant family:
We can take advantage of the opportunity to step back into our classrooms. Coming into school for Enrichment Days provides opportunities to connect with children and other families. Wearing a mask and laying down a little comfort is a cost. But the return of experiencing and learning with your child and his/her classmates is priceless.
We can take advantage of the opportunity to step back into community with our church through worship and discipleship.
We can take advantage of the opportunity to step back into our neighborhoods and create opportunities to connect with our neighbors through real relationships in Christ.
We can take advantage of the opportunity to connect with other believers in prayer through “See You at the Pole” this Wednesday, Dads’ Prayer this Saturday, and Parent Prayer every Tuesday morning.
God shows up in our messy places and transforms ordinary moments into holy ones.