Celebrating 20 years

There's something profoundly humbling about realizing you're part of a story much bigger than yourself. When we stop to consider the ripple effects of our collective faith, it becomes clear that what happens in our local gathering places extends far beyond our walls, touching lives in ways we may never fully comprehend.

The Gratitude of Community

The apostle Paul wrote to the Colossians about giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints. This isn't just theological language, it's an invitation to recognize the extraordinary privilege of belonging to a spiritual family.

Think about it: we live in a world where you can join countless organizations, clubs, and groups. But there's only one community where God himself does the qualifying. He's the one who prepares us, strengthens us, and makes us fit for participation in something eternal. We don't earn our way in through performance or achievement. Instead, we receive an inheritance, a gift from a generous God who paid the price for our inclusion.

This inheritance isn't just about what we receive individually. It's about what we receive in one another. The text challenges us not only to be grateful for what we get to do and be part of, but to be grateful for what we have in each other. Even more convicting: we should relate to one another in such a way that others are grateful they know us.

The Question We Should Ask

We often enter spiritual spaces asking, "Who knows me? Who sees me? Who is here for me?" These are legitimate questions. We all need to be known and seen. But here's the challenge: while you're asking those questions, someone else is looking at you wondering the same thing.

What if we flipped the script? What if instead of only seeking to be known, we intentionally made ourselves the kind of people others are thankful to know? This interconnected, interrelated dynamic is what makes a spiritual community truly transformative.

More Than Average Devotion

Here's a sobering statistic: the average churchgoer in America attends 1.6 Sundays per month. Let that sink in. The average person of faith, who identifies as a churchgoer, shows up less than twice a month.

No one has ever consciously thought, "God is so awesome, so amazing, so mind-blowingly majestic that I'm going to be absolutely average for him." Yet somehow, that's where many land.

What would happen if we simply decided to be better than average? What if we committed to one more Sunday per month? Not as a burdensome obligation, but as a response to the awesomeness of God—the one who redeemed us, who creates and continues to make new, who sustains us through every challenge?

The God who is the head of the church deserves more than our leftovers. He deserves our intentionality.

Jesus: The Main Character

Colossians 1:18 declares that Jesus "is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent."

Jesus is the main character of the church. Always has been. Always will be.

Throughout history, faithful people have made heroic sacrifices for the sake of the gospel and the community of believers. Some have sold dream homes to invest in kingdom work. Others have loaded up trucks and trailers to serve disaster victims they'd never met. People have traveled to unreached cities, supported church plants in distant lands, and given sacrificially so others could hear the good news.

These acts are beautiful and worthy of honor. But they all point back to one truth: Jesus alone is the head of the church.

Where God's Head Is

Here's a theological truth that has practical implications: God is everywhere. Omnipresent. Always accessible. Yet there's a difference between God being everywhere and us meeting with him somewhere.

You can sit on a mountaintop and theoretically encounter God. But if you want to truly experience his presence, hear from him, speak to him face-to-face, receive an upgrade, find encouragement or comfort, you need to be where his head is. And his head is firmly attached to his body, the church.

Your heart might be in multiple places. You might care deeply about people in different cities or countries. But if someone wants to have a real conversation with you, they need to be where your head is, where you're physically present. The same principle applies to encountering God in the fullness of community.

Firstborn of Creation and New Creation

Jesus is described as both the firstborn of creation and the firstborn from the dead. This dual identity is significant. He's the firstborn over all creation, and he's also the firstborn over new creation. He's the first to walk out of the grave, paving a way for the rest of us to get somewhere we could never reach on our own.

You drove to wherever you are today on roads someone else paved. Had they not, you'd have no idea where you'd end up. That's how many people navigate life, with zero idea of their ultimate destination. But Jesus has paved a well-worn highway out of death and destruction.

He creates, and he recreates. He's the source of your starting and your restarting. He's the source of your second chance and every subsequent chance after that. He makes all things, and he makes all things new.

Standing on Promises

There's something powerful about physical reminders of spiritual realities. Throughout scripture, God's people built altars, stacked stones, and created memorials to remember what God had done.

When we write down our testimonies, prayers, promises, and meaningful scriptures, we're creating markers of faith. These aren't just sentimental gestures, they're declarations that Jesus is preeminent in everything. They're reminders that we stand on the promises of God, the testimonies of the saints, and the scriptures that have sustained us through challenging times.

Every time we gather, we're literally and figuratively standing on what God has done and what he's promised to do. We're surrounded by his faithfulness at all times.

Your Stone to Add

So what's your testimony? What has God done in your life? What are you grateful for? What are you believing him for, even if it hasn't come to pass yet? What promise has he given you? What scripture has become meaningful to your journey?

These aren't just private matters. They're part of the collective inheritance we share as the body of Christ. Your story matters. Your faith matters. Your testimony might be exactly what someone else needs to hear to keep going.

Being part of something greater means contributing to something greater. It means recognizing that the main character isn't you or me, it's Jesus. And when he's truly preeminent in everything, that's when we see lives changed, cities impacted, and the world transformed.

That's worth showing up for. That's worth being better than average for. That's worth standing on.