When Jesus was on earth much of His time was spent in the community meeting with people where they were at and not expecting them to do anything in order to meet Him. When He met them, He met their need, some He fed, others He healed, but to all He gave hope – hope of a better future because of their encounter with Him.
We figure that the best way we can follow Jesus is to live as He lived, and what better way than to bring that same hope to the community around us. We want to help people meet Jesus exactly where they are at, whether they feel strong or weak, whether they believe He really is who He said He was or whether they are not sure. For that to happen the community needs to be at the heart of the church and all it does.
So as followers of Jesus, community is wherever we find it – at work, at school, even while shopping in the mall. But also we want our building to be known as a place where the community can come to find help with many of the issues that we face. Whether it be issues with debt, grief, marriage, sickness, loneliness or anything else that is getting in the way of us living the life that God intended.
We are currently planning major changes to the building to continue to make the community the focus. We are looking at having a café at its heart, a safe kids play area where parents can come for some respite, and the ability to host or run many diverse community programs. One large aspect of our building and planning will continue to be our emergency relief and food bank program which see us help those in need.
Most of all we want it to be known as a place of hope.
So where do we want to be? Where Jesus could be found, at the heart of the community!