“Community: The Church = People”
Posted on June 2nd, 2010
Column published in The Informer (FBC’s Newsletter for June, 2010)
Pastor’s note: The following column was written by Julie Gaines, our youth ministry intern. Even though it was originally written for our youth, I thought it was very applicable to our church as a whole. And so, it is with pleasure that I publish Julie’s column here.
A few weeks ago, Pastor Cheuk showed a video in service about how people tend to think of the church as a place to go on Sunday and not as the group of people that attend said place. I know that I’ve been guilty of this in the past, and I’m sure most of you would agree that you have as well. It’s what we’re taught as children, as evidenced in the nursery rhyme “Here is the church-here is the steeple-open it up and see all the people.” However, this “model” or idea of what church is isn’t working for most of America. I personally find it easier to isolate church and my faith as a separate part of my life when I think of church as the building we have on Main Street or the activities that I am part of on Sundays.
This past Sunday at my home church, University Baptist in Charlottesville, my pastor talked about how we sometimes talk about “my church” or “our church” doing things a certain way. He suggested that we need to be mindful of the fact that every follower of Christ is a member of the church at large, regardless of location, denomination, or any other factor; we’re all working towards the same goal—being a community of broken people who share life’s struggles and triumphs, who continually strive to become more Christ-like, and to share God’s unfathomably grand love with the world. When we begin to remove labels and anything that divides us, we learn quickly that we have much more in common with the guy next to us than not.
A friend of mine who is a youth minister in Richmond gave me a t-shirt a while back that said “Love God. Love others. Worry about the rest later.” So many times, I clutter my life with various activities and work, and it becomes all too easy to lose sight of what Christ wants for my life. I complicate things very easily-I’m quite the multi-tasker (guess it comes with the teaching territory…). This is one of the reasons I need church…to provide a sense of being a part of something much bigger than myself. To remind me that there are others who are hurting in this world and need to know God the way that I know Him. To realign my priorities for the next week. I hope as we head into the summer that we as a youth group can build on the sense of community that we already have, sharing our daily lives with each other, and moving outside of the “Sunday habit.” I look forward to spending the summer with you all.
Love in Christ, Julie
Filed under News Column | No Comments »
FBC Youth News
Posted on June 1st, 2010
Lock-in at FBC on June 18
As the title of this section implies, we’re planning a lock-in at the church for Friday evening, June 18 at 7 pm through Saturday morning, June 19 at noon. Activities in the planning stages include tie-dying t-shirts, finger painting, and hopefully a very interesting scavenger hunt. Details are being finalized, so please be on the lookout for emails in the very near future regarding what to bring and how you can help!
In the meantime, please email Julie and let me know if you (your student) will be able to attend. Please feel free to bring friends!! This promises to be an event of epic proportions!
“In the Kingdom of God, service is not a stepping-stone to nobility: it is nobility, the only kind of nobility that is recognized.”
-T.W. Manson
Filed under Youth | No Comments »