One (important) Mission of the Church

   Crash! Julie and I saw it happen a couple of weeks ago at the traffic light here in Bonaire when one car was trying to pull across two lanes without looking. Bumpers smashed, paint damaged, egos fractured; thankfully no one was hurt.
   Not every crash is damaging, though. Think about what happens when two particles collide in a reactor. When done correctly, they produce enough energy to power a corner of the state. There are lots of examples of good things happening when two things are brought crashing together.
   We think this is one of the most fundamental reasons that the church exists; to bring Jesus and children. This is really what our church has been doing for a long time. Once upon a time the church was helping to raise up boys like Cullen, Jon, and Stuart. Our church played a role in helping Linda, McKenzie, Kylie, and Doris. We want to be even more intentional about claiming our place at the intersection of two great influences in the world: the church and families.
  Orange is one of the great ways of thinking about doing church. It is based on the idea that the mission of the church is to focus heart of the family (red) on the bright, shining light of Jesus (yellow). Orange is the result of this happening well. Jessi Marlow has already been doing an awesome job of teaching about this to our volunteers. There is more to come. Our church is going to swap rooms around, paint some walls, and invest even more deeply into the lives of families so that children are surrounded by the love of Christ.
    Vacation Bible School is coming. We want every child in this community to know they are welcome here and we want every child here to meet Jesus (some for the first time) and to be so excited about what is happening here that they beg their parents to come back on Sunday.
   Grace and peace, Scott