Right before Jesus ascended, He gave His disciples their marching orders: “Go!  Make disciples (people who imitate you as you imitate Me). How? Baptize them! Teach them how much I and my Father love them! I’ll always be with you!” (That’s how I’d put the Great Commission, Matthew 28:19-20, in my own words).

But the story continued. Jesus ascended. He gave the power of His own life and Spirit at Pentecost.  The church grew in Jerusalem, but eventually it was scattered into the world (Acts 8:1). And the world has never been the same, as the great Good News of Jesus has been shared, over and over.

I’m certain that the people of God in that season of the world, our spiritual ancestors, weren’t thinking that that scattering after Pentecost was a good thing. But like so many things in our world, what people intended for evil, God turns into good (i.e., Jesus on the cross). The church wasn’t allowed to get too comfortable in its original surroundings. It became an apostolic church, a gathering of the “sent-out ones."

So it is, even today. We participate in the gathering together of the church, only to be sent out again.  My prayer for you, as your pastor, is that our time together become a time of being filled up, fueled up, for the way that God is calling YOU to engage in His mission. I want our church to be a Launching Point for you, launching you into the world. And I want you to go, being able to identify what He’s trying to tell you, or how you’ve heard from Him while you’re here, so you have something to share wherever you go. That’s my intention for the Launching Points-To-Go we’ve been writing down the past few weeks.

So, where is God sending you? To whom is God sending you? Where is He leading us as a church? The answers to these, and many other questions, come from sitting at the feet of Jesus, inhaling His presence and His Word, and exhaling our prayers through His Spirit. My encouragement to you is to be in God’s Word, intentionally, regularly, prayerfully, as we seek His guidance as to where He’s going to lead us. I’m not sure of the details myself, but I’m ready for the journey with you and the adventures it will bring.

Adventure is out there!  Pastor Aaron