Today Is the Day

This Sunday we celebrate the work of Jesus as he has called us, as a church, to follow him in a new direction. For over a year and a half we have talked about being a church that would assemble in multiple locations throughout the rural region where we live. The reason we are headed in this new direction is because Jesus asked us to.

So often when we speak of God and his timing in our lives we think of a day in the far distant future. Like someday, in the future, is always the day that God will ask us to do something new. But there comes a time when God says, “today is the day” as he did with Joshua. As God chose Joshua to lead the children on Israel into the Promised Land he told them to make preparation because in three days he was sending them to take the land (Joshua 1:10-11).

After those three days of preparation, the day to cross over the river came. When the priests entered the water, the water parted and the children of Israel crossed the Jordan on dry ground (Joshua 3:14-17). In Joshua 5 we read of how the people celebrated their first Passover in the new land and from that time forth there was no more manna as there had been in the wilderness. It was a new day.

Over seven months ago we called a campus pastor and put a launch date for our first campus on the calendar, Easter 2011. At the time we had no idea where that campus would be. The past seven months have been ones that have tried the faith of our leaders and church family. We knew there would be pressure as we sought to make an impact against the darkness that surrounds us but that still did not make the journey easy. We find ourselves at the point of “crossing the river,” to take the next step on the journey that God has called us to.

Following lunch together Sunday, we will commission a pastor and core team that are being sent to do something new. We will also pray for those who have been called to stay in Watseka and invest in the lives of people there. It will be a time for tears and cheers. A time where one chapter in the life of our church comes to a close while a new chapter begins. A time of being sad and joy filled all at the same time. Most of all a time to celebrate that Jesus has called all of us to be on mission with him.