Neighborhood faith

Therefore since we are justified through faith,

we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,

through whom we have gained access by faith

into this grace in which we now stand.

And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.

— Romans 5:1-2

 

              Think, for a moment, about the people on your block.  Who are they?  What do they like to do?  Where do your neighbors shop, eat, work or play?  Do they go to church?  Are there children playing on your street, or is everyone on your block over 65?

              People come from a wide geographical area to worship with us at Atonement.  And the neighborhoods across that wide stretch are very different.  I live in Quail Hollow Village, which is very different from Quail Hollow.  Think of the contrast between Crystal Lake and Crystal Springs, or Lake Bernadette and Lake Jovita.  People describe Meadow Point itself as a small city, unique from New Tampa or Wesley Chapel. 

             We’re not like a small town church up north where people from the whole community can walk to the church down the block for worship.  Our area is a cluster of developments, mobile home parks and hidden away neighborhoods with a few rural stretches between “Mayberry” towns like Zephyrhills or Dade City.  State Rd. 54 and Bruce B. Downs Blvd. Come together near the center of the large long target area that God has given us to reach for Christ. 

            There are great things that come with living in such a diverse place.  Just head north for a drive through the country, south for shopping in the big city.  But it is also a real challenge for a church to come up with a strategy for reaching into all these different places.  An event held in Zephyrhills may not bring any Land O’Lakes people and New Tampa people may not feel like driving to Dade City.  We’d certainly like to see more Meadowpoint people come and bring their kids to worship, but many of them are used to driving south to work in Tampa, so they may not even know our church is here. 

              It seems to me, our best strategy would be to “divide and conquer,” to look at each area of our ministry separately, one at a time, and creatively come up with ways to impact each place.  To do this, we are going to need your help.  You know your neighborhood or development best — after all, you live there.  You know names and faces of people around you who need to come closer to Christ. You know what might work or not work in your area.  So let’s talk!

             Our outreach team will be arranging some get-togethers in various places around our service area.  We will be calling together members who live in those areas for prayer, conversation, brain-storming,  and just getting to know each other a little better. 

             As people of faith who know a risen Savior, it’s up to us to share the story and shine the glory God has given us.  We share the story of Easter — the good news that death does not have the final say on who we are and where we end up.  When Paul says we “rejoice in the hope of the glory of God,” he’s reminding us that Easter is about us.  It’s about you and me, about what Jesus did for us on the cross, about what God did by raising him from the tomb — for us!  Romans 5 declares this as our story: “we are justified,” “we have peace,” “we have access” to God, and we stand in faith.  Like one candle passing its flame on to another, we light each other up with God’s glory when we share this joyful Easter news. 

            We Easter people are brought together as God’s family so we can be a family for everyone.  Together we practice resurrection — blessing, sharing and feeding each other while growing in God’s grace in love.  I look forward to meeting with you in your neighborhood and talking about how we can practice resurrection together in ways that draw people to Jesus and light them up with the glory of God.

Peace,

Pastor Scott