The Gospel is the power of God for salvation for all who believe. The Gospel changes everything for irreligious people as they hear about the true wonder of Christ’s mighty work of grace and love. At the same time and with the same message, religious people are changed as they connect to the beauty of grace and love independent of their works. We will bring everything we do under the scrutiny of the Gospel so that we may walk in line with the truth of it. Since the Gospel is so powerful we believe it must be the center of all we do.
So how do we do that? It sounds like a huge task. The best way we know how to make that happen is by digging into community through these rhythms. In some moments they are isolated but very often they overlap into an incredible tapestry.
Storytelling is part of what we (you and me) do as a culture. Maybe we find ourselves sharing a story about a past mistake. Perhaps it's a story about loss. Your story could even be quick and illustrate how red your face was from laughing after yellow mustard fell from your corn dog and into your infant child's ear as she ever so sweetly slept in your arms. Whatever the story, we use them to invite others into our lives.
When we story within a Gospel Community it's not much different. We take time for all of those things mentioned above but at the same time we practice telling God's story to each other and to ourselves. At the center of His story you most certainly find the good news of Jesus (the Gospel). It's how He has invited us into His story. Since he's made us a part of His story through Jesus, we work hard to affirm His work in each other. The hope is that we begin to spur each other on to Gospel-centered lives while growing into the equipped body that he's called us to be.
Each month we set aside a week to Connect. This time is made simple on purpose so that we have time each month to have dinner with a neighbor or mow someone's yard for them. This person can be in the same Gospel Community with you or not. The goal is only that you connect in some way with someone. We hope that everything else that we do together makes this time a productive space to practice Gospel centered living out in the communities we live in.
While intimate in nature, these communities are not solely inward focused, but deeply involved in acts of service as they reach into the surrounding culture. To find out how we serve feel free to contact a GC leader. The goal behind each of these endeavors is simply to provide tangible examples of the Gospel to those we meet along the way.
Through the lens of the Gospel there is much to be celebrated and plenty of reason to party. Even in our sorrows the Gospel affords us joy which means we can party in all seasons. We hope that this is a regular part of your life and every part of our Gospel Communities. Even the fun stuff needs to be practiced in an effort to make it a regular discipline. So... we party.
Each month that ends with a 5th week is set aside as time to party as a group. There's no plan for these. They tend to be pretty natural for each Gospel Community. Feel free to crash on any of those nights. Don't forget to bring a casserole.
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