The ECC rocks!

These past few weeks have been crazy busy.  As I live out this life in full time ministry I am blown away by how quickly time flies by and just how much God is doing in this place.  This past week I spent in Minnesota with about 30 other church leaders.  It was a conference on church health.  The purpose of the conference was to teach, encourage, and equip leaders.  And I have to say I was overwhelmed with blessing as I got just a glimpse of the hope and passion God has put in these leaders’ lives.

What does it mean for a church to be “healthy” and “missional”?  I just spent the past week at a conference with lay leaders and pastors asking that very question.  The answer?  According to the Evangelical Covenant Church, (ECC), “healthy” means pursuing Christ and “missional” means pursuing Christ’s priorities in the world.  The ECC is committed to walking beside churches as they seek to pursue Christ and pursue Christ’s priorities in the world. 

Here is the truth: God is already present and at work.  A church does not need to invite ministry opportunities, but seek Christ and seek His priorities in the world.  Seek to serve where God is already moving.  There are times in the journey of seeking God and being about God’s priorities that we can be discouraged, but we are not in this alone.  That is what blew me away about this past week.  The ECC is committed to walking the pathway towards health with churches.  There is HOPE!  But it comes with intentionality and living into the opportunities that surround us.

As I left Minnesota and came back to Nebraska I was more than encouraged.  I have been empowered and again, given a sense of hope.  I do not know what my future ministry holds.  I do not know where I will be a year from now as seminary and my internship come to an end.  But I do know that I will pursue Christ and pursue Christ’s priorities in the world and before me will be a live and ministry that is healthy and missional.