Easter 2009 marked the beginning of the Brea chapter for our community with the opening of our building on Imperial Avenue. It's been a full and fruitful three years since then, helped in no small part by a group of Brea pastors who opened a wide and warm door of friendship to us, even before we arrived.
There are two things that I find remarkable about the pastors in Brea. One is the number of them who've served their respective churches for twenty years or more. The result is a number of men who carry serious credibility in the city, which is rare and valuable as a collective Gospel witness. The other is that these men really love each other. This is even more rare and precious. A number of them have toiled faithfully as friends in the soil of this city for over two decades, and the fact that they've welcomed newer churches like us into their field and friendship circle is a tremendous gift.
I believe it takes a city-wide church to win a city-wide war. Our war is not against unbelievers or other churches. We stand shoulder to shoulder as a local churches in a common war against the god of this world who has blinded the eyes of people to the truth of the Gospel. We wage a ground war by living as faithful witnesses to Jesus in the power of the Spirit, but there is an air war which must be waged in prayer. This is what United@Easter is all about: 10 churches gathered on Wednesday the 4th of April for an hour and a half of worship and prayer before the Easter weekend.
Our simple intent is to exalt Jesus and ask Him to draw people to Him as we preach His Gospel at Easter. Every church is hungry for the empowering of the Spirit to be faithful witnesses to Jesus all-year-round, but Easter presents an especially ripe Gospel opportunity. That hunger will look, sound and feel different in each unique expression of Christian community, but the hunger is the same. We are desperate for God to move in power on our city, county and nation.
What a privilege to serve these 10 churches in Brea by hosting United@Easter as an expression of our normal 133 prayer time. I'm asking that we all show up in force as a community to host with humility and passion. I'm believing with you, that this gathering will be a significant catalyst for unity amongst the churches in Brea, bearing the lasting fruit of the Father's blessing on Brea and beyond.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
When the walls come down between churches, the Kingdom is advanced at a much more rapid rate! Love that the Brea pastors see this and are rapidly expanding the kingdom through uniting as ONE church.
ReplyDeleteamen!
ReplyDelete