Sister Jennie and I recently traveled back to Virginia for an educational event I’ve been attending for a decade now, except the last two summers. We were thrilled to see many old friends and colleagues, including some we never would’ve expected at this event. People are hungry to re-connect as we emerge from pandemic weirdness.
Among those we ran into were the pastor and others from the first congregation we served in little Bedford, Virginia. That tiny mission congregation has been through its own trials, but recently celebrated two significant milestones: chartering as a full congregation, and breaking ground on a half million dollar building project.
They are less than half the size Joy is now, measured by weekly worship attendance. And the mortgage they’re taking on for this building project may become a significant burden at some point. But they’re stepping out in faith and pursuing a dream they’ve been talking about since before we arrived there almost a decade ago.
Especially over the last year I’ve heard talk about Joy’s “survival” that I don’t think is very helpful. Congregations obsessed with their own survival rarely thrive. Joy has the right size building for its present ministry and opportunities to use that space even more effectively. We no longer have a mountain of cash reserves, but we also have a paid-off building and deeply committed members and leaders who’ve endured a pandemic together.
We’ve experienced a lot of grief and loss. We’re saddened to know that for a variety of reasons not everyone has rejoined us in person. Some are worshiping elsewhere on a regular basis. Some are still avoiding in-person activities for very valid reasons. But we’re also seeing new folks show up on a regular basis.
I want to encourage us to find joy in who we actually are and who we’re becoming. There’s nothing wrong with celebrating past glories, but that can obscure who God means for us to be now and in the future. We aren’t who we were three years ago, or when Jennie and I first arrived to do ministry with you almost six years ago, and frankly, that’s something to celebrate and embrace, for God’s sake.
Pastor Jon
