We are so close! And it feels really good! In the last month we have secured the support of the Free Methodist Church, talked to dozens of potential participants in our new venture, and organized a reasonable startup plan. Hopefully, we will sign a rental agreement on our first worship space early this week! We picked a name – Blessed Community – that reflects our desire to enter into supportive, meaningful relationships through a deeper relationship with Christ.

It’s easy to get caught up in the logistical as we move towards a launch date only two weeks away. It’s a bit like tuning up your car before going on a long journey – the point is the journey, not the car, but you still need the car. Nevertheless, we’ve been putting a lot of thought into the journey, the one we will undertake together, guided by the Spirit. Our basic approach is to create what Thomas Kelly calls a “vertical” church. That’s a church community focused on God, rather than itself. We want to create very simple internal structures, just enough to keep the community viable as an institution, instead of creating complexities that overtake and suffocate the community. We will pray – a lot – in all of our decision making, as we move to discover God’s will in all things.

We suspect that as the launch date gets nearer, we might find ourselves a little overwhelmed, and are so grateful for the help and guidance, and prayers, we have received from friends at the Free Methodist Church. Oddly, we’re not feeling frantic. We are trusting that this whole process feels right because it is right. Our hearts are “strangely warmed,” a phrase John Wesley used to describe the stirrings of the Holy Spirit within himself that led to the Methodist Movement. We are looking forward to discovering where that Spirit will lead us.