Being a Part of the Church – Two Paths

Three years can seemingly go so fast. You get somewhere, begin to get the lay of the land, discover the people and the culture quirks. Early on you hopefully find a church and a community to be a part of. All the while, time is ticking. Days pass into weeks, weeks into months. A year pretty quickly passes by and you are into a routine, settled and… busy. And if you are like many in Las Vegas due to being in the military or just the nature of Vegas itself, at the two-and-a-half-year mark you are looking at your next assignment, a move is on your horizon. Before you know it, three years has passed and you are on your way to a new place. This is the kind of pattern I have seen many times in Las Vegas. It is the nature of life in Vegas.
 
Recognizing the culture of Vegas and having lived here now over the fifteen years, Angela and I have lived here we have noticed two primary ways people will engage at Summit. And these two ways change the course of the person’s life and the impact upon the Kingdom.
 
One, there is the one who will sporadically attend. For instance, they’ll maybe do one or two small groups over the three years – or at least they’ll sign up for a group and maybe start to attend it but often don’t finish. They’ll be at church on Sunday’s maybe half the time, mainly coming when it’s easiest to come. They, too,0 find their lives very busy and filled with many tasks. “A mile wide and an inch deep” may well describe this individual. This person will often know they are not going to be here long, so they’ll throttle back engaging. What we often find is this kind of person lacks the support to engage in the places the Lord has them in. They lack prayer support, encouragement and needed biblical community to serve those in their weekly circle of contacts.
 
Then there is the one who will “grow where they are planted” – even if it is relatively short. I have repeatedly seen a marked difference with those who have found community within other believers at Summit. I’ve watched how the Lord grew them in Him and how He used them in the circle of contacts He put around them throughout the week. They are far from perfect people – needy, really. But, because they did what was often unnatural by reaching out and engaging when it was challenging they were blessed and a blessing. When they moved they left a deep mark upon those around them. We wept together and we thanked God for His work in the church.
 
Here’s what I’ve seen that makes a difference between the two. Those who have not only connected and grown in their time while at Summit have been people who have taken a few risks:

• They risked awkwardness and not knowing others, not knowing their names – forgetting their names – and clunky initial conversations.
• They’ve risked being known, found out, discovered that they are needy people.
• They committed to church membership which opened a door for them to engage in ministry and use their God given gifts.
• They risked trusting in the Lord for relationships.
• They actively pursued relationships instead of letting it “hopefully” just happen.

 
I think of many, many, people who have been a part of Summit over the years and risked engaging and had the Lord deeply bless them and use them. I think of Eric and Laura who are now cross-cultural workers living in another country. I think of Matt and Sarah, Evin and Blair, Hudson and Chelsea, Dax and Sarah, Chris, Jason…  I can go on and on with people that have been a part of Summit over the years and God deeply blessed (the list really can be hundreds long!). They trusted the Lord, they committed, they risked. And they were – we all were – deeply blessed.
 
I deeply desire for you, friend, to be used of Him and step out in faith like so many others who have gone before you. We need you.
 
I’ll leave you with two verses on my mind today:
 
“For me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.” (Philippians 1:21)
“Unless the Lord builds a house, its builders labor over it in vain.” (Psalm 127:1a)
       
Live recklessly unto the Lord! Be a part of what the Lord is doing here. Let’s walk together.
 
Nothing On My Own,