We aim to take the heart posture of the Apostle John, who referred to himself as the beloved of Jesus on several occasions. It was resting in that love that allowed him to endure what he endured on the island of Patmos and write what he wrote. John the Apostle lived and walked with Jesus while He was on this earth and knew Him intimately then. We can also assume that he knew Him intimately after the resurrection through the Holy Spirit.

 

In all the ways John could have described God, he described Him as love. “He who does not love does not know God, for God is love” (1 John 4:8 NKJV).

I find that amazing. We are so loved, and our endeavor as a church is to experience that love and then give it away to whoever will receive it. We desire to “be loved” and to “be love.”

Jesus Himself captured this concept perfectly: “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another” (John 13:34 NKJV).

Our mission drives us to be just like Jesus. We know we will not get it perfectly every time. Who does? My prayer is that when we fall short, we confess it and repent sincerely.

Because of this, we know that being a follower of Jesus is not about perfection, but direction. The journey of faith is about continually turning back to Him, growing in His love, and allowing that love to shape every part of our lives. That is why the spiritual formation of this church will focus on three things:

  1. Be with Jesus
  2. Become like Jesus
  3. Do what Jesus did

This is how we are going to receive God’s love and give it away. In order for us to accomplish this, our ministry may look a little different than traditional ministries and may move a little slower than most. It is impossible to do these three things if we are too busy to actually do them.

I want to share more, but I think I should stop here. Be on the lookout for these blog posts once a month as we embark on starting something new in Kalamazoo and beyond.