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Immanuel
Evangelical Free Church |
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Update on the Church plant. SCHEDULE OF PREVIEW SERVICES: Meet at: Click
for Map & Directions COMMUNITY MOLECULES Let me tell you a story about oxygen. I have never seen oxygen. I leaned in school that a molecule of it was made from two atoms. I vaguely remember passing a test about the nature of how these two atoms behaved and their subatomic structure. All of that information is long gone, but I am still left with a profound need for this particular molecule. It is a need that goes entirely unnoticed, unless my body is exercising to a point of deficit. And the consequence of its absence will be fatal should it ever be withheld from me. In much the same way I have never seen community with my eyes, but have seen the life-giving fruit of its presence and the devastating consequences of its absence. Part of the privilege of being called by God to start a new expression of the Body of Christ is participating with him as he builds community out of the individuals who are coming together to be this new Church. As I have read opinions on the nature of community from a variety of sources, it has become clear to me that, regardless of context, there are some common elements that make up the kind of community that we, as humans and Christians, need to thrive. Maybe we could think of these as the “subatomic particles,” which make a “community molecule.” While there are probably others, the big three parts of the community molecule are: Belonging, Trust and Common Purpose. We have been working intentionally to bring these three parts together at Immanuel Evangelical Free Church. Our primary human tool for doing this has been “Story.” Of the three parts, the most tangible for us is the “common purpose.” For Immanuel our purpose is communicated by our mission— To multiply
a worshiping community, on mission for Christ, into The way we have used story to build community is to have each member of our launch team tell the story of how God has brought them to the point of having a desire to be part of this new church. As we listen to each other and each person is heard telling how God has orchestrated our stories to bring us to this point of common purpose, we have both belonging and trust built into our lives. As we have heard each other’s stories, we have cried, laughed and rejoiced together. We have seen the way that God is in the process of knitting our individual stories into a new story together, a story of community. We can see how our story as a congregation begins to make sense in the context of the broader story of redemption. We believe that by pursuing community this way, God will build it and by His grace provide us with what we need to live in a way that glorifies Him as well as a way that transforms our neighborhoods. In His Grace, Todd Brooks Todd Brooks is the planting pastor of Immanuel Evangelical Free Church, a new community in the Carondelet Park area of South St. Louis. |