Over the last year we’ve constantly been reminding ourselves of our vision as a church: to bring the saving and transforming power of Jesus to ourselves, our church community, our city and our world in partnership with others. From looking at the work of the Holy Spirit in empowering us for Jesus’ ministry and mission, to what it means to build a church on the saving and transforming power of Jesus in 1 Corinthians, to looking at what it means to be a ‘missional’ church over our Easter retreat, the mission of Jesus has been our dominant focus. We’re a missionary people, saved by Jesus, gathered around Jesus, and sent by Jesus into our communities to be his redeeming presence and to proclaim his redeeming work.
The challenge for us lies in taking this vision the next step. We’re not just missionaries to our immediate communities e.g. your workplace, your family, your social networks, your university, your neighborhood. We need to be missionaries where we gather to meet each Sunday as well. Where the people of God gather their presence should be both seen and felt. Jesus himself reminds us that we’re a community of salt and a community that is to radiate light (Matt.5:13-16) i.e. where God’s people are present, their presence is known and felt by those around them. If I were to ask anyone on Burwood road or Rawson avenue where the McDonald’s was, they would be able to tell me and help me get there. If I were to ask them where GracePoint was, they would probably be perplexed at the question. The problem with most churches today is that they are invisible, absent and irrelevant in their communities. Instead of being light on a hill that cannot be hidden, we function instead like a light that comes on for 3 hours once a week in the community, and is off the rest of the week.
In John 1:4-5, we’re reminded that the world we live in is in darkness, which is the reason why Jesus came. Jesus came as the light and the life to save those living in darkness (John 3:16-21). There are 31,000 people in Burwood who are living in darkness who need his light and life. The largest age groups in Burwood consist of young men and women between the ages of 20-34 who number 8000 people, followed by over 3,700 high school students who live in the area. This is one of many mission fields God has given us. In the year to come the possibility of new mission fields in Lidcombe and the North will open for us. But here today where God has placed us, only 2-3 out of every 100 people you see on the street in Burwood are saved, and the remaining are lost to Jesus and living in darkness.
The next stage of our ministry and mission here at GracePoint Burwood is to begin working at being the redeeming presence of Jesus in our local community. The gospel doesn’t just save, it should also lead and bring transformation to culture and society around us. We should seek to see the kingdom life and values of Jesus permeate and impact and meet the needs of our local community. In fact, until we have presence in our local community, we have little opportunities to proclaim Jesus and his saving work. People need to see and experience the love and compassion of Jesus, as much as they need to hear of the saving work of Jesus.
Over the coming months, we need to give more prayer, thought and time in being the redeeming presence of Jesus in our local community where we gather each week. From bringing the gospel to bear on ourselves, we now need to move the next stage in our vision by looking and moving out.
Our leaflet drop two weeks ago is only one of many things we’ll need to pursue in helping us gain a presence in the local community. The goal there was to let the local community know that there’s a community of Christians meeting here in Burwood, and for us to pray for the homes on those streets we leafleted. Over the next few months as a GracePoint community we’ll need to revisit those 5000 homes. What Niroosha and Yohan are doing in organizing sleeping bags for the homeless this winter is bringing the kingdom values of Jesus to our community. What James and team are doing in trying to start a HSC lounge is being Christians serving our local community, which can open the doors for Jesus to be proclaimed to students in the community. What Simon and Josh are doing with Burst Out and in helping Mandarin speakers in the local community is bringing the presence of Jesus to our local community. This coming September, the upcoming Burwood Festival would be a tremendous way for us to make a mark on the local community. And this coming summer, a holiday kids club could also be a way to serve families in the local community and bring the gospel to hundreds of children.
Our goal ultimately is not that we might get people into our church, but that the saving work of Jesus might be known. Let me encourage you to pray as a GracePoint community that the Lord might give each one of us the strength, conviction and personal resolve to take his mission the next stage, as we seek to bring the saving and transforming power of Jesus to ourselves, our church community, our city and our world.
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