For better, for worse,
for richer, for poorer,
in sickness and in health,
neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night. | mix of wedding vows and the post office motto
At our outdoor service this week, we had to pull a bit of an audible and squeeze into the covered area due to rain. While it was tight and not what we had planned, it was a fitting way to celebrate 15 years as a church. In that time, we have gone through many different seasons:
Some better and some worse.
Some richer and some poorer.
Some healthier than others (remember Covid?).
No matter what happened, we found a way to worship God together. While it has looked different depending on what was going on around us, God’s grace was always evident. While I could make a list a mile long of all of the graces our church has experienced – to quote the gospel of John: were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written – I thought it was appropriate to list fifteen.
1. When God put on my heart the desire to plant Communion Church, He also surrounded me with elders who were encouraging and pushed me when fear and worry crept in.
2. God gathered people who shared the vision to see a new church in Mount Vernon – looking back, it was exactly the people who we needed.
3. God went before us and created a great partnership with the Lincoln Theatre for us to meet in as we began worshipping together.
4. When division and conflict rose in our young church, God protected us from harm.
5. God has raised up a number of Biblically qualified elders – our elder board has never had significant disagreement (a little difference is healthy).
6. Through a pile of graces, we were able to move into our current location, quickly going from being a set up/tear down church to being ‘established.’
7. We have always had what we need financially. God has placed in the hearts of our people a generous and consistent spirit of giving.
8. As a young church, we were able to participate in the planting of Roots Church in Stanwood.
9. We have always had a number of musicians to lead on Sunday. They have led out of a love for Jesus, which provides us with rich worship.
10. God has equipped and raised up deacons, who take care of so many details so that the elders can focus on the Word and prayer.
11. We are a church with a large number of youth. For much of our existence we have had more children than adults!
12. We have been privileged to baptize nearly 100 people into God’s family.
13. Missionaries have been sent out, some already in the field have found support, and there are people in our church working toward going out to make disciples of all nations.
14. God has used the proclamation of His Word to not only bring about new believers, but to continue to sanctify His people.
15. God has gathered together a group of people who are different enough that the only thing strong enough to bind them together is the love of Jesus. He has blessed us with a unity that is bigger than any of the differences.
Watching God do all of this, person by person, continues to be a grace to my life. As a pastor, I get a front row seat to people being helped, prayers being answered, and the knowledge of God growing. It is humbling and awesome to recognize that we get to participate in the eternal plan of God. While 15 years is not much in the span of eternity, it is enough time to have gone through a lot of different experiences; seeing how God has worked through each of them.
The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases;
his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness. | Lamentations 3:22–23