I See
…a timely resource to help us find life in Christ and bring life to others
…space to allow us to expand ministry as the Lord blesses in the years ahead
…adults, youth and children scattering on Sunday morning to their classes
in bright, warm, inviting rooms
…classrooms of 2 and 3 year olds, 4 and 5 year olds, 1st through 3rd grade,
4th and 5th grade, each classroom with a sign by the door identifying the room and
giving the teacher’s name
…a 6th to 8th grade youth group meeting in ground level
…a 9th to 12th grade youth group meeting on the 3rd floor
…college students gathering on the first floor on a Wednesday evening to
discuss how to stand for Christ against the rising anti-Christian sentiment on the
WCU campus
…cooperative ministry with Faith Church (PCA) for a Friday night youth group
…a room being used during the week by a counselor from CCEF meeting with
a couple whose marriage is collapsing. His next appointment is with a young
man from West Chester trapped in pornography. Next week he’s scheduled
to lead a group dealing with anger.
…a room being used on a weekday evening for a group of leaders from various
churches being trained in principles of peacemaking to take back to their churches
…a group of men gathered around the conference table, coffee in hand, discussing
how to help churches in the Presbytery in revitalization
…people in the neighborhood drawn to the new, attractive facility of the
church on the corner and to the hustle and bustle of activity going on there
…the church secretary spread out in her work area, in the final stages of
her ten hours of pulling together the bulletin and prayer lists
…a CHOP group gathered to pray for those in their life spheres and those
in the neighborhood around the church building
…visitors coming and staying, some curious, many convinced God is doing something
special
…a pastor deep in study in the privacy of his office, uninterrupted by people
just passing through
…a room with heads bent in prayer, a group that gathers 6 a.m. every Tuesday
morning to intercede for the needs of the local and broader church and for revival
in our land
…a receptionist on site every weekday morning to answer phones, greet people,
serving as a clearing house for urgent prayer requests and news to go out over the
prayer net, working on special projects like making and maintaining a pictorial
church directory, working on daily update to a dynamic RPC website
…a place where another pastoral staff person or an intern can set up shop,
giving thought to how to minister to the youth the Lord has been bringing in
…a room with CE supplies, books, articles, outreach materials, RPC visitor
packets, resources—all organized, retrievable, accessible
…a parlor with women of the church, drinking tea and discussing how to involve
women more in the Word and encourage one another in their roles
…a pantry stocked with food supplies maintained by the deacons for mercy
ministry
…being able to say yes to the single parents’ group wanting to meet
at RPC as part of their bi-weekly meeting rotation
…mothers dropping their children off at a bright, clean, warm room as part
of the Tuesday/Thursday Mothers Morning Out ministry, while they use the time to
run errands or just get a break. Relationships built. The aroma of life
wafts throughout.
…a volunteer putting the finishing touches on The Grapevine, the
monthly RPC newsletter produced to edify and inform
…an evangelistic Bible study meeting on Sunday evening where interested folk
gather to discuss the gospel of Mark and be introduced to Jesus Christ
…a Cluster group not able to meet in a home that week, gathered in February
in warmth, discussing what Peter meant by a ‘living hope’
…an attractive facility that shouts life by its cleanliness, brightness,
design, and activity—an incubator for life in providing a place for teaching,
prayer, planning, discussion, fellowship, a cultivator of life in reaching out through
prayer, mercy ministry, study and evangelism