loving 021
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One of our calls as Jesus' church is to be a missional community. That is part of the deal. A city on a hill is not meant to be hidden. You don't light a lamp and stick it under a basket. If a church ever finds itself kicking mission (read: loving people, letting them know about the incredible good news of the Gospel with your words and by your life, being in relationship with non-churched people, being aware of and engaging culture toward its redemption, constantly asking 'are we doing everything we can to disciple the nations for Jesus and unveil for people the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ?' and all the rest) to the curb, repentance and reorientation must occur.
And so we do hope to be a missional church. But that doesn't mean jamming tracks down people's throats or starting every conversation off with 'hey, do you know Jesus?' It just means prayerfully and intentionally creating space for Jesus to bring His Gospel to bear on people's souls, including ours. Whether that is through running dialogues with Morrocan neighbors so that we better understand each other, hosting Soccer Nights at a local apartment complex for kids and parents, preparing engaged couples for a Gospel-centered marriage, hosting friends for a meal, joining a local book club, volunteering at a homeless shelter or fill-in-the-blank, we are trying hard to create space and opportunity for friendship, conversation, service, and grace.
At Seven Mile Road we have coined this part of our life together 'loving 021'. Most of the just-north of Boston cities that make up our stomping grounds have zip codes that begin with 021... Malden (02148), Medford (02155), Revere (02151), Melrose (02176), Everett (02149), East Boston (02128)... you get the point.
