All kinds of planting happening this season! Watch the "brief" 8-minute update from John below or read more details below.
Core team services
We have started to meet on Sundays as a core team to begin walking out what hosting services will look like. We agreed that the best way to know if we have thought things through is to do it. The reason for keeping it small is to establish the culture we believe God is seeking, to be candid with each other, and to figure out the VHM liturgy (a fancy word for the order of what happens in a service).
We have met three times now and for now are in a rhythm of a short thought/message, followed by worship, and including some element of a meal to foster connection. This past week our conversation has revolved around communion, and we intend to implement that into services this next gathering.
There will be a few documents posted in the next few months that will go more in-depth on our "why," our beliefs, and how this group will function. It is different than what we are familiar with, but we are staying true to what we hear God telling us. Pray for wisdom and discernment as we begin to flesh out some foundational practices for VMH. We are also praying that God's presence is known in each gathering because there is no point in meeting if he's not there.
Seminary
With the last classes of the semester wrapping up, there has not been much free time to jump on here with updates, but we will be posting the final essays in the VHM blog. These assignments are called theological synopses which means John has to take a key area of theological inquiry and summarize three diverse theologians' perspectives about the topic. He then formulates his own perspective on the topic by reading scripture and researching scholarly texts. Each essay concludes with an application for the modern world, which attempts to bring the doctrine discussed into conversation with contemporary culture.
Two-fold direction: planting
John took a few days off after wrapping up the series of essays to spend time with God. The goal of that time was to shed off any mental clutter that stems from sleep deprivation and a long list of responsibilities and then hone in on what God wants John's priorities to be.
The first point of clarity is that time with God needs to be the number one priority. If that is not happening, then everything else loses focus. For John, "time with God" means an intentional time to worship God through prayer, talking with him, reading scripture, or researching whatever it is God is pointing out.
The second priority John heard was "planting," which was two-fold: planting the church and then planting in the garden. While John has had an interest in gardening, he didn't really press into it because he felt he should spend his time with other responsibilities. But John and Chelsea both have had a growing sense that the literal fruit of the plants will allow for ministry and connection opportunities in the neighborhood. Specifically, John felt God said John should offer to plant something of an orchard at the elementary school where he volunteers. John may go into more of the practical side of that at some point, but it involves grafting and you can easily make a lot of Bible references with that! Ultimately that project would provide a way to connect with local families.
Our biggest prayer
is that we would not get in front of or behind God in all the things we are doing.
Thank you as always for your heart, prayers, and support! We want to see God's kingdom spread throughout the land and are excited to partner with how God wants to do that.
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