Commissioning Day
This morning our sending/supporting church, Risen Life Church introduced and prayed over our core-team of Redeeming Life church planters. It was a fun morning. It was exciting. Our name was announced and our logo was put up on the screens. Afterwards people came up to chat with us and offer words of encouragement. Prayer cards with photos of our team and specific prayer requests were made available. They announced that our evening service would start September 7th at 6:30pm and encouraged anyone feeling God may be calling them to join us. It was a good morning.
But there was something else going on. Pastor Kevin, a dear friend and one of our borrowed elders, made it clear. "It's hard to be a church in Salt Lake City," he said; "It's even harder to be a church plant here." He is well aware of the task God has set before us. This is why as he was introducing our team, he called us courageous.
Pastor Kevin is right. We are courageous and we do have a serious task before us. It's for this reason that we had an entire church pray for us today. It's for this reason that I've been asking as many people as will listen to pray for each and every member of our team.
Church planting is not easy. It's hard work. It's tough to till the soil and plant gospel seeds faithfully day in and day out. There will be spiritual attack. There will be discouragement. And we will likely have days when we want to quit. Yet, think of how close this will draw each and everyone of us to our Risen Lord. Think about the impact our faithfulness could have on this generation. How about the next generation?
As I was sitting in the worship center of Risen Life Church today, it struck me that the great congregation and all that is Risen Life was started much the same way Redeeming Life Church is getting started now. A small team of faithful men and women laid the foundation. One of them, Wayne Tuttle, still worships with Risen Life and has been for more than 50 years. Just think, about how many men, women, and children Wayne has seen connect with the Risen Life family. Just think, some of us today may be like Wayne Tuttle 50 years from now, reflecting back on this commissioning day.
As we get started, I'd like to ask for your prayers. Whether you're with our team or not, please remember to chat with God about the work that's before us. These are exciting times!
Soli Deo gloria!
Pastor Bryan