Remind me why I do this!

Some of you may already be regular readers of the "vision of New Hope" blog to which I contribute, but if not - this is a post that sums up my heart and passion for New Hope (and the Church in general for that matter!)

I know that I am not the only one who sometimes gets overwhelmed with the demands of my job. At times, I look at all that there is to do and I get discouraged for a bit in a "woe is me" kind of way. It's times like that when I need to be reminded why I do what I do... so here goes:

I love the mission of this Church! Churches have their part in the body of Christ just like we do - we aren't all the same. I think that each local church has to find its niche in the body of Christ. For instance, the church I grew up in was really into missions. We spent a great deal of Sunday evening services (remember those?) hearing from an overseas missionary home on furlough ("here we are with our team under the banana tree..."). Over these years in ministry, I have been to "worshiping churches" where there was just something about the church that made you want to worship. I've been to great teaching churches where the pastor could talk for 2 hours and I wouldn't miss a beat (and that's saying something). Let's just say that there are a LOT of different kinds of churches. I love the mission of New Hope - to help people take their next step toward Christ. As I have watched this church grow (both numerically and spiritually) over the past 5+ years, I love the fact that we are quickly becoming a church that is bent on reaching those in our neighborhoods, workplaces and even families who are outside of a relationship with Christ - THAT IS WHAT GETS ME UP IN THE MORNING!

I love the message of this Church! It's not enough to deliver a good "show" on Sunday morning. As a leadership team, it is without doubt our greatest desire to present the life changing, soul redeeming, unbelievable truth of Christ and what he did for us on the cross! Our goal is to find a culturally relevant vehicle to deliver the timeless truth of Jesus Christ!

I love the people of this Church! Over the past 5 years, I have gotten a chance to know some of the most incredible people in the world! I am not exaggerating! It is comforting to me to know that I am trying my dead level best to reach Northwest Ohio with some of my best friends in the world. I look forward to going to Church on Sunday morning because I get to see friends from every age group from the children my kids play with to the students I have worked with for the past 5 years to their parents and grandparents!
In the end - this church is like family to me... it's not without its issues and struggles, but at the end of the day (and the beginning)... I LOVE THIS CHURCH!!!

And, I'm not alone... check out this email I got from someone in the church a few weeks ago:

"Our church worship and message was AWESOME!!! I can't say it enough, it was AWESOME!! I had a couple of friends visit, and that is all I heard them say, was how AWESOME the worship was, and how they enjoyed how Pastor George related to them/ he kept their attention :) This is one of MANY reasons why I LOVE MY CHURCH!!!!"

How can you help it?

Jeremy