DAY 2: THE POWER OF BEING PLANTED IN CHURCH
In 1987 I was finishing high school and considering my future. McDonald’s was the place to be with my friends, and the choice was usually a Big Mac or Quarter Pounder with fries. We listened to music on CD players. This was the year U2 released “The Joshua Tree” and Bon Jovi were “Livin’ on a Prayer”.
I grew up in a loving family home with my mum, dad, and two younger brothers. Yet life wasn’t all fast food, pop music, backyard cricket, or sausages, gravy, and mash for dinner with Neapolitan ice cream for dessert. Dad was worried about finances, and Mum battled mental illness that limited her ability to care for us.
Yet at the centre of all this was my church. It wasn’t perfect, but it was a place where I found love, acceptance, fun, friendship, purpose, and ultimately a close relationship with Jesus. Which brings me to my first point:
1. A healthy church points people to Jesus.
While the world offers countless self-improvement programs, a healthy church is all about Jesus – the source of true transformation. My journey to knowing Jesus began in the church and my life has continued to change through my personal relationship with Him and being planted in my local church. (Read Colossians 2:6–7.) The church is not a building; it’s a community of people being shaped by Jesus, filled with the Holy Spirit, and called into an abundant life of walking out His plans and purposes for them. (Read Hebrews 10:24–25.)
2. A healthy church builds community and connection.
With everything going on at home in 1987, I could easily have become an isolated kid. I’m grateful there was a church youth group to go to every Friday night. It gave me a circle of friends to do life with and kept me out of trouble.
The enemy always tries to isolate us because we’re most vulnerable when we’re alone and adrift. Being plugged into church community means making God’s house a priority, coming every Sunday, and serving in some capacity. That’s how our roots go down deep, anchoring our lives in a life-giving environment and connecting us with people to do life with. And that’s how we grow and flourish. (Read Psalms 92:12–14 NIV.) I recently attended a wedding where the bride and her head bridesmaid had met at a church Summer Camp in Grade 7.
3. A healthy church guides people into their God–given purpose.
God created each of us for a purpose and uniquely gifted us for His mission, whether in ministry, family, or the workplace. (Read Ephesians 2:10.) A healthy church encourages people to dream big, discover their calling, deploy their gifts, and step out in faith.
I found my calling in church while completing a business degree at the University of Western Sydney. One Sunday, a preacher threw out a line that hit me straight in the heart. He asked, “How long are the best minds going to go to IBM and Coca-Cola and big multi-national companies? When will some of the best minds go towards building the church?” In that moment, God stirred my heart to give my best to build the church.
I’ve heard many testimonies of people who were stirred in church to start a business or pursue a dream. It’s a gamechanger when people know there’s a greater purpose to all they do, when they’re fuelled by a close walk with Jesus, and planted in a church community that supports and encourages them.
Sep 18 2024
