I was thinking about that name the other day and I couldn’t help but think of how cool it was, and I know there were specific reasons for calling it what it is called way back when the dinosaurs and our great grandparents roamed the earth but it has been beautiful for me to hear how far this church has come because of its desire to have a heart like Christ. Then I started thinking about the vision of Village and its youth ministry, and I thought, wow God has brought me to a place that still has so far to go but dreams about being place that is so much bigger than most places even imagine, and I get excited. “Village, a place where Christ connects with the world because his truth is taught there; Village, a place where failure connects with Grace because people met Jesus there; Village, a place where emptiness connects with fullness because people met Jesus there; Village, a place where gifts connect with opportunity because they want to be more like Jesus there; and finally, Village, where cultures connect in unity (multi cultural ministry!) because people have embodied the kingdom of heaven there.”
The vision of Gods kingdom in Heaven is found in Revelation 7
9 After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. 10 And they cried out in a loud voice:
“Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.”
Bottom line 1: Heaven is a multi-cultural place.
Also, take a look at the high priestly prayer of Jesus found in John 17.
“My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21 that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22 I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: 23 I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.
Bottom line 2: We are called to love one another regardless of our culture. That is the “Emerging Church”.
Jesus was coming to a moment in his life where he was about to be led to the cross to die stopped and prayed for three things. The first thing was that his death would glorify God, the second thing was for his disciples and the third thing was that all believers who came to him through his disciples, which remember he prayed three times, that we would all be one.
And finally, that he promised that if we would become one, and that there was no guarantee that we would but if we did then two things would happen 1. people would know that he was sent by God, and 2. they would know that God loves them like he has loved us
Please consider that ‘One’ does not mean just people that look like us, but all people regardless of culture and ethnicity. It has been very difficult, but we are trying to put out a true multi cultural ministry that embodies this
