September 1, 2026
Beloved of God,
Many people who love their church are these days asking, “Will my church continue to exist a decade from now?”
The wiser ones of them first ask the deeper question, “Why should my church exist a decade from now? Does my church have a unique contribution to make, such that its absence would be a loss to God and our neighbors?”
A church helps people draw closer to God, but so do other faith institutions. A church provides many social services, but so do other organizations. A church creates a community in which people find friendship and mutual support, but so do other groups which share common projects and the opportunity to enjoy the company of like-minded folks.
What is unique about a church is Jesus. He’s the central focus of our faith, its enduring foundation, its defining content and its ultimate horizon. It begins in Him, continues in Him and is fulfilled in Him. He’s both its doorway and its destination, and the driving force every step of the journey.
The church’s essential and exceptional work, the work that churches and para-church organizations alone can do, is to help church folks and others get to know Jesus better.
We who make up the church come to know Jesus through worship, scripture study, personal prayer, serving others in His Spirit, and so forth.
We who make up the church make Him better known to others through respectful but warm and welcoming outreach, through attentive and empathetic listening to others, through sharing (when appropriate) what having Him in our life does for us, through bringing (with no strings attached) benefit to others (whether in friendship or in loving service), through inviting folks to come join us in activities in which we often run into Him or in which we receive blessings which we know come from Him, and so forth.
If we who make up Covenant church prioritize knowing Jesus and making Him known, the demise of Covenant would be a tragedy God will not allow. After all, Jesus promised to build His church (Matthew 16:18) – and we can know we are His church if we do what He most wants done in the way He most wants it done.
Let us then be obedient – and radiant with hope!
Warmly in Christ,
Rob & Adele
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