WHY IS 1C NATOMAS IMPORTANT?
WE CAN DO MORE TOGETHER THAN ALONE!
My name is John Stone. I am a pastor at Encounter Church in Natomas (Sacramento).
In 2013 I sat down with Joe Walters, a pastoral friend of mine, and asked the question, “Can we do more together than alone?” At the time I asked that simple question, I had little idea of how profound the implications might be.
Over the next several months we talked with one another in detail about what doing ministry and life together might look like. Soon we invited leaders from both of our churches to join us in these conversations.
The first profound implication we learned was that just by asking the question we discovered it to be a “disruption” for our fellow church leaders. It challenged the comfort of our status quo. Both his church and my church had to ask, “What are we willing to sacrifice to accomplish a greater good together?”
Of course there were practical things like, how do we blend responsibility and power with one another in specific areas of ministry to accomplish this greater aim? And in the end, would these sacrifices be offered begrudgingly, or with humility and enthusiasm for the new mission we were embracing together?
The second profound implication was that this journey would be a shared faith adventure. We didn’t have any guarantees that this mutual coming together would succeed. We weren’t exactly sure how the blending of two leadership groups would work. But we all agreed the risks would be an exercise of faith and trust in the leading of the Holy Spirit among us.
It has been eight years since leaders from both churches formed a new church with a new identity, and with an agreed upon mission that has galvanized us together. And we have no regrets over the mutual sacrifices that were made while following the lead of the Holy Spirit together! One, plus one, has equalled (not two), but three or more.
Today, the churches of Natomas face a similar moment. People are in crisis, families are hurting, and we are seeing a slide into unprecedented depths of ambiguity.
We must ask ourselves, “Can we do more together than alone?”
How do we practically investigate the realities of together being “salt” and “light” in our needy community? (Matthew 5:13-16) In other words, how do we become a moral preservative and a purveyor of spiritually liberating truth? How do we become a voice in our community that our community wants to hear?
There are profound implications that come with answers to those questions. For instance, we must wrestle with what kind of “good deeds” Jesus had in mind when he declared, “…let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:16)
Equally important is the question, “How do we collectively come together to ‘let our light shine before others’ in our community?”
One candle will light up a corner of the room. Many candles will light up the whole room.
One church can light up a corner of our community with the beauty of the gospel of Jesus Christ. What if all our candles could light up our entire community with the good news about Jesus?
1 C Natomas confesses the Apostle’s Creed as the foundation of belief upon which we all stand together. Within this theological framework, you will find diversity of perspectives and values from church to church. But together, we hold these truths to be evident and foundational.
The purpose of 1C Natomas is to be ONE Community, with ONE Voice, serving ONE God (the risen, and resurrected Lord Jesus Christ).
Let us in faith go on this adventure together! Let us herald with one voice, “The King is coming!”
Are you in?
