Why I'm Excited for the Future of Church History.

I know some people.

Some peers of mine.

And they LOVE the local church. 

I truly believe that if persecution were to become imminent they would give their lives for her.

Why does that matter, you might ask? 

It matters, because Jesus loves the Church; it’s His bride. 

These people, these peers, they work 9 - 5 jobs and they make disciples in the crevices of their days. They go weeks without free evenings because they are busy. Busy building the Kingdom. 

They invite their co-workers to church. And take them to counseling. They pour themselves out because that’s what has been done for them. 

They are in vocational ministry. But they see their whole lives as ministry. They teach and challenge and love and discipline. And they have worries and doubts and fears; they carry burdens, but they are able, they are capable, because they know their sufficiency comes from Christ.

They desire vocational ministry because, for them, that’s what it means to go. 

They position themselves around jr. high kids and high school kids and people in college. Yes, they have fun, but they see that these are the people who will one day fill their shoes. 

They ask for wisdom and counsel. They have mentors, disciplers, who tell them that life on earth doesn’t get easier, it gets harder, but Jesus becomes sweeter when we follow hard after Him.  

They give up their Saturdays to watch kids or serve meals. The teach Sunday school and Children’s Church and you can always find them in the nursery. They serve on missions committees and singles ministry counsels. They run Power Points and send dozens of emails insuring new people are connected. 

They desire marriage. Not the idealized-chick-flick type, but the real self-sacrificing kind for God’s glory and the other’s eternal good. Their ministries will be deeper - wider - for it.

They confess their sin to one another. No shame. Just iron sharpening iron. 

They don’t leave a place without praying for me or for others because they know, they believe, that we are in desperate need of the Holy Spirit to work in our hearts. We can do NOTHING apart from Him. 

And while a lot in our world seems bleak - wars and rumors of wars, government shut downs, divorce rates and unemployment rates soaring - these people, these peers, these friends, they are lights whether or not anyone else sees.

They love the church.

They are the Church. 

They are the future of the church. 

They are the hope of Church.

And that’s why I’m excited.