Missional Living: Reaching into our Neighbourhoods

Western culture is becoming increasingly secular.  We now live in a post-Christian world.  The strength and influence of the church in the west is radically diminishing.  In the minds of average citizens questions about Christianity and its validity abound.  Aren’t all religions the same and ultimately lead to the same God?  There are many barriers that paralyze us from reaching out.  Not wanting to offend, we are tempted to hunker down in our safe little ‘Christian bubbles'.  

To begin 2014 we focus on the NSAC core value of missional living.  “We will go into our neighborhoods and around the world to express the love and hope of Jesus.”  Signs of encouraging practices related to this value emerged from our congregational survey conducted in the fall of 2013.  Of the nearly 300 NSAC people polled, 94% confirmed they had had at least 1 spiritual conversation with a non-Christian in the past month.  When asked how confident they were in explaining the good news of Jesus, 58% indicated that they felt above average to fully confident in doing so with someone else.  

This series will explore the miraculous growth of the early church from a small sect of Judaism in the city of Jerusalem to the entire Roman world in just a few short decades.  In the face of persecution and opposition in the 1st century, God built His church and He used people like you and me to do it.  “Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went” (Acts 8:4).  Is there hope for ever reaching our family, friends, and neighbors today with the transforming message of Jesus when the odds seem so stacked against it?  Yes!  God is still on the move in this day longing to reach the people of the North Shore through us.