The purpose of a blog

A German friend of mine graciously observed recently that a blog is not much use if it is devoid of content. He was not the first to comment. Thus I am encouraged once again to continue 'blogging' on this site and sharing the journey of CityChurch with the masses.

In the 6 months since I last posted a lot has happened. The team has been strengthened and relationships within the city have been established. One of the reasons I have been slow to post is that I am a visionary type and I am aware that what I see happening one day can change fairly rapidly as I talk it out. I don't want to be forever giving the impression that things are changing every five minutes. Anyway here are a few things that have encouraged us deeply;

Firstly people have now been able to confirm that they will be joining us from all over the UK. Derby is the source of most of the team but then people have committed to joining us from Manchester, Oxford, Warwick, Lutterworth, Bristol and Leicester itself. There are still others who may get involved too.

Secondly we have been developing a relationship with a wonderful Baptist Church in the city that we are exploring some kind of partnership with. They are in a highly Asian part of the city and God may just be bringing us together. We shall see - watch this space!

At this time a number of our team are actively trying to sell homes and find new jobs in order to move. I honour them as this venture is a costly one and these are people who are prepared to pay the cost for the sake of the Gospel. They have seen something of God at work and it excites me greatly as I am certain God is about to take us on a wonderful missional adventure. Bring it on!

The countdown begins

First of apologies for the lack of updates recently.

I am pleased to tell you that things are continuing to take shape and develop with the plans to plant CityChurch. There is now a core group of 20+ adults committed to the plant and there is plenty of room for more. Houses are being put up for sale and job searches have begun. We may still be 12 months away from an official launch but it is getting very real.

In all of this the mission remains central. To see the Kingdom of God come on earth as it is in heaven. In the planning for CityChurch I am stirred by the word 'Go'. Jesus said 'Go' in the great commission but modelled it through his whole ministry and the discipleship he put into others. He sent out the 12, then the 72. For us going to Leicester is just the start of the going. When we get there we will not be building a big temple to hide in, rather we will continue to take the good news to the city. When we have gone, the going really begins!

The next stage

Planting a church is certainly a journey and the next stage of the CityChurch journey is about to get under way. We will soon begin to meet monthly to build relationship and pray. We hope to do this on some occasions in Leicester but for now we will start in Derby. It will be difficult to draw everyone together as we have people from different parts of the UK coming to join City Church but it will be exciting and we will do our best! Watch this space for details.

Mission Opportunities

As suggested in an earlier post we want CityChurch to have a strong incarnational edge to it. This means pouring our lives into communities and people groups that needs Jesus. At present we are exploring 2 possible opportunities to do just this. They may or may not be things we finally commit to but the opportunities are exciting!

The first is on one of the city's estates. It is an area with no strong church presence according to the local Christians and it has lots of need. In the middle of this estate we have found an inspirational woman who has seen the lives of many locals transformed. We are exploring whether or not we can invest in this area. Are you up for moving onto an estate in Leicester and pouring your life into a needy community?

The second opportunity is very different! Missions organisation WEC have shown some interest in exploring the possibility of partnering with us as we look to work with people from other religions in the city. Who knows what will come of this, but we start talking with WEC tomorrow!

Time to step up a gear

Things are as exciting as ever as we continue to seek God and make plans for CityChurch. In order to share some of the vision more widely and give people a chance to find out more we are having a 'find out more' evening at the Riverside Centre (home of Community Church Derby) @ 8pm on April 29th. You can find directions via the Community Church Derby website link. We hope you can make it!

The shape of things to come...

Opinions about what a church should look like are plentiful in these days of rapid cultural change. Some will argue that to be truely effective a church must adopt an incarnational 'go to them' mentality. This involves significant community involvement and acknowledges that many people will never step inside a church building. Others will argue that a more traditional 'come to us' approach that relies upon people attending central gatherings and being impacted by the presence of God is still the way forward. Often it seems that a choice must be made and a preferred shape chosen. My experience, both personal and from stories told around the nation, is that both approaches remain effective - when done well.

So what will CityChurch look like?

I believe we can do both well at the same time! If one thing is certain it is that CityChurch will be a mission shaped church. We aim to see the Kingdom of God come across the whole of Leicester. To play our part in this we will definitely need to find ways to effectively impact communities and people groups outside the walls of the church. We will 'go to them'. However our vision is to see a church that impacts the whole city built. To do this we must be visible and we must have gatherings that have great expectation within them. Expectation that people will be saved, healed and delivered. If God is calling us to expect growth, and He is, then we must have faith that people will 'come to us'. We better give them an opportunity to do so.

CityChurch Leicester - gathered and scattered for the making of disciples, with expectation!

CityChurch Promo Video

CityChurch Leicester Promo Video from EMCF on Vimeo.