The Birth of a New Vision and Ministry

While seeking the Lord in late 2022, the Lord impressed upon me about reaching our community through hospitality. My initial understanding was that this involved coordinating meal-type of events, beginning with churches in the Marietta area. The main goal of these events is to build real community and connect people of all walks of life (including those who feel excluded) together with the Church and doing so by actively utilizing the Body with their various Gifts -- reference Ephesians 4:11-16, which says:

Ephesians 4:11-16 (NIV) 11 So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, 12 to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. 14 Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. 15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. 16 From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.

Following that time of personal revelation and through continued prayers, several events from my past were brought to my remembrance along with the clarity of how they pertained to this ministry and calling. For me, these seemingly random memories served as the Lord's confirmation about this new ministry to our community and for the starting point of it.

So, what is this ministry? Let's start with "what it's not."

• It's not about any particular group or network of churches.

• It's not about any one denomination.

• It's not about any people groups such as how the world brings distinctions and divisions: race, ethnicity, language, etc.

• As long as we all believe in John 3:16 and Romans 10:9-10, it's not about the minutiae of our interpretations of scripture. We believe that, as Christians, we have more in common within us than anything outwardly that would separate us.

John 3:16 (NIV) 16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Romans 10:9-10 (NIV) 9 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.

So, "what is it" then?

• It's a ministry that's focussed on connecting with and helping every church in our community - and thereby aiding to transform us from silos into the Church of Marietta.

• It's about local missions.

• It's about activating the Body of Christ.

• It's about loving our community - and impacting them through Christ.

• It's about loving all and being a light to the entire community.

• It's about celebrating our Lord and Savior - the Bridegroom - and His incomparable love for each and all of us.

• And, it's about doing all of this with something as simple as a meal. Reference the Parable of the Wedding Banquet in Matthew 22:8-10, which says:

Matthew 22:8-10 (NIV) 8 “Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come. 9 So go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.’ 10 So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, the bad as well as the good, and the wedding hall was filled with guests.

One more interesting observation - Jesus' first miracle was turning water into wine at a wedding banquet. Reference John 2:1-11. Many of us already know this, but it's still interesting to consider that both of these scripture references have the backdrop of a wedding banquet in common. The context of each tells of its importance, but when the Lord repeats something, He clearly is communicating something of significance to us.

So, what does this ministry look like? How does it function?

• We're working to connect with other churches in the West Marietta area for them to host a meal event (or more) at their location.

• We, our ministry and the host church, will jointly commit to prayer and preparation for the meal event.

• This event involves a number of means of communicating / reaching out to the surrounding community where the host church is located to inform and invite them all to the meal.

• Members of the local body of the host church, who are willing, are called into action for local missions. Those who are already active in some form of ministry may find a way to participate in that same role (or a new one). Some will be assigned tasks of hospitality where they will intentionally and personally connect with as many in attendance as they can, especially connecting with any who the Lord highlights or with any who don't seem familiar. They'll welcome visitors in and learn about them. If the visitors have needs, they'll lead them and connect them with others who represent the appropriate ministry group, such as ministries for the marginalized, adult ministries, youth ministries, prayer ministry, etc. There's also room for the worship ministry and some games / activities for the youth. The goal here is to welcome them and get them connected into the church. The rest of the body / members simply get to enjoy a meal together while being mindful of and celebrating what the Lord has done for us.

• Our ministry wants to co-labor with each host church in the steps of preparation and be active as extra hands and hearts for the event/s.

• Before the meal is served, a simple communion will be shared at each table and then the meal will be served.

• After the meal event is over, A Heart for Marietta ministry will provide opportunities to co-labor with us for future events hosted by other churches. By doing this, not only do we each continue in our active calling, but we also build more relationships among the churches in our community. After all, regardless of which church body we belong to, we all have been given a calling and we all have an audience of One.

We are excited to see what the Lord does in and through these events and how He will use this to impact and transform our community! We are expecting to see an increase of our community's measure of love and unity.

Blessings to you all...