Zion E-News (11-21-2018)

The last week or so, I have been captivated by the tragic story of the young man who was killed on an island near India because of his efforts to share the gospel with a remote tribe. The story is complicated as you cannot help but feel sympathy for the young man, his family and his friends as they all mourn his loss. And, I also respect his passion and willingness to take risks for God.

And yet, I am also left with an unsettled feeling in my gut. The story reminds me of the similar story of Nate Saint and his friends back in the 1950s who lost their lives in Ecuador during a similar attempt to reach a remote tribe. Those who study missions warn us that these efforts are both unhelpful and very dangerous. Mission work takes time, building relationships, learning the language. understanding the culture. Evangelism does not happen over night. It is often a long and tedious process. There simple are no shortcuts. (You can read a great reflection on this event by a missiologist here and another by Ed Stetzer here.)

The whole story got me thinking about church life here in West Michigan. There are lots and lots of people who live here who no longe for have never attended church. Some of them may still believe or almost believe, but need an invitation or a reminder of the gospel they once knew. But, many of them have been wounded by the church or have false views of Christians because of popular media or maybe even accurate views of us that we may not like. These people will not quickly come to believe in God, they need time to be known, heard, understood, and accepted. It takes time.

Sometimes, we can grow impatient with people. We want them to move at our pace rather than their own. We want them to already see what we see. But change takes time. Change takes safety and affirmation. Change takes relationship.

If there is someone you love who does not yet believe, don’t give up hope and stay in relationship. If you are growing frustrated by someone’s lack of response to the gospel, slow down, listen more and talk a little less. And most of all, pray. May we all pray for God’s Spirit to be at work in us and in those who are still far from him.

Connect to God
As a kid, I remember seeing my first 3-D movie poster (not the movie, just the poster) and being amazed as Jaws jumped off the page at me. It seemed so real. Now, you can put on a headset with your phone and play a virtual reality game, putting you in the middle of a combat zone or driving a race car. It’s not quite real, it virtually real. But deep down, something in us longs fro more than the illusion, we long for a real true life. Not a social media life, not a virtual reality life, and not a 3-D poster life, we want the real thing. Then look no further! In John 1, we meet the Word who literally made reality and invites us to experience true life in him.

If you would like a copy of the worship service, you can receive a complete copy by contacting Tom Verbrugge or you can find the weekly messages on our website.

Grow in Community
In early January, we will be starting a new women’s exercise class on Monday nights. It will be a great time to both get some exercise and connect with other women at Zion. If you are interested in learning more, you can sign up on the Connection Card on Sunday.

Mark your calendars to join us for our annual Sunday School Christmas program on December 9 during our morning worship. This is a great tradition and the kids have been working hard to present us with the story of the true King who is like King David.

We are not only part of a church, but also part of our denomination. Our denomination, the Reformed Church in America, has been a continuing presence in the US for 390 years. We are also in a time of tension as a body and a group has been formed to prayerfully outline a way forward to continue in ministry. You can read about their latest meetings here.

Serve the World
A huge thank you to all who gave generously to the Thanksgiving offering over the past 2 weeks. We raised $8,666 to be given to Good News Nepal, RCA relief efforts for Hurricane Michael, and to support several families in our local community.

Administrative Details
As many of you may know, in September our Consistory went on a retreat together to discern God’s call for Zion in the next several years. We will be sharing this vision in more detail early next year, but the core of our vision is a desire to raise up Christian leaders in order to plant new churches in the Grandville and Georgetown Township communities.

As part of this visioning process, we also have been assessing our ongoing needs at Zion in order to continue welcoming new people into our congregation. We are working on everything from assessing our outreach ministries to creating leadership development resources and assessing our building use. Currently, the Consistory is interviewing potential architects to help us better use the footprint of our building to more effectively welcome more people to our church. We are asking specifically for help in rightsizing our children and youth spaces and improving the traffic flow in the building on Sundays with some more welcoming gathering areas.

As you think about your upcoming end-of-year giving, please consider giving to our new Church Remodel Fund. Going forward, we will involve the congregation in both the design and decision process of any remodel, but wanted to share this opportunity to financially support this effort as we begin dreaming of how we can use our facility even better to reach people for God.

We continue to thank God for his provision of all of our needs and for the generous support of our congregation with their time, talent, and treasures.
Fiscal Year to date budget: $282,755.20
Fiscal Year to date contributions: $279,217.53