WE are the church

As I have mentioned previously, I am a Christ follower. My husband and I are fairly active in our local church. Adam is the small groups director and plays in the band, I support him and organize workers in the coffee shop.

Our church is amazing. Water’s Edge (WE) is a place for hurting people. We launched in September 2007 meeting at a local movie theater. We were blessed to be able to build and start meeting at our new location in Feb 2011. We have grown from about 25 people meeting at a Raising Canes to 1200 and growing. We are currently having 3 separate services because we are unable to fit in our building. This year for Easter we are going to be renting out the arena at the Civic center, just so we can all meet together.

Our church is amazing. But if I could take a picture and post it on here for our church, it would not be a picture of a building… It would be pictures of faces. Our church is made up of people. Singles, married, moms, dads, empty-nesters, bikers, runners, addicts, sinners, liars, thieves… broken people.

1 Corinthians 6:9 “Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, 10nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 11And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.”

Our church is a place for broken, hurting people to be restored. My eyes are starting to tear as I think of all these faces I know personally who have been restored. We are all broken, no matter how good we think we are – without Jesus we are filthy rags. But the story doesn’t end there. He loves us so much that he was willing to die to take on our sin and make us whole.

John 10:7So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. 8All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. 9I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. 10The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. 11I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. 13He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. 14I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, 15just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. 17For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. 18No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.”

We just have to be his sheep and follow him. We are the church.