This series is about building our community to support the community of the world. We're building bridges with ministry and community, therefore we've combined community and ministry to get Communistry. We will look at Jesus’ mission to the church
and His very visual vision of that ministry as laid-out in the New Testament book of Acts.
In Acts 1:8 Jesus’ last physical command before leaving the Earth was to be a witness of who He was and is and the content of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. That Gospel was to begin within the local community of Jerusalem before moving outward to the world. Our “Jerusalem” is right here in Ni River Community Church. We cannot reach out to the community of Fredericksburg until we learn to be a community within our own church. We need first to build a community at NRCC then to be a support to our community.
In Acts 1:8 Jesus’ last physical command before leaving the Earth was to be a witness of who He was and is and the content of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. That Gospel was to begin within the local community of Jerusalem before moving outward to the world. Our “Jerusalem” is right here in Ni River Community Church. We cannot reach out to the community of Fredericksburg until we learn to be a community within our own church. We need first to build a community at NRCC then to be a support to our community.
In Acts 6 a group of people within the community, around the church, had needs that were not being met… widows and their children who were being overlooked and who were starving. The church created small groups to go out and meet the needs of those in the community. The same challenge applies to NRCC. We are to seek out the needs within our community and find ways to be the solution for those needs.
As the Acts 1:8 vision and mission from God continues, Jesus calls the church to move further into the community. He calls us to invite “Samaria” to feel a part of the Gospel. This means that we have to move out of our comfort zone and invite all of the community to be a part of the church… to include those parts of the community that are different from us, that we don’t understand, that we may even find to be weird, scary, distasteful, or unappreciated. The early church struggled with this just as we do. God did not let them stay in their comfort zone then and neither does He allow it today.
The Acts 1:8 vision and mission concludes with this: Jesus expects us to go out to meet the physical needs of the world. In Acts 13, the church sends those who were called to take the message of the Gospel to the rest of the world. Paul and Barnabas were thus set apart and commissioned to establish churches as ministry centers worldwide. They traveled where God would lead them, meeting physical and spiritual needs along the way. Our church is no different. God has called us to reach out and leave the fingerprints of His grace and love in the parts of the world where He has called us.
- June 22 - Ni River Sunday - (Interactive Service, MP3 Not Available) - Dig Deeper - Outline We are culminating our Communistry Series with a Sunday devoted to celebration and fellowship with our Ni River Church Family. This Sunday all ages from GAME to the Adults will worship and celebrate together, immediately followed by a picnic including lots of great food and games for all ages. Come hang out with your Ni River Family!
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