I love the circle of ministry that God has given me. It's a five-mile concentric circle around Reston Town Center. This is the parish God has given me, and I passionately desire to see everyone in it reached for Christ.
My hope is that as God raises up more leaders and ministers in our church... that our area of activity will increase. I want to plant more churches beyond this radius in greater and greater influence.
We see this principle in Samuel's priesthood in 1 Samuel... "Samuel gave solid leadership to Israel his entire life. Every year he went on a circuit from Bethel to Gilgal to Mizpah. He gave leadership to Israel in each of these places. But always he would return to Ramah, where he lived, and preside from there. That is where he built an altar to God."
And we see it in Paul's ministry in 2 Corinthians 10:15-16: "Our hope is that, as your faith continues to grow, our area of activity among you will greatly expand, so that we can preach the gospel in the regions beyond you."
Oh no, Microsoft is going to come after you for using one of their Xbox 360 logos! ;D
In all seriousness, though, we at eXchange ( www.exchangemcc.org ) see empty seats as those in our community who need Christ. It's always a poignant reminder.
Posted by: Shawn | June 19, 2007 at 09:54 AM
Ben,
Great vision and mission. Thanks for sharing. May it inspire others to impact their sphere of influence for Jesus.
Know that you are loved,
Greg
Posted by: Greg Johnson | June 19, 2007 at 03:54 PM