Two Pillars that Support Us

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Over the Christmas holidays Vineyard Columbus was involved in a number of different outreaches to our community. Five days after Thanksgiving, Project Compassion (our ministry to those in our community who are HIV-positive and who have AIDS) hosted its annual Christmas Banquet. They had over 150 clients, children and guests in attendance.

In addition, Fruit of the Vine hosted a dinner for Somali Muslims at the Somali Community Center. Approximately 300-400 Somalis attended. Christians from the Vineyard and Somalis ate dinner together. Dan Franz, our Fruit of the Vine pastor, shared Christmas story with this needy community.

Vineyard teams went out to the homeless camps on December 21st.

Vineyard also conducted a Christmas outreach for Rebecca's Place, a homeless shelter for women and at Bryden Place (a nursing home for the aged and mentally disabled). Dozens of women's groups hosted women's gatherings throughout Central Ohio. Fruit of the Vine hosted a Christmas dinner for its volunteers as well as the homeless and people who attend a Monday evening service that we host each week in the Short North. And we enjoyed a packed house for our Christmas Eve services.

I can't tell you how thrilled I am to be part of a church that is not exclusively absorbed with its own institutional maintenance, but is, instead, joining together with Jesus to "seek and save that which is lost" (Luke 19:10). I love being part of a church that understand that to be a Christian is to be other-centered!

I hope you also rejoice, as I do, in the opportunity to participate in a church in which social, class, and racial distinctions are being obliterated by the love of Jesus Christ. On my way into church each Sunday, I always pass by a group of homeless men who hang out by the north entrance of the church. It is rare for me to not privately praise God that homeless men and women are joining together with physicians, suburban moms, college professors, the disabled, blacks and whites in the worship of Jesus Christ.

But the question arises: how does a church sustain an other-centered missional vision without running out of steam? In other words, how can Vineyard Columbus continue to persevere in the call to be "fishers of men" (Mt. 4:19) and not simply give up due to weariness or self-absorption?

There are two great sustaining supports that God gives us for ongoing mission. When either of these great supports is missing in a church (or in an individual's life), you will quickly see missional vision dry up.

The first great sustaining support for mission is prayer. Patrick Johnstone, the author of my favorite prayer guide, "Operation World" (which guides prayer for the nations through daily readings) once said: "When man works, man works. But when man prays, God works!" It totally makes a difference in carrying out a task if you are simply working by yourself, or if, instead, you have taken time to pray and God is at work in your task. Prayer is the secret powerhouse that sustains individuals, families, and churches.

Charles Hadden Spurgeon, the great 19th century English Baptist preacher, attributed the unique blessing of God upon his ministry in London to the faithfulness of his people to pray for him. The story has often been told of five college students who came to hear Spurgeon preach at his church, The Metropolitan Tabernacle. While waiting for the doors to open, they were greeted by a gentleman who offered to show them around.

"Would you like to see the heating plant?" he inquired.

They were not particularly interested in visiting the heating plant in the basement because it was a hot day in July. Nevertheless, they followed him down a staircase where he opened a door, whispering: "This is our heating plant." The surprised students saw 700 people bowed in prayer, interceding for the service about to begin upstairs, and for their much-loved pastor. Softly closing the door, the gentleman introduced himself to them. The man who took them on the tour was Charles Spurgeon!

Imagine if Vineyard Columbus had a heating plant like that! Is there a reason why our ministries can't be similarly bathed in prayer? God gives us such audacious promises regarding prayer. "Ask and it will be given you. Seek and you will find. Knock and the door will be opened. For everyone who asks, receives, he who seeks, finds. To him who knocks, the door will be opened."

Blaise Pascal once said, "God has established prayer to give us a taste of what it means to be a creator." Partnering with God together in carrying out the designs of his creation is too awesome for me to even begin to contemplate. But I do want our church to have a taste of what Pascal was referring to.

I have felt increasingly pressed by the Holy Spirit to begin to lead more whole church intercessory prayer meetings. Toward that end, I would like you to pencil into your schedules Wednesday, January 29th, at 7:30 p.m. for a whole-church intercessory prayer time. My agenda is very simple. We will have individuals and the church corporately coming before God's mighty throne of grace so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

The second sustaining support for mission is the practice of Christian community. It cannot be said too often in individualistic America that we Christians need each other. Our community together is not a nice option like leather seats or a moon roof. Deep fellowship with other Christians is like the blood that flows through our veins. It carries to us the very life of Jesus Christ.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the dear German pastor who was murdered by the direct order of Heinrich Himmler in the closing days of WWII, said this in his marvelous book, Life Together: "It is not simply to be taken for granted that the Christian has the privilege of living among other Christians. Jesus Christ lived in the midst of his enemies. At the end, all of his disciples deserted him. On the cross he was utterly alone, surrounded by evildoers and mockers. Between the death of Christ and the last day, it is only by a gracious anticipation of the last things that Christians are privileged to live in visible fellowship with other Christians. It is by the grace of God that a congregation is permitted to gather visibly in this world. Not all Christians receive this blessing. The imprisoned, the sick, the scattered lonely, the proclaimers of the gospel in heathen lands stand alone. They know that visible fellowship is a blessing."

Have you personally embraced the enormous blessing God has given you of having Christian fellowship in this world? Have you taken opportunity to connect deeply with other Christians here at Vineyard Columbus?

I want to suggest a few practical steps you can take in the next few weeks so that you might be able to personally embrace the blessing of Christian fellowship.

1. If you are a man, I urge you to go to the upcoming Men's Conference titled "Jesus, Our Model for Manhood," January 16-18 at 7:30 p.m. (8:30 a.m. on Saturday for coffee, 9:00 a.m. for worship). The teaching by Don Williams will be inspiring. The worship and ministry, I'm sure, will be anointed. But the best element of all will be the opportunity for you as a man to be with other Christian men. Instead of spending another evening in front of the TV, or doing chores that can be postponed, or anxiously fretting over your budget, embrace the gift of other brothers. It will make a difference in your life.

2. f you are a woman, may I encourage you to attend the women's conference, "Relationships" on February 6-8th. I long to see hundreds of women's groups emerge in this church that function as an alternative to the unhealthy patterns of relationships that we find among women in the world. In the place of competitiveness, judgment, and jealousy what greater gift can there be given to a woman than to be with other women with whom she can be vulnerable, safe, supported, and loved? This conference will be a great inspiration for healthy relationships among women.

These are the two major conferences - one for men and one for women - that we are offering this year.

3. Finally, if you are not yet a member of this church, I want to personally invite you to come out this Sunday, January 12, at 3:30 p.m. for our Newcomer's Class. Newcomer's Class is an introduction to Vineyard Columbus. The class runs from 3:30-6:00. Free childcare is provided for your children. This is an important first step for you in embracing the blessing of fellowship that God wants for your life. I will be teaching the class and would love to meet you.

Without prayer and without the intentional practice of Christian community, the ongoing mission of Vineyard (or any church) will simply collapse to the ground. These are the two great sustaining pillars that support our work in the world.

God bless you!

With much affection,

Rich Nathan
Senior Pastor