A letter from Pastor John
I confess. I am a dreamer. It might have started during my seminary days when I walked into my pastor's office in San Diego and asked him, "What makes you tick?" In college, I would listen to his sermons, which provoked and challenged me. But it was what Pastor Tim did outside the pulpit, leading the church in a visionary way. Scott Memorial West soon added a sister church, Scott Memorial East, which then added Scott North. Today, this former pastor of mine spends his time writing, including his last series you may have heard of—Left Behind.
So here we are, dreaming about Village's tomorrow, celebrating a vision we believe God has given to us. And we are dreaming about a project that will facilitate it. More than dreaming. We are finalizing architectural plans, doing due diligence, and now—discovering the resources that will make this possible. Like Nehemiah, we are ready to build the wall.
We are doing all of this because we have experienced our own holy discontent. We see that the church can be, must be so much more than it is. So, like Nehemiah, we have moved from holy prayer to holy nerve to holy conviction to holy imagination. We can see this church of tomorrow, known for its incredible, make that, radical connections. And one of the most important connections is the one we aim to have with the global community, partnering with ministries to change the world, particularly in India and the Middle East.
We are dreaming, no believing God will provide 16 million dollars to see this happen. Which, while big to us, is little to God. For this is no small God, in fact, adjectives do not fit. He is more than able to do whatever He wills. We are believing this is His will.
We are preparing to maximize our current property, placing a 1500 seat auditorium on it. But this is far more than an auditorium. It is sacred space, a place where people will come, and emptiness will be made full, as people meet Jesus. We will also have a foyer where people have room to connect. Beyond all of this, it will enable us to more effectively realize our vision. Ultimately, it means sending out more lives to live Jesus in their neighborhoods.
Village has always dreamed. Otherwise, we would still be in North Village, a much smaller group dreaming about what we are actually doing abroad. Our consultant tells us that our goals are far reaching. That we are crazy to think we can raise 16 million. That only 1% of churches like ours achieve such a dream. We believe we will be one of the 1%.
But we are not fooling ourselves. It will mean everyone, shoulder to shoulder, brick by brick, doing this project together. We must! The needs of the world are too big for the church to rest on its past-to settle only to live in the present. Some may declare, "Come weal, come woe, our status is quo." Our declaration comes from a better source, "Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly, abundantly, beyond all we ask or think, according to the power working within us." Let's build the wall!
