The Big Mo

Momentum is a funny thing.

Take Kentucky basketball, for instance. I am 99 percent positive that hiring Billy Gillispie was a great move, and that he will win at least one national championship at Kentucky. That said, I, along with the rest of the state, suffered through two and a half months of pretty uninspiring basketball, complete with shocking losses, rumors of player disenchantment, and an overall dark cloud over the program.

Then, two weeks ago, a win over previously undefeated Vanderbilt. Next, a close loss on the road to a good Mississippi State team. Then, another close road loss to a good Florida team. And finally, a big win at home over third-ranked Tennessee. It has only taken two weeks and four games(two of which were losses) to get everyone on a positive vibe about Kentucky basketball again. There is definite momentum.

Andy Stanley has said that when a church/organization/product/company has momentum, it's for one(or more) of three reasons:

1. It's new
2. It's improved
3. It's improving

Mosaic Versailles is finding itself on a wave of momentum right now. Even though this momentum can't be seen tangibly(in other words, there aren't more people on Wednesday nights than there were, say, a month ago), there is definite movement...

-A large number of conversations about Christ...God...life...church, and Mosaic...with co-workers and friends.
-Many of those people expressing interest in the church, either to attend now or to wait until worship gatherings get underway.
-A possible partnership in ministry with two churches who have church planting in their bloodstream
-A possible partnership in ministry with the KBC
-Numerous ministry opportunities in the community that are already underway or are being discussed.

These have all really come to the forefront in the past month or so. And the combination of them has created a pretty palpable sense of momentum. Mosaic is new...it's fresh...it's designed to connect with people in a very relevant way. And God is starting to give us opportunities to connect with people, which is what we've prayed for all along.

So what keeps the momentum going? Just my two cents...
-A continued alertness to where God is at work around us, and a willingness to have conversations with people that point them to Christ and, to a lesser degree, Mosaic.
-Looking ahead to numerous ministry possibilities(partnership with HES, community events, etc.)
-Committed prayer about "big decisions" in Mosaic's future...worship gatherings, meeting space, partnerships, etc.
-Just a daily commitment to love God and love people.

To keep momentum alive, we're going to have to step out in faith on a few things. But God has given us a very unique opportunity at this point in history. We must be faithful to love Him, love others, and connect with people. If we commit to doing those things, we can be assured that momentum will stay with us.

Not baby steps...

It was a simple step, actually...a fairly insignificant occasion. But last week, our daughter(Eva Kate) moved from the two-year-old class at Hope Community Church(the church we attend for Sunday worship gatherings) to the three-year-old class. Different area of the church, different teacher, different structure, different everything.

As I watched her and Kelly register for her new class, and watched her look around at her new surroundings, I got a strange feeling. I imagine it's the precursor to the feeling I'll get when I take her for her first day of Kindergarten. I didn't get emotional last week, but something inside me said that life was moving fast, and that before I can blink, she'll be a five-year-old shopping for a backpack, pencils, and rulers.

Mosaic is taking similar steps...steps that might seem fairly insignificant to a casual observer, but steps that are, in reality, major occurences in the life of our young church. We've made contact with the SBC and KBC, both of whom want to talk to us about our young church. We're looking towards a public "launch" in 2008. On Tuesday night, I had a very encouraging conversation with a team from Victory Baptist Church in Lexington about Mosaic and a possible partnership in ministry.

And just tonight, we were invited to a special service at Victory, where they celebrated the culmination of their sponsorship of Masters Church, a plant in Lexington, and the possibility of both churches sponsoring our church in Versailles. At the end of the service, we were called upon the stage, where we were prayed over by people from Victory, Masters, as well as Dr. Mackey and Larry Baker from the KBC, and Don Reed from Elkhorn Association.

And there it struck me...people BELIEVE in us. I always knew that God believed in us(hence the calling), and I knew that those involved in Mosaic believed in Mosaic, but now, people are starting to sense that God really has called us to something fresh in our community, to connect with people in a new and relevant way, to see all people come to Christ. And they not only believe in us, they want to bless us and minister to us and WITH us, and cheer us on.

How exciting it is to see established churches that "get it". Victory and Masters are just two in a wave of existing churches that see the big picture, have Kingdom mindsets, and want to invest in communities to see people won for Christ. It's exciting to consider the possibility of having them support us in ministry. Tonight was a huge boost for me, a really timely reminder of our mission and calling, and, I believe, a strong word from God that it's time to stretch ourselves to crack our community and start loving people and connecting with them.

These aren't baby steps for Mosaic. They may look that way from a distance, but up close, God is starting to connect the dots in a very real way. May we step back and see where the picture is headed, and be encouraged and empowered to continue praying for and loving Versailles, desiring to see all of Woodford County connected to Christ.