Dear Church of the Open Bible,
Working together with him, then, we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain. For he says, “In a favorable time I listened to you, and in a day of salvation I have helped you.” Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation. We put no obstacle in anyone’s way, so that no fault may be found with our ministry… - 2 Corinthians 6:1–3
I love the urgency of Paul and his companions as they appeal to the Corinthians to receive the grace of God. I need this urgency. And as we read the larger context, we see that it comes from understanding the love of Christ, and our role as His ambassadors.
But especially notice verse 3. Paul wants to remove any obstacle in anybody’s way when it comes to receiving the grace of God. Paul wants to eliminate any fault in his ministry of reconciliation. This is our prayer for us as a church, to grow in our capacity to love God and others. For us to continually be watching out for and removing obstacles, and clearing the way for people to encounter God’s grace. Healthy churches don’t wait for something to break before they fix it. And healthy churches are always looking for ways to make good things better, to clear obstacles.
Last Thursday, we met for our Annual General Meeting as a church and we shared about God’s faithfulness this past year and the ways we see Him leading us in the future. As leaders at COB, we want to continue to step forward in faith, not embracing change for change’s sake, but for the sake of the gospel mission to which God has called us, and that is to make disciples of Jesus Christ. God’s purposes in the church are not merely for people to make decisions for Jesus, but for people to become disciples of Jesus.
So we want to do a better job of equipping you, the saints, for the work of this disciple-making ministry (Eph 4:12). It is to this end that we are looking to hire an associate pastor. We are still defining this role and we don’t have anyone particular in mind. We just know that we want to do better at producing disciples who make disciples, centered on the Word, and empowered by the Spirit. Would you join us in prayer as we pursue this together?