From tiny seeds grow mighty trees.
It’s a miracle, really . . . a small seed, sown on the wind, tentatively puts down roots. With proper nurturing, it grows, branching out in all directions, blossoming in time, providing sustenance, shelter and shade. A place of harvest and home. The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) is like that. Little wonder that this year’s General Assembly theme is “Abide in me” from the scriptural passage of John 15:5 (NRSV):
“Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me.”
Through the 2020 Vision, the new church movement has already helped our Disciples family grow by nearly 1,000 new and affiliated faith communities. These communities, in turn, bear the fruit of God’s work: caring for the needy, welcoming the homeless, feeding the hungry, teaching the young, and taking part in their neighborhoods’ revitalization
through transformational mission and ministry. Such is the sustenance, shelter
and shade that blooms when the new church movement takes root. Our church planters remain committed to answering God’s call . . . to serve their neighbors, spread the gospel and make Disciples. They are supported in these efforts by New Church Ministry. Won’t you help nurture them . . . and take part in this miracle? Your gift to the 2019 Pentecost Offering on Sunday, June 2 and 9 will help fund the new church movement and the bounty it yields. Each year, half of this offering stays in your local Region or Area to start and uphold new churches. The other half is used across the United States and Canada to support the recruiting, assessing, training and coaching of new church leaders at events like Leadership Academy. Thank you in advance for helping our new church movement continue to take root, bear fruit and grow more Disciples every day.