We've decided to take a risk. It goes against the grain of the pastor guys I run with. It is counter-intuitive to what new churches are "supposed to do." We're suspending our Sunday morning worship services as of this week.There are factors at play. Our tangibles include the fact we will lose a good number of our attendees when the Alaska State Legislature adjourns for the final time this year on Saturday. And, our year-rounders will be gone doing what all Southeast Alaskans do in the spring and summer: go out and play.
But it's our intangibles that carry more weight. We believe Radiant Church is called to be a Family of Servant Missionaries learning to be and make Disciples. This isn't just a tag line; we really believe this. And we've learned that attendees don't become family, or servants, or missionaries becoming and making disciples if limited to one hour on Sunday mornings.
Here's our context: So many of us in Juneau count somewhere else as hometown. So many of us are distanced from immediate family. Family is created here across blood lines. People in our city crave a place and role in a family. This is a metaphor everyone here relates to.
We are "family" when we are together. But to be seen by our city as a family of servant missionaries we have to be seen, observed and noted. Not everyone in town holds a positive opinion of church, but everyone seems to hold a positive opinion of family. As family we have to be seen as doing life together, not limited to simply attending an event each Sunday morning.
As Radiant Church in Juneau we want people to watch us, observe us, note us. We want people to have opportunity to SEE the gospel in the changed lives of a transformed family. With that in mind, we are going to devote our energies and endeavors this spring and summer to being a family, doing family things like serving each other, encouraging each other as disciples. You will find us gathering in homes and restaurants, on boats or trails outside. We want people to see the gospel in us, because it's our sense people are visual, experiential learners who will believe the gospel of Jesus by seeing it lived out before they believe what they hear.
The word "suspending" (see first paragraph) does not mean quit or end. We will resume our Sunday morning services in the fall, right after Labor Day. But in our effort to proclaim and express the gospel in our own, very unique context we will undertake this present risk. We are willing to pay the price of losing attendees if it results in more disciples, more devoted followers of Jesus. Being adaptable in order to be contextual is what missionaries do. Missionaries take risks.
