Many of my posts have been focused on mission. Mission has certainly become a new orientation of mine, as I am convinced that it must be at the core of who we are and how we define ourselves. Unfortunately, however, the business of "doing" church often gets in the way, distracting us into other directions.
I am encouraged to see that more and more churches are responding to the call to be missional, including Church of God congregations. It's important that we highlight and celebrate examples around us.
Today the Associated Press is distributing a story that quotes Paul Binion, Pastor of Westside Church of God in Fresno, California. Paul is a well-known figure in Fresno, working diligently to touch people in the poverty-stricken area around his church. He and his church are frequently in the local media spotlight, and Paul is highly regarded and consulted by local government officials. Now Paul is in a nationally-distributed story (e.g. in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer) because Fresno has been identified as having "the nation's highest concentration of residents in extremely poor neighborhoods, according to a study released Wednesday by the Brookings Institution, the Washington, D.C., think tank."
I know Paul personally because I also pastor in Central California. (You can read more of some of his life-impacting work in the February/March 2005 issue of OneVoice.)
Where else do see Church of God congregations living out their mission within their local communities? Let's share examples as models and encouragements for the rest of who are looking for effective and meaningful ways to truly reach out. I will try to post and/or link examples when they come my way.
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