Please pray for Abbott Loop, my first church
Abbott Loop is where my mom and I came to know the Lord in 1978. and to the church ALCC planted in NY in 1980, it is as much our home as returning to my grandmother's at Christmas.
Once upon a time, I grew up in this church. Then they sent us to NY to start a church that ultimately became The River Church in Poughkeepsie.
Our church lost its auditorium in 2008 to a fire. Yesterday, Abbott Loop Community Church in Anchorage, AK lost its auditorium, presumably to heavy snowfall (a record year for AK, which is saying something).
We know from our own experience that God is faithful. That even when we cannot understand the move of His hand (that is to say, knowing and allowing a tragedy to shape and mold our lives), we can always trust the motive of His heart.
And so I grieve the loss with those who are experiencing it first hand, as well as all those who passed through those doors and were forever changed. For all who discovered Jesus is alive, and real, and loves us. And there are many of us who experienced that love in that particular building.
But I also know from our own experience that there is hope in the journey. We are instructed in the book of James to consider it all joy when we face trials of many kinds, knowing the testing of our faith produces perseverance. But I can also testify to the joy of knowing there is something better coming for the trial, and our response to it.
Our joy is in realizing "change" is a way of life for our church. And so, because of our tragic loss, The River Church became Changepoint. It holds meaning on so many levels, but it comes to this:
Jesus said we must *change* and become like little children in order to see the Kingdom of Heaven (Matthew 18:3). And the writer of the epistle to the Romans reminds us God's kindness leads us to repentance (meaningful heart change).
So the changepoint we faced in 2008 is one ALCC now faces, and one we *all* face: what will you do with the confrontation that is Jesus revealing his love to you?
Or, as we say on our website ... we all have encountered a changepoint; what's yours?
Our church lost its auditorium in 2008 to a fire. Yesterday, Abbott Loop Community Church in Anchorage, AK lost its auditorium, presumably to heavy snowfall (a record year for AK, which is saying something).
We know from our own experience that God is faithful. That even when we cannot understand the move of His hand (that is to say, knowing and allowing a tragedy to shape and mold our lives), we can always trust the motive of His heart.
And so I grieve the loss with those who are experiencing it first hand, as well as all those who passed through those doors and were forever changed. For all who discovered Jesus is alive, and real, and loves us. And there are many of us who experienced that love in that particular building.
But I also know from our own experience that there is hope in the journey. We are instructed in the book of James to consider it all joy when we face trials of many kinds, knowing the testing of our faith produces perseverance. But I can also testify to the joy of knowing there is something better coming for the trial, and our response to it.
Our joy is in realizing "change" is a way of life for our church. And so, because of our tragic loss, The River Church became Changepoint. It holds meaning on so many levels, but it comes to this:
Jesus said we must *change* and become like little children in order to see the Kingdom of Heaven (Matthew 18:3). And the writer of the epistle to the Romans reminds us God's kindness leads us to repentance (meaningful heart change).
So the changepoint we faced in 2008 is one ALCC now faces, and one we *all* face: what will you do with the confrontation that is Jesus revealing his love to you?
Or, as we say on our website ... we all have encountered a changepoint; what's yours?
may my brothers and sisters at Abbott Loop know the loving motives of God's heart as they make sense of the moment. may you know there is nowhere as secure as being in the center of God's plan. and may you trust God to bring you through with an even greater destiny for the next 50+ years.
you *will* get through this. you *will* overcome. and you are *not* alone.
you *will* get through this. you *will* overcome. and you are *not* alone.
Michael is a Pastor at Changepoint, Poughkeepsie, NY
Comments