The Launch Pad

About 3 years ago as we began to unveil the vision God had given us to build a totally new and different facility at our church (that's it in the picture at the top of the blog) I used the phrase "a launch pad for missions" time and again to instill in the church the purpose for the new building. When we gather here as a congregation it's to be energized and equipped to fulfill the Great Commission during the rest of the week as we go into the community.

Our purpose statement is pretty simple: "Reaching people to discover life in Christ". It's our purposes that drive what we do as a church, and that included our reason for building. What's happening this week has been the best fulfillment of that Launch Pad philosophy that we've seen so far in our 16 months since we moved in.

This week youth groups from our beach are uniting together for "Impact OBX", a four day missions blitz right here in our own back yard. I'm not involved, so I can't give a lot of details about what all they're doing, but I do know teams have done such things as spending the day at the NC Aquarium with Downs Syndrome children; preparing and delivering lunches to the Nags Head lifeguards; cleaning out the cages at the animal shelter; doing yard work for some seniors; leading activities at the YMCA day camp....

Interestingly, Impact OBX began last summer with one church (not ours - not even our flavor). Then they thought, "What if we got other churches involved?" Great thinking!

And it begins each day right here at the Launch Pad. Our MP 13 Band kicks each morning off with worship, then they get some encouragement from God's Word and then they're off for the day.

I'm sure time will tell of the impact this week has had on our community. But frankly, I'm just as stoked about the impact this week will have on these 100 teenagers and adult leaders and the ten churches they represent. Maybe they can ignite whole churches (ie. adults) to see their mission!

It all concludes Thursday night with a huge outreach event - Community Collision - at First Flight High School.

Hopefully next year this thing will pull in even more to work together to accomplish the mission of pointing others to Christ.