October 17, 2001
Dear HOC Friends,
Where does time go? This past month has been for all of us a season of evaluation. We find ourselves embracing life, faith, emotions and most importantly relationships. The tragedy of September 11, 2001 has shaken and continues to shake us all. We as a family and ministry want you to know that we are praying with you through this season of uncertainty. We rejoice and find comfort in our only certainty, Jesus and the good news of His Kingdom.
I am sitting in our Coffee Shops Garden. All around me the sounds of the neighborhood roar. The scent of flowers, greenery, and coffee feel the air. I love this place. All around me are people who gather over coffee to work, read and discuss life with friends. I am here to prepare for our Faith Community tonight, write you and best of all, enjoy a good cup of coffee.
On October 2, 2001, 3 families and one college student birthed the Bernal Heights Faith Community. This is the 3rd Faith Community birthed out of the Richmond Faith Community, which we helped start this summer. In less than a couple of hours we will gather in our home around a meal. Let me tell you, the food is good. Each of us is encouraged to bring what we can. This is intentional. Some weeks we are all about deserts and others with chips but for the most part it’s amazing to see the abundance and diversity of tastes. What a glimpse of the Kingdom of God, each of us bringing our best and celebrating the diversity of our gifts.
After dinner, we move into a time of worship. Because we desire the birth of new Faith Communities, we feel that simplicity must be at our core. Therefore our time of worship is a collective experience. Like dinner we ask that each person or family bring an offering of worship -- a song, scripture, testimony or spoken word. This is an adjustment for those of us who are used to just showing up to a packaged formal service, but we are discovering that our worship experience is just as rich.
The kids are a vital part of our Faith Community. After our time of worship we have a special learning project for them; we expect to have 10 kids tonight! Kellie and I are leading this time around the theme of the Harvest Season. Meanwhile, the adults continue in a time of discussion, dialogue and teaching.
Our Faith Community is less than 3 weeks old and is maxed! Our desire is to assist in the birthing of 3 new Faith Communities out of ours in the next 3 to 6 months. The Lantows hope to birth the OMI Faith Community, the Paulino’s a Bernal Heights Spanish Faith Community and our friends Joanna and Joel the Inner Sunset Faith Community.
Please pray with us as we establish the culture for these Faith Communities. We desire to establish a culture of intimacy with God and each other, while living out a missional life. Our hearts desire is to see these Faith Communities as the expression of the church, networked together with other Faith Communities throughout the city. Can you imagine with me how exciting it will be to see 5, 10, 50, 100 Faith Communities gathering as a citywide expression of the Church? We continue to seek God’s leading. Please pray for us, that we would continue to be learners and to surrender our individuality, as we hope to truly experience being a part of the Body of Christ in San Francisco.
We are immigrants here. Not only are we learning the ways of a world-class urban center, but also entering into a new era of History with this postmodern culture. On one hand we are frightened to journey into the unknown, but on the other hand we are rediscovering the simplicity of Jesus and life in the Kingdom. It’s simply Jesus.
Kayla and Chase are doing well. Chase is healthy and all boy. Kayla not only loves her new school, she has been well received there. Kellie and I have been so blessed by how God is using her to touch the lives of other little kids, parents and teachers. Oh, that we would have the faith of a child! She was helping Kellie with the list of friends she wants to invite to her birthday party, she has already made 10 good friends just from her school alone.
Kellie is our family MVP. San Francisco is a city of statements. Because there are so many causes, we find that people are skeptical of the unknown. Kellie on the other hand has found that ordinary life, as a mother and wife, is the most natural place to integrate faith and life together. She is salt and light at school, at the Bernal Neighborhood Center, the parks and amongst our neighbors. We have truly grown as a team.
Our relationship with the Free Methodist church in our neighborhood continues to grow. Kellie and I have joined Pastor Ed and Julia Paulino in serving that community. For now I preach once a month and lead worship each Sunday. This church is over 100 years old and has a faithful core of about 15 people. As we have mentioned to you in the past, property cost is astronomical and hardly reproducible. With that reality at hand we believe that partnerships with established institutional churches is vital to the future of our Faith Communities. This building is worth well over 2 million dollars and seats about 120 people. We are so thankful for our friendship, our partnership and the opportunity to use this space for the many congregations to be birthed.
In our vision for the city, we realize that we are but a small piece to the much bigger puzzle. With God’s Kingdom is mind, we have developed some intimate relationships with different ministries here in the city. Recently we contributed funds to Campus Crusade, Global Spectrum, First Baptist of San Francisco and the Bernal Height Community Center. We also purchased 96 English and Spanish Bibles for the Free Methodist Church as we prepare that building for multi purpose use amongst Faith Communities. Earlier this summer one of our Missions teams contributed to the Page Street Center. Last but not least we continue to invest in the work of Reimagine as we set out to learn and discover new ways of connecting faith in life in the city of San Francisco.
Your investment in us has spread throughout our city by way of our ministry partnerships, neighborhood presence and the start of Faith Communities. Thank you! We pray that God would continue to bless you and your life abundantly. Thank you for believing with us by way of prayer and your generosity.
While there are so many exciting things to report, we are burdened. Burdened for our new friends, our neighborhood and our city. While so many of them are great people, living good lives we know that they are living without Christ and have yet to discover the peace and hope of new life in Him. Would you pray with us? We long to see some of our new friends Baptized and discover life in the Kingdom of God. Pray that we would be faithful to what we have called to do, knowing that God calls people out.
We miss you bunches and know that with God all things are possible. We pray for you and your church weekly, knowing that we are called be faithful one day at a time.
Blessings,
Ken
posted by Ken McCord @ 4:45 PM
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