Our church celebrated our 60th anniversary in August.  It was wonderful to gather with former members and pastors to recall the events that have taken place at Lovely Lane since 1962.  Our church has been a shining light in this corner of Cedar Rapids for so many years.  We celebrate this.  Yet, we also see the need to move forward.  We look ahead to the next sixty years.

One way of moving forward is to return to our discipleship pathway and see what needs to be tweaked and reexamined.  A few of us at church recently came together and realized that a missing piece with our discipleship pathway, “Worship + 2,” was fellowship.  With our current pathway, we encourage participation in worship, as well as two groups in the church.  One group is in place to deepen our spiritual life.  The other group involves service to others.

The recent development was the importance of fellowship.  The word is derived from the Greek word, “koinonia.”  Koinonia is often understood as “holding something in common.”  Koinonia describes the presence of the Spirit that comes when we gather in meaningful ways.  Specific fellowship events help to nurture this presence of the Spirit.  With fellowship events in place, all parts of discipleship function well together.

The visual image we will soon display in worship services is a bicycle.  As we move into the future, we travel on a bicycle.  The seat of the bicycle might be viewed as worship and the two wheels on the bike represent both parts of the “plus two.”  To make everything come together though, we need a bicycle chain that is oiled and working effectively.  This extra piece makes everything come together.  In like manner, fellowship activities need to undergird every part of our pathway.

Our fall stewardship campaign will take place during worship services on November 6 and 13.  We will focus on our discipleship pathway with the extra focus on fellowship.  Might we consider how our faithful giving can enable our church to move forward as we make disciples in the years to come!

Blessings to you, Scott