Gathered and Scattered Identities

Throughout the book of Psalms, David writes about how important it is to praise God "in the Great asesmbly," or "in the great congregation."

I love this impulse of David's--having experienced something transformational in his life, his heart's desire is to publish that experience as widely as possible, in the largest gathering the ancient Israelites had.

Like the people of God of old, it not only makes sense, but is highly important that we have a gathered (and I would add, institutional) identity as followers of Jesus.

Traditionally this gathered identity has been called various things, such as "corporate worship," "going to the meeting house," "Sunday services," etc. 

But this can't be our only "religious" or "spiritual" identity. Allow me to me explain.

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Launching Weekly Worship

Mercy Hill "officially" began weekly worship in September a little ahead of schedule, and in a slightly different way than had been planned.

But we are excited about the changes and about what God is doing at this stage of our new church community this Fall. Here's some background and an update on what God's doing in our church.

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You Are a Missionary

If you were a missionary—which you are—to the town you live in South Jersey, whether that’s Gloucester County, Camden County, or wherever you are, summer is a big time for you.

In summer, as a missionary, you’d be preparing for a major emphasis on meeting people, making connections, building relationships, and getting involved in other people’s lives.

Which only makes sense.

In a growing, family-friendly place like Gloucester County, for example, this time of year is the time when people get outside, play together, get engaged, and generally enjoy this beautiful part of the world we live in.

Since I’m a pastor, I’m called to “equip the saints for the work of missions” (a paraphrase of Ephesians 4).

Equipping means, among other things, giving you ideas on how you can build up the body of Christ by making new disciples.

In that light, here are some ideas for different “places” in our area. Think about these as you prepare your summer missions endeavors:

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