PASTOR DAVE’S MUSINGS FROM THE HEARTLAND

March 6, 2022

THE CHURCH IS THE PEOPLE

Sunday morning, February 20, Diane and I worshiped with our granddaughter, her boyfriend and her parents at King’s Church DC.  Before the service we helped Emma pick up at Gregorys coffee for the church.  The congregation is about four years old and is presently worshiping in the common area of a Charter School in downtown DC.  Presently they average about 200 in worship.  King’s Church DC vision is to make Jesus know in Washington DC through enduring presence that brings personal conversion, purposeful living, and community reconciliation.  Small groups and community involvement are important.  Most of the congregation was under the age of thirty.  The church is presently looking for a new place to hold their services because of their ever growing congregation.  The Sunday we attended sixteen new members were received.

King’s Church DC made me think of what the early church was like.  They had no buildings, worshiped in homes, and had few of the attributes that we usually associate with churches today.  The church was not a place or a program, it was the people.   Acts says that “Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home and at their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having the goodwill of all the people.  And day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.” (Acts 2:46, 47)

There is a strong emphasis on small groups and reaching out to the DC community at King’s Church DC.  Small groups are a place for the members to cultivate a relationship with and friendships with others.  The church has a Good Neighbor program through which they lovingly reach out to serve the DC area. Small groups were a central element of the Wesleyan revival in England.  John Wesley placed an emphasis on those associated with his movement addressing the social issues of his day.  The Wesleyan movement like King’s Church DC and the early church were filled with energy and enthusiasm and grew.

In 1972 Richard K. Avery and Donald S. Marsh wrote a song that would serve well as a theme song for King’s Church DC.  “The church is not a building, the church is not a steeple, the church is not a resting place, the church is the people.” (Verse #1) “I am the church! You are the church!  We are the church together!  All who follow Jesus, all around the world!  Yes, we’re the church together!” (Refrain) “We’re many kinds of people, with many kinds of faces, all colors and all ages too, from all times and places.” (Verse #2)  “And when the people gather, there’s singing and there’s praying, there’s laughing and there’s crying sometimes, all of it saying.” (Verse #4) “I am the church! You are the church!  We are the church together! All who follow Jesus, all around the world!  Yes, we’re the church together!” (Refrain)

Charles Wesley’s hymns captured the essence of his brother’s vision to bring revival to England.  In 1762 he wrote “A Charge to Keep I Have.”  The second verse reads as follows: “To serve the present age, my calling to fulfill, O may it all my powers engage: to do my Master’s will.”  Successful churches, like King’s Church DC, have vision that are relevant to the present not to the past.  As Proverbs 29:18 says, “Where there is no vision, the people parish.” (Prov. 29:18 KJV)

Even though they do not have a permanent facility, King’s Church is prospering and thriving.  However, they do have two important ingredients necessary for a vital church: people and a vision to carry out the Great Commission to the present age.