Unity is a community of people who seek to…
Transform the World
The Good News about the Kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world, so that all nations will hear it…
-Matthew 24:14
What is the difference between a thriving church and a dying church?
In Tampa I chaired a committee that met with churches who were getting ready to close their doors. There were a variety of reasons for why these churches were closing. Some had been slowly losing members for years. Others dealt with splits in the congregation that resulted in large groups of people leaving all at once. Sometimes the town around the church diminished.
I will always remember one conversation I had with an elder of a closing church. I asked him, “When did you realize that the church was going to have to close?”
He thought about it for a moment and then replied, “About the time that every session meeting involved fighting over paint colors.”
This church elder went on to say that their church had stopped reaching out the community around them. Instead, they became insular. They began to care more about the needs of their members than they did about reaching out to their neighbor. Eventually, the members who were left couldn’t even agree on what colors to paint their education rooms.
One essential characteristic of Unity Presbyterian Church is the strong desire to “Transform The World.”
Inherent in this statement is a need to face outward, not inward, as a church.
Unity does a fantastic job of inviting friends, neighbors and colleagues to be a part of something special. Most importantly, Unity is willing to adapt what it does in order to meet the needs of its visitors and potential visitors.
In this verse in Matthew, Jesus is declaring the good news that the message of God’s kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world. Implicit in this statement is a charge to the church. We are the one’s to deliver this message.
We can fulfill the call to transform the world by creating a church through which all types of people can feel welcome.
We also seek to transform the world through our plentiful mission and outreach programs.
To transform is to change or alter in some way. We at Unity are seeking to change, alter and transform the world into the type of place God wants it to be.
As a community, we get the wonderful privilege of working to do this in many different ways. Let us always keep our eye on the prize.
May we be used by God to transform the world.
This week we will continue our series on Experiencing God. We will highlight was is needed to enter into God’s presence (Psalm 24 will give you a hint).
“See” you on Sunday!
-Pastor David
