Where to start? If you would have asked me what church looked like before I got to Ecuador, I am not sure what my response would have been. I believe that it would have included, but not limited to the building which 40% of Americans (118 million people per the Gallup Research Organization) frequent on Sunday mornings. Many of us have been taught that the church is the people, but what does that genuinely look like?
Here in Ecuador, it continues to amaze me how much church is integrated into community. It seems very easy to disconnect this sense of church and community or alter the sense in which we think of these two. Our team has been actively passing out invitations within specific communities surrounding the location of the group that would happen later that night. Although this may seem simple in nature, how often do we invite our local community to our places of worship or into our homes?
Is our God not BIG? In the beginning of Psalm 24 it states,
“The earth is the Lord’s,
And all its fullness,
the world and those who dwell therein.
For He has founded it upon
The seas,
And established it upon the waters”
Being here in Ecuador, has daily reminded me that God has no limits. He is present and at work here in Ecuador breaking down walls like only he can.
Matthew 18:20 states, “For where two or three are gathered together in My name. I am there in the midst of them.” This verse has been lived out in front of me in these Grupos de Vida, that I have attended while here in El Carmen. These small groups have consisted of approximately 20 people gathered singing, fellowshipping, praying, and having a lesson. It was during these groups, where I felt the Holy Spirit pressing into that, “I am here and at work among these people.”
These simple experiences have reminded me to check my priorities. What is important in my worship time? Or experience? I can think of a lot of things that attract the 140 million Americans every Sunday morning. Not saying that appealing to your audience is bad, but needing to keep these things in perspective to the larger picture!
What are your thoughts about community? Would you be willing to invite 20 of your immediate neighbors over for Bible study? Would you feel comfortable with that? I am not sure I would have been. But I feel challenged to take advantage of our BIG God and am processing what community means to me. What are your thoughts?
