Things from New Foundation Church’s Relaunch Shopping List continue to arrive. Thank you to everyone who has donated either gear or funds to help us get the gear we have needed! God has used you to provide for this need!
Over the last few weeks, NFC has reached a crucial point in our relaunch process. We have resumed in-person meetings, and we have procured most of the stuff on our shopping list. God has helped us get back on our feet, and it is time to begin moving forward. But what are we moving forward toward?
The mission of New Foundation Church is to make passionate followers of Jesus Christ. Think of it as a race where Jesus is the pace setter, showing us how fast we must go to win, and our job is to help people follow as closely to him as possible. To fulfill this mission, we must pattern ourselves after the New Testament church described at the end of Acts 2. There, we see the church committed to three things.
First, they were committed to the apostles’ teachings (vs 42). Before the New Testament was written, the apostles’ teachings were the only way to learn about Jesus’ character and commands. Jesus’ character and commands fulfilled the Old Testament. Therefore, to commit to the apostles’ teachings today is to commit ourselves to Scripture. The Bible, both the Old and New Testaments, should guide our actions, decisions, and relationships. Namely, we should increasingly align everything about ourselves with Jesus’ character and commands.
Second, they were committed to each other. In Acts 2:42-47, we see numerous examples of this ranging from “they devoted themselves… to the fellowship” in vs 42 and “all the believers were together” in vs 44 to “they sold their possessions and property and distributed the proceeds to all, as any had need,” in vs 45 and “they… broke bread from house to house” in vs 46. The church, then, was not made up of strangers who happened to gather in the same place at the same time to witness a church service once per week. Rather, they were hanging out together, eating at each others’ homes, and taking care of one another and the community whenever someone had need.
Third, they were utterly dependent upon God. This dependence is demonstrated in their commitment to prayer (vs 42) and praise (vs 47). They asked God to direct their path and meet their needs, and they made sure to give him credit every step of the way.
When the church did these things, there were two interconnected results found in vs 47. First, they “[enjoyed] the favor of all the people.” That is, when Christians were doing these things, people noticed and respected the church. Second, when people noticed and respected the church, “the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.” The language here suggests this growth was not as explosive as it was at Pentecost earlier in the chapter. Rather, it was gradual but consistent.
New Foundation Church is committed to getting right the first three things so we can realize the same slow, steady growth that characterized the New Testament church. To that end, we will study the Scriptures virtually every time we gather. We will hang out together, eat together, and take care of each other and our community. And we will pray like our lives depend on it because, in fact, they do.