This past week I have been visiting some of the local ministries and service agencies in Ajax. I am reminded that the work of the Lord is so much broader than our narrow perception of it. I was able to connect with some of the staff of the following groups:

• Hope Community Church, a Salvation Army church plant
• Ajax Seniors’ Friendship Club, that meets at the St. Andrews Community Center
• Southside Worship Centre
• All Nations Full Gospel Church
• the youth centre

Its good to know some of the different service and ministries available in our own community. And this is just the tip of the iceberg. This is going to take me a while.

So what am I learning from all this? Some lessons, many questions.

1. The church is bigger than one congregation. We may be one unique expression of Jesus’ family, but its more and bigger than us.
2. Other churches are already doing what we are imagining doing. Do we need to do what they are doing, or are we perhaps called to be doing something else?
3. We are not that original. We may be a church plant, but we’re not the only one. We may be a church of small groups, but we’re not the only one. Contemporary, practical and relevant worship services… so do the others. We have a vision for a dynamic youth ministry… so do the other churches, and many are further along in implementing that vision than we are.
4. The non-Christian community can be an ally in our efforts to reconnect people to the Lord. They are reaching out to people in need, even though their answers are self-help. Can we work with these agencies to point people in the God-direction? Can we show the workers/volunteers at these agencies how Jesus is the deeper answer to all our deepest needs?
5. Are the bigger churches examples of what we hope to become? Big facilities, multiple staff, multiple services? Is this where our vision is leading us, if we can just get enough people to make it happen?
6. Each church/ministry seems to do something especially well, one (or more) things that they are known for, that sets them apart. What might that one thing be for crossroads?
7. Would Ajax miss crossroads if we were not here? Would they notice? Do people know that this ministry center is even here?

I am especially interested in #6, what could we focus on that could be our unique contribution to the community? Obviously we can’t do everything, and maybe trying to will only stretch us beyond usefulness. We need to focus.

I need to pray. The Lord has called me here, and all of us as a community, to be the presence of Jesus in Ajax and surrounding area. We need to discern what it is that the Lord is calling us to be and do in this region.

Please pray with me…