I Love To Tell The Story

Last night was one of those events that help to define the experience that is Immanuel. The past few weeks our house church has been filled to capacity, anticipating our birthing of a second house church. Last night, we all met at our second house church location to eat together and celebrate a sort of "birthday party".

Given the number of new folks we've had just over the past month, my intent had been to share a bit of Immanuel's story, how we got started in 2006 and a bit of what has happened since. It was meant to be more informational than transformational, but ended up being more of the latter.

As I began to share the short story of this small church, others in the room began to jump in and share about when they entered into the story. Those who had been a part of the core team were the first to speak up and others soon followed. Over an hour later, everyone in the room had not only shared information about when and how they had come to Immanuel, but the difference it was making in their lives.

By the end of it, I was a complete mess. I had no idea the impact this small church was having, even on those who have only been visiting for a few weeks or have come more to ask questions than because they think we have any answers.

And it occurred to me why we at Immanuel speak in terms of "levels of commitment and involvement" and not in terms of membership. Membership is about belonging, and every person there, Christian or not, newer or older, made it clear that they felt they belong. One of our newer folks grinned as she shook her head and exclaimed, "I never thought that I would be a part of a church!"

We ended in a time of communion, a time when we offer the bread and the wine to any who come seeking Jesus Christ. A time when we remember Christ's sacrifice, give thanks for his offer of salvation, and celebrate the bond that we share. We ended the night the way we began it, by telling our story and participating in it. It was an amazing thing.