Missional-Life

Each generation of the church in each setting has the responsibility of communicating the gospel in understandable terms, considering the language and thought-forms of that setting.

Francis Schaeffer

When all is done, when all the alternatives have been explored, “not many men are in the room” — that is, although world-views have many variations, there are not many basic world-views or basic presuppositions.

Francis Schaeffer

“The gospel has been described as a pool in which a toddler can wade and yet an elephant can swim. It is both simple enough to tell to a child and profound enough for the greatest minds to explore.”

–Tim Keller

“In passing, we should note this curious mark of our own age: the only absolute allowed is the absolute insistence that there is no absolute.”

Francis Schaeffer

We’ve just finished a week of prayer at Nene Family Church. On Thursday last week I came across this quote…

‘You see things as they are and ask ‘Why?’  I dream the things that never were and ask ‘Why not?’” George Bernard Shaw

This is very provoking when you apply it to the church! I want to always live as a ‘George Bernard Shaw-type’ dreamer who is looking beyond the established status quo to the glorious possibilities that God has for His church!

I’ve just started reading the classic book by Francis Schaeffer ‘The God Who Is There’. Schaeffer was the founder of L’Abri Fellowship in Switzerland, is the author of many books, including The Mark of the Christian and Escape from Reason. He was, until his death in 1984, a noted apologist for the Christian faith. I love the reasoned arguments that Schaeffer outlines for the orthodox belief in God! As a result I’ve decided to post 7 great quotes by Schaeffer

Quote 1:

“Christianity provides a unified answer for the whole of life.”

(Francis Schaeffer)

I have a dream that Jesus would be made famous in this great city! Why not come and join the adventuring in seeing this dream realised!

God has always had the ends of the earth in his heart. It is a too small a thing to just be concerned about Peterborough or even Peterborough and the surrounding area. God has called us to play our part in seeing the nations transformed by the planting of glorious gospel-centred churches across the nations!

Come and join the adventure as we look to get caught up in apostolically led church planting mission into other nations!

I believe that God is not only calling Nene Family Church to be a city transforming community, but also to be like a ‘train station’ [1], constantly sending people out into the surrounding region. This train station mentality means that we are looking to create a mobile and flexible community that is willing to be led by the Holy Spirit into new Missional contexts!

Come and join the adventure as we look to peer over the walls of the city into the surrounding towns and villages and see what God might have for us there!

“… what struck me about my friend’ story is that women much like this prostitute fled towards Jesus, not away from him.  The worse a person felt about herself, the more likely she saw Jesus as a refuge.  Has the church lost that gift?  Evidently the down-and-out, who flocked to Jesus when he lived on earth, no longer feel welcome among his followers.  What has happened?”

(Quotations from “What’s so amazing about grace, Philip Yancy, 1997, pg. 11)