The work that God does is often hidden, so it is like a
sweet surprise when you find some part of it. As many of my friends are moving
with their church to the Evangelical Presbyterian Church I was looking around
on their site looking for familiar names. I found something wonderful. Something
that only God could plan and do. It was in San Francisco, and Berkeley, and
Oakland as well as Marin County. First I went on the site for Christ Church in Berkeley and
Oakland, an Evangelical Presbyterian Church. And then I read about their Mother
and their Grandmother.
Their “Mother church” is City Church San Francisco,
which is a Reformed Church in America. Their “Grandmother church” is Redeemer Presbyterian Church
in New York City, a Presbyterian Church in America whose pastor is Tim Keller.
And some of the churches that City Church has planted are PCA & EPC. Their
concerns are the city and how to authentically bring Jesus Christ to the
cities. The beauty of this is that while they “wholeheartedly” embrace “the
historic Christian faith expressed in the ecumenical creeds of the universal
church,” and reformation faith, they are finding unique ways to reach their
particular community.
Christ Church and City Church each have lots of videos to
watch that allows one to understand what it is God is doing in the Bay Area—but
I was particularly intrigued by one on the City Church site. I am going to
place it below. I believe this is God’s work; it has brought together a
community of people who belong to various denominations, yet hold to the same
foundations, ministering to the very needy people of the Bay Area:
1 comment:
This is beautiful, Viola. Thank you for posting it.
I am a big fan of Tim Keller and what he has done at Redeemer. I've often thought that his ministry and these others would make a great TV series. The lives that have been touched by Jesus through him would provide an endless supply of material. In fact I am struck by how commercial television strictly avoids any mention of faith or worship even though it is an important part of the lives of most Americans.
The reminder that Paul concentrated on heathen cities in his work is essential. Having lived in both New York and San Francisco in my life, I can attest to the hunger there is for truth. Also skepticism. Half-baked, watered-down pseudo Christianity won't cut it. People want the real thing.
Greg Scandlen
Waynesboro, PA
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