And now the end is near…

…and so I face the final curtain. I think I can hear this ‘old’ building singing that song now. Sunday 29 March will see the final worship service, gathering, get together, whatever you want to call it, in this building. It’s probably not a moment too soon. Although we won’t have possession of our new and renovated location by then, it has been decided not to drag out the end for what has been any longer.

The above building really has become a bridge to nowhere, a time machine, a self-serving structure, with no relevance or effectiveness in the vicinity of where it is situated. There may have been a time, probably about 20 years ago, when there was vibrant ministry taking place here, but as the world has moved on, what takes place here has withdrawn itself into a safe cocoon.

The past few years have been difficult as I have become painfully aware of the disconnect of what this has all become. It is hard to put your heart into something that doesn’t make sense any more, into something that glorifies program over relationship, into something that looks nothing like the community that God intended for His people. Over the last year or so we have been attempting to transition to something new and different, but that is always hard when you are surrounded by the ghosts of the past. It will be good for all concerned to move out from here to something new.

However, that’s not saying that by just moving everything will instantly be better and more effective. That is why the old and ineffective has to be shut down with a break before commencing the new. The break could be as long as a month or as short as two weeks. But when we finally get back together it will look nothing like the old. Those looking for a traditional Sunday-go-to-church experience will be very disappointed, but it shouldn’t be a shock to their system as we have been explaining and talking about the day this would come for over a year now. The worst thing that could happen to our new location is that it become a Sunday church in new clothes. What happens on a Sunday will only be a small part of what takes place there every day of the year. We have no idea what it will all look like in the end, but we are stepping out in faith to only God knows what. It is both exciting and scary at the same time. One thing is for sure – once we step away from what has been, there is no returning to the safety of the past. To do that would show a lack of faith and trust in the vision that God has given us for Elliot Lake.

If you are in the vicinity on March 29 at 10.30am then drop by and say goodbye to something that has had its time, but is now making way for a fresh expression of community. Come and say thanks for the faithfulness of the past and join the journey of stepping out, with God, into the future.