by Laura Fielding, posted Friday, May 30, 2014 (10 years ago)
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (BP) -- The majestic brick church with stained glass windows towers above a dilapidated neighborhood. This is a seedy section of Louisville where drug deals go down daily, prostitutes line the streets and murders are routine. Boarded-up houses, broken glass and graffiti dot the streets in every direction.
But Sojourn Community Church is a beacon of hope for the neighborhood. Sojourn, which began as a church plant 13 years ago, decided to make a permanent home in an area where many fear to tread. Not only is the church a part of the neighborhood but the pastor and many of the members live here as well.
Colin and Anna Freeman* moved to Louisville in 2008 to attend Southern Baptist Theological Seminary to prepare for international missionary work. However, Colin says they became so focused on what was ahead "that we really forgot to be [missional] about where we currently were."
The Freemans soon connected with Sojourn, which emphasizes that believers should not "dichotomize" their lives -- separating who they are at church from who they are during the week.
"God calls us to Himself and out of that call comes a new identity as servants," Sojourn lead pastor Daniel Montgomery says, "and so, service just isn't something we do, it's who we are."
Planting roots
So the Freemans put down roots. They joined Sojourn, bought a house in the surrounding neighborhood, graduated from seminary and got jobs in the city, waiting on God's timing for overseas service.
Nathan Garth*, pastor of global missions, describes Sojourn as a "sending church" that encourages its members to "live sent."
"The concept is as Christ's followers, the commission He gave to us is that all believers are to go out to proclaim the Gospel, to disciple new believers and to see multiplication happen," Garth says. "And that's what we want to see -- our church here, every member to take ownership that they live sent."
"The concept is as Christ's followers, the commission He gave to us is that all believers are to go out to proclaim the Gospel, to disciple new believers and to see multiplication happen," Garth says. "And that's what we want to see -- our church here, every member to take ownership that they live sent."
"If we're not moving outward," Montgomery adds, "something is fundamentally wrong with our spirituality and our understanding of Jesus."
That particularly resonated with Colin and Anna, who had wrestled for several years about committing to serve overseas until God began to give them a new perspective on living missionally through Sojourn.
"You're not going to be effective missionally cross-culturally if you're not effective across the street, and that is evident in the way they [Sojourn] preach," Colin says. "… In order for you to be effective, you have to be present, you have to be in people's lives, you have to be living life with others in the way that draws you closer to the Father through Gospel community. Read More
