"Bringing Church"

Christy has two daughters who regularly participate in our Vineyard at Home Foothill Ranch House Church.  She usually has to work Sundays and so has not been able to join us for our regular Sunday a.m. meetings.  However, recent circumstances allowed her to join us for about a month or so.  She even participated in the mudfest (see the previous post).

On the last Sunday before she had to return to work she made a special point of telling us how much she has felt at home and how enriching the house church had been to her and to her children.  Sadly, though, going back to her normal schedule would once again prevent her from continuing her fellowship with us on Sundays each week.

That got us to thinking: if Christy can no longer be "at church" with us, how can we "bring church" to her where she works?

Before long, we came up with an idea.  What if, in a couple of Sundays from now, we put together a visit to where Christy works?  What if we "took church" to her by packing up the kids and adults and carpooling over to the retail store she manages.  We could bring a nice array of things for a coffee break for her and her coworkers.  We could bring some handmade cards that the kids could make between now and then.  We're going to give some more thought to this and put together some things that allow everyone to participate in some way.

The message Christy will get when we "bring church" to her will also, no doubt, overflow to her coworkers.  Christ's love is mobile.  His community is not confined to a particular locale.  The Scriptures teach us that, as believers, we are the church.  Therefore, when we visit Christy, we bring "church" with us.  I can't wait to see what happens and, don't worry, we'll make sure and tell the story in a future post!

See us at www.vineyardathome.com

A Song Is Born!

This is another story related to our mudfest experience.  Only, this time, it doesn't involve mud.  It involves music.

The household with the biggest post-storm problem (the swimming pool 'o mud) includes a musical mom.  I recall that, during one of the "neighborhood festivals" we threw some months back, she was out on a stretch of lawn with a gaggle of kids gathered around her while she played her guitar and led them in some fun songs.  This is especially interesting in light of the fact that, for her "day job", she fulfills the role rather demanding role of a forensic psychologist.

A week or so after our mud-a-thon, this grateful neighbor showed up at our host family's door with a CD she had made in her home studio set up.  It contained just one song - an original piece that commemorated her family's experience with the house church in the after-effect of the storm.  It's worth noting that, as far as we know, this family does not profess a particular faith or church affiliation.  Nevertheless, the title of her catchy tune  is: "Praise the Risen Lord".

After listening to it together at house church the next Sunday, we sent the disc off to Ryan who will be leading worship for our annual outdoor Easter Sunday on the Street worship gathering in the neighborhood.  You can bet that "Praise the Risen Lord" will figure prominently into that morning's songs of praise and celebration!



See us at www.vineyardathome.com