The Church is a Rescue Station – (07.13.25)

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Dear St. Paul family,

The Church is a Rescue Station

This week’s gospel is from Lk. 10:1-20, where Jesus sends out the 70 to preach.

Jesus called His apostles to be fishers of men, but have we become keepers of the aquarium? The Church was never meant to be a clubhouse for the saved, but a rescue station for the lost.

That is why the mission of St. Paul’s is to Love God, Welcome Everyone and Make a Difference. That is why we are trying to become a healthy church, because a healthy church has vitality and grows and obeys the last command of Jesus to Go and make disciples.

To do that, our foundation is our four pillars: (1) Relationship with Christ (2) Living the Gospel (3) Building Community (4) Operational Excellence. And that is why our theme for 2025 is Unreasonable Hospitality. We need to be purposeful and intentional in how the church is a rescue station and that we are fishers of men.

How do we do that? We take the inside out approach:
 

1. Inside

   • We practice pillars 1,2 and 3

   • We participate in the life of the church to be able to do transform ourselves

2. Out

• We practice pillars 2 and 3

• We go and invite into our fellowship and community

  1. 1. We bring Christ to People

        • example

        • food

        • smiles

        • non judgmental

     2. By witnessing

        • example

        • build relationships with people

        • invite them

Church is a lifesaving station, a place people are rescued. Let us remember that and intentionally become a healthy church that practices its four pillars and uses the inside out approach to do it.

Fr. James

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