It’s hard to believe it, but we are just days away from celebrating our one-year anniversary as Christ Church! Although we formally began as an entity on July 1, 2023, we held our first worship service on July 16 at the Town Center on the Fayetteville Square. To say a lot has happened since then would be an understatement. We have seen God move time and time again over this last year in ways we could have never imagined. In fact, one of our adopted verses as a church is Ephesians 3:20: 

“Glory to God, who is able to do far beyond all that we could ask or imagine by his power at work within us.” 

Amen! We have prayed this verse over and over and we have seen God respond over and over in our first year of existence. There were days when we weren’t too sure about how to solve this problem or that issue; there were days when things looked bleak and answers were uncertain. And yet, as together we took steps of faith, God honored those steps and brought us to this point.  

I think about when Joshua was leading the people into the Promised Land. The Jordan River was at flood stage, and there was no way to cross it. God told them to take the Ark of the Covenant, the very presence of God, and lead the way into the river. God said He would then stop the river from flowing, causing them to be able to walk across on dry land. But notice the order: First, they were to step into the water, then the water would stop. “The priests will carry the Ark of the Lord, the Lord of all the earth. As soon as their feet touch the water, the flow of water will be cut off upstream, and the river will stand up like a wall.”  (Joshua 3:13) 

Why didn’t God stop the water first? Wouldn’t that have been simpler? Instead, the people had to take a step of faith into a rushing river, trusting that God would do what He said He would and be a God they can depend on, even when things are uncertain or the way forward seems murky. It allowed them to say “yes” to God the next time He asked them to do something that sounded crazy – which would happen just two chapters later with the fall of Jericho. And it allows us, thousands of years later, to trust in God here at Christ Church as we move forward in faith into Year Two. Where will God lead us? What river will He have us walk into? How will He reveal Himself as we step out in faith? I’m not sure, but I am sure of this: As long as we are Loving Christ and Loving Like Christ, He will be with us every step of the way!