I lived along the Mississippi River in the “GREAT FLOOD of ’93.” As the waters were rising, whole communities joined together to put up walls of sandbags. More than that, people from communities in close proximity, but not in immediate danger, also came together to help, because the task was just so huge.
I’ve often wondered what the Church would be like if we pitched in together like that to launch missions; if we joined together where we could, both for things we saw coming and for urgent, immediate, unanticipated things that somehow are part of the mission planting process.
I’ve dreamed, for example, that launch of our newest Lutheran mission in Otay Ranch (southeast Chula Vista) wouldn’t just a mission launch of Concordia, but of the whole region. I’ve pictured short term mission support teams from other area churches who could come together, for a limited time, to help with specific needs for the launch, both for things we saw coming and for urgent and unanticipated needs that somehow are also part of the mission planting process.
We have one of those immediate needs right now, and I’d like to ask you to help. As some of you know, we had sold the Oxford property to help finance a portion of the mission start in Otay Ranch. But when the real estate market, collapsed, the sale fell through. We went ahead anyway, knowing that God had called us to play the major part in planting this new church. We took a leap of faith and took on a $6 million loan, even though we average only 100 people in worship.
We anticipated selling the Oxford property to a developer of residential housing, but just last week, “out of the blue,” a potential buyer emerged to purchase the Oxford property as a church. That’s why the urgent call for help. We need to have the property ready to show the potential buyer by Monday, October 5th. That’s just a little over a week away.
We need to clean it, green it, weed it, organize it, and make it look spacious and inviting, so that someone else can see our space as their space. We have people working hard to get the work done; but we don’t have enough people to get it done quickly enough.
1. If you are willing to pray daily, for the next 60 days, for the sale of this Oxford property, please RSVP to this email: melissa@concordiachurch.com
2. If you can help for an hour or more next Saturday October 3 at Concordia Lutheran Church, 267 E. Oxford Street, Chula Vista, CA 91911 (see map here) beginning at 8a.m. to 3p.m, please RSVP to this email: melissa@concordiachurch.com so we can organize tasks efficiently and plan for lunch.
3. If you are not able to come on Saturday, October 3, but could come to help during the week, starting September 28th, RSVP to this email: melissa@concordiachurch.com and let us know what day and time works or you.
4. If you would like a tour of the new mission in Otay Ranch next Saturday after you come to work, RSVP to this email: melissa@concordiachurch.com
Will you be part of the dream of helping launch this mission TOGETHER as a REGION? We need you. God needs you. And, I think the region needs you. Because what might happen in our region if our churches started working together in mission?
Thanks for your help and support.
-Pastor Richard Schmidt
