Forty-eight hours before the first worship service at our Siegel Campus it snowed. If we were in New York or Colorado this probably would not matter. But it does in Tennessee. In the grand scheme of things, postponing the launch is pretty minor. Yet, we spent more than a year preparing for the launch. We were about as ready as we could be. In that moment, postponing felt like an enormous sacrifice.
The beginning of something almost always requires a big push at the end. Leading up to the snowstorm we were making last minute adjustments, loading the new trailer with equipment, and trying to figure out some technology needs. So the week already felt different than a typical week preparing for Sunday. The snow just added a little uncertainty to the whole thing. Would the school allow us to meet? What condition would the parking lot and sidewalks be in? Could people drive on the roads?
By Saturday afternoon we communicated that there would be worship on Sunday, there would be no postponing. A member of the church had already been to Siegel High School to shovel and salt the walkways. Another member even came to my house to help shovel my driveway so that we would not have any issues getting the trailer out on Sunday morning. The crises had been averted and God’s people stepped up to help with the inconveniences of stormy weather.
As I was wrapping up the last loose ends Saturday night, I spent time in prayer. God graciously reminded me of the dependency we have on him, and his capacity to handle it all. He was with us no matter what. If the launch had been postponed, it would have been okay because he was there. If we fell on our faces the next day, it was okay because we were with him. He had led us thus far; he would continue to lead.
Sunday went about as well as we could hope. Many of us arrived before 8am for a 10am service to get the school ready for the first time. People were moving in a million different directions, getting everything in place. Somehow it did not feel chaotic, it felt purposeful. We had a few minor hiccups over the course of the morning. We had some trouble with the new coffee percolator which meant most went without coffee that morning. And the sermon ran a little long which added an extra burden on the Boro team. Yet, for a first worship service, it went amazingly well.
Later Sunday, as I was thinking back on the day, there were things I wanted to remember about the Siegel Campus launch. The first is God’s faithfulness. Starting a second campus was undoubtedly an idea that he gave us. Through months of prayer and preparation he opened every door that was needed. The first service was not the goal of all the work we did, but it is an important part of the process. He got us there. There is no way we would be at this point on our own and we cannot continue without his leading.
The second is the beauty of the church. I love that our current sermon series is entitled, “The Church.” What we have been talking about on Sundays is what I am experiencing with the people of Fellowship Bible Church. On that first Sunday I regularly stopped to take in as much as I could. What I witnessed was people who loved God with all their heart, all their soul, all their mind, and all their strength, and they loved their neighbor as themselves. On a day where it would have been easier to stay home it was clear that the church wanted to be nowhere else but with God and with his people.
This Sunday is the public launch of the new campus. In reality, it is a new launch for our whole church. We are taking more ground for God’s kingdom than ever before with two mission posts. We are in this together. We have much to be grateful for and much to be optimistic about.