“Upon this rock I will build my church and the gates of Hades will not overpower it”, Mat. 16:18
When Jesus said that He would build His church, what was He talking about? Every Christian denomination or non-denomination would like to lay some claim to this statement with some degree of certainty that Jesus was referring to their specific group. The failure in that mindset is that Scripture is not referring to what we are building but to what Christ is building. Christ is not building a congregation; He is building a community; He is not building an empire; He is building a kingdom; He is not building a place He is building a people.
Jesus, who was a carpenter by trade, must have built many things. He learnt the skill from Joseph, Mary’s husband. However, as well made as those things may have been which He made, one might not be able to find any remains of those things today: no yokes, tables, or chairs. But the church that He stated that He would build, you will find it all over the world, it will be in every tribe, in every nation, in every people group and nationality.
Many ancient and modern buildings owe their design to some master architects. The buildings which they have designed have outlived them and continue to be the marvel of scores of people who can only admire the works of these amazing designers. They cannot share in their glory. Not so with the Builder of the church. Christ has promised to build His church, but it is not for himself. It is for the people He came to save…the lost. Having rescued them from darkness, death and destruction, He has made them the community that He is building and with whom He shares Himself and all that He has.
Metro West Church of the Nazarene is about loving God and loving people…all people. We are about sharing this great love of Jesus the same way Jesus showed it: He sat with the outcast; He delivered the oppressed; He cared for the needy; He forgave the guilty; He comforted the mourners; He offered hope to the hopeless; He showed compassion towards the destitute and He called all people to Himself. We are eagerly seeking out opportunities to serve…to help to make the difference that matters in the lives of people.
Our Mission Statement simply states that “We are members of the family of God committed to doing God’s will, God’s way”. We are not the family but are members of it; we are not the community but we are a part of it; we are not the church but we belong to it. We stand ready with our basin and towel, to serve and not to be served. Please allow us the privilege of serving you for we exist for you.
