From Pastor Keseley's Desk: It Matters!

Sitting in worship a few Sundays ago, I received a text message from one of our college students. Tuned into worship on the livestream from her dorm room, she text me and Pastor Kelsey a picture of her computer screen. She was in worship that morning and messaged to let us know. My heart overflowed with joy!

It is moments like this that I realize what we are doing at Abiding Presence is working, which is to say we are making disciples of Jesus. We are passing on the faith to the next generation. We are sending people out into the world equipped to be the body of Christ, the hands and feet of Jesus. We are being the church. Being the church matters!

Then there was the picture of the Bible from a different college student’s parent. It was texted to me and Pastor Keseley with the message that it was among the last minute items packed by our college student to take with them to college.

These moments remind me that the faith in Jesus we are forming matters. It is shaping - and sometimes changing - people’s lives. People are learning to lean into scripture, prayer, worship and community as they live in a chaotic and often scary world.

We aren’t just teaching people about God. We are also teaching them what it means to be called, affirming they are created with meaning and purpose. Faith matters!

As the parent of a busy tween and teen, I need these realizations and reminders. Too often, there is a huge pull away from church to sports, sleeping in, free-time and doing anything else besides waking up on Sunday mornings to get everyone out of the house to church. Yet, when I think about what from my kids’ lives I want shaping them and their future, it is what we do here that is on the top of the list.

I want my kids - all our kids - to know they are loved, cherished and called. Their lives have meaning not because of the actives they do, but because God has created and called them to be God’s hands and feet in the world. On their darkest days, I want them to remember the darkness is not dark to the God who comes to dwell with them. When the world seems hope-less, I want my kids - all our kids - to know hope comes not in what we can see, but in what we cannot yet see. These messages come from scripture, Jesus and the life together we share in Christian community in this place.

What we are doing here at Abiding Presence is working. It matters. Faith matters.

This fall, we are partnering with Good Shepherd Lutheran Church (ELCA) in Alexandria to share our model of faith formation that is working. On Sunday, you will see people in matching yellow shirts. These students and leaders are from Good Shepherd. They are here to shadow our Abiding Fellows as they learn the ropes of teaching elementary Sunday School workshops. Next Sunday, they will launch the workshops at their church. We are sharing our curriculum and resources with them - freely - because we believe this is what it means to be church together.

Already, the pastor at Good Shepherd has shared with me how their version of the Abiding Fellows program is drawing people in, making disciples and shaping lives. I cannot wait to share these stories with you in the coming weeks. In the meantime, let’s celebrate this partnership. Warmly welcome the Good Shepherd students today. Hold them in your prayers this week. Keep coming to church. Invite your friends, too. What we do here is working and it matters!