How You Can Be Praying for DCC this Fall
News | by
Pastor Adam Sinnett
Summer extends through the end of September in Seattle so consider this a fall preview. As we approach this next season of life and ministry in the city, there are a number of key areas of the church for which you can be praying. If you’ve been running with us for any amount of time, you know that we believe our God is alive, active, and personally involved in the nitty gritty of our every day lives. We are his people. This is his work and, astonishingly, he has entrusted it to us. Us? Us. That includes you too. Amazing, isn’t it?
You’ve probably picked up on the fact that Jesus said some profound things during his earthly ministry. For example, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” (Mat 9:37-38) and “I will build my church.” (Mat 16:18) Relatedly, the Apostle Paul tells us that “I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation for everyone who believes…” (Rom 1:16) Did you catch that? The gospel is the power of God.
What do all of these verses have in common? Today, Jesus is still carrying out his work of salvation through the gospel, which is the power of God, through his people – us. He’s still doing that today, in Seattle. We got a taste of that at our last baptisms, didn’t we? What could he want to do in and through us this fall, in our city? What could he do in and through you this fall, in your neighborhood or workplace?
Let’s step into this new season together with fresh faith in the soul-satisfying, sin-forgiving, guilt-cleansing, shame-removing, life-empowering gospel of Jesus Christ. Let’s not only be a people who know that God loves us, in Christ, but be among those who have actually experienced the beauty of that news.
In light of that, here are a handful of ways you can be praying for your church – Downtown Cornerstone – this fall:
#1 Leaders.
We need leaders. Leaders of teams. Leaders of communities. Leaders of ministries. Specifically, we need leaders who are disciple-making-disciples. A church can only grow up to the spiritual maturity and numerical capacity of its leadership. For us to grow, in both those ways, we need more reliable leaders – leaders who love Jesus, love Jesus’ people and want to live their lives in light of him. As you pray, be sure to thank the Father for your current leaders – and thank them too when you see them next.
#2 Spreaders.
We need spreaders. A spreader is someone who (surprise) spreads something – in our case, the gospel. Our Father has placed us in this city to serve as a movement of missionaries. We’re all spreading something. What are you spreading? Let’s ask the Father to sink the gospel into us and make us gracious, attractive, compelling spreaders of the great good news of Jesus. Some of you are really good at this – show the rest of us how you do it.
#3 Gatherers.
Gatherers are similar to spreaders, but they specialize in drawing people together. We need gatherers. Some of you are gatherers. We need more of you. Our city is in need of life in Jesus and the sad truth is that it doesn’t know it (yet). We need to draw them in to show them the rich, profound realities of who Jesus is and who/what God has created them to be. The need is so great I was shocked there were actually empty seats in our theater last Sunday – or any Sunday. Aren’t you? I think we might be one of the best kept secrets in Seattle.
#4 Cultivators.
We need cultivators. You know who you are. Cultivators are community-builders. Cultivators love people and know how to draw them out, make them feel welcomed, loved, needed – like family. We need you. God created you like that to be a community cultivator. Once the spreaders and gatherers have done their work, those who are new to our church community need a hand in getting started. Let’s pray for more cultivators.
#5 Givers.
Many of you have been responding faithfully. Our giving as a community is slowly improving and that is really encouraging – particularly because our giving is so closely connected to our discipleship of Jesus. Thank you to those who are giving reguarly, sacrificially and cheerfully. We are so close to being fully self-supporting as a church. It is such a gift to be able to give. As you know we just brought David Parker on staff full-time. It was a faith step for us as a young church to do that, but our advisory board urged us to do just that. That means that we, as a church, will be called on to continue to respond in faith together, in giving. I can’t wait until we’re self-supporting and can free up our external support to be directed to other church plants.
#6 Members.
We just wrapped up our membership series, so please be praying that the Father would move 70-80 people to covenant as members of Downtown Cornerstone Church. I hope that includes you too. I beleve we’re right around 20 as of right now. Please wrap up The City process and catch up on any missed series messages by the end of September. That way we can get your interview in by October 15 – our first members meeting. We’re really close to securing a super cool, super secret location for that celebration. Stay tuned!
#7 Movers.
We need folks to move downtown (and closer to the city). I always hesitate in writing or saying that as I know it is bound to create some tension in those who currently live outside of the city or love their current neighborhood. As I’ve always said, there will be no stink-eye for those that don’t live close to the city – ever – or for those that move out of the city. City Christians are not varsity Christians. There are no varsity Christians. We’ll have none of that. But, the tendency is to leave the city so we have to counteract that by calling people to the city. So, please pray for many to feel led to move into or near the core – or adopt a tribe that they love and build their ministry there. Be intentional wherever God would have you.
Praying expectantly with you all.
