Our Stories
Creekside = A Gospel Community
By Kim Hjelm | posted 05/21/2009
"Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other. (Romans 12:4-5, NLT)
Having been 'knee deep' or maybe more like 'up to my eyeballs' in matters of our church for over a decade, a year ago I felt it was time to step back...time to evaluate and recalibrate thoughts on the church in general and on Creekside in particular. You know, the old adage about not seeing the forest for the trees thing. The biggest gift in helping me along in this process was being elected to the Pastor Search Team (Interesting timing...if I was still on staff I would not been able to be a part of the PST). Other things that have been enlightening were the sermon series about Creekside (Discovering Who We Are: An Inside Look at the Creekside Community), the awesome videos that went along with that series and our current Sunday morning series that is looking at the Covenant denomination and its Affirmations.
Last Sunday's message regarding the Covenant's Affirmation of the 'Church as a fellowship of believers', struck a chord. We...Creekside...are a fellowship (community) of believers. If someone asked you, "Believers in what?", what would be your answer?
I am hoping that our answer would be unanimous. I am hoping that we would not hesitate in saying: We are not believers in a what, we are believers in a who...and that who is Jesus Christ. The Jesus Christ who entered our world, setting in motion God's plan to set things right again...not just individually by forgiving our sins by grace...but collectively by creating communities whose responsibility is to be partners with God, led by Jesus Christ and guided by the Holy Spirit in the reshaping of this world into the Kingdom of God.
This means Creekside is not just a church but a community of believers or better said, a Gospel Community. We are not just a gathering of people, but a community that is about knowing, loving, enjoying and proclaiming Jesus Christ (the Gospel), and are about the task of Kingdom building. This is something that excites and rejuvenates me! This is something that is worth a commitment and should be of the highest priority.
We are on this journey together because we have a common purpose and realize we need each other to work towards the common goal. Formal membership in a certain community is not necessary to join the journey, but in our culture it does say something significant. It says you are willing to make a commitment and make it public. Becoming a member of Creekside declares loud and clear not only your personal faith in Jesus Christ, but your willingness to be trusted and to trust others within the community. To me it's a no-brainer. We have been called to community and have been given a job. Let's get to it!
"Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much." ~Helen Keller
To respond to this message and/or find out more about membership at Creekside, email Kim at kim.hjelm@gmail.com.
