This past Saturday, we had a Vision Night for people who had expressed interest in 7 Mile Road and wanted to hear more. The night was great.
First we sat around chomping down on appetizers and home-made calzones. Eating together will be a regular and important part of life at 7 Mile Road. It was great to see people sharing a meal, talking, and laughing as they met each other for the first time. My mind’s eye saw the embryo of what could be a beautiful community.
After dinner, we shifted our attention to talking about this brand new church that God was birthing in Philadelphia. We started by going around the room and giving people a chance to introduce themselves; stuff like - name, what you were doing in Philly, and why you were in a room to hear about a church plant. There was a mix of people who had come as members of other churches in the area who wanted to offer encouragement and people who had come cause they were thinking about being a part of 7 Mile Road.
I talked briefly (I think) about 7 Mile Road - the story of how we got to where are; why Philadelphia; why church planting; our vision; and how we planned to go from here. I talked a lot about Gospel, Mission, and Community being three bold, highlighted, size 40 font words for 7 Mile Road. We want to be a church that is rooted in the Gospel, on mission with Jesus, and growing in deep community. As a Gospel-centered, missional, community we want to be servants of Philadelphia and reproducing other Gospel-centered, missional, communities throughout Philadelphia and beyond.
I think the night was received really well. We had a brief but good time of Q&A and feedback. And by the end of the night, there were a handful of people brand new to 7 Mile Road who expressed interest in continuing the conversation and meeting with us again. Sweet.
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