So how big is your church?

People like this question because it's an easy way to get a feel for how a church is doing. In some traditions the word "parish" is used to describe the church's people, the place where they meet or the area it serves. One of the church planters here, though, described his "parish" this way: "Wherever I go in my neighborhood, and whoever I meet, I'm their pastor. They don't know that when we first meet, but that's how I relate to them." This drastically changes how I view the state of the new church here in Paradise. In one sense, it's a church of one to two dozen folks who now meet on the campus of UNLV on Sunday afternoons. In another sense, it's the hundreds of people I interact with every week. The fact there are people in our community that consider one of us their pastor, though they've never come to a worship service with us (yet), kinda surprised me. Until this evening...

I was just talking with the head of our neighborhood watch a few hours ago. After a good long conversation about her cancer treatments, her spiritual background, and what I'm doing in Vegas, I felt like we had connected in a significant way. Though she's not a part of any church, she seemed open to seeing what ours was like. As I was leaving she said she wanted to use the next neighborhood newsletter to let people know I'm in the community as a pastor for those living in our neighborhood. What? Really? Without knowing it, she is helping me redefine the scope of my role as pastor as those God has put in my own backyard. The next 3 conversations I had while walking home seemed to take on new significance. I began to see how Harmon Gardens (the neighborhood I live in) is very much my "parish." It gave me a clearer perspective on who God is positioning us to reach and serve in the city.

So who is in my "parish?" This past week it included college students, teachers, real estate agents, security guards, engineers, casino employees, single dads, carpenters, lawyers, salesmen, and the homeless to name a few. Please pray that I keep this perspective and not limit God's work in the city to the number of bottoms that warm chairs during a Sunday service.