Niche
Yesterday I mentioned how there are several churches here in the suburbs of Vegas doing a good job of reaching people, which occasionally makes me wonder, “Why am I here?” but then I realize that still less than 10% of Vegas attends church, and there is almost nothing happening around the Strip.
Here are two other thoughts I’ve had:
One is that it’s kind of a relief to really believe in some of the other churches in the area. Obviously, God is the one who draws people to Jesus, but still it’s hard to not feel a burden for our responsibility in that. And it’s cool that the burden is lightened by the fact that we have other churches partnering with us to introduce Las Vegans to Jesus.
And second is that I feel a little more freedom to let Verve be Verve. I am totally a niche kind of guy, and Forefront was/is a niche kind of church. But the tension for me was always, “What about all the people here in Va Beach who don’t fit our niche?” In Vegas, I think it will be much easier for me to trust the other churches in town to reach them, and to really focus on the most broken, most cynical, the lostest of the lost, those who truly don’t like church and don’t think there’s a chance they’ll ever walk into one again.