Could I be more excited? I don’t think so.
Sunday the Vista Elders commissioned Chris Kelley as our newest Community Pastor and this Sun., April 19, we’ll soft-launch a new Vista community in Hilliard!
Chris Kelley, with wife Lani, commissioned as Community Pastor on Sun., April 12, 2015
A commissioning is like the Acts 6 laying on hands of those taking on a particular purpose — those being specifically sent — under the authority of our elders. Commissioning is practical, responsive to current realities, calling-based, need-based, and context-specific authority. Some have asked if commissioning is like ordination. Not too much. Ordination belongs to unique denominational systems, and specific curricula and theologies.
The soft-launch is two things. First, it is a response to what God is doing. We have a “road map” that holds us short of a new local Vista gathering until there is an identifiable core group of 50 missional people that are believing and behaving like a church in their community, irrespective of any weekly meetings or meeting space. That as part of Vista Community Church they are following Jesus locally in their city, neighborhoods, businesses, etc. The “road map” also holds us up until we have a pastor qualified to be commissioned as the community pastor. It has taken four years for both of these mile markers to be met, but here we are now!
Second, it is a step to see what sort of fruit there is as a result of the relational initiatives of the past four years. We are gathering to see what God is doing in the hearts of those we’ve prayerfully been engaged with. The question we hope to see answered next Sunday? “Is God forming a crowd that needs to be gathered (Acts 2, Heb 10) regularly?”
