The church is receiving more and more calls from the community for assistance with rent or utilities. We usually refer anyone who calls to Area Relief Ministry or RIFA, but we're seeing a large number of people turned away because of "technicalities." They don't have a driver's license. They're living with their girlfriend or boyfriend. They haven't kept record of their expenses. They don't have a cell phone. The list of "exceptions" seems endless.

My vision for Promise Church has always been that we are called to be a MISSIONAL church. By that, I mean that we minister to precisely the ones that for a myriad of reasons have been pushed to the margins of our community. It's a hard ministry. There often are some quite valid reasons someone finds themselves without work, in and out of harmful relationships, and seemingly spiralling into chaos. As I learned a long time ago (and have to remember now) our choices always come with consequences.

But we're seeing increasingly a number of folks who never received just the basic "training" that many of us take for granted on such things as how to pay your bills on-time, how to make a budget and follow it, how to tighten the budget and let go of behaviors that are costing you money you don't have and even relationships you want to hold on to.

If ever there were a time where the "good news" of the gospel meant more than just intellectual assent to something, that time is now. The gospel literally saves lives by transforming lives. Believing in Jesus can literally mean the difference between a lifetime of hardship and despair, depression and death and a lifetime of meaningful relationships, a modicum of joy (often deep joy!), and a legacy of responsbility and love left to one's children.

The church is the only place where these values are taught and anchored within a story of God's redeeming grace that resonates deep within our souls.

And that's what makes church so important.

I love the "ethos" of the AA and Recovery community that states (I'm not sure if it's official or unofficial) that once you've received freedom from your addiction, it's your job to help someone else to receive their freedom - by being present at AA meeting, being a sponsor, or simply pointing people in the direction of the AA community.

Wouldn't it be awesome if members of the church thought and acted the same way? As we walk in our freedom, we point others in the direction of the source of that freedom. Jesus Christ, the son of the living God. And where do we best encounter the living Christ? In the church that worships and celebrates and teaches Jesus.

Promise Church isn't yet another "new church start" in Jackson so that people can "have it their way" in worship or church. Promise Church is a mission outpost where free believers set others free by pointing them toward Jesus.