Takin’ it to the Streets – Serve the CIty

Today, since it is Tuesday, I want to talk to you about what Will and I do on Tuesdays. We are part of something called Serve the City through Southland (that’s our church home here in Lexington). But before I describe Serve the City to you, I want to take a moment to discuss what lead us there.

Here we are at STC last week. My hair is pretty Awesome, I know. A little girl in the neighborhood did it for me. You’ll meet her later.

When I moved here a year ago I didn’t really know anyone in Lexington other than Will and Matthew and Blair. During your undergrad years you are basically provided with friends. You live in community with people, are in classes with them, on teams with them, etc… Basically, in every life experience you have up through graduating college friends are handed to you on a platter. What you make of those acquaintances is up to you, but the fact of the matter is you have a big selection, right there, all the time. When you graduate, move, and get married it’s the exact opposite. Will and I knew we needed community, and that we would have to actively seek it out. What we didn’t want was just another Bible study where we talk about God’s word but it never really gets translated into real life. We wanted something with some congruency. We wanted to find like-minded people who we could do life with and spur each other on in our faith as well.

That search for community, combined with our desire to live out the Gospel is what brought us to Serve the City.

 

If you live in Lexington, you should come checkout STC (Serve the City) for yourself, rather than just take my word for it. But for all of you who can’t come be a part of it, I will paint a picture of it for you.

Speaking if pictures a little boy in the neighborhood drew that one for us.

Will and I serve in at the East End STC (there are 3 other ones that meet on different nights in different areas of town). Serve the City is a bunch of people being intentional about reaching out to their “Samaria.” What I mean by that is best explained by Will. In regards to the 3 circles of influence depicted in the Great Commission, he says that our neighbors, our coworkers, the people right there along side of us every day are our Judea, and then the East End is our Samaria. It’s not really in our neighborhood, and to be honest it’s a part of town most people try to steer clear of much like the Jews did Samaria.

Serve the City is about the Church being the Church. It’s about Christians coming together to be the salt and the light, putting boots on the ground, getting out in the world and just talking with people. That is what I see Jesus doing time and time again in the Gospels, Jesus walking down the street and taking a second to stop and notice someone.

And when Jesus notices someone, it changes their life. Period.

There are so many scriptures fulfilled in the vision of Serve the City. James 1:27, Micah 6:8, Matthew 28:18-20, and Luke 4:18-19.

That’s what Serve the City is all about. Showing the unnoticed, that they are noticed- by us, and more importantly, by God.

The goal is to bring joy and hope to people in Lexington. We walk around the neighborhood and form relationships with people. Through those relationships we are enabled to meet the physical and spiritual needs of the community. The goal is for the love of Christ to shine through us as we love on others in practical ways. For that love to take root, grow, and transform lives and hopefully entire neighborhoods and all of Lexington.

Here she is. The little hair dresser! Every time I see her she instantly starts playing with my hair.
We’re pretty glamorous huh. lol.

So I encourage you that if you are in Lexington, check out Serve the City! Because we have found in it community with like-minded Christians who we can laugh, cry, serve, and grow with. We have found an opportunity to do what the Bible tells us to do and be the church that the Bible says we should be.