I love the church, as a body of believers and a family to which to belong. I believe the church is the world’s most powerful force for social change and life transformation. But today, I read a quote from a skeptic that humbled me…
The church is a parasite. It owns the best property. Doesn’t pay any taxes. And doesn’t help anybody.
As we begin to shape the future of Grace Hills Church, we’re determined not to be a parasite, but rather to be givers, contributors, and positive change agents for our community. If the community doesn’t need any help, we’re wasting our time. But we know that in northwest Arkansas there are tens of thousands of people with real needs.
- There are couples whose marriages need help.
- There are homeless families.
- There are kids in trouble with parents who feel helpless.
- There are people trapped in all kinds of addictive behaviors.
So we will exist, not to take, but to give. That is, as God brings people into our spiritual family, we will work together to foster a spirit of generosity toward our community. We will pool our resources so that we can, in cooperation with other churches, offer two important gifts to the community that hosts us.
[ghlslike]
Good News
We will give the good news and it will be our primary priority. The gospel (literally “good news”) is the story of Jesus’ death on the cross as a payment for the sins of mankind, and His resurrection from the dead so that we may all live eternally with Him. When embraced, the gospel not only converts us, it transforms us. The gospel makes life different, and it makes communities different.
Good Deeds
Having people come to know Jesus in a life-transforming way isn’t an ulterior motive for us, it’s our ultimate motive. But even if no one embraces what we believe about Jesus, we will still serve our community with all the resources and energy we can muster. Why?
We love northwest Arkansas. If you love Northwest Arkansas like we do, and you don’t already belong to a church family, we want to hear from you. Drop us a line letting us know you’re interested. We won’t spam you. We won’t come knocking on your door during family dinner. But we will keep you in the loop and in prayer. We can’t wait to get started giving to our community!