A few weeks ago, I shared this “prayer of longing” during my final message with Heritage Church; I’m eager to see this longing fulfilled.

I long to see a church rise up…

…a force unstoppable, empowered by the Spirit of the living God to go into the dark and dangerous places. A people of selfless courage and holy resolve.

…who casts off its sin, lays aside its own agendas, releases its pride, and embraces fully the adventurous leadership of Jesus. A church that sets aside its preference and its legalism to be found in the way of selfless grace.

…who is so saturated by the presence of Christ and his Holy Spirit that wherever the church goes it is active in pursuing:

• Good news preached to the poor
• Broken hearts healed
• Captives freed
• Prisoners released from darkness
• and the very favor of God declared and experienced.

…who refuses to settle for what is easy to measure, neat-and-tidy to accomplish, and risk-free… and instead pursues transformation at the cost of comfort, Kingdom at the expense of self, and fresh imagination at the sacrifice of what is known.

…who is scripture-soaked, Jesus-anchored, and Spirit-enlivened. That doesn’t just welcome the widow, the orphan, the stranger, and the marginalized but goes to them and sits with them.

…where the living Jesus is so present that whenever this church gathers, bodies are healed, relationships are restored, the dead are raised, and what was impossible becomes possible.

I long to see a church rise up.