Welcome to St. Jacob's Lutheran Church

And behold, Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him. 10 Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.” Matthew 28:9-10
I don’t mind saying that as I sit down to write this month’s installment, I’m stuck. I’m stuck because we are in the midst of the Easter season where it is our Christian endeavor to share the Good News of Christ’s resurrection, but by the month’s end, we will have celebrated Jesus’ ascension into heaven, and the giving of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. There is so much liturgical and theological fruit to be gleaned from the fields of faith that I cannot possibly think of a way to cover it all in one page of the newsletter. So, let’s stick with the chief purpose for all Christians and continue the proclamation of the resurrection.
As we navigate our current times here in Chapin, we soon see a community that is growing by leaps and bounds. Our small community is one of the fastest growing areas of the state. As we learned during our Fresh Eyes for Mission Summit, we can expect greater housing development and economic expansion in the times ahead. “What has this got to do with the resurrection” you may ask? Well, again as we found out during our Fresh Eyes Summit, over 63% of the people who live within fifteen minutes drive time from St. Jacob’s are not affiliated with any sort of church or religious entity. That’s a lot of people, approximately forty-eight thousand!
As Jesus told the women who came to the tomb on that first day of the week, he tells us also. “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.” The key to this verse is that Jesus is sending his people into the world to share the Good News of God’s saving grace through Christ our Lord. Hear again the first four words Jesus says, “Do not be afraid.”
It is common knowledge that the reason Christians today are not very good at evangelism (sharing the Gospel) is because they are apprehensive in speaking about faith issues with others, especially strangers. But this is exactly what Christ calls every Christian to do. And since God calls us all to be evangelists, we need not be afraid. Even if someone turns you away, you have still planted the seed of God’s Word. Imagine how it would have been if those women who first encountered the risen Lord Jesus kept the news to themselves. We might not be here at St. Jacob’s or even have a church at all. We might not have the fellowship of other believers, or dear friends whom we enjoy seeing each week in worship. We might not be sharing the Sacrament of Holy Communion, or participating in our Sunday schools, Bible studies, and VBS.
Well, if we are not sharing the Good News of Jesus with our community, then there are over forty eight thousand unchurched people who do not realize these blessings that many of us take for granted. If we don’t share the Gospel with others, we also are not following Jesus’ command to tell others. Faith, love, and hope we have in our Lord compel us to tell others, not just during the Easter season, but during all times and seasons.
As Pastor and Shepherd for St. Jacob’s, I am working on developing ways that we might learn together how to be more effective in the mission of evangelism. It begins with knowing the story, and then developing confidence in telling the story to others. As St. Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 4:7, “…we have this treasure in clay jars, so that it may be made clear that this extraordinary power belongs to God and does not come from us.” The treasure is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The clay Jars are our fragile and imperfect human bodies. God has entrusted to us the mission of His Gospel and will not allow us to fail, so there is no reason to feel apprehensive, uncomfortable, or afraid. Yes, it is awkward at first, but it doesn’t take long to realize that you can do this with God’s help, and He will help you.
Once we embark on this mission, the “stuckness” will soon fade. When we become more proficient in our evangelism, our congregation, as a whole will become energized and refreshed by the power of the same Gospel which we share. So hear again the words of Jesus on the first day of the week. ““Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers…” Invite them to St. Jacob’s and here they will encounter the power of the risen Christ,
Grace to you and peace,
David Nuottila