Keeping Christ Our Hope on Mission
They just finished building a new house across the street. For nine months or so, I've watched the progress: they graded the land, poured a foundation, installed some preliminary plumbing and electrical - all pretty standard construction stuff.
It got interesting when it was time to raise walls. Everything arrived prefabricated on the back of a truck - walls, roof joists, decking panels, all of it. They brought in a small crane, picked up the pieces, and put the house together like a life-sized Lego in just a few hours.
If that doesn't strike you as exciting, let me offer some context.. I grew up in an area of rural Central Pennsylvania with a significant Amish and Old Order Mennonite population. To varying degrees, most of those folks in our area lived without modern technology. That being the case, I've watched several barn-raisings. If you've never seen one, it is a sight to behold - a truly incredible mix of human ingenuity, determination, and community. From start to finish the whole thing can be done in a day, generally no more than two, and all without modern tools and equipment.
Though building by very different means, the modern construction crew and the Amish barn builders have one thing in common: a plumb line. If you're unfamiliar, a plumb line is basically a stone tied to the end of a string. You hang it from a height and physics ensures that it will always be perpendicular to the earth's surface. That allows builders to raise perfectly straight walls. A plumb line is an essential tool to ensure that a project is square and meeting proper standards.
The plumb line is also a helpful way tho think about the work of the Diocese of Christ Our Hope. Our mission is to plant, equip, and multiply disciple-making Anglican churches and support and serve their people and leaders in Christian life and mission. One of our plumb lines, then is church planting. If we are not planting churches, we are not square and not meeting our standards.
By God's grace, we are planting churches and continuing to live into our mission. Right now, we have seven active church plants or launch teams, with several more interest groups in formation. Church planters are being raised up, church plant coaches and assessors are being trained, and as of 2019, the Provincial Canon for Church Planting of the entire ACNA transferred into our diocese, putting the center of Anglican Church planting in our very own backyard. Over the past four years we've seen multiple church plating conferences and events hosted at DCOH churches as the diocese has partnered with Always Forward more fully in our church planting processes.
Below you'll find a video about Always Forward, a podcast interview with Dan Alger, the ACNA's Provincial Canon for Church Planting, and an excerpt from his new book, Word and Sacrament: Ancient Traditions for Modern Church Planting.
Church planting is crucial to the expansion of God's kingdom and DCOH's part in it. We covet your prayers as we continue to pursue church planting, that more people might come to know and love Jesus Christ.
Learn More About Always Forward:
Listen to an interview with the Very Rev. Canon Dan Alger
Read an Excerpt from Word and Sacrament
