New Outreaches

We are so excited here at WVCC. In the last two weeks we have added two ministries to our church, both to groups that we have not previously had the opportunity to help hear the good news of God’s love in Jesus Christ. The first is a partnership with the Ezekiel Network, an organization that trains Christians to reach out to their Jewish friends and neighbors. I know that there are those who question Christians trying to “convert” Jews, but that is not what we are trying to do, and it reflects a basic misunderstanding of what Christianity is. The Bible tells us that Jesus is the Jewish Messiah. Given that the Jews have been looking for their Messiah for over two millennia, the good news that God has already sent him, and that he has the answers to the questions of life is good news indeed! And we are excited to be a part of reaching out to our separated brothers and sisters.
The other new group is an outreach to Armenians of Iranian background. We are sponsoring a new outreach in the Glendale area that just got a jump start this past Sunday night. Many of those in this new ministry have suffered for their faith in Iran. In fact the Pastor was jailed and held in solitary confinement in Iran and his brother was martyred there a few years ago.
With the addition of these two new groups WVCC is now partnering to reach out to four distinct ethnic or language groups in our area – beside the two mentioned above we also have an Assyrian congregation and a Spanish-speaking congregation. Some of the best services we have had in recent years have been joint services with all of our groups, complete with translation into their languages. What a taste of heaven we have had! And how much greater it is going to be when we have our next joint service in a couple of months and include these two new groups! Keep an eye out for the date, and join us if you can! You might as well get some practice for heaven now!
Pastor Ken