ecclesia

Scott and I have been "church shopping" for quite a while now and just have not been able to find a church where we feel like God wants us. We discovered a place this past Sunday that may or may not be our future home; however, we really liked a lot about it and are prayerfully considering it as our choice. I just wanted to share a glimpse of what makes ecclesia stand out amongst the multitude of churches in Austin.

ecclesia=gathering=church

The word ecclesia means assembly or gathering. Jesus used it to mean a gathering He would build that would express His love for the world. We have taken this ancient word to reflect a desire to live simply in following Jesus as He continues His redeeming work. Jesus loves Austin. We love it too.

Vision in gathering

ecclesia purposes to live a missional life for the name of Jesus and to bless the people of Austin.. The goal of church is to grow missional living people who worship God and love people. The goal of the gospel is not to get people to church. The result of the gospel is that people will find each other and gather because of the deep meaning of a mutual bond to Christ. We gather to worship Christ with others because of our shared love for Him and others.

Vision in community

Jesus call people from different backgrounds, race, cultures and agendas to unite and find our common love. It is the most amazing thing when people are attracted to Christ’s Love. Finding that Jesus Christ doesn’t Judge them, they are free to abandon any identity emanating from a broken past and find a new identity and community in Jesus.

There are a lot of things that I really appreciate about ecclesia. I like the fact that their vision in gathering is based on a "mutual bond to Christ." I appreciate that their vision in community is not people judging people; but also that there is an acknowledgment of the fact that once an individual accepts Jesus that there is a turning away from the old and a becoming of a "new identity" in Christ.

It was just a really refreshing experience, and I wanted to share some of the highlights. :) For more information, check out: http://www.ecclesiaaustin.com/www.ecclesiaaustin.com/Welcome.html