A Pastoral Word | June

by Jason Ballard

June 11, 2024

The Apostle Paul often began his letters with an expression of his love and affection for the church community he was writing to. Today I can relate, in a small way, to how Paul felt. Though I am not geographically away from you (or in prison as he often was), I feel a deep love for our church family. I am filled with gratitude for the way you care for one another and I am encouraged by your desire to follow God in our city. 

We are almost halfway through our series in The Gospel According to Mark. When we spend months in a book like this, it’s like a pilgrimage.  We join Jesus' first disciples in the journey of having our eyes opened to who Jesus is—his ways, his heart, his will, his nature. And, like the first disciples, we experience Jesus Himself, inviting us to follow Him; to resist the pull of this world, and to say yes to His way and the Life that is only found in Him.

We kicked off June with a great collaborative act of serving together at this year’s Serve Vancouver Day.  On June 8th hundreds of people in our community served with our partners across the city in a variety of ways. What I love about ‘Serve Vancouver Day’ is that it is a microcosm of the way our small groups serve throughout the year.  On June 8th we gathered to express a posture towards our community that we desire to live into all year-round in our day-to-day lives.

I also love that most of the projects we do are in partnership with organizations doing wonderful work that reflect the Kingdom of God to the city. Partnership is in our DNA. As a church we love to come alongside others and ask, ‘What can we learn? And, how can we help and support you?”

This summer, our rhythms as a church change. Small groups pause. Our evening gathering at West Point Grey is also on hiatus as we await a new venue for the fall. North Vancouver will combine into one service for July & August. Likely, your rhythms change to some degree as well. Days are longer, students are out of school, and hopefully you have some restful time off to enjoy our beautiful city in the sunshine. 

My prayer is that these changed rhythms create intentional space in our lives to grow deeper into the love of God and closer to those God has placed in our lives. 

I am praying for our church family today that we would overflow with God’s love to those around us as we follow Jesus on the narrow road that leads to life. 

With tons of love and on behalf of our pastoral team,

Jason Ballard

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