Dear Friends,

Recently, while driving, I saw a billboard advertising a new church. In big bold letters that stretched across the entire billboard it read, “A Great Church for a Fresh Start!”  

In light of 2019 and a decade coming to an end, I’ve been thinking recently about the fresh start for all of us that has arrived as we enter a new year and a new decade. We all desire fresh starts or “do-overs” in life from time to time, don’t we?

The church promoted on this billboard understands this and seeks to attract people who have either had negative experiences in their previous churches or who perhaps are unchurched and have never had a church home. Maybe they are trying to appeal to those who feel as if their church has let them down. Or, that their church is no longer meeting their needs. They want to send the message that “if you come to our church you can start fresh”, or “this isn’t like your old church”, or “this church will give you what you’re looking for!” It’s a great marketing strategy, to tap into the hearts of those seeking renewal.

But as I began to think deeply about that slogan I realized how misleading it seems to be. Any church that faithfully and truthfully preaches and lives out the Gospel of Jesus Christ is a great church for a fresh start, is it not? Every Sunday that you sit in your pew and worship the Lord with gladness and open hearts and minds, I pray you leave that experience renewed, energized, filled, and having been given a fresh start!