Presence in the City

I have carved out most of this weekend to work on a big DMin project that is due next week. I have stayed focused on completing that task, but I also took a couple hours late this morning and early afternoon to go to a couple events that I was invited to here in the city. A friend invited me to check out a soccer outreach that several churches are involved in for kids in the East End of Pittsburgh. While I was there, I had the opportunity to meet some amazing people who are doing incredible work to impact this part of the city. I met a pastor of a church in East Liberty, and we had a good conversation about reaching people for Christ with our churches working together. Also, a good friend had invited me to a cook out at the baseball field here in Homewood. I bumped into several new people there, and I was also able to catch up with some good friends and check in with some kids I had not seen for a while. A couple people even became interested in being LAMP mentors while I was talking to them in the stands while watching the baseball game.

One of the keys to being a pastor in the city is the necessity to get out in the community and build relationships with people. You never know who you are going to cross paths with in the city. There are many different kinds of people who are interested in many different kinds of things. Being present in the community helps pastors to be more effective at ministry while also expanding our own worldview in the process. As a pastor in the city, the city is my parish. I am thankful for the divine appointments that God gave me today. The unexpected visits with new friends were the highlight of my day. Now, back to my DMin project. Almost done!