Pitcairn Community Ministries

I couple days ago we had the opportunity to spend some time with Gary and Carol Agate from Pitcairn Community Ministries.  Please check out their website through the link on my blog if you get a chance.  God is working through them to do some great things in their community where they intentionally moved last summer to live incarnationally.  A big part of their story is that they are empty nesters, and after raising a big family on a farm in a rural area they decided to move into a very nice townhouse in a good neighborhood.  After just a little while there they started to feel like God was calling them to something a little more radical.  They decided to move to Pitcairn to give themselves away to others in an amazing outreach ministry that they built.  Their website has more details, but as I reflect on our time with them I noticed the following:

1.  It's never too late to stop trying to achieve the American Dream (an unbiblical lifestyle that many American Christians have been deceived into finding their life purposes in).  As followers of Christ who happen to be living in America, we all should give up the American Dream in order to live in God's Story which has been shown to us as the way to live life for thousands of years.  The American version of retirement is just one example of what I'm talking about... it's not biblical, and it doesn't bring retirees the kind of joy that can be found in finishing strong on the edge for Christ instead of comfortably isolated from people in need in this world.

2.  When we take the step to give ourselves away to others for the sake of Christ, it matters how we do it!  That's why it is so important to read books related to the type of ministry that people are called to.  The Agates were reading books like Radical, The Hole in the Gospel, and Crazy Love.  Those are all great books that give a clear biblical foundation for how Christians can choose to live in God's Story.

3.  Another family is already in the process of moving to Pitcairn with them.  The concept here is that it is important to bring other folks along with us in the journey of life.  There are no solo missions in the Kingdom of God.  We were made for community, and our lives should be built around authentic relationships with God, our selves, our family and friends, and with people in the world.

Gary and Carol are in Haiti this week.  Please pray for them, and specifically for the church that they are trying to build there.