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Building a New Denomination: More than Just Nimble Structure
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In light of the multiple thousands of denominations existing over and against Je...
“All they asked was that we continue to remember the poor, the very thing I had been eager to do all along.” – Galatians 2:10 NIV
At Marine View, we have a unique window into the issues of global poverty and disaster relief. The U.S. headquarters of World Vision, one of the world’s largest Christian international relief organizations, are just minutes from our church campus. As a result, a number of World Vision staffers call Marine View their church home. Their contribution to the mission and ministry of Jesus Christ continues from their various roles at World Vision into the local church.
Nathalie Moberg, Managing Editor of World Vision Magazine, has been an active part of Marine View for the past nine years. Having helped in the development and promotion of a World Vision initiative called Faith-in-Action, where local churches are encouraged to take a Sunday off from worship to serve in their local communities, Nathalie was interested when she saw that Marine View was participating.
Within the Local Church
“We saw that Marine View was doing Faith-in-Action and having helped develop the concept at World Vision, I wanted to see how it played out in the local church. What I discovered was a great church with people who genuinely wanted to impact the world and their community for Jesus and were taking steps to do that.”
Having recently returned from a trip to Armenia, Nathalie is well aware of the issues facing the poor around the world and the unique position into which American Christians are born.
“Because of my involvement at World Vision, I look at life and faith through an understanding of what is actually going on in the rest of the world. I see how blessed, how overly blessed, we are as Americans and I am humbled by it.”
Harnessing the Vision
Folks like Nathalie help Marine View maintain an awareness of global issues and needs and encourage an approach to global mission in the local church that enables people to take concrete steps to help by harnessing the vision and energy God has given them for people and places around the world.
Nathalie’s view is shared by fellow World Vision staff member and Marine View elder, John Jensen, recently retired from his role as Sr. Director of Public Relations. John reflects on the importance of helping people find a way to make a difference when the need is overwhelming.
“When the scope and scale of the need is so great, it can be paralyzing and frustrating to the point that people don’t feel like they can make a difference. World Vision’s message reminds us – one person can’t do everything, but each person can do something. At World Vision we try to meet people where they are so that they can understand the issues and do something about it. We help interpret global poverty for the local church. Everyone understands the need for clean water, that’s a good entry point. Everyone understands needs for children like basic healthcare, food, and education. We can’t dump information and guilt on people here in the U.S. and walk away. We need to give them something to do.”
One Step at a Time
At Marine View, we are doing our best to learn from World Vision and people like Nathalie and John. We desire to help people see the needs in our world and to address those needs one next step at a time. As a result, we work hard to mobilize people to take next steps in their life and faith. We want to make it easy for everyone to serve and get involved in Christ’s mission. We want to see faith grow as men, women and children connect with God’s heart for the poor and lost in our world.
Marine View is blessed to have World Vision as a ministry partner and neighbor. As part of ECO, we are encouraged to learn from the best practices of those around us and to develop partnerships with like-minded organizations and churches. There are wonderful, Christ-centered non-profits and mission organizations in towns and cities across the US and the world, some of which your church may already partner with – so what’s your next step to connect and learn from those who are making an impact on our world in the name of Jesus Christ?
Marine View Presbyterian Church
Our vision is to be a flourishing church that makes disciples of Jesus Christ.
Our mission is to create environments where people are mobilized to go deeper with Jesus and reach wider with his love.
