Do you ever want to just leap? Go all in? Give it everything? Of course you do. We all do. We stand at the edge and we wonder what it would be like. Very few ever jump.
This past week, the Ottawa Citizen has been doing a series on the community of Vanier. It’s hit me hard. Not because of the negativity of the series — it’s actually been incredibly positive — but, because it’s highlighted some of the key reasons why Vanier has begun to turn around.
Two parts of the series hit home more than the rest. “Cleaning Up Vanier With A Vengeance” tells the story of what started the turnaround. It began when 40 people gathered in a park and sang “Amazing Grace.” Two groups “accidentally” bumped into each other at the park. One was a group of concerned citizens called “Eyes on Vanier Walkabout”. The other, a group of people from City Church who were walking through the community praying for God to transform Vanier.
Did you catch that? Let me make sure you don’t miss it: What started the transformation of Vanier included a group of people from City Church who were praying for God to transform Vanier.
The second part of the series that really hit me was the opening post, “Taking Back Vanier”. There are a few paragraphs quoting me. To be honest, I was quite surprised to read the quotes, because I wasn’t interviewed by the Citizen. Instead, the quotes come from an interview I did with a community paper (owned by the Citizen). The article was in the Saturday edition of the Citizen, which happens to be their biggest paper. In the middle of the article, there is a pull quote from my words. It jumps out in the face of the rest of the story. It says,
“The biggest need is just hope, the recognition that we don’t need to believe our press reports. We don’t need to believe the image.”
The biggest need is just hope.
All week, as I’ve read (again and again) these articles, something in my spirit leaps with conviction, passion, and hunger. I want to be all in. I want to jump in and be part of something historical. I want to make a difference.
There are a lot of great churches in Vanier doing great things to affect the community, but over and over, it was City Church mentioned in these articles. Why? Because this church has been faithfully sowing into this community for many years now. In the midst of all the internal struggles, challenges, and changes, may we never lose sight of what has been accomplished outwardly. I believe it’s only begun.
Can I challenge you? Can I encourage you to stop looking over the cliff and just jump? Dive in and be part of something bigger than yourself. Make a difference in a community.
It’s hard to contain my excitement right now.
How about you? Have you read the articles? What do you think as you read how City Church has been part of making a difference in Vanier?
