Center City Church planned a lunch celebration in a local public park to mark out God’s faithfulness to us during our first year as a church here in La Mesa, CA on Sunday September 18, 2022. We have had church picnics there before, but we wanted this particular time to feel especially celebratory! 75 people attended, many of whom are not believers.
We were able to clearly share the gospel with a neighbor and her family who came (having recently been hospitalized, she was more open to the gospel than she has been in the past). She said that before her near-death experience, she only believed in “energy” and “forces.” We were able to communicate to her the incredible news that God is far more and better than mere energy or force; He is the God who came as a man to save his creation at the cost of his own life. She was not ready to receive so much at this time, but we plan to follow up with them relationally!
We also were able to continue to build trusting relationship with a family who is wrestling deeply with the Mormon beliefs that have been raised within. Additionally, a family who is vocally atheistic joined us at the picnic and heard about what God has been doing in our little church!
Also, two Muslim friends our church has befriended joined us at the picnic! We l love that God brought so many who do not profess Christ to witness our joy and worship to Jesus!
At our Monday staff meeting directly following the event, we all noted how the bounce house, which was a part of the party trailer we rented from San Diego Southern Baptist Association, enabled us to have more intentional and focused conversations as adults. The kids were so happily playing together that the parents were more free to engage with one another over the gospel!
Mostly Cloudy, 66°
