This is a hard one for me. I normally wouldn't and never have provided a review for a church that I…read morehave attended. However, I feel a strong conviction that there are things that need to be said and expressed about what is going on at Vancouver Church. That the congregation needs to step up, as contributors and individuals who call this place home and who graciously serve and pour their time and resources into an organization that only can continue because these people who faithful provide. Without them and the Lord's provisions, there would be no Vancouver Church.
I called Vancouver Church church home for over a year. I had immediately been brought into the volunteer ranks (guilted in some ways, but not really. I do really feel that it is our responsibility as believers to be serving at the churches we call home) and was all of a sudden considered a leader. None of which is necessarily a bad thing.
The concern that began to stem from this, early on, was that feedback, training and any kind of development was never provided. This concerned me. When the item was brought up, it was said that it was my responsibility to take my development into my own hands and that there was a future direction and desire to hopefully building up leaders (basically in my mind, discipleship), but that they were focusing on building up the core team of VC first. That's great, but shouldn't we be disciplining everyone. That's kind of our mission as Christians, right!?! However, rather than being discipled, it seem more important to burden more and responsibilities on volunteers and support staff (of whom do not get paid industry standard fair wages), but never really getting the relational component of Christianity.
Slowly, it became apparent that the leaders here (paid senior staff and board) seemed more vested an interested in the newest and greatest program, spending large amounts of money on advertisements, decorations, etc. rather then asking some very hard questions and dig into a very simple question: "What does God want for me as a Leader and for Vancouver Church?" And reevaluating their staff positions, strategically to ensure that the right people are in the right jobs and are getting paid fair wages, which enable them to actually support and live.
I know not any church is perfect. There is no perfect church and if you think you are in a perfect church, that probably is the problem. We are all flawed and broken and won't see perfection until we are reunited with our savior.
I hope that this isn't just read and discarded and seen as a review out of anger or one sidedness and of someone that doesn't know the inner workings of what is really going on. In all honestly, I don't. However, I was close enough to see a lot and my expeirence as a fellow "leader", if that is what you want to call me, was troublesome. I am hurt. I am sad, that the people who told me that they loved me and that they cared, haven't reached out to me once since I departed. Not because of what is and was going on at Vanoucer Church, but because God had other plans for my life. If I
If we are to be the church that God is calling us to be, shouldn't we be about authentic, real, relationships? We should be living out what is preached. We shouldn't only be talking to someone because they have something that you need or a skill that can fill a gap. We should step away from our desires/needs. We all have them, but we are called to take up our crosses daily and follow Jesus.
I pray and I hope that in all of this, you know that I mean well for Vancouver Church. I pray for success and for Jesus to be glorified in all that you do. That you can become the church that doesn't care about what the senior service thinks about it. Don't get so worried that you are going to loose financial support from this group, but rather care more about God's vision for the body. If you obedient, he will reward. This isn't the church of the seniors. Be a united body, seeking after him.
Don't let people fall through the cracks. Don't use people just because they are willing to do anything to help. Don't lead mission trips where you are more concerned about meeting a celebrity and buying a $7 coffee, rather than focusing on the mission of the project. Let's be an emotionally healthy church that is in tune with the spirit and living out God's desires and not our own. Make authentic relationships and seek people out.
If anything at all is taken from this, know that I want the best for you and the people of Vancouver Church.