“The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
 and his ears are attentive to their cry.”
Psalm 34:15

“The first act of love is always the giving of attention.”
Dallas Willard

Dear Hope Family,

First, I want to say how thankful I am to God for all that He is doing in our church family. None of us are perfect, but each week we bring our imperfect selves and ask God to change us, form us, and use us for His Kingdom. We’ve seen new faces over the last year, and I truly believe we’ve shared the love of God and shown what Christian community can look like. Seeing what God is doing here is a dream come true—better in so many ways than I ever imagined.

For better or worse, we’ve made a decision: if Hope Family Church is going to grow, it will be because the lives of those attending are being changed and those people reflect the grace of God in their communities. We don’t pay for advertising or even tell people to invite their friends. My belief is that if we’re not making the kind of difference that naturally moves someone to invite others, then maybe we don’t need to be growing yet.

So we’re not the kind of church that focuses on statistics or increasing Sunday morning attendance. We’re focused on kids and youth ministry, prayer, worship, and spiritual formation—and that’s pretty much it. But if we can get those things right, Marion will be changed from the inside out for generations.

The danger in all of this is that the church can become a club—where people love it so much the way it is that they don’t want to bring in new, messy people who will certainly bring their real lives into the middle of our community. Let’s stay vigilant and avoid that mindset. We need to imitate Jesus. Even when His ministry was thriving, He was always aware of the individual person, and He was generous with His attention. No one can “be there” for everyone—not even Jesus did that. But God will undoubtedly draw certain people to your heart, and when He does, I encourage you to get to know them. Ask how you can be praying for them—and then make sure you do.

In a church family like ours, it’s easy to gravitate toward the people you know and love, especially when you only see them once a week. But let’s be generous with our attention in the way God is with us, without falling for the false idea that we can be everything for everyone. That path only leads to burnout and the breakdown of marriages and families—the very things that should matter most.

So this Christmas season, let’s be generous with our attention. Look for moments with your family where you can simply be together and enjoy one another. Look for people in our church community who may seem on the fringe, and let them know you see them and love them. We all need each other. None of us can do this alone.

We’ve got a great month ahead. I especially want to draw your attention to the Christmas Eve Candlelight Service. Make this a tradition in your family. Let it remind your kids that Christmas isn’t just about presents, cookies, Santa, and reindeer. Let it become an indispensable part of your yearly Christmas rhythms.

I love you all!

Godspeed,

Pastor Dan