Loving Our Neighbors

by Joel Pollard

“When we say we are a church “for the city,” whom or what exactly do we have in mind?”

We believe that the Gospel is good news for the city in which we live. Our hearts long to see our institutions, social fabric, and culture renewed by the Gospel of Jesus, and we pray for an end to poverty, racism, violence, trafficking, and many other issues that plague our world.

As we pray for and serve our city, we must be careful to not forget that a city is more than institutions and infrastructure—it’s made of people! The primary call in Scripture is to love and serve our neighbors, not “the city” as an abstract. As we pray for Orlando and as we go forth to minister in various capacities, let’s not forget that our main mission is to love our neighbors. The Gospel calls us to radically care for people, not so that we can pat ourselves on the backs for doing something “good,” but so that we can participate in God’s cosmic effort to renew all things, one life at a time.

How to pray today:

Elevate Orlando: (1) for Chad Phillips, new president, to have favor with schools and businesses, (2) for the 16 Elevate staff who teach character education for urban youth in Orange County Schools, (3) Student Urban Venture, working with high school ministries such as Young Life, and (4) for a strong start for Elevate in 11 urban public schools...favor with school administrators, success in working with students. Thank God for LBC members Jack and Sheri McGill, who launched Elevate and have entrusted the work to a new generation of leadership.
Thank God for Jobs Partnership, and for the life-changing impact on many in our church. Pray for students to have a renewed sense of hope and self-worth; wisdom for coaches and instructors as they encourage the students; and for all participants to have a servant’s heart toward each other and the world. Pray, too, for Angela Stromberg, member of LBC, who works with JP and represents that ministry to our church.