Looking Ahead…

If 2001 was the year that God established our church as a Safe Harbor, then 2002 was the year that God helped us ask the question as to what a Safe Harbor might mean. As the Lord began to minister the idea of our church being a safe place to find shelter from the storms of life, we began to see some very practical ways for this harbor to take shape.

Much has happened, but here’s just one example: Joy Aran’s ministry as Protestant Chaplain at the Barnstable County House of Correction caused us to realize that more of Psalm 68: 5 - 6 that God gave us years ago was coming to fruition. More than our church being a place for the fatherless, the widow, and the lonely, now we were being called to see prisoners led forth into the freedom that only Jesus Christ brings. At the end of October, we began an experiment in following the Lord with the X O Service on Saturday nights. Where will X O take us? We are only beginning to see the possibilities for people in recovery and ex-offenders coming to faith and to maturity. But this is a very exciting adventure, and one where we are again, “building this bridge as we walk upon it”.

People of God, “Safe Harbor” is not just a motto that adorns our worship folders and letterheads. God gave us this name. Our character is to be a Safe Harbor. This is to be our calling. It is our very great privilege to be used of God as a place of safety, a refuge for the broken, a place where lives can be healed. Being a Safe Harbor is not just a privilege; it also carries a responsibility. God has given us this calling as an opportunity to see lives, not simply touched, but transformed.

Therefore, we are being challenged to follow the Lord again. As a pastor, my desire is to see strong and spiritually vital people raised up to minister in and through the body of Christ. For our church, training has always been a particular weakness. God is indicating that we need to prepare this church to be a Safe Harbor where people do not just attend, but begin to thrive and grow to maturity in Christ. Through the ministry of small, intimate home fellowships, healing can happen. In an atmosphere of love and acceptance, even correction is possible. Even the idea of accountability seems good to a person who desires God’s presence and transforming power above all else.

I do not know exactly how God will “pull it off”. But I do know that God is calling us to develop groups that will become like Little Harbors: smaller versions of what we do every Sunday morning: worship, sharing, ministry of the Word and mutual prayer ministry. These Little Harbors will facilitate the purposes of God for our church by building the Kingdom foundation for growth and maturity. They will help us to grow in love and to care more deeply for those God has brought into this Safe Harbor. We need opportunities for every believer to grow in relational and leadership skills. We need places that will be safe harbors for that to occur.

During the year 2003, I plan to work with our church’s leaders and with our people to help develop a series of healthy and reproducing home groups for our church family. As a church, it is apparent that we highly value a worship service that is relational in style. The deepening of the bonds of fellowship is the Spirit’s next step for us all.

In Jesus’ name, I ask that you pray along with me for our church to be responsive to God’s invitation. We are to be a Safe Harbor in practice, not just in theory!

In Jesus,



Edmund C. de la Cour, Jr.
Pastor