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3-12-06 -- Connecting God to a Wider Culture
Doing Community a New ‘Way’
"Postmodern or Gen X ministry can be reactionary," says Kevin Neuner, worship pastor at New Venture Church (Sunnyvale, California). "It’s easy to frame it as a reaction against traditional church or a reaction to a generational identity. With VIA (a Sunday evening service), we focus on just being followers of Jesus."
Neuner began VIA after traveling to Israel and Turkey. "These trips revolutionized how I see the Bible and the redemption story," he says. "I began envisioning a community of people that not only believe the Word became flesh, but accept that he became first-century Jewish flesh and want to explore what that means."
In keeping with this focus, VIA takes its name from the first believers, who were called followers of "The Way." The name also refers to the Via Maris trade route that ran through Israel and connected God’s people to the wider culture.
The group draws 25-50 people for its weekly services; attendees range widely in age and background. The gatherings includes "low-tech" music (guitars, violin, and drums), biblical teaching, and times of fellowship.
Neuner believes this simple approach allows VIA’s participants to focus on Jesus and apply his teaching to their lives. "The philosophy is not needs-based—‘I need this worship style, I need this teaching approach.’ That can create a narcissistic spirituality," he says. "It’s easy to forget the otherness of what Jesus taught. God asks me to partner with him in caring for others. As we do this, our own needs become less important."
VIA’s members practice giving beyond themselves in a variety of ways, including the tangible; recently 20 people donated more than $2,300 for missions in Africa.
Neuner hopes the group will grow, but not just for attendance. "If 20 can give $2,000," he says, "Imagine what 100 could do!"
www.viaministries.org
www.nvchurch.org
Did You Know?
• Brandon Smith, senior minister at Benson Church of Christ (Omaha, Nebraska), recently launched www.youngministers.com to provide resources geared especially to those new in ministry. The site includes practical tips, service outlines for weddings, funerals, baptisms, and ordinations, a variety of articles, a discussion forum, and more.
• Three graduates of Hope Inter-national University (Fullerton, Cal-ifornia) work on the production team for the NBC-TV show Three Wishes starring Amy Grant.
• Johnson County Christian Church (Overland Park, Kansas) and Cedar Creek Christian Church (Lee’s Summit, Missouri) united to form a bistate, multicampus ministry called Legacy Christian Church. Reggie Epps, formerly senior minister at Johnson County, will serve as Legacy’s teaching pastor. A campus pastor will provide additional leadership to each location. The church plans to launch a third site in south Johnson County later this year.
Jennifer Taylor, one of CHRISTIAN STANDARD's contributing editors, lives in Nashville, Tennessee.
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