Over the next six weeks, members of the Discovery Church leadership team (the elders and the staff) will be sharing some of what has them so excited about partnering with One Life. Our third installment has been written by Janet Oberholtzer. Janet serves as the Small Groups Director and Other Titles as Assigned when she has the microphone.
I think one of the things I’m most excited about is the change I’ve seen in my heart as I’ve entered into this process. When Trey first suggested the idea to me, I was hesitant. I wasn’t sure about what One Life was all about or who their leaders were. I wasn’t excited about leaving the Evangelical Presbyterian Church. God has brought me past my initial hesitancies to willingly and whole heartedly say “Yes!” Here’s a little bit about how that happened,
My first introduction to One Life was at a preview service in October. I saw there that God had done incredible things to bring the church body together and provide the venue. From what I saw and heard that night, I sensed a church with a heart and vision similar to that of Discovery. I then learned that God blessed their first Sunday morning service with nearly a thousand people. I was excited to keep my eye on this congregation and what God was doing in her midst. Later that week, we met with a leadership team that was blown away by what God had done, grappling with what that meant in their personal and professional life and wondering what God would do next outside of the four walls of their facility in Henderson. At that point enthusiasm was high, but how Discovery could be involved was yet to be discerned.
As leaders from both sides continued to pray about this, we continued to ponder “What if?” My hesitancies about leaving the EPC began to fade as I saw the strength, wisdom and humilty of the leadership of One Life. I saw men with a heart to build God’s kingdom, not their own, men who have a track record of being faithful leaders and servants. While being with a denomination ties a church to a rich tradition and offers accountability, serving under a group of leaders who have walked with God for years and hold each other accountable is also a gift.
I’d kind of felt like Discovery was “at capacity” with our current infrastructure and resources, I think we all have great dreams for the future; however the future seems a bit far and distant as we look at our current reality. Linking arms with One Life feels like tapping into synergy (a force created by two entities that is stronger than each one could do individually). Instead of developing our own small group, teaching and mission strategies, we could plug into an existing plan and focus our energies uniquely on the West Side of Evansville.
What draws my heart most about the Westside is USI. I was thrilled when I learned of the heart that One Life leadership has for reaching out to students at USI and excited when I realized that my ten years of working in collegiate ministry could be utilized in helping us reach out to university students if only I had time and resources to focus.
In short, (perhaps too late to say?), as I thought about where we want to go as Discovery and I thought about where God is leading One Life, I saw a common vision and direction. There may be some logistical and technical differences, but the heart is the same. As I think about the thousands of students that will come and go from USI every four years, wondering if they will have the opportunity to hear the gospel, I thought how could we not link arms with One Life and give this a shot? Sure, we may lose some things in the transition, but when I think about what we can do for the kingdom of God together, I can’t imagine not taking the risk. I think our unification honors Christ and his church, his church for which he endured birth, suffering and death. His Church for which He rose again. His church which He will be coming again to claim as His own. May God be glorified and honored above all else as we contemplate this decision.
