Passion City Church - A Great Night!

The family and I went to the Passion City Church gathering last night in Norcross. Chris Tomlin led music worship and there was also a song done by Matt Redman. I'd never seen these two in person before, but had led worship at church using songs from both of them. So that was cool.

Additionally, the giving part of the night was focused on human trafficking. I was shocked to hear that Atlanta is the number 1 city for human trafficking (I read earlier last week that Atlanta is also number 1 for drug trafficking...sheesh, what's going on here?). Chris talked about the Sari Bari project that they were raising money for that night. It's basically a program to help young women get off the streets in India after being tricked or forced into sex slavery. The focus on the offering last night was on this cause, as well as helping one girl in Atlanta who is trying to get out of the sex trade and get counseling.

I post about this because I've been part of churches before that were focused on having programs and having buildings and having all kinds of nice little things. Passion City has chosen to not focus on a facility right now, not focus on lots of programs right now, but rather to gather people in the city of Atlanta together to further the passion of Christ - that everyone will know Him and receive His blessings. I was encouraged by their willingness to focus on outward ministry first, and worry about the inward infrastructure second.

Now, I think this will work for them because they aren't trying to displace people going to other churches. In fact, my family and I will continue to go to Buckhead Church every week. Andy Stanley's teaching and the programs that BC invests in are making a difference in the lives of many around the city. However, we will still attend Passion City Church on occasion. I firmly believe that if you are going to seek to bring people together and invest in them for the long-term, some level of programming and structure is needed, and Passion City may need to move in that direction at some point. But for now, in their infancy, their "passion" is refreshing to see.