What's In a Name?

image: <nikkispic> on flickr

It’s been far too long since Joy in the Journey has had an update.  A good friend of mine, Stevan Sheets, expressed frustration about ministries that don’t let some light in on the process they’re using/journey they’re on.  So, for Stevan, I’m going to do a better job at updating our process/journey as church planters in Pittsburgh.

It seems fitting to begin by sharing that what we have been calling “The Pittsburgh Church Plant” now has a name.  We are: The Bridge.

Now, I know this may not seem the most unique name for a missional community of believers you’ve ever heard of (we were thinking of something heretofore unheard of like “Faith Community Church” or “First Baptist” or “Second Wesleyan” or “St. Luke’s”, but, alas, we found out those names had already been taken, too…) but “The Bridge” really does fit our passion and mission in Pittsburgh.  We are driven to see people cross from death to life in Christ Jesus.  We are focused on the birth of a multiethnic, multicultural church where race, culture, and ethnicity aren’t seen so much as obstacles to overcome but aspects of life to embrace and celebrate in worship to the creative God who gave us something greater than a monolithic human race.  We are engaged as missionaries connecting a relatively rural district to an urban center.  We are praying God uses us to help equip others to overcome obstacles to they can further engage Pittsburgh and many other urban centers.

So, there it is: we’re The Bridge.

Soon, information on where we can be found on the web and through social networking will become available.  In the meantime, we humbly ask that you pray for The Bridge and the people who will be part of this new church.

Next post: a little bit on our process for landing a name.