Emmaus Family, 

I really enjoyed our interaction and the short time in prayer last month as we considered working with Scum of the Earth church and taking them up on their offer to use their building. 

I thought a blog post would be a good way to send an update with a few more details and ask for continued prayer from all of you. Our desire as an elder team is to discern God’s will for our church. We can only do that if we’re fixed on drawing near to God and asking Him for wisdom as we steward all the resources He’s so graciously given us. That’s why we’re asking you to continue to pray with us.

It was cool to see how God worked out our Good Friday service. I think as an answer to prayer, our two communities were able to interact with, encourage each other, and worship together. From both churches, lots of people expressed to me how encouraging that evening was. It seemed like Easter weekend was just a blessing to both of our communities. Scum’s outside Easter service had almost 100 people, mostly from the neighborhood, show up to worship and enjoy some post service tacos! 

Before our packed Easter weekend, Ben and I spent some time with Jessi on the previous Tuesday touring the building and conversing about how we could serve each other as two small churches in the city. Even before hearing about their Easter plans, I was impressed by Scum’s heart for the neighborhood they were in. It was obvious to me that Jessi wasn’t pitching any of their accomplishments, she was just passively sharing about different ways the building is used by people in the neighborhood. It seemed like fun events, coordinated prayer with home churches, or even annual meetings of the local political parties, and just about everything in between. What a range of connections! 

Even with their small group, God has used Scum’s community to truly be a light to their neighbors. I was both humbled and impressed. Emmaus could participate with and benefit from their heart towards their local community. 

From a logistical perspective, it would seem a few things fell into place too. First off, they don’t use the stage, so we could essentially have all our tech stuff set up and ready without being in their way. We talked about how some of our equipment could serve them too but integrating that would be a future project if we worked through sharing the space together. The kids’ space was great too: clean, spacious, and wouldn’t share a door with the sanctuary! 

Right now, Scum is beginning their search committee for another pastor, so you can be in prayer for them in that regard. I am working with Rose and Jessi to help cover their pulpit on a more regular basis while they’re in this transition phase. I’d love a chance to help them out regardless of if we end up sharing the space with them, and if we do, that could lead to more opportunities for us to work together. The elders are always keeping our eyes open for encouraging ways to partner with other communities.

I’d love to hear from you. Where do you think the Lord is calling us in this season? What should we be praying towards? What would be difficult for us to trust the Lord with if there is change? 

Aaron Sanford 

Teaching Pastor 

Emmaus Church