I’m excited to share with you several reflections on our 11 year Anniversary from some guest bloggers among the Bethel family.  Enjoy their unique perspectives on what building the Kingdom has looked like to them.  Today, I think some of you may resonate with some thoughts from David McKay.  Thanks for contributing, David!

Pardon me while I get a little selfish for a minute, but what comes to my mind when I think of the 11^th anniversary of Bethel is gratitude for all the work that went into building a church just for me.  I know, of course, that’s not why you did it.  You did it out of love for God.  You did it because you wanted to obey His vision.  No one in this church even knew me back then.  You didn’t know my wife or kids.  You didn’t know any of my friends.  But regardless, you built a church just for me.

You built a forgiving place—a church that God could use to take me deeper in my understanding of His incredible grace.  I knew God’s grace before.  I knew I couldn’t save myself.  But I didn’t fully grasp that all my condemnation was gone, that I wasn’t second rate goods, that I was a son not a servant.  You built a church where I could worship with all my heart every week, where my soul could fly all the way to my Daddy’s lap on His heavenly throne and bask in His love.  And you constructed a place filled to overflowing with God’s word where I could learn to follow Jesus with more faith and greater obedience.  In other words, you built just the kind of church I needed, just the kind of church I was looking for.  You built a church just for me.

And that makes me wonder—who ELSE are we building the kingdom for?  What unknown brother or sister needs us next?  Whose victories will we get to celebrate together this year?  Whose tears will we wipe away?  And what kind of church will we build for them?  Lord, I can’t wait to meet them.  Please let us build just the church they need.

David McKay