This is the first in a series of four blog posts about the core values at Dwell Church. We’re all about the gospel, community, transformation, and multiplication. You see all of our values together in a concise way here.
After determining that God had called me to plant a church in Berthoud, one of the first things I wanted to do was give the church a name. I had been thinking about how the gospel answers the three fundamental questions that people ask: Who am I? Where do I fit in? What was I made for? I then remembered how much my church communities had meant to me. I remembered the Stranges inviting Dani and I over to share lunch with their family and talk through a difficult situation we were facing. I remember how much I enjoyed being a part of a Sunday school class that had people from many generations and how because of the gospel we all had something in common.
When we moved to Berthoud, one of the first people I met told me this, “Sometimes I go to the church events just so I can have community.” I had asked if she had a church she attended regularly. This answer gave me hope but also broke my heart. The woman was searching for community, and the gospel certainly provides a family for us to enjoy always.
Dwell Church was given its name for two reasons. First, we want to see the gospel of Christ dwell richly in people living in northern Colorado and the whole world. This idea is taken from Colossians 3:16. But it was also given its name because we want to see the church be a place where people find to belong because of the gospel.
What does it mean for the church to value community?
Seek the Welfare
First it means to seek the welfare of others.
Jeremiah had a challenging task: warning the Israelites about their exile and later offering them hope by pointing to the coming Savior. Many know Jeremiah 29:11, where God promises a hopeful future. But just before that, Jeremiah urges the exiles to seek the well-being of Babylon, their new, unwelcoming home, fulfilling God’s call to bring life and care to their surroundings, much like Adam and Eve were called to in Eden. Jeremiah 29:5-7 says:
“5Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce. 6Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. 7But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.”
As Christians we are called to propser in our communities and cultivate the well being of those communities, because in it’s welfare, we will find our own welfare. We are here, not just to exist, but to contribute—to love, serve, and give generously to the people and places where God has placed us.
Generosity Makes a Difference
Second it means to give generously in all that we have.
To seek the welfare of our community, we must give generously—not just financially, but also with our time, talents, and resources. The church in Acts amazes me when I read about how well they supported one another. But generosity isn’t always grand.
Generosity doesn’t have to be big to make a difference. Even small acts, like the widow’s two coins in Luke 21, can have a profound impact. Jesus praised her for giving sacrificially, showing that community is built through simple, faithful acts of kindness. Even small efforts create deep relationships as we support and care for one another.
One small way I found this fall to give generously was by helping neighbors winterize sprinkler systems. With just a few tools and a little bit of knowledge, I was able to make a difference for people who I live next to.
Love Others Because You Were Loved First
Finally, we live in community, seeking the welfare of others and giving generously as others have need because this is precisely what our Savior has done for us.
On the cross and in Christ’s resurrection, our greatest need was met. The wages of sin are something we can not bear, so Christ bore that weight for us, declaring the work finished. He generously gave his life as a sacrifice for you and me.
19We love because he first loved us.
—1 John 4:19
Christian communities, therefore, should be marked by radical grace because we have been shown radical grace. We should be constantly offering forgiveness to one another because every misstep and misdeed that you can commit or that can be committed against you has been redeemed because of Christ’s work.
Dwell Church 