Greetings,

Imagine you’re about to check out a new church. You get dressed and get in your car. You pull up, and you’ve researched ahead of time, so you know where to park. You walk in, and hopefully you’re greeted. You see the coffee bar, so you head over there before taking a seat. A few songs are sung, there’s a sermon, another song, then it’s over. You head home. On a good day, you will leave experiencing God and genuine community in a profound way. Maybe you even make a faith decision that changes your life forever! Gathering in worship can be powerful. On a good day, you might think, “This is what church is all about!”

But even on a good day, this isn’t the whole story.

I often wonder about the visitor who comes to Central City Church and has this kind of experience. I wonder if they think this is what church is all about. Don’t get me wrong, this is a big part of what church is about. But even on a good day, this isn’t the whole story.

The rest of the story is everything that happens every other day of the week. That story is a little hard to tell on a Sunday morning.

What you have before you is a glimpse of that story. It won’t tell the whole story, but my prayer is that as you read through this, you might get a sense of all that God is doing through this little community. And that this might produce in you gratitude that gives birth to action. “God, I’m so thankful for all you’re doing! How might you use me?”

Thanks for being with us on this journey,

Joe Graves, Pastor