Christ Pres has a vision for a small large church. That confusing sentence is trying to express the vision of having one large church with all of its shared resources and all of the individuality and efficiency of a small church. That would be accomplished by having one city session ruling several different congregations. It is very presbyterian, though not in the way presbyterianism is usually practiced. Each congregation would have its own diaconate and session, but would also have members that sit on the city session. Each congregation would be responsible for handling its own style of worship, its own programming, its own staffing, etc., but would also be responsible to the city session, such that all resources among the city would be shared. All of the congregations would have the same core values and hold to the same confession, but individual congregations would need to make decisions about what that looks like for them. By sharing resources there is a lot that together we can accomplish. We can care for the widows and orphans in New Haven in a way that a congregation by itself cannot do. We can think strategically about the gospel going forth, not simply for one neighborhood but for them all.
This is the vision that has driven CPC to plant a second congregation - CPC Hill. Rev. Wills has begun a Bible study and various other community activities to prepare for the planting of this congregation. It is growing rapidly and many thanks go out to those who are holding it up in prayer. He has been able to spend time hanging out in the neighborhood really getting to know the people and the pace of the place. The Hill is one of the lowest income neighborhoods in New Haven. It is also one of the oldest; being near the water it used to be home to sailors and captains and immigrants fresh off the boat. Now it has residents a few generations back from people who did construction on Yale buildings during the Great Depression. It is largely African-American with a quickly growing Hispanic population.
To reach this neighborhood CPC began holding a VBS soccer camp two years ago with the help of Independent Presbyterian Church of Memphis, TN. It was such a blessing to have members of my home church come here and share their talents. We repeated the camp this year on our own and hope to expand into several camps in 2009. The kids from the camp have been so excited about the church plant and many of their families are part of the core group.
We've been searching for property lately, a place for offices, for a cooperative store, and the Bible study. We will probably need a separate worship space soon. The cooperative store will sell secondhand items inexpensively. The merchandise will largely come from the CPC Whitney congregation, as we've begun calling ourselves, and other generous folks in New Haven. The store will be manned by residents of the Hill community to create jobs and keep dollars within the neighborhood. It is an exciting mission and we look forward to seeing God's hand at work in it. We appreciate your prayers for Rev. Wills, this congregation, and this neighborhood.
