Pastors,

This morning I was reminded that comfort is the enemy of urgency.  While I join many in celebrating recent graduates, an unemployment rate under 10%, the violent crime rate continuing to decline, tremendous stories of people being transformed by the Gospel, and churches steadily growing, I am intimately aware that not everyone in our city is experiencing the positive effects of these trends.

Two churches that have been connected to Vision 22 have closed their doors in recent months and our city is just as gripped by concentrated poverty as ever before.
I have often reflected that the prophet Habakkuk’s vision referenced in chapter two only follows his burden in chapter one. In other words, without a burden there is no vision.
This is one of the many reasons it is critical to connect with partner churches across geographic, economic, racial, and denominational contexts.  The diversity of our partnerships disrupt our norm and begin to birth vision.  June 30th marks the end of the 2nd Quarter of 2019.  

If you don’t already have time on the calendar to connect with your partner church(es), please do so before the end of June. 

May your conversation center around deepening your partnership.  Where do we go from here?  How do we involved more people in our church so that vision will be cultivated in them also? We are continuing to develop more tools to aid you as you pursue your commitment to the Gospel in our city’s most deteriorated neighborhoods and will be sharing them soon.

May the Lord bless you and keep you all.  Your love for Jesus and our city gives us all great hope for the future of the greater Fresno area.