I had planned to forgo the blog this week and dedicate that block of time, which normally goes to creating this content, to planning for the future of 801South.

But, I just have to share what God is doing in us and through us to transform the world, one life at a time, through Jesus Christ. I can’t help it. When I see God moving in people’s lives, I want to shout it out and this blog provides a platform for praise.

I sometimes forget that our mission at 801South is “to transform the world, one life at a time, through Jesus Christ.” This is exactly how God works through the local church—one person, one relationship at a time. Of course we want the mission to be “transforming the world all at one, every life, with some help from Jesus.” This, however, is not the way God chooses to work.

There are some areas and ministries of 801South that definitely need to be reorganized and tweaked. Our leadership is praying and meeting regularly to decide how we best reach and connect people. We’re in the people business.

The good news, though, is that despite some of the pieces not being exactly like we had in mind when we got started, this new environment is reaching exactly the people who we had hoped to reach—people in search of hope. We are bringing, inviting, and attracting people who are broken and they are finding restoration with God and reconciliation with people.

These are the people who we did this whole thing for—people with a void in their soul that can only be filled by a relationship with their Creator and relationships with people who love them because they have experienced the unconditional love of God for themselves.

I want to hear more of these stories and see more restoration and more reconciliations. This desire is what’s driving 801South Neighbors.

Thank you to those of you who share this same desire and are putting your faith into practice by writing notes to strangers in our local community this Christmas season.