Can you believe it?  Restoration City Church is NOT gathering this Sunday.  What kind of a slacker church shuts down for a week?  Just to add to the insanity, none of our Community Groups will meet next week either.  We’re shutting the whole thing down for seven straight days.

It’s not that we couldn’t find a band.  I’m not burning out.  We’re not in crisis.  In fact, everything’s going just fine.  So, what’s this all about?

Simple answer: REST.  

The benefits of resting as a church are huge:

• We’re reminded that church is a community you join, not an event you attend.  It’s so easy to think about church as a Sunday morning event and a mid-week Community Group.  But it’s so much more than that – it’s a family that loves, encourages and cares for one another.  We’re still the church, even when we don’t gather.
• Our volunteer teams get a Sunday to recharge.  Sunday morning would literally not happen without an incredible team of volunteers who do everything from lead worship, to production, to RCCKids, to connect, to our prayer team.  I love the thought of that team having one Sunday this summer when they don’t need to pour out and can create space for God to pour in to them.  This is a massive thank you to those who serve all of us week in and week out.
• We’re reminded what a joy it is to be together on a Sunday morning.  They say, “absence makes the heart grow fonder” and in some ways I think that’s true.  I love the fact that I will genuinely miss each one of you on Sunday morning.  There’s something good about missing one another – it’ll make the reunion on the 23rd that much sweeter.
• This allows us to champion rest in a city that’s terrible at it.  Our culture may pay lip service to the idea of taking care of yourself but most of DC is horrible at resting.  If you don’t believe me, send a work email at 9PM tonight and see how long it takes to get a reply!  Maybe it’ll help to think of it this way – we’re creating space for us to practice resting.

This past year has been incredible in the life of Restoration City and I honestly believe we’re going to see God do some amazing things in this city over the fall.  Let’s take a week to look back at all He’s done and prepare ourselves for all He’s going to do.

Tomorrow, I’ll post some very specific things you can do to get the most out of this coming Sunday morning.