Why Watershed?

wa·ter·shed

ˈwôtərˌSHed,ˈwä-/

noun

1. 1.

   an area or ridge of land that separates waters flowing to different rivers, basins, or seas.

   synonyms:

   divide "the Schuylkill River watershed"
2. 2.

   an event or period marking a turning point in a course of action or state of affairs.

   "these works mark a watershed in the history of music"

   synonyms:

   turning point, milestone, landmark "a watershed in the party's history"

   For us, watershed has several layers of meaning as we begin a new journey.  First, the Philly neighborhood in which we are planting a church (Roxborough/ Manayunk) is, quiet literally, a watershed area.  Manayunk is built on the side of a hill, bordered on the south by the Schuylkill (pronounced skool-kəl) River.  Roxborough runs along a Ridge at the top of the hill bordered by the Wissahickon Creek in the valley to the North.  All the rain that falls in this neighborhood drains into one of those two waterways.

   
   

   Second, and perhaps most importantly, it comes from scripture.  

   "On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’”-- (John 7:37-38 ESV)

   Encountering Jesus and making Him Lord of your life is a turning point.  Everything begins to change at that moment.  We are changed from the inside out.  We become a watershed, drinking deep of Christ and flowing living water to the world around us.

   
   

   Our vision for Watershed church is that we will drink deep of Christ and proclaim God’s great renown through men and women conformed to the image of Christ.

   
   

   Will you pray with us that the spirit will fall upon us and our community and flow out into the city around us?  Will you pray with us, that we will see this vision come to life in our new home, Philadelphia?  
   
   

   
   

Food For Thought: Why Urban Centers Need Christian Families

"Christians are not yet close to matching the pace by which the world is moving into the cities . . ."

When we tell people we are moving into a major metropolitan city, they look at our five kids, look back at us, and shake their heads.  There are lots of challenges involved in moving into the city.  The closer we get to our move date, the more aware we become of what exactly we are getting ourselves into.

Emily Morrice wrote an excellent blog post on urban churches and the challenges that we will face in that setting.  She captures our heart for the city and the struggles we foresee in our future.  Please keep our family and the city of Philadelphia in your prayers.  (LINK BELOW)

http://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/missing-demographic-urban-churches