Life on life

by Ron Hamilton, Conference Minister

All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”). (Matthew 1:22–23)

I was recently with a person who was learning more about the CCCC. In the course of the conversation, she said, “You sure use the expression “life on life” a lot! What do you mean by that?” What a great question.

As we have re-visioned God’s intentions for our life together as a Conference, we have learned that effective ministry flows from healthy relationships. We champion this premise as we develop healthy pastors, healthy disciple-making churches and healthy church multiplication. We are working to develop a culture of peacemaking and reconciliation because we see how damaging broken relationships can be to the advancement of the Kingdom of God.

All of this has led us to prioritize “life on life” time together when we spend time getting to know each other better, praying for each other and encouraging each other. Our Board of Directors begins our meetings with “life on life” time. “Life on life” time has become a priority for our ministry teams in Church Development and Church Multiplication. We are working to strengthen relationships between our pastors and church leaders at every level of our Conference life.

The driving force behind this comes from an understanding that this is God’s preferred way of working with His people. While head knowledge is vital, heart knowledge that flows from a personal relationship is more important. One of the great names given to Jesus is Immanuel, which means “God with us.”

The idea of having a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ is central to our theology. This is what God desires and this kind of relationship dramatically changes our lives. In a similar way, God desires that we live “life on life” with each other, reflecting the relational priority of His work.

I encourage you to grow in your personal relationship with Jesus in this wonderful season of Advent and Christmas. I also encourage you to grow in your relationships with other believers as you walk in faith together. “Life on life” is God’s way of bringing salvation and transforming lives.