David Schweissing IS THE HEAD PASTOR FOR Resurrection Indiana in Indiana, Pennsylvania . WE ARE HONORED TO PARTNER WITH HIM AND his CHURCH COMMUNITY starting January 2020.
How have you seen God working in your life?
Over the past couple of years as we've prepared and begun to plant, I have realized that God is just as interested in changing me as He is in seeing our church established. I am often confronted with my own fears and doubts, and continually turning to Jesus in the gospel for my hope and security. I am (slowly!) growing in dependence upon God and His Spirit, trusting that He is indeed at work and building His Church. One practical way in which I've seen this change me is through my prayer life. While I have always believed that prayer makes a difference, I am continually finding myself turning to God in prayer for every aspect of our work - that He would provide, that He would bring people, that He would open opportunities for relationships, that He would be changing even me - and we have often discovered that the relationships we are forming are ones for which we cannot take credit; God has opened opportunities beyond our expectations.
How have you seen God working in your family?
We knew going into planting that we needed to be intentional in our marriage relationship, and have a done a few things to help with that. First, we saw a marriage counselor for several sessions prior to moving to Indiana - not because of specific issues to address, but simply because we wanted to get a "check up" on our relationship before planting. Second, we spent a year working through mentored Sonship, meeting with a mentor every few weeks. This helped us see some of the ways in which we fail to live out of the gospel and seek to grow in patience and grace with each other. I don't think that our thoughts on cultivating healthy relationships have particularly changed, but we certainly communicate more about our relationship and recognize our need for dependence on the gospel. We pray more together, and somewhat surprisingly, while church planting is stressful, our efforts to spend time in the community and build relationships often happens together - people know us as a couple and a family, and we have very much felt that we are in this work together, even more than when I previously pastored an existing church. As for our children, planting has opened opportunities to talk about the gospel with them as well.
How have you seen God working in your church?
Thus far in the planting process, we have felt that our process has been slow, yet steady. We are learning dependence, in that we are often surprised with whom we become connected and at the opening of opportunities. We are learning patience - that God is the One who builds His church, and our task is to be faithful to what He has given us. And as we do the work, we often feel that we are a part of something much bigger than ourselves. This has changed and grown us in trust and dependence, and of course we are still learning those things! We are sometimes easily discouraged and filled with doubt, yet are also seeing God's faithfulness in the midst of our uncertainty. And we are finding that we often receive encouragement and signs of progress just when we most need them.
Church Mission & Vision
Our vision is to see a worshipping community in Indiana that, captured by the love of Jesus in the gospel, will be characterized by love for neighbors and our community. This hope includes seeing the gospel take root at Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP) through the ministry of RUF and the building of a gospel-centered community that seeks and serves the good of Indiana.
We believe that "Resurrection" refers both to the work of Jesus who lived and died in our place and rose again from the dead, and also to the power that brings renewal and hope: renewal of life as we are reconciled to God in the gospel, renewal of relationships as we love one another, and renewal of community as we seek to serve and love Indiana with the love of Jesus.
Success in this will look like a gathering of people who represent the whole of Indiana, those who are tired of divisions based on race, economics, education, or background, and who instead are finding hope and unity in the gospel of Jesus.
We want to see a community that in reflecting the gospel breaks preconceived notions of religion and the church that often exist. We want to see a community that holds firm to the gospel and the Scripture, and yet seeks the good of Indiana by loving and serving freely and generously.
If you would like to know more about David and Resurrection Indiana check out their website at www.resurrectionindiana.org.
