It is around 50 A.D. in Corinth. Forty or Fifty people gather in the atrium. For over a decade, Jews and Greeks have been gathering in this large home to worship together. They follow the one named Jesus. The courier arrives, unfurls the parchment, and reads aloud: “To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be his holy people, together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ—their Lord and ours: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 1:2,3).

It is present-day in the Bay Area, a metropolitan region brimming with “start-up” energy: Entrepreneurs, innovators, and creatives converge here, and start-ups proliferate. Most will not make it. Some will. A few will become so successful that their names will become verbs. What is needed to launch a successful start-up? The experts say: (1) A good idea (not necessarily a brilliant idea, but something that might alter current reality for the better), (2) the right people (a salesperson, a technician/programmer, a leader/visionary), (3) a product that customers want, (4) enough capital to make it go, and (5) a commitment to not spend that capital too fast.

The early church was not unlike a start-up: The (1) “good idea” was “good news” that God “has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins” (Colossians 1:13,14). But the news was not readily received as “good” by Jewish people who held a rugged monotheism with no category for a God-become-Man nor by Greek people who embraced a polytheism replete with the din of many gods vying for supremacy. A God-Man laying claim to divine supremacy in a Jewish and Greek world was the signing of a death warrant, as Jesus would be executed as a failed revolutionary and enemy of the state.

Still, these Jews and Greeks would eventually become the (2) “right people” every start-up needs, compelled by the testimony of the hundreds who saw a living Jesus with their “own two eyes.” Suddenly, the civic pantheon of gods and the polytheistic religions of the day began to lose their foothold as rescue from the brokenness of the old world and the hope for a new one became unleashed in the person and work of Jesus. 

These followers of Jesus of Nazareth began gathering in cities, towns, and villages, worshiping this “new” God in synagogues, community halls, and homes. These followers of Jesus, like the ones gathered in Corinth that day, were recipients of letters circulated throughout the known world, epistles instructing them with the beliefs and practices that would form and shape these early Christians.

While this first-century start-up didn’t peddle a (3) product that customers wanted, it did offer these beliefs and practices, which bestowed these Jesus-followers with meaning, identity, joy, and hope.

With enough tent-making (4) capital to get the project off the ground, this church start-up was (5) committed to growth, and today, 2000 years later, the church continues to flourish, even exploding in places like Africa, South America, and East Asia at an unprecedented rate.

WCPC is a mission outpost of this first-century start-up. Every Sunday we gather to hear, taste, see, and experience the Good News of God’s rescue. Every Monday through Saturday, we are people who winsomely and courageously convey this message to our friends, neighbors, and co-workers.

Much like the people who inhabited these first-century atriums dotting the landscape of the known world, we are a people at WCPC who are committed to a church that is not merely for us, but for our Friends, Neighbors, and Co-workers as well.

Over the first couple of months in 2023, we invite you anew, to join us in this grand adventure of following Jesus. As well, we encourage you to take the risk of inviting your friends, neighbors, and co-workers into this world-shaping story and life-changing Good News.

We will be exploring the introductions of seven of Paul’s letters to the young churches throughout Asia Minor. These introductions begin with shared language, expressing themes and convictions about the church and the God we worship that would completely change the world. From these first few words of these seven letters we have much to learn about our God, the Gospel, and the life-giving rhythms we as Christ-followers are invited to practice. Dear Church, join us as we explore Dear Church.