These words of Emma Lazarus from a sonnet titled, “The New Colossus” are engraved on a bronze plaque mounted inside the Statue of Liberty. She stands as a beacon of freedom welcoming the disenchanted and the disenfranchised to a land of new opportunity, of hope, a better life.
And so it is with the Lord’s church. A beacon of freedom: offering safe harbor from the eternal effects of sin, offering hope to the hopeless, love to the unloved, forgiveness to the unforgiven, and freedom for those longing to breathe free. Remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ (Eph. 2:12-13, NIV).
At Central Church of Christ, we are striving to be the light of the world, a beacon of hope in a religious world that has become mired in traditionalism and legalism that has lead to a seemingly endless assault on the unity of the Lord’s body. Central stands as a beacon of hope in a world darkened by sin. Central is a place where the spiritually tired and discouraged can be revived, where the spiritually hungry can be fed, where the tempest-tossed can find peace, and where the homeless can find shelter in the family of God. If you are searching for a new life, a better life in Christ, we invite you come and be a part of our family. We are not perfect, just sinners saved by the grace of God who want to share our hope with others.
No matter where you are on your spiritual journey we have a place for you at Central. Whatever your feelings toward “organized religion” or Churches of Christ, we simply invite you to come and see for yourself. Come and experience the beauty and simplicity of New Testament Christianity.
