This week I want to take a moment or two to talk about focus. I think one of the hazards of anything that has existed for any length of time is the tendency to let down and lose focus. Whether we are talking about a company, an organization or a person, it's easy to lose your purpose and simply begin to exist in order to exist. Churches are not exempt from this phenomenon, in fact we may often be most guilty of it. Our church, if we are not careful, can fall into the very same trap. We know, intellectually, our purpose. It is "To reach, teach and unleash committed followers of Jesus Christ." Yet how often do we examine and evaluate our effectiveness at the task?

I say all this to point out, at least in part, one of the reasons that I am so excited about our new Hispanic campus. As we have said many times, when we look at St. Joseph and we recognize that there are 80,000 people who are not connected, in any meaningful way, with the Gospel. As we look at them, one of our most important tasks is to evaluate who is not currently being reached by our church and most significantly, those who probably can't be reached using our current methods. The Hispanic population is a great example of that in St. Joseph. Their culture barriers and language barriers, among other things, have caused them to this point to refrain from joining with us at Frederick. Our responsibility, then, is to find a way to take the Gospel to them. This new campus affords them the opportunity to hear the Gospel in a way that is understandable to them.

I'm so thankful for a church that is serious about doing whatever it takes to take the Gospel to those who need to hear it. It is an exciting time to be a part of the family at Frederick Boulevard!