There seemed to be only one fittng way to wrap up this season of Soma: CELEBRATION. In the past 4 years, a diverse group of people came together, locked shields and embraced a vision for discipleship and mission.
We’ve been changed, transformed, for the better. We have grown in love, the mark of Christ’s disciples (John 13:35). We have been family; sacrificing and supporting one another in practical ways; learning to accept the gifts, time, and resources of others in mutual love and navigating challenge and conflict. We have grown in rhythms. We must rest to work and can find rest in various forms. We have grown in faith. We have witnessed food multiplied, spontaneous baptisms, help in trials, and the constant voice of God. We have grown in accountability. We operate more consistently in the mindset of “What is God saying and what am I going to do about it?” We look more like Christ, and we continue to journey with fellow Christians. God is good and He is generous.
In His generosity we have received many gifts and we have tried to show generosity to those around us. There is more ahead in this adventure and we trust that we have each been built up and readied to go into new spheres and help people find and follow Jesus. We have loved sharing the journey with each and every one of you!
The next step on the journey for Soma is transitioning to rest / hibernation. As we look out over our purpose for discipleship and mission, we see nothing but His work and presence. It’s been refreshing and exciting to complete and close chapter 1 for Soma and prepare for the ‘page intentionally left blank’ before the start of chapter 2. Chapter 2 hasn’t yet been titled, but one of the things we’ve certainly learned is if rest comes before work on an individual level, then it should also at the community level.
The intent is for Soma (and all of us!) to rest for a time (oh, say a year or so) and during that time we will be praying and abiding in His presence as he prepares us for the next season for Soma; at which point we will gear up and launch again, rested and ready for His work for us. We will be looking to build relationships for support, partnership, leadership, followership, and recreation. We are already excited and thankful for those He will put us in family and community with to start the next thing, even as we prepare to rest first.
For the past few weeks and for the next week or so, our team motto has been, “finish strong; don’t puke.” 🙂
As you may have noticed, updates have been less frequent lately as we’ve been busy working on finishing strong this leg of the race. While resting, updates will be infrequent (we hope not non-existent, but who knows…). I’d recommend checking back every so often.
Contact information will remain the same, so if you have an email address or phone number for us or Soma, keep it; we will still be reachable there.
Soma 
The sermon from last week that we’ve been meditating on was about abiding, abiding in Christ. I didn’t know what abide really meant until the Pastor talked about it. Abiding, Biblically, seems to be the ‘action’ and refreshment of resting. The Lord God be with you and your family as you abide in Him. 🙂
Yes! Such a hard word to grasp since it’s not as commonly used. But it is definitely the word were clinging to right now.