written by Kristi Gringhuis

“Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you’ll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven.”

— Matthew 5:16 (the msg)

“Let me tell you a story…”

If you’re anything like me, you love it when someone starts a conversation with these six words:

“Let me tell you a story.”

I love being drawn into a good story. And when it’s a story that has to do with someone that I know, it’s even better. Whether it’s listening to something that happened to one of my kids that day around the table, or it’s a conversation I’m having with a friend on a front porch with a hot coffee in hand, it is always a privilege to be able to listen to the stories that are being shared with me.

We are surrounded by storytellers.

We may not even realize it, but each one of us is a storyteller. And more importantly, we all have some stories to share.

God is orchestrating beautiful things, and there is something so important and profound about recognizing the different stories that exist, and continue to happen, each and every day.

With the busyness of life, however, we often don’t stop and pause long enough to take note of these things. It is too easy for us to just rush through the day, hurrying to accomplish the things on our “to-do” lists without stopping to take notice of the things that God is doing all around us.

And so, we want to do something about that. We want to do our part in bringing attention to the different stories that are happening, right here in our own city.

In Hamilton, we are so blessed to have a network of congregations called TrueCity who have come together for the good of this city. Churches in relationship with each other are connecting, collaborating, and learning from each other because of the shared conviction they hold — that churches have a unique role to play in this city and that these things can be done better together.

We Know — We have seen — that when churches work together to accomplish the plans that God has set out for them to do, beautiful things happen.

And so, we want to take time to pause long enough to notice these things so that we can all be encouraged and reminded of God’s continued faithful presence in our lives.

This year, we are launching a TrueCity Storytelling Initiative where we will be collecting and featuring stories of the WAYS GOD IS MOVING through His church in this city.

Now — maybe more than ever — we need to be reminded that God is at work in this city, and that He wants to use us, His children, to bring His light and His love to those who need it most.

Matthew 5 tells us that we are here to be light, bringing out the God-colours in the world (vs.14). He has put us on a light stand, on a hilltop, to SHINE!

God has placed each of us — individuals, families, congregations — in different neighbourhoods around the city for specific reasons. God is up to something in this city, and He wants to use each of us, wherever we are, to accomplish His plans and His purposes. And as we hear of the things that He is doing through His Church, we want to share them with you.

Matthew 5:16 says, “Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you’ll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven.”

This year, TrueCity wants to keep an “open house”, looking for SOME stories of the things that God is doing in and through His people.

It is our hope that this Storytelling Initiative will remind you that GOD IS AT WORK THROUGH HIS CHURCH in this city. God is doing beautiful and powerful things, and so it is our prayer that these stories will encourage you — and maybe even prompt you — to be on the lookout for the beautiful things that God is up to in your own neighbourhood.

Who knows? He might be inviting you to step into that story, and maybe even be willing to share it with the rest of us.

Kristi Gringhuis works with this amazing network of churches as TrueCity’s Network Facilitator.

“Now — maybe more than ever — we need to be reminded that God is at work in this city, and that He wants to use us, His Children, to bring His light and His love to those who need it most.”

— Kristi Gringhuis

Every story matters.

In different conversations that we have had, we have heard about some beautiful things that God is doing through His Church in this city. We know that hearing these stories can have a powerful impact on those who come across them, but it is too easy for these stories to be missed…

THat IS WHY WE ARE LAUNCHING THE TRUECITY STORYTELLING INITIATIVE.

We are on the lookout for stories of things that God has been up to in each of our congregations. We want to find these stories and feature them so that we can share them with others.

Our hope is that this project will be an encouragement and blessing as people hear about the different ways that God is at work in Hamilton. We know that it’s too easy for us to just rush on by and not take notice of the things that God is up to right where we live, so our hope is that this project will cause all of us to STOP and PAUSE long enough to TAKE NOTICE OF THE DIFFERENT THINGS THAT GOD IS DOING IN OUR MIDST, as well as be OPEN to CONSIDER what God might be INVITING us into, as well.

What’s your story?

Do you have a story to share of something that God has been up to in your local congregation?

Have you witnessed an incredible answer to prayer?

Has there been an opportunity for you to come together with others to bless your neighbourhood?

Was there a need that your church was able to respond to?

If you have an idea of something that could possibly be featured on our website, we would love to hear from you.

Share your story idea with us.

LET ME TELL YOU A STORY ...