Case Study Six: Without Fear, We Place Our Hope in Jesus Dylan Wilson Dylan Wilson is the director of youth and young adult ministries at a United Methodist Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. He works to transform families, friendships, and the community through the Gospel message. Context: Rural Indiana Affiliation: Church of Christ Size: 650 members Introduction A place. A people. A presence. Throughout the entire biblical narrative, God repeatedly returns to this one great desire: a place where God’s people dwell in His presence. In the Old Testament, this was the tabernacle of the Israelite community. When Israel became an established nation, the tabernacle became a temple in Jerusalem. After Jesus’ resurrection in the New Testament, the tabernacle became the human heart, and suddenly God’s presence could be found where His people are, namely the church. God’s desire does not end with just a small group of people, however. God wants the entire world to be the people that dwell in His presence. Second Peter 3:9 says that God is “being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent.”1 God’s desire and patience are displayed through the Missio Dei, or the Mission of God. From the global Church to individual local congregations, God uses His people as the primary instrument of God’s mission to the ends of the earth. Included in that mission are churches All biblical references are taken from the New Living Translation, Tyndale House Publishers, 2015. 1
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