Interview with Wes Furlong, Senior Pastor of Cape Christian Church Treveccan: How has your involvement with the outreach programs at Cape Christian changed you? Wes: It’s made me more patient and hopeful in the face of adversity. We tend to overestimate what can be accomplished in the short-term but underestimate what can be accomplished in the long-term. We’ve had a lot of setbacks, but God has provided everything we’ve needed at the right time, and the little victories strengthened our faith. It’s encouraged me to see so many churches willing to partner with us. You hear about so much division in and between churches, but I’ve met with many pastors who are willing to look beyond their walls and work together to change the city. It’s reinforced the importance of a pastor’s role in a city. When I first started, I saw the pastor’s job divided into several areas of specialty (preaching/teaching, leading, counseling), but I’ve come to see the role as more than the sum total of different responsibilities and competencies. Over time, a pastor can develop a unique ability to speak prophetically in a community. It’s strengthened my passion for the local church. A generation ago, para-church organizations became extremely popular. But it’s the local church that changes cities. And it’s been great to see so many talented, young church planters who recognize the importance of the local church. It’s awakened me to the importance of personal evangelism. I debated an atheist recently at our local state college on the topic “Religion, Science, and Mortality.” It was an “away game” for sure. The room was packed with atheists and agnostics. The moderator concluded the debate by allowing the audience to ask questions. I was blitzed with questions from unbelievers about the church’s hypocrisy on various issues. After it was over, a line of people remained to ask questions and share personal stories. The emotion people expressed in their hatred of the Christian church surprised me. They would describe a rational objection to the Christian faith, but it was almost always followed with a personal story. But most expressed gratitude for my presenting the Christian faith in a way far different than their caricatures of it and a desire to hear more. Further debates were scheduled, many have followed up with further questions, a couple came to our church and were eventually baptized, and I’ve been meeting regularly with the atheist I debated. The more involved I become in our community, the greater urgency I feel for personal evangelism.
Treveccan: How have Cape Christian’s community efforts changed the way you think about ____?