Awakening Our Diverse Community to Jesus: Kickoff 2026

Heartland’s mission is to awaken its diverse community to Jesus. The word “awaken” reaches back to the Emmaus road, where eyes opened to recognize that Jesus had been present all along. The diverse community includes people from every kind of background, story, struggle, race, political conviction, season of life, ability, and level of faith, because Jesus welcomes them all to come to him. Jesus remains at the center of worship, ministry, outreach, generosity, expansion, and every changed life celebrated in baptism.

God’s kingdom advances through ordinary people who see themselves as carriers of his goodness, love, joy, and peace. The church’s elders model that kind of investment, serving not as a power play but as people already giving their lives to the community. Community also refuses the idea that faith is something people do alone. Hebrews calls believers to hold tightly to hope, spur one another toward love and good deeds, and keep gathering because life gets busy and faith needs encouragement.

The call to be “in this together” takes shape through student ministry, groups, Bible study, regeneration, and one-to-one care. Students are invited to pursue Jesus in a season full of pressure and questions, and adults are invited to keep growing rather than letting growth end at adulthood. Regeneration names the reality that destructive habits, addictions, hard seasons, and hidden struggles do not have to be fought alone. One-to-One care makes room for trained people to listen, pray, show up, and remind hurting people that they are not walking through life by themselves.

Peter’s vision of service says that every gift, experience, passion, and even trauma can become a channel of God’s grace to somebody else. Service is not simply filling a role; it is becoming the vehicle through which God pours out grace. The call to be good for this town sends that grace beyond Sunday gatherings through meals, practical care, CarePortal, and mentoring relationships. Jesus went toward people, and that same movement calls the church to see needs and move toward them with dignity, kindness, and no expectation of return.

Generosity loosens money’s grip on the heart because the best way to break its hold is to give it away. Build the Bridge is making room for a Madison campus and expanded parking without debt, trusting God to multiply what is given. The one matters enough for the ninety-nine to send people out, and Heartland Madison is being planted not to build a name or compete with churches, but because people need Jesus. The first people sent will create the culture for those who come after them: a church that serves, gives, invites, welcomes, loves its city, and stays all about Jesus.

##

---

Key Takeaways

• 1. Jesus welcomes every kind of person [27:50] Jesus does not require people to arrive with clean stories, settled questions, or familiar church backgrounds. The diverse community becomes a visible reminder that grace is bigger than categories people use to sort one another. A church centered on Jesus must make room for those who have been near faith, far from faith, wounded by faith, or still unsure what they believe. [27:50]
• 2. Faith grows stronger in community [33:23] Hebrews refuses a private, isolated version of discipleship. Other believers help hold hope steady when life feels unstable, and their stories can expose blind spots that individual faith leaves untouched. Community is not merely social connection; it is a place where love, good deeds, prayer, honesty, and growth become possible together. [33:23]
• 3. Service becomes a channel of grace [43:42] Peter frames gifts as stewardship, not personal possession. God can use abilities, passions, scars, and life experience to bring his grace into somebody else’s real need. Serving often blesses the servant precisely because God meets people while they are busy becoming a blessing. [43:42]
• 4. Doing good means moving toward need [52:03] Jesus did not wait for hurting people to find their way to him. CarePortal, meals, practical help, and mentoring put that same posture into action by seeing people and offering dignity rather than distance. Faith becomes visible when kindness costs time, attention, resources, and the willingness to go toward somebody else’s pain. [52:03]
• 5. Ordinary obedience can awaken a city [01:04:20] A kids volunteer, greeter, setup-team member, or small-group host may look ordinary, but each role prepares space for someone to encounter Jesus. The first people sent to Madison will establish a culture long before the crowd arrives. God regularly works through people who simply say, “Here am I. Send me.”
  
  ## [64:20]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [21:50] - Heartland’s Nineteenth Anniversary
• [24:28] - The Narrow Path Series
• [25:17] - Awaken Our Diverse Community to Jesus
• [31:38] - Elder Leadership and Kingdom Advance
• [33:23] - In This Together
• [35:57] - Students Pursuing Jesus
• [37:46] - Groups, Bible Study, and Regeneration
• [41:26] - One-to-One Care Ministry
• [42:32] - Here to Serve, Not Be Served
• [46:05] - Being Good for This Town
• [52:25] - Crazy Generosity and Build the Bridge
• [58:52] - All About the One
• [60:52] - Commissioning the Madison Team

Bible Reading

Luke 24:13-35
That very day two of them were going to a village named Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, and they were talking with each other about all these things that had happened. While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with them. But their eyes were kept from recognizing him. And he said to them, “What is this conversation that you are holding with each other as you walk?” And they stood still, looking sad. Then one of them, named Cleopas, answered him, “Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?” And he said to them, “What things?” And they said to him, “Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, a man who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, and how our chief priests and rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death, and crucified him. But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things happened. Moreover, some women of our company amazed us. They were at the tomb early in the morning, and when they did not find his body, they came back saying that they had even seen a vision of angels, who said that he was alive. Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but him they did not see.” And he said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself. So they drew near to the village to which they were going. He acted as if he were going farther, but they urged him strongly, saying, “Stay with us, for it is toward evening and the day is now far spent.” So he went in to stay with them. When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them. And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And he vanished from their sight. They said to each other, “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?” And they rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem. And they found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together, saying, “The Lord has risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!” Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he was known to them in the breaking of the bread. [25:35] [26:09]

Hebrews 10:23-25
Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. [33:45] [33:55]

1 Peter 4:10
As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace: [43:18] [43:28]

Galatians 6:9-10
And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith. [51:55] [52:06]

Observation questions

1. In the Emmaus story, what were the disciples feeling and discussing before they recognized Jesus, and what changed after their eyes were opened?
2. What three actions does Hebrews 10:23-25 call believers to do for one another besides simply attending a gathering? [33:45]
3. According to 1 Peter 4:10, what are believers meant to do with the gifts they have received, and whose grace is being shared through those gifts? [43:18]
4. What kinds of practical needs were met through CarePortal, and how did the response go beyond simply dropping off supplies? [47:23]

Interpretation questions

1. Why might Jesus have walked alongside the Emmaus disciples and opened the Scriptures to them before opening their eyes to recognize him? What does this show about how people can come to see Jesus more clearly?
2. Hebrews says believers should “consider” how to stir one another up toward love and good works. What kind of intentional thought and effort does that require from a church community, especially when life is busy? [33:55]
3. Peter calls each believer a steward of God’s “varied grace.” How can a person’s abilities, passions, life experience, or even painful past become a way for God to bring grace to another person? [43:32]
4. Galatians calls believers to do good “as we have opportunity” and not grow weary. Why can doing good become tiring, and what might help a person continue serving others with kindness rather than guilt or a desire for recognition? [51:42]

Application questions

1. The Emmaus disciples realized that Jesus had been with them even when they did not recognize him. Is there a season of confusion, disappointment, or change in which you can now see that Jesus was present with you? What helped open your eyes? [26:04]
2. Jesus welcomes people with different backgrounds, questions, struggles, convictions, abilities, and stories. Who might feel unsure that they belong in a church community, and what could you do this week to help communicate, “You are welcome here”? [27:27]
3. Faith is not meant to be lived alone. Where are you currently receiving encouragement, prayer, honesty, and challenge from other believers? If that is missing, what is one realistic next step you could take toward community? [34:00]
4. Everyone has received something that can serve others: gifts, skills, experience, compassion, and time. What is one strength or life experience God may be inviting you to use as a channel of grace for someone else? [43:37]
5. Doing good often means moving toward a need instead of waiting for someone to ask. Is there a person, family, neighbor, coworker, or student whose need you have noticed but may have kept at a distance? What would it look like to move toward them with dignity and kindness? [51:28]
6. Generosity helps loosen money’s grip on the heart. What fears, habits, or pressures make generosity difficult for you, and what would a prayerful, concrete step toward open-handed giving look like in this season? [53:16]
7. Ordinary acts of service can prepare space for someone to encounter Jesus. Where might you be tempted to say, “I’m just helping,” and how could seeing that role as meaningful change the way you serve, invite, welcome, or encourage others? [01:04:17]