Civic Engagement Belongs in Churches

Michael Decker wants to make the name of Jesus famous in Costa Mesa, California. How? By caring for his city's people, their leaders, and their place. In 1995, when he was invited by Costa Mesa's chief of police to volunteer as a police chaplain, Decker became attuned to the value—indeed the calling—of all Christians to see their civic engagement in light of the social responsibility entailed by the gospel. This involvement also became a catalyst for recognizing how largely unconnected he still was from non-Christians. "I said that I loved lost people and had a desire to be in relationship with them, but when I looked at my life, I was in relationship with very few." Since 2000, he has planted Palm Harvest Church, joined the Costa Mesa Chamber of Commerce, and helped birth One Church for Our City, a coalition of Costa Mesa churches whose members and leaders seek to bless their city in concrete and strategic ways. Reflecting on his journey, Decker says, "I am not on some mere career path, waiting for the 'next big thing.' Where I am serving now is the 'big thing' because here is where God dwells and I am seeking to obey the call to love what He loves where I dwell … unless God says otherwise, I am here for the long haul."