Happy Fall! As seasons change, we would like to share a big change that has taken place in our lives. We have changed the name of U Can’t Do It Alone Ministry to The 180 Center. We are excited to partner with God as He turns lives around 180 degrees! This past summer we were blessed to baptize some of our guys at Branford Beach and follow it up with a picnic.

The 180 Center offers an 18 month discipleship program to anyone desperate for change. We are open seven days a week. Our program is simple, we study the Bible from 8 am-3 pm every weekday, 9 am-3 pm on Saturday, and gather as a church body and community on Sunday morning at 10 am. In addition, we meet for intercession prayer for New Haven on Monday evenings at 7 pm and then on Wednesday evenings we gather for bible study. Thank you for your prayers, support, and service! Thanks for partnering with God as He turns lives around.

When Christians discuss their destiny, we often think of something we will do for God. These are tasks that involve an obvious demonstration of a unique gift or function. However, a Christian’s focus should not be about what one does for the Lord; the focus should be on who one becomes in Christ. Our calling and gifts are as varied as the seasons of our lives, and we should certainly spend time attending to them, but we need to keep our focus on the deeper reality that must develop within us.

It’s all about becoming like Christ. We all meet teachers, leaders, and other believers whose gifts and callings are powerful and captivating, some even seeming to bring heaven to earth itself! To our great dismay and shock, we sometimes discover that these same individuals are secretly in the grip of overwhelming sin. We are disillusioned, and must be reminded that the outward display of spiritual gifts does not reveal the inner character of a man. We need to remember that the life which truly sustains us, and the one we should seek to fulfill us, is not found in a destiny focused on gifts or calling. The deliberate turning of our soul God-ward is what defines our true progress as a disciple of Jesus Christ. Paul says in Philippians 3:10 that his longing desire is “that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death.” God created us in His own image to be Christ-bearers.

It is our transformation into this image that fulfills the purpose of our existence. When we pursue the image of Christ, we possess the meaning of life. Fulfilling our destiny is not about seeking our gifts and calling, but instead seeking the Caller Himself.