Today we’d like to introduce you to Zach McAlack.
Hi Zach, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Table of Life is a community for people seeking deeper community, slower discipleship, and a faith shaped by Jesus that can hold doubt, suffering, and real life. Table of Life’s story began with a small group of people banding together to follow Jesus in community together. We looked at the Lehigh Valley and asked, what is the greatest growing need? What we see is a need for real community. Previous generations tell stories of neighborhoods where kids ran free to play, families knew one another, meals were shared, and life was lived together. When we looked at Christian history we saw that the original design of church was to be a community of people who shared life, shared one another’s burdens, and truly loved one another. We set out to build a church around this idea of community. Where that has led us is to a church that is designed to care for each other, give space to ask hard questions, and invite others into this neighborly community.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
The real struggle in this process is that deep relationships require vulnerability and leave space for hurt. As we grow close and are honest with who we are and try to follow God together inevitably there are moments when we hurt one another. This is where we lean on Jesus. Jesus died on the cross to forgive us, so that we can forgive one another. When we began I had this overidealized image of what the church would be: this group of people who were always caring, always kind, and everything was hunky-dorey. But I have seen better that true community is bringing together people who are able to forgive one another as we grow together.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
What makes Table of Life different from other churches is that our focus is on house churches. Our church does meet together as a whole but we more often meet in small groups in homes. Within those home gatherings we get to know one another deeply. Our time is spent praying and studying the bible together. In these gatherings there is not a preacher up front but a discussion in a circle as we each share what God is showing us, teaching one another.
Let’s talk about our city – what do you love? What do you not love?
When I think about a city, we often evaluate the city by how many places to eat, or activities to do, What I love about our area is the way that it is growing as new people are moving in, the growing desire for neighborhood and closeness is neat to see.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://tableoflife.church
- Instagram: /tableoflifechurch
