Right before Jesus ascended, He told His disciples to “go and make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19). According to Strong’s concordance, the word “nations” can also be translated as “people group.” Over the last two years, God has led [nlcf] to take a missional approach to our ministries and with how we use our resources.
One [nlcf]’s main resources is the off-campus building 130 Jackson. The building’s tag line is “A Venue for Blacksburg.” This phrase captures the heart of why the staff team feels that the location was given to [nlcf]. We believe 130 Jackson was given to the church so that its members could reach out, invest in, and integrate with the whole community of Blacksburg.
The most frequent way that this happens is by the space being rented out to a local promotional company for independent artists. At least once a month, this company books concerts that showcase local and independent artists. Few of the individuals or bands that come to 130 Jackson are followers of Jesus. In fact, many of the band members and attendants of these shows are open atheists.
If you love music (especially metal) and you love Jesus, what better place would there be that you could live missionally for the sake of metal heads than at these concerts? This is a beautiful place where the Body of Christ can intersect with the broken, the searching, and the lost. When Jesus said to make disciples of all people groups, He also meant the metal heads. Most of these people have strong opinions about religion, God, and faith, and are open for discussion about others’ views. They may not walk away from a conversation completely changed, but through this venue, we have a huge opportunity to share the Gospel of Christ.
This is such a great way for each of us to be an influence in the life of someone who is in desperate need of Christ. So grab some friends and come out to these shows! You can see the event schedule at 130jackson.com. I look forward to seeing you there!
~ Brandon Thompson