Anthem Members,
At our meeting on July 25, we examined and emphasized the desperate need for our church to regain one of its primary purposes: the business of making intentional disciples across all ages and life stages.
We need a replanting and a revitalization in our community discipleship, our kids ministry, and our student ministry as we more fully emerge out of the COVID season. Throughout the month of August, our leaders will continue to sow vision and hold out opportunities for all of us, from leadership to laity, to engage and build up the church together. While the nuts and bolts of each of these opportunities will vary, there is a consistent theme that should be held close to heart as we replant.
In Ephesians 4:11-16, the apostle Paul writes the following:
And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.
Most Christians read this description and think two things. First, we are moved by the beauty of the picture of this kind of community. “What if we were like that? How amazing would that be?!” We are swept away by the excitement of being a member of a body that loves, encourages, and builds itself up so well. But then, reality sets in. We remember life this side of Eden and our inner cynic/critic pops up. This picture is then demoted in our minds as a fantasy, an ideal impossible this side of heaven.
While no church looks like this (or ever has) all the time here under the sun, this is the heart Christ has for his church, and we believe strongly that while we aren’t perfect, we need to look more like this Ephesians 4 picture. A big part of our ability to do this hinges on us doing our part, found in verse 12:
Throughout the month of August, we will be publishing content to give you a more complete idea of what is needed in all of our ministries. As we do this, take intentional time to pray about where the Lord is leading you to serve, and when you are ready to take your next steps fill out the survey below. The question for all of us, every one of us, from our elders to our newest members, is not whether or not we are going to serve in this season, but in what way God is leading us to offer our time, talent, and treasure. Who knows that he might do if we all humble ourselves, listen to his voice, and commit to building one another up in love?
At our meeting on July 25, we examined and emphasized the desperate need for our church to regain one of its primary purposes: the business of making intentional disciples across all ages and life stages.
We need a replanting and a revitalization in our community discipleship, our kids ministry, and our student ministry as we more fully emerge out of the COVID season. Throughout the month of August, our leaders will continue to sow vision and hold out opportunities for all of us, from leadership to laity, to engage and build up the church together. While the nuts and bolts of each of these opportunities will vary, there is a consistent theme that should be held close to heart as we replant.
In Ephesians 4:11-16, the apostle Paul writes the following:
And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.
Most Christians read this description and think two things. First, we are moved by the beauty of the picture of this kind of community. “What if we were like that? How amazing would that be?!” We are swept away by the excitement of being a member of a body that loves, encourages, and builds itself up so well. But then, reality sets in. We remember life this side of Eden and our inner cynic/critic pops up. This picture is then demoted in our minds as a fantasy, an ideal impossible this side of heaven.
While no church looks like this (or ever has) all the time here under the sun, this is the heart Christ has for his church, and we believe strongly that while we aren’t perfect, we need to look more like this Ephesians 4 picture. A big part of our ability to do this hinges on us doing our part, found in verse 12:
- The church needs to equip the saints for the work of ministry. We need to do our part as leaders to remove obstacles and give our members the tools they need to serve one another. Though we will all never feel fully prepared to do hard things that God has called us to do, we pledge to help you in the ways we can to help you engage in ministry. If you need help figuring out hospitality, let us help. If you need help facilitating, let us give you some pointers, if you need help managing kids, let’s brainstorm together on how to do that best. We will do all we can to provide opportunities, resources, and venues to make sure that the saints are equipped through our church.
- The saints need to engage in ministry. Let’s be frank: there is no silver bullet organization for church community structure. We do not think we’ve cracked some code and found the perfect solution to church community and ministry. There will be problems, there will be frustrations, and there will likely be things we need to tweak along the way. However, we are confident that we are considering and implementing sustainable and healthy models that allow all of our members to engage, help, and share the calling of ministering to one another. No model works if only some members commit to serving. In this season, we need all of your hearts, souls, minds, and collective strength as we seek to serve the Lord together.
Throughout the month of August, we will be publishing content to give you a more complete idea of what is needed in all of our ministries. As we do this, take intentional time to pray about where the Lord is leading you to serve, and when you are ready to take your next steps fill out the survey below. The question for all of us, every one of us, from our elders to our newest members, is not whether or not we are going to serve in this season, but in what way God is leading us to offer our time, talent, and treasure. Who knows that he might do if we all humble ourselves, listen to his voice, and commit to building one another up in love?
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