Church Plant Update
Looking ahead!
Church Planter’s Retreat
Read Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan.
Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk.
My family listened to most of this classic on our way to the church planter’s retreat hosted in Canon Beach. The retreat was as always a wonderful opportunity to reconnect with brothers and sisters across our region (OR, WA, ID). It cannot be understated how encouraging it is to share your burdens and bear others who are also laboring for the work of new churches for God’s glory, building up of the bride of Christ, and the salvation of the lost. The work can be difficult, cloudy, and lonely, so being reminded of those who are working alongside you throughout this area is a boon.
Church Plant Updates
August will not let up on the gas and it is barreling towards us. I don’t want you to be uninformed so I have a few important details and then some considerations.
Canvasing
First, things really heat up in July. We will be planning a day for canvasing the neighborhood (Pioneer Parkway to Mohawk, Centennial to Main Street). Right now we have Northwest Collegiate Ministries backing us but we would benefit greatly from more hands on deck. If you’re interested in knocking on doors and handing out flyers please reach out.
Additionally, this will include putting up posters around town wherever it’s appropriate (public places, library, coffee shops, etc).
Open House
On July 26th, the Sunday evening before our first gathering as a church, we will host an open house. This will be what is included in the canvasing flyers. There will be food, worship, an introduction of the church by yours truly, and then a time of Q+A. We want to get to know our neighbors and we want them to get to know us.
Team Building
Our team is small but mighty. However, we’ve got room for more. While I don’t mind preaching to a room of half a dozen folks, there is a certain… je ne sais quoi (three years of High School French thank you), critical mass that would be desirable. We presently have one couple in orbit, meaning conversations have been had and they are prayerfully considering joining us. There are many more out there who know what we are up to (yourself included dear reader). Let me just say, it’s not too late to see if joining our church plant effort is right for you. We, and others, are praying (not exclusively) for other little ones for our girls to have fellowship with. Let me share something my wife and I were discussing just yesterday.
In one of the myriad church planting books I’ve now read one topic came up that was surprising and counterintuitive: go where you’re needed. One man’s testimony shared how he had a successful ministry where he was at. Folks were being discipled, everything was going well! However, he decided to leave the comfort and obvious success of his current church to take a risk and join a new plant into the unknown. One catalyst for moving church is discomfort, but I believe that sometimes it might be when things are going really well but you’re needed somewhere else.
Rachel has been slightly suspect of my light-handed approach to inviting folks to join the church plant. And you know what, she’s probably right. In an effort to not apply pressure for others to join us, I may err on the side of caution. While many have supported us through this process, with prayer, encouragement, and financial means, one might not have soberly considered joining us. You might be like the gentleman above where everything is going well where you’re at, there’s no real impetus to move on. Except… you might be needed elsewhere. Consider joining us. Reach out to me, let’s get coffee and discuss if it’s a good fit.
If this rattles your cages at all, take a look at my other two newsletters:
"We have never sought to hinder the uprising of other Churches from our midst or in our neighborhood. It is with cheerfulness that we dismiss our twelve’s, our twenties, our fifties, to form other Churches. We encourage our members to leave us to found other Churches; nay, we seek to persuade them to do it. We ask them to scatter throughout the land to become the goodly seed, which God shall bless. I believe that so long as we do this we shall prosper. I have marked other Churches that have adopted the other way, and they have not succeeded.”
-Charles Spurgeon
Flexibility
As we get closer, we are considering how we can be flexible. One way we are prayerfully considering this is the prospect of a Sunday evening service rather than a Sunday morning service. The reason for this is that it would allow people to attend their regular church service and also support us during a temporary period of time. Folks can come as a catalyst team to help us reach critical mass with the intentions of returning to their “sending” church at a designated time. There are details to be worked out, and who knows it may not be necessary! But, consider this as an invitation to potentially join on a temporary basis.
Sunday Sermon
On Sunday I was invited to preach by Pastor Mike Samuels at Hope in the Grove in Cottage Grove. I preached about Jesus’ mission to save sinners from Luke 19:1-10. Take a look!
Prayer Requests
Pray for Pastor Matt and his wife Leslie as they go to Oasis Retreat next week. That they have an encouraging and restorative time.
Please pray for Russell who is still receiving medical treatment to get back up and running. He’s been remarkably resilient for as many punches he’s taken in recent months.
Pray for a brother at Hope in the Grove (Matt) who’s wife has cancer. They are struggling to get support for treatment as they are without insurance.
