State of the Church
Dear friends,
It has been one year since we gathered for worship in the Auditorium of the Warren local high school on a cool Sunday morning. That Sunday morning just a year ago, many in this community prophesied doom for the new church starting in the High School. I heard, as I am sure many on you did, there were too many churches in the community already. Experts told us a new church started in the small community like this one would fail.
But the experts and the community cynics did not know the power of our God, or the determination of the His people in this church.
Here we are, one year later, a fast growing new church. The experts and the cynics were wrong. Living Faith is here to stay.
I believe the reason this church is growing is because this church was built from a different blueprint.
Everything about this church is different right down to the foundation.
Our foundation is found in Matthew 16:18. Jesus said, “This is the rock on which I will put together my church, a church so expansive with energy that not even the gates of hell will be able to keep it out.”
These words are now posted over my desk. This way everyday I am reminded that my job here is not the build the church; that is the job of Jesus Christ. Our job is to help lead the church, and give direction to the church, but Christ Jesus is the one who builds the church. The Apostle Paul puts it this way, in the The Living Bible
1 Corinthians 3:6 (TLB)
6My work was to plant the seed in your hearts, and Apollos’ work was to water it, but it was God, not we, who made the garden grow in your hearts.
Jesus had promised to build the church. Our privilege, our joy, our greatest desire is to be a part of what God is doing.
Our foundation is Jesus Christ.
I recently read a building is only as strong as it’s foundation.
Rick Warren points out that some churches are built on the foundation of a pastor. The minister is the real foundation of the church, if he or she leaves the church falls apart. Some churches are built on the foundation of pride. The members wear their membership in a certain church as a badge of honor. You have seen them. They strut around with their nose in the air. Still others are built on the foundation of tradition. They only goal is to keep everything the way it has always been. New ideas are shot down with the words, we don’t do it that way here, or we have never done that before.
Living Faith is built on the foundation of Jesus Christ. This means anything that Jesus would do, we should do. Everything in this church is based on the foundation of Jesus.
Not only is our foundation different, the pillars on which we build are different.
The first pillar here at Living Faith is Worship. For us worship is a celebration. When you visit Living Faith for the first time you receive a letter that explains our core values. One of the core values of our church is worship.
Read this with me.
We believe worship to be the expression of our love for God based on sound Biblical truth.
We also believe worship is Spirit-filled teaching of the Good news of Jesus Christ, His love for everyone and the love he has taught us.
The second pillar upon which this church is built is Evangelism. Read with me.
We are committed to being a light in our community by proclaiming the Good News of Christ at the same time showing respect to everyone.
You will not find us using guilt to motivate you. You will not find us trying to pressure you into anything, because using guilt and applying pressure in not showing respect to you. We have everyone wear and name tag, because we want to call you by name, which is a way of showing respect. We also ask everyone to wear a nametag, because if only visitors wore them, they would stand out, and that is not showing respect.
The third pillar on which Living Faith is built is Outreach. Please read along with me.
We are committed to being servants in meeting the needs of those around us in a humble, gentle spirit of love.
Living Faith is called to reach out to those in need.
The last pillar on which Living Faith is built is Fellowship. Please read this with me.
As Christians, we have agreed to partner together in fellowship to express our love for each other.
This is expressed in our monthly meals and our small groups. Many of you have benefited this last year from one of our small groups. If you have been in a small group at any time this last year for Bible Study please stand. Look around and see how many people this important pillar of Living Faith has touched.
I also want to take a moment and thank all the leaders of all the small groups. Your sacrifice and devotion to the task of leading, has changed lives forever. The work you are doing will make a difference not only here at Living Faith, but for all eternity.
We have come a long way in this last year.
This church began as a small group. Some of you were at the first small group meeting on Sunday afternoon at the home of Bill and Virginia Scott.
At that meeting we knew that this new church was going to be different. We were going to have to change. Change is scary.
Lieth Anderson tells about being in Fairbanks, Alaska giving a seminar on “Change and the Church.” Following his presentation a Lutheran pastor said.
After listening to all you’ve had to say, I feel like going home, taking off all my clothes, getting into bed, turning the electric blanket on HI, and assuming the fetal position.
What we decided at the first small group meeting may not have driven us to the fetal position, but I know it did scare us.
We began meeting at the High School. Many of you remember carry in all the equipment. Every music stand, every plant, every toy for the nursery, every piece of Godly play, had to be carried in and carried out each and every Sunday. It was a lot of hard work, but you were faithful. I still remember the first Sunday when we opened at the High School in February. My heart was beating so hard. Would anyone come? Was this just a dream? What will happen if no one comes? But you did come. And you have been coming back every Sunday.
A lot has happened since our first meeting in the High School.
We have moved into this building. We now have two services. We have a group of youth people who run our video program each Sunday. We have grown in music as well. We began with a praise team. Now we have a praise choir, and a children’s choir.
Just a few months ago, we purchased 27.8 acres of land on 339 for the future home of Living Faith.
We began with three small groups, which soon became four. Recently I counted and we had 11 small groups meeting to study and grow together. God is blessing us.
Many of us who came to that first meeting in the High School would have never dreamed we would be here just a year later. So what does the future hold for us?
What will Living Faith look like 5 years from now? I believe that God has great dreams for this church. God has shown me that five years from now we will have a church campus up on the hill on 339. We will have a beautiful church, located on the scenic mountaintop. I see a worship celebration center filling with 350 chairs.
As I look at through the large plate glass front of the church, I see the cars starting to pull into the parking lot. This parking lot has places for 150 cars. There are small islands with trees and purple and yellow flowers sprinkled around the parking lot, giving it the feel of a park. The first families start streaming through the large glass double doors. There is a lot of laughter as mom and dad head over for coffee and donuts. The children run off toward our Family Life Center, for their classes. This is the same family life center where last night kids from the community were playing basketball.
Here comes the Washington family. I want you to meet them. This is Ron and Rachel Washington.
Ron, Rachel, would you like to tell our guest your impressions of Living Faith.
Ron begins, “I don’t know where Rachel, the kids and I would be today if it were for Living Faith.”
“I had a drinking problem, but a member of this church invited me to visit a small group from Living Faith called, Overcomers. They helped me to understand that with 12 twelve spiritual steps I could finally get this monkey off my back. People from this church stood by me as I gradually overcame my desire for the bottle. After a few months, Rachel and I gave our hearts to the Lord…”
Rachel interprets Ron in mid sentence, “I had always wanted to start a flower shop, and I saw that the church was giving a seminar on starting a home business. I attended it three years ago. They gave me the tools I needed to understand taxes, and inventory. There was even someone from the church who helped me figure our cash flow problems. Just last month, I moved our business from our garage behind the house into a small building on 339. God is blessing our lives everyday.”
About that time Martha, a single mother with a bubbling personality, comes up. Rachel suggested that Martha share how see feels about Living Faith. “Hi, my name is Martha, and I just love it here at Living Faith. I started attending here four years ago; we were still out on 550 at that time. I joined a small group that meets on Sunday nights in Joan’s home. I became a Christian about a year later. Then my old car finally gave out. Norm’s garage told me it would cost me $ 500.00 to get it fixed. I didn’t have 500 pennies at the time. I called Joan and told her I would have to drop out of the small group because my car quit. About three hours later the phone ran, it was Bob, a man from the church who told me he was a part of a small group of men at the church called the grease monkeys. They work on cars for free to help single mothers. He asked if he and guys could look my car. I said, sure. Just a few days later I had car back and it didn’t cost me a thing.”
You say Terry you are dreaming. A church that can seat 350 people, a church that helps people start businesses, and church that repairs cars. Terry you are just dreaming.
You’ll right, I am dreaming. I am dreaming God’s size dreams. I dream of church that in 5 years has 40 small groups meeting all over the mid-Ohio valley. Groups where people can deal with addictions. Groups were parents could help each other with the task of raising children. Groups were people become Christians.
I am dreaming, and I invite you come along and dream with me. Dream of a church that is making a difference, because it began different.
Dream the big dreams.
