OBJECTIVES:
1. Listeners will be inspired to center their lives on the 3 priorities of CTK church.
2. Listeners will evaluate their commitment to the priorities of CTK church.
INTRO:
Just Tuesday night I received a call from a telemarketer asking if I wanted to give a donation to an organization that helps find missing children. Is that a good thing to give money to? Of course. But I said no. Why? Because I have already decided what my priorities are when it comes to charitable giving, and I give regularly to further those purposes.
So what are those priorities?
But before we go there, let’s back up for a minute and read together our mission and vision statements. Our mission statement tells us what we’re called to do as a group of disciples:
Our Mission
To create an authentic Christian community that effectively reaches out to unchurched people with love, acceptance and forgiveness so that they may experience the joy of salvation and a purposeful life of discipleship.
Throughout everything we do as a church, we are balancing the need for being a community (marked by loving relationships and care for each other) with the need to reach out as God’s ambassadors to those who don’t know Jesus.
Next, our vision statement, which identifies the big picture for Christ the King Community Church:
Our Vision
To see a prevailing, multi-location church emerge that will transform the spiritual landscape. This church will convene in hundreds of small groups, with worship centers strategically located in every community.
You may not know, but this vision is taking shape in amazing ways. A quick look at our website shows there are now 11 CTK worship centers in NW Washington (not including those in Skagit County and BC). There is a CTK in Oregon City, OR and Blackhawk, CO.
Mike Unruh, who attends here and who works as part of “CTK Fast Forward”, informs me that he is currently in conversation with about 90 potential church planters around the country who are interested in the possibility of starting a CTK church in their community. It is not far fetched to believe there may actually be more than 20 CTK locations nationwide by the end of the year!
Why is CTK attracting such attention from people who want to make a difference for God’s Kingdom? There are many reasons, but one of them is that we are clear about what we are trying to accomplish, and how we are going to accomplish it.
That leads me to the 3 priorities identified in your program. In order to develop this authentic Christian community that effectively reaches out and will in fact become a movement of congregations that changes the spiritual landscape, we have chosen to commit ourselves to 3 priorities.
As we take a look at these and what exactly they mean, I’m going to ask you to give yourself a grade on how you are doing centering your life on the Kingdom priorities we have established. For our church will only be as successful in fulfilling our mission and vision as the commitment of individuals who choose to make these priorities THEIR priorities.
Our Priorities
1. Worship: We are devoted to worshiping God as a lifestyle.
This means we are not content to simply show up for a service once a week. Imagine a marriage in which the only time you communicated with each other was one hour a week at a pre-determined time! No way! We are devoted to worshiping God as a lifestyle.
• Live a WWJD lifestyle.
Gal. 5:25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.
Jesus said, “Take my yoke upon you…”
• Make times of personal and corporate worship a priority.
How often do you forget a meal? Not too often – you start to get a rumbly in your tumbly if you forget. Once you’re in the habit of spending time with God in prayer and Bible reading each day, you’ll find it’s the same way. Just as you need physical nourishment to get through the day, so you need spiritual nourishment by spending time centering on God and His will for your life.
But we also need to make attending worship services with other Christians a priority in our lives. There is something incredible that happens when the church gathers to worship.
You’ve felt it, haven’t you? As we praise his name together in song, the Holy Spirit begins to move among us. Some people laugh. Some people are moved to tears. But there is definitely something supernatural that happens.
And when that begins happening, people lives are changed. God speaks to people about their situations. He brings healing to broken and hurting hearts. And yes in some cases he actually brings healing to physical problems. That’s why the author of Hebrews encourages with these words…
Heb. 10:25 Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another — and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
Now you’ve heard what it means to be devoted to worshiping God as a lifestyle, give yourself a grade. Is there room for improvement?
TRANS: The second priority of CTK church is outreach.
2. Outreach: We are dedicated to reaching people who do not know Christ as their Savior.
This means we’re about keeping the arrows out!
As a church: removing cultural barriers (style of music, type of clothing, presence of coffee, brief messages with clear applications.
As a church: outreach events (kids ministry Christmas outreach with free haircuts, concerts in the park, outdoor sunrise services.
As small groups: creative ideas for reaching out. Youth gave away batteries and prayed for people. Seeds were sown.
As individuals: praying for people, loving people with acts of service, sharing the message of the gospel with people.
When was the last time you reached out to someone outside of Christ and shared the gospel with them? Invited them to your small group? Helped them? Prayed for their salvation? Who is keeping you accountable about this?
Take a moment to give yourself a grade in this area.
TRANS: Lastly, if we are really going to be able to change the spiritual landscape of our community, we will need to decide to be committed to our third priority: small groups.
3. Small Groups: We are determined to care for each other through small groups.
• We need each other. The Christian life is an “each other” life.
Encourage each other
Pray for each other
Laugh with each other
Cry with each other
Minister to each other
Forgive each other
Bear each other’s burdens
These are the sorts of things that just can’t happen in the big group. They don’t happen on our own. They only happen in a small group, where people have developed relationships to the point that authentic community is the result.
ILLUS: At the beginning of the fall, our group had about 18 people attending and so we determined we HAD to multiply in to 2 groups. We had talked about this with Bill and Darcie Burgoyne, who were hosting the group at their home, and we came before the group to inform them we’d need to become two groups.
Since then some amazing things have happened. Some of the real quiet people in our group started talking about what was going on in their life as we began meeting in a smaller small group.
Bill and Darcie’s group has been able to do some incredibly deep ministry to some big heart needs of the people in their group. There’s been a lot of tears together – and a lot of growth in the Lord together.
I recently heard in another group where a couple who was having some real problems came to their group after a long absence and the group was able to join around them and pray for them, and they are now making some great strides.
These are the type of things the body of Christ is made for.
And we must make it a priority in our lives if we and the people God is going to bring to us are going to grow more mature in their faith and really bear fruit in their lives.
• Could you lead a group?
3 years ago God gave me a vision to work toward 100 small groups on Whidbey Island. At the time we had about 15 small groups. We quickly built to 25 groups, but have held steady at about 25 groups between Oak Harbor and Coupeville CTK. If we are going to really make a difference in the spiritual landscape, then all of us need to ask ourselves the question “Could I lead a group?” Not so much “am I ready today?” but given some time to be trained by another group leader, do I think I could do it?
The success or failure of our church to disciple people in our community hinges upon our ability to multiply small groups to make room for more.
One last time, why don’t you give yourself a grade on how determined you are to care for others in a small group?
CONCLUSION:
I am so excited about our future as a church. In June we will bring on staff a youth/worship pastor named Jonathan Oleson. Everyone involved in the hiring process felt certain that God has called him here – and he has a lot of leadership to offer! People are being saved as a result of our ministry. But there is so much more that is just around the corner. You will want to be a part of it!
