Stewardship – What Is It – What Does It Mean

Stewardship – What Is It – What Does It Mean:

Good Morning – How is everyone today? I hope you had a wonderful week. It has been a very wonderful and eventful week for Grace Point. We welcomed a new Overseer into our Leadership and that is such a joy and a blessing – Peter is a wonderful man of Christ and I am looking forward to his wisdom and discernment being a strong and effective voice in the leadership of Grace Point.

Also, we have taken the next steps in partnering with Grace Capitol and the association of Foursquare Churches – you will all be hearing more about this as we move forward, but by way of background, The Foursquare Association of Churches started back in the 1920’s, In Oakland California.

The founder was Missionary and Evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson. Aimee had been the wife of Missionary Robert Semple, but during a missionary trip to China, Robert passed away and Aimee returned home with their 1 month old daughter. Over the next couple of years, The Lord placed on Aimee’s heart a call for independent churches.

One thing Aimee had noticed during her time in the mission field, was that churches affiliated with the mainline denominations (Catholic, Methodist, Baptist etc) had a lot of support and resources, but churches outside those denominations, many of them small independent churches – churches located all over the world, had no network of support and the mainline denominations tried to force fit them into their mold or rejected them if they would not do so and so Aimee had a call to connect those churches through an association of interdenominational brotherhood.

The term “Foursquare: and or "Foursquare Gospel" came about during an intense revival in the city of Oakland, Calif. in July 1922. As thousands gathered to hear the gospel and to hear about the vision God had given Aimee for bringing together these churches in a likeminded call for interdenominational support; Aimee described the vision God had given her and she used a parallel to Ezekiel’s vision in the book of Ezekiel, chapter one:

Ezekiel 1:4-13 (New International Version)

4 I looked, and I saw a windstorm coming out of the north—an immense cloud with flashing lightning and surrounded by brilliant light. The center of the fire looked like glowing metal, 5 and in the fire was what looked like four living creatures. In appearance their form was that of a man, 6 but each of them had four faces and four wings. 7 Their legs were straight; their feet were like those of a calf and gleamed like burnished bronze. 8 Under their wings on their four sides they had the hands of a man. All four of them had faces and wings, 9 and their wings touched one another. Each one went straight ahead; they did not turn as they moved. 10 Their faces looked like this: Each of the four had the face of a man, and on the right side each had the face of a lion, and on the left the face of an ox; each also had the face of an eagle. 11 Such were their faces. Their wings were spread out upward; each had two wings, one touching the wing of another creature on either side, and two wings covering its body. 12 Each one went straight ahead. Wherever the spirit would go, they would go, without turning as they went. 13 The appearance of the living creatures was like burning coals of fire or like torches. Fire moved back and forth among the creatures;

To Aimee this was a clear vision of the different aspects of Christ represented in the different aspects of the various churches with the Spirit of the Lord moving amongst the churches uniting them and bringing them together as they touched one another to help each other reach out and touch the world for Christ.

The four faces took on the faces of Christ’s ministry - In the face of the man, was Jesus our Savior, the "man of sorrows" (Isaiah 53:3); in the face of the lion, was Jesus the mighty Baptizer with the Holy Spirit; In the face of the ox, was Jesus the Great Burden-bearer and healer who Himself took our infirmities and carried our sicknesses, carried or sins so that we might be healed; and in the face of the eagle, was reflected the Coming King--who is returning in power for His bride, the church.

Form that vision, the term Foursquare sprung forth and took root and the Vision of interdenominational support and brotherhood God had given to Aimee became know as Foursquare.

Grace Point seeks to tap into this association of interdenominational support and brotherhood and we have taken the initial steps that will allow us to do so. So in the coming months you will see some of the benefits of that relationship – there will be a rebranding of Grace Point in the community as we take on the name of Foursquare – i.e. – “Grace Point a Foursquare Association Church” and we will also be getting the benefit of Pastoral support as the Foursquare Association as agreed to help us fund a Pastor and we have asked them to do so.