Believing Together

Intro and Scripture

Ephesians 3:14–21 NIV

For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

Where you come from matters…

I am a product of a line of men on my dad’s side that were labor intensive, grind it out, work hard from sun up to sun down.

On my mom’s side more of the same and then with my grandfather more entreprenural. I am the oldest of three boys. I learned early that I could earn love and adoration through achievements. Straight A’s. Captain of the Soccer team, President of the National Honor Society. Academic Scholarship and Soccer recruitment. This is not to disparage my parents in any way. For good and sometimes not for good, I am wired in this way. As I look at my family history there are indicators of what some of the best things that are in me and how they were around generations before. Where you come from matters.

It is the same with corporate history. Good and bad. You can see resolve and industrious ingenuity all throughout our American history, for example.

FMC has some historical indicators that are important. To know where we came from tells a story of who we are.

The church’s inception dates back to the year 1870. The first gathering of Methodists and a long history of reaching new people for Christ dates back 154 years. In 1880, Isaac Conroe, the founder of Conroe and a member of our church, recorded that “Methodists are in majority here” in Montgomery County. That same year Isaac Conroe donated the land for the first building in downtown Conroe. 1887 is the first reference to the established church in Conroe where Rev. W.S. South rode horseback from Bryan as a circuit rider pastor. Three years later 30 men pledged $418.50 for the 1st building. In 1897, Rev. South lamented to a colleague “I find Epworth league (reference to this church) one of the most difficult institutions of the church to keep in running order. It has its ups and downs. Sometimes we have a league and sometimes none. We had a league a few days ago, but it seems at present to be suffering from a case of ‘suspended animation.’ Its recovery is doubtful.”

Well, we can rest assured that God breathed life into any suspended animation and now we sit here 130 years later envisioning what God is animating before us.

The church remained a stronghold of faith in the center of Conroe until 2000 when courage led the community to take a leap of faith and move out to the current location on Highway 105 to position themselves strategically for future growth. A move with this type of forward thinking and prayer also took a great deal of perseverance and faith.

In the mid 1990s, FMC launched its first Hispanic worshiping community and since that time has remained a vital multiethnic church reaching a diverse population in this mission field.

In 2017, the congregation undertook the ambitious task of further reaching the community by updating the current facility, expanding children and youth programming, and investing in diverse worshiping communities. The Table Modern Worship Service launched, which has drawn many new young families with children.

First Methodist Conroe has always been a community of faith, of perseverance, of getting up off the mat because of belief in the mission of God.

Context of Ephesians 3

1. Rooted and Grounded in Love (v. 17) Paul’s prayer begins with a request for strength in the inner being through the Holy Spirit. He prays that Christ may dwell in our hearts through faith, but then he uses an important metaphor—being rooted and grounded in love. Paul wants us to see love not as a fleeting feeling but as the foundation of our lives.

We live in a world where foundations are shaky—where people search for identity and purpose in things that don’t last. But Paul tells us that God’s love is the solid ground we need. When we are rooted in His love, we find security, identity, and a sense of purpose that can withstand any storm.

The original language here of V. 14: “I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and earth derives its name.”

There is greek alliteration here. Kneel (Prater) and Family (Patria) it is likely striking a cord to those here it in ways it does not for us. There was a phrase for the Roman Emperor, he was the “father of the Fatherland.”

Paul is substituting because he is praying that all allegiances and loyalties would be to the God of love and grace first and foremost.

2. Comprehending the Dimensions of God’s Love (v. 18-19) Paul goes on to say that we may have the power, "together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ." This love is so vast that it surpasses knowledge! What a mystery—that we can never fully understand the greatness of God’s love, yet we are invited to experience it.

The love of Christ is wider than our sins, longer than our failures, higher than our ambitions, and deeper than our despair. No matter where we are or what we’ve done, His love can reach us. Paul wants us to grasp not just the facts of God’s love but to feel it in our bones—to know it in our souls. It’s an experiential knowledge that brings life and peace.

Example: Joseph Dongel tells a story of seeing a bumper sticker that says Love God, Love others. It is of course scriptural… a synopsis of Jesus’ command to love the lord your God and love your neighbor as yourself. Dongell rightly struggled with this.

Something is missing. This is all output and no input.

All output is moralism. And it will exhaust you.

3. Filled with the Fullness of God (v. 19) The culmination of Paul’s prayer is this bold request: that we may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. What does it mean to be filled with God's fullness? It means to be saturated with His presence, to live a life that reflects His character, and to walk in His purposes.

This is the life of abundance that Jesus promises us—where we are not just living for ourselves but are overflowing with the grace, love, and mercy of God. Being filled with God is not a one-time event; it is a daily renewal as we seek Him in prayer, in His Word, and in community with other believers.

4. God’s Power at Work in Us (v. 20-21) Paul concludes by reminding us of God’s unlimited power. "Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us..." What an incredible promise! God is not only able but willing to do more than we can dream. But notice, this power is at work within us—it’s personal.

When we open our hearts to God's love and power, we become agents of transformation in the world. He can work through us to bring healing, restoration, and hope to others. This is why Paul ends by giving glory to God. It’s all for His glory, and it’s through His church—through us—that His glory is revealed.

Believing Together is about being Rooted and grounded in nothing other than God. It is about continually receving the transforming love of Christ, and it is about the empowerment of the Spirit to introduce the Kingdom of Heaven to one more person.

Strategies for Believing Together

Slides…

Activate our faith

Transform space for community connections

Expand our invitation of the gospel

Deepen our culture of Wesleyan classes

Host Spirit and Truth experiences

Multiply life group class meetings

Improve Conroe facilities for increased use

Invest in the next generation

Create student leadership pathways

Increase student ministry interns

Expand nursery space in conroe

Offset cost for summer mission and camps

Create space for day out or preschool

Increase our missional partnership

Increase capacity to serve those in need locally

Partner with our conference in missions

Support single moms and their families

Provide opportunities for global mission trips

Invest in our missions strategy

Invest in our foster families

Establish a new church campus

Build a 25,000 square foot campus

500 seat capacity multi-use worship space

Reach a new community growing to 5000 rooftops

Build a campus church to provide the missing piece in Willis

Café for fellowship and small groups

Create flexible discipleship space

Believing Together Overview

We are launching a 3-year spiritual and generosity initiative

10 Million is the project size

Our goal is 100% spiritual participation and 5 Million dollars.

3 year over and beyond giving

Key dates:

October 27 – Advanced Commitment Worship Event

November 9 – Night of Worship in TWH

November 10 – Kid’s Market

November 17 – Commitment Sunday

In your bag is important materials covering a lot of things

Devotional sample of the devos that will come to you each day

Executive summary

Vision book

We will have more for you.

Vision video

IV. Get out your vision book and turn to the back. We want you to participate right now!

Response:

· 5 years from now, if we are successful what will the church and the community experience?

· Ephesians text: Our family’s commitment to Believing Together includes….Make a commitment today to make a commitment\

Francis Chan: “True faith means holding nothing back. It means putting every hope in God’s fidelity to His Promises.”

Will you join me in Believing Together.