THRIVE COHORT - 5.0 COMMUNITY

I will be using 3 main questions as my basic outline:

Pastor,

1. Why are you at your church?

2. Why is your church in your community?

3. What is most important to your community?

1. Why are you at your church?

a. A job? A paycheck? Or maybe you just like abuse?

b. I believe the reason we are where we are is to Catch, Train, and Release God’s people.

i. Catch: Great Commission – Matthew 28:19-20

1. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” [1]

ii. Train: Ephesians 4:11-12a

1. 11 It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, 12 to prepare God’s people for works of service,[2]

iii. Release: Ephesians 12b-13

1. so that the body of Christ may be built up 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. [3]

c. Statement: Leonard Sweet: “If one prays for a miracle, one has to keep walking, waiting, watching and expecting. Not just hunkering down, huddling and hoping.”

i. Hunkering down, huddling and hoping won’t make disciples either. Kevin Zaun

2. Why is your church in the community?

a. Jeremiah 29:7 says,

i. 7 Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.”[4]

b. Jeremiah 29:7 (Message)

i. “Make yourselves at home there and work for the country’s welfare. “Pray for Babylon’s well-being. If things go well for Babylon, things will go well for you.”[5]

c. Philippians 2:14-16

i. 14 Do everything without complaining or arguing, 15 so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe 16 as you hold outa the word of life—in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor for nothing.[6]

d. Question: How do we discover ways to reach our communities?

i. Build Bridges:

1. What would it be like if there were not bridges on the roads, trails, etc.?

2. Just as bridges and cities go together, churches and communities are linked. God’s people are to be connected to the city, the community, and the world.

e. Question: What is the current view of outreach in your church?

i. Alan Kraft, senior minister of Christ Community Church, Greely Colorado, sees outreach as advancing the Kingdom of God in all its various forms and churches typically employ one of three attitudes and/or approaches to outreach.

1. The Fortress Approach

a. In this approach, the church asks people to remove themselves from the world so that they can be pure. Alan says, “The world is viewed as being bad and evil and we are to have nothing to do with it. What this often looks like is a diligent effort to protect ourselves as we huddle in our Christian circles, praying for the lost, but never engaging them in any meaningful relationships. And whenever we do engage in conversations, we directly or indirectly communicate the need for them to get their life straightened out or else. In order for anyone to ever become a Christian, they have to make a huge cultural lap and somehow come to us.”

2. The Force Approach

a. In this approach, the church doesn’t remove itself but tries to have impact through focus on political power and influence. “We show up in force at a school board meeting or mobilize our church to call our senators. It doesn’t take much to get our blood pumping on issues. We need to be very careful that in our doing something like this, we don’t love the gospel in the midst of it,” says Alan.

3. The Fragrance Approach

a. 2 Corinthians 2:14 describes this approach:

i. 14 But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him.[7]

ii. Alan explains, “A fragrance or perfume does nothing when it is holed up in a bottle. When unleashed, it begins to have an impact, but not in a forceful way as much as a subversive way.”

ii. Which one most describes your churches mentality?

1. A Fortress

2. A Force

3. A Fragrance

4. We lack a strong identity of any kind when it comes to outreach

3. What is most important to your community?

a. Some ways to find out:

i. Seek God. Listen to him.

ii. Read the paper, watch the news.

iii. Get involved in community service groups like Kiwanis, Chamber of Commerce, etc.

iv. US Census

b. Review the statistical data available:

i. https://data.census.gov/cedsci/profile?g=0400000US38

ii. This is the official US Census web site for North Dakota and is filled with various levels of reports. Simply scroll down to the first area that shows the counties of North Dakota, find your county, click one time on it, select the county profile and it will give you information specific to your county.

iii. The fact sheet gives you more than population data. It shows social, economic and housing characteristics. Dig a little deeper and you can find out things like how many grandparents are raising their grandchildren, how many people are out of work because of disability, how many are divorced, or how many people live below poverty level.

1. Call agencies in your city and see if any need help.

a. Youth Works – Homeless teens

b. Foster Care Agencies – Share about them in church leaders being touched by our ministry

c. Any non-profits that may be supported by the city/county

d. Church members – Some may hold the key to involvement.

4. Questions to ask:

a. What are some ways we can externally focus our church?

b. Don’t exclusively look at your board.

c. Who can we partner with?

d. What are the current needs of our community?

e. Is there anyone in our church that already has influence in your community in which can help you build bridges to your community?

f. How is my prayer life?

g. Do we have to recalibrate in order to make this happen?

h. Resources:

i. Recalibrate your church Dr. Troy Jones.

ii. Simple Church Thom S. Rainer & Eric Geiger

iii. https://data.census.gov/cedsci/profile?g=0400000US38

iv.

a Or into; see Acts 8:16; 19:5; Romans 6:3; 1 Cor. 1:13; 10:2 and Gal. 3:27.

[1] The Holy Bible: New International Version. (1984). (Mt 28:19–20). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

[2] The Holy Bible: New International Version. (1984). (Eph 4:11–12). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

[3] The Holy Bible: New International Version. (1984). (Eph 4:12–13). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

[4] The Holy Bible: New International Version. (1984). (Je 29:7). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

[5] Peterson, E. H. (2005). The Message: the Bible in contemporary language (Je 29:7). Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress.

a Or hold on to

[6] The Holy Bible: New International Version. (1984). (Php 2:14–16). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

[7] The Holy Bible: New International Version. (1984). (2 Co 2:14). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.