Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Wherever He leads we will GO!

After 7 weeks of vising church after church. After 7 weeks of praying, seeking and trying to discern what church the Lord wants to use us in we have finally surrendered. It is surrender because it is not what we would most desire. We have been resisting the Lord telling Him surely there is somewhere else you want us. Surely there is somewhere else that really fits our desire for a church family and worship. We have visited and we have visited. This past week was amusing. Very, very amusing. We kept thinking okay this is the week! This has got to be the church! As we sat in the pew and took in this church experience it felt as the Lord was laughing at us. Amused with us. It felt like He was saying "You just keep looking....it can only get worse from here." We visited a very nice looking church. The problem we saw immediately was the people didn't even notice we were there. The pastor was in control. He was the announcements, greeter, music minister, gave the message and was featured in the singing quartet all Branson jubilee style which is totally fine if you love that. We love the old hymns but the Lord has been teaching us more and more about reaching our generation and one way we can do that effectively is through a culturally relevant church and that includes music..it includes everything about the church being centered on reaching people for Jesus. The focus of the church being a fishing boat and bringing people into the body of Christ and training them to fishers of men. The focus of the church should not be a love boat in keeping people happy and comfortable. So as much as we are resisting the church that is moving to be more relevant but not quite there yet...it is we are confident now, where the Lord wants to use us. So surrender. Okay Lord. Use us. Here is what they believe. The only thing that is different is they don't believe in security of the believer which is pretty much any church outside of the Baptist denomination I think.

First Church of God is a non-denominational body in the mainstream of Protestant Christianity. We are part of a group of independent congregations that associate together in a movement known as the Church of God (Anderson, IN).
We believe that salvation comes through a personal faith in Jesus Christ as our Savior. We believe in the Holy Trinity: God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit and in the deity of Christ, His virgin birth, death and glorious resurrection and His imminent second coming. We believe the Bible to be inspired and the authoritative Word of God and that personal faith is to be lived out in the context of authentic Biblical community—God’s Church.
Our Vision
First Church exists to help our community become passionate followers of Christ.
Our Purpose
  • CONNECT to God—We’re here to build bridges of faith that extend over chasms of doubt and unbelief, so people can meet and get to know Jesus.
  • CONNECT to each other—God created us to be in community, so we encourage personal growth through groups that bridge the gap from individuals to other people—where people can become connected with a common purpose.
  • CONNECT to the community—Jesus’ message is clear: He wants us to go into the world and make disciples. “The world” is simply those around us with needs not yet met. Because when we emulate Jesus, people are naturally drawn to him.
  • Our Core Values
  • Truth: We believe the church should be culturally relevant while remaining doctrinally true.
  • Worship: We believe it’s everything we do in service to God. It is a lifestyle
  • Prayer: We believe God changes the world and us as we pray.
  • Stewardship: We believe recipients of extravagant grace are called to be extravagant givers.
  • Discipleship: We believe discipleship is a process of growing people into followers of Jesus Christ.
  • Ministry: We believe a Christian’s life is given meaning through discovering and using their spiritual gifts for ministry.
  • Love & Forgiveness: We believe unconditional love and forgiveness should be the guiding principles for followers of Christ.
  • Fellowship: We believe that loving relationships are expressed in community with God & others.
  • Evangelism: We believe lost people matter to God. Therefore, they should matter to us.

  • If these things are true, God can use us in a mighty way in this body of Christ. Life groups, small groups of people that share life together, are starting sunday night and we have been told there is one for young marrieds with childcare so we will start there and follow as the Lord leads. Well one need met. A new church home. Thank you Lord!

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