Listen to the Vision!

At Encounter, our vision is to free people to encounter Jesus.

Connected to the image of Moses' burning bush experience, we want to be something out of the ordinary that catches people's attention so they can hear the voice of God.

We want to remove as many obstacles, distractions, and barriers as we can so that this generation and beyond can have an authentic, life-changing encounter with Jesus.

More specifically, we have found that people tend to like Jesus but not the church. They have been turned off by traditional models of "doing church." Their view of what the Church and what following Jesus is supposed to be has been skewed by many things — but primarily by a lifeless, passionless, empty representation of faith that is judgmental, self-righteous, and downright boring.

In a broad sense, we envision a dangerous church, an assembly, a gathering, a faith community, a group of people, who are drawn together to pursue what it means to boldly follow Jesus beyond Sunday, and in the missional context of real life.

HAVE YOU FELT IT?
And this vision is not just mine or Andrea's, but one planted there by God in each one of us drawn to Encounter. Each of us has sensed the vision, we have then seen it articulated, and now we have begun the process of growth that will see the vision come to life. Like a seed that has been planted, it must now be watered and cared for as it matures into reality.

Have you sensed the vision? Have you felt it gnawing at your soul? Have you been discouraged in the valley as God has been molding you into the shape of the vision? We have too, but we are not satisfied with anything else but an authentic and bold following after Jesus and His vision planted within us!

LISTEN TO THE VISION!
I am going to be bold here and just say it. If you are not connected with a church here in Helena — if you are not living out your faith in a passionate and life-filled way with others in a faith community — you are missing out on something incredible!

You REALLY should come be a part Encounter. If you don't live here in Helena, you should move here. Seriously, we will help you! Seriously, the next six months at Encounter are going to be AMAZING! You should listen to the vision that is stirring in your soul and come be a part of what God is doing in Helena!

So let's get together and talk more over coffee.
Give me a call today!

Join Us For '7 Days Of Servolution' In Helena!

As a young church plant, it seems difficult to be able to make a significant impact in our community. We don't yet have a large base of people to mobilize. We don't yet have a sufficient financial backing.

At the same time, engaging culture is an essential part of who Encounter is and who we want to be. Our weekly discussion group has suggested that we be positive agents of change within our city and community.

With this in mind, I've been perplexed about how to serve Helena right now ... until this afternoon when I visited the 7 Days of Servolution website. 7 Days of Servolution is a coordinated effort to join with individuals all over the nation and the world to share God's love and change lives through simple acts of kindness.

Go and check out the website now, then come back and continue reading.

The idea is to choose one day between April 3 and April 9 to organize a service project for your community (the week before Easter). The website lists many ways churches and individuals can get involved – for all sizes of groups and all budgets.

A 7 DAYS OF SERVOLUTION IN HELENA
Let's make these 7 Days of Servolution in Helena an effort of individuals that represent many churches. It's about partnering together and reaching out to our community through simple acts of kindness for the soul purpose of expressing the love of God to people in our community. You can participate regardless of what church you may attend.

We invite you to participate in at least one of two ways:

1. Personally Share One Act Of Kindness Each Day
   
   Let's make this effort true to it's name by taking a full 7 days to serve our community. We challenge you to take the opportunity to practice at least one simple act of kindness as an individual in each of the seven days.
   
   One idea is to purchase a coffee for the person behind you at the coffee shop. Be creative! There are virtually millions of things we can do. Imagine if our neighbors all over Helena noticed a difference That one single week from April 3-9!
   
   
2. Join Together For One Gathered Effort With Others
   
   Let's join together for a single, gathered effort to share God's love through a coordinated simple act of kindness. We are meeting together to brainstorm and plan what exactly we will do and when. We will then post the details here.
   
   If you would like to join us for the brainstorming and planning meeting at 6:30pm on Friday, March 20, click here for more.
   
   

JESUS CAME TO SERVE, NOT TO "SELL" THE FAITH
Since the focus of this effort is on showing God's love through service, our goal is not necessarily to promote specific churches or to evangelize people. Just as Jesus came to serve, not be served — we, too, will be sharing the heart of Jesus by our actions through simple acts of kindness alone. Instead, let's focus our efforts on inviting everyone you know to get involved — regardless of whether they are from your church or are even a follower of Jesus.

Make sure you are a part of the Servolution this April 3-9 as we share God's love through simple acts of kindness so that lives can be changed through the power of Christ.

JOIN US NOW!

What Does It Mean to be Missional?

I've mentioned a few times that part of the core DNA of Encounter is being missional. But sometimes there is some confusion about what "missional" means. To be missional is much more than just to evangelize.

I came across the following in Dan Kimball's book, They Like Jesus But Not The Church. As I think of being missional as a church community, I feel these characteristics best describe our desire and approach to impact Helena.

• Being missional means that the church sees itself as being missionaries, rather than having a missions department, and that we see ourselves as missionaries right where we live.
• Being missional means that we see ourselves as representatives of Jesus "sent" into our community, and that the church aligns everything it does with the mission of God.
• Being missional means we see the church not as a place we go only on Sunday, but as something we are throughout the week.
• Being missional means that we understand we don't "bring Jesus" to people but that we realize that Jesus is active in culture and we join Him in what He is doing.
• Being missional means that we are very much in the world and engaged in culture but are not conforming to the world.
• Being missional means we serve our community, and that we build relationships with the people in them, rather than seeing them as evangelistic targets.
• Being missional means being all the more dependent on Jesus and the Spirit through prayer, the Scriptures, and each other in community.

I'd love to hear which of these resonate with you and why. Please enter your responses by clicking on the "comments" below this post.