As we've been sharing with people our heart for this generation and how we're planting Encounter here in Helena, we get a number of different questions. Here are some of the most common ones.
#1 WHEN DO YOU GUYS MEET FOR WORSHIP?It takes a lot of planning, preparation, and work to plant a church. We are currently looking at two public launch dates - the earliest is October 2009. But for us, the weekly worship event is only a part of who we are. Before we launch our public worship events, we have even more important work developing our
Church Planting Team and meeting the needs of our community.
In the months leading to our public launch, we will be holding regular small groups for spiritual growth, planting team meetings to cast vision and develop leadership, informational meetings for those who want to find out more, and community impact events to serve our community and create awareness.
In fact, if you want to see what we're all about, we want to invite you to a great
small group study study in March. Click
here to find out more.
#2 DO YOU HAVE A BUILDING? / WHERE ARE YOU MEETING?Looking forward to our public launch, we will begin looking for meeting locations in April and May 2009. But we plan on being portable from the beginning so that we can focus our efforts on people and relationships.
But just because we do not have a building does not mean we will not meet together. Our
small group and planting team meetings are already being held in various locations throughout Helena. Some meeting will be in homes, but we also want to meet in some public spaces like the library. We feel that it is important to have a presence out in the community we serve.
#3 IS ENCOUNTER ONLY FOR YOUNG PEOPLE?We are creating a faith-community that is welcome to young and old, believers and nonbelievers alike. Our intentional strategy, though, is to design our gatherings and events for a younger audience. That's because we believe that experiential, relevant, and technologically-enabled gatherings are more likely to reach a younger generation AND also reach older adults. But the reverse is not true. When we design our services for an older audience, the younger crowd will not show up.
#4 WHAT IS THE CHURCH PLANTING TEAM?Instead of forming what some call a
Core Group, we have chosen to plant and launch Encounter with a
Church Planting Team. The
Church Planting Team are those people that form, serve in, and launch a new church plant. While involvement in the
Planting Team can be defined for a short-term or long-term commitment, it involves four essential expectations.
- To serve strategically within the church plant (including Planting Team meetings)
- To participate in a small group or discussion
- To invest your life into others both personally and through community impact events
- To give financially during your commitment with Encounter.
Contact us to talk more about getting involved in the
Church Planting Team.
#5 HOW CAN I HELP ENCOUNTER?There are many ways you can help us reach this generation in Helena. In a
recent post, we outline five key ways you can actively help us in planting and supporting Encounter.
- You can become a prayer partner.
- Your church can sponsor Encounter in various capacities.
- You can financially help us with a one-time gift or ongoing monthly support.
- You can join us as a member of the Church Planting Team. (Yep. Maybe even move here!)
- You can spread the word about Encounter.
These are just a few of the most common ways, if you've thought of another be sure to
contact us and let us know.
It's been over a year now since we first introduced the Encounter Helena blog. We are excited to unveil the new EncounterHelena 2.0 — a new look and feel over at encounterhelena.org.
