More News! Elder Proposal

It has been an interesting and inspiring week in the Powell world of ministry and church planting. Having recently met for prayer and encouragement with other church planters and leaders here in Helena, I am sure that God is moving His people to help our community to encounter the love and grace of Jesus like never before.

GOD IS MOVING
This week I was privileged to begin working with Hannaford to move them forward in their new efforts to better connect with young adults attending there. It is exciting to see that God's people all over Helena are recognizing the need to engage all age groups.

ELDER PROPOSAL
With everything else, I am also preparing to finally answer questions from the Hannaford elders about our Encounter church plant proposal I submitted nearly two months ago. I am very excited and nervous to be able to share my full passion with the elders and I am praying that the Spirit gives me the words to effectively communicate God's vision for Encounter. My heart breaks for those young people in Helena that do not know Jesus and who have been turned off by traditional approaches of church.

PRAY THIS WEEKEND
Please be praying this weekend that God's Spirit is already working in the hearts of the elders to see beyond what man can do, and to have faith in what God can and is already starting to do through us and Encounter.

Exciting News! ARC Assessment

We recently received some encouraging and exciting news ... ARC has invited us to be assessed as church planters (read more about ARC here and here and here and here).

This is a great opportunity that could open matching funds for every dollar we raise for the Encounter church plant. It will also help Encounter meet our budget within the first year after our initial launch.

In addition, statistics show that while church plants only have a 68% chance of surviving through the fourth year, ARC church plants have over a 90% survival rate. That's one of the reasons we feel that partnering with ARC is a great opportunity to help get this church plant off the ground.

CAN YOU HELP?
When we first got the invitation, Andrea and were doubtful we would be able to gather the needed funds to travel to Atlanta, Georgia by December 1. But after making our need public, we've had several people step out to help - covering over half the cost of airfare.

While there is still more to raise, we are having faith that God will provide the rest of the funds before we go. Out of that faith, we have confirmed with ARC and will be completing the necessary pre-assessment applications and evaluations as soon as they arrive in the mail this weekend.

We know that things are difficult for many these days, so we are not asking for any one person to "sponsor" our entire assessment. But if we can gather another $400, we can fly to Atlanta and avoiding the hazardous driving in winter weather.

God's plan includes the efforts of more than one person, that is why we feel compelled to encourage each of you to get involved. So in addition to your prayers for God's work through Encounter, if you feel led to help sponsor our church planting assessment through ARC, please let us know as soon as possible.

Stay tuned. There is more to come...

Steps, Not Programs

Another important aspect of the way Encounter approaches things is through steps, not programs.

No matter where someone is spiritually - skeptic, new believer, returning to the faith, growing believer - we want them to be moving forward in their faith relationship with Jesus Christ. That's because we see discipleship not as a goal to achieve, not as list of items to check off until we have reached a certain point - but discipleship is a process of becoming more and more intimate in our relationship with Jesus Christ.

Seeing spiritual maturity as a process to pursue rather than as a goal to achieve allows us, then, to see everything we do as another step in helping someone move further along in their faith relationship with Jesus. Whether they need to investigate faith for the first time, whether they need to address issues in their marriage, whether they need to make some financial decisions in their life - each is an important "step" in the process of following Jesus.

The problem with programs is this. There is the assumption that a program helps you "arrive" somewhere. You are complete. The program is the end in and of itself. In contrast, when we approach growth through "steps," we simply see it as part of the process of leading people in a growing relationship with Jesus.

Next Steps: An Update

Sometimes I feel that things are moving forwards much slower than I would like. The truth is, that God is truly in control. I've been keeping this in mind as I've been examining our next steps with Encounter. Here's where we are and what I'm working on...

PARTNERSHIPS
Pursuing a partnership with ARC (see here and here and here) will first require an established church to sponsor us. I just blogged about a potential partnership with our current church. A lot of our next steps depend on how our church-sponsorship proposal is received. Different responses will mean different next steps. For now, we're just kind of waiting. Once we know where we stand we can step up an intentional effort of sharing more about Encounter and developing a Church Planting Team. I'm actually really excited about being able to share this passion on our hearts!

LEGAL STEPS
I've been looking into the legal actions we need to take to officially establish Encounter as a church in Helena. This will eventually be required for gifts to Encounter to be tax-deductible. We've been reviewing different samples of church constitutions, bylaws, and considering trustees. Church planters friends of mine have encouraged us not to rush into any of those, so I was relieved to find that, unlike other states, Montana does not require them incorporation of a religious non-profit.

PLANNING
Since we've already outlined our mission, strategy, and ministry approach in the prospectus, another step I'm working on involves developing a full launch plan, schedule, and budget. I already have an extensive to-do list for Encounter stuff, but a comprehensive launch plan will keep things moving in the right direction and on track.

Potential Sponsorship Opportunity

I previously mentioned our desire to build some church-planting partnerships. One of the initial partnerships we've pursued is with my current church, where I've been serving as the Pastor of Worship Arts. God's call to plant a new church community here in Helena is a direct outgrowth of my ministry there. And as such, I believe planting a new church is an excellent opportunity to be able to change the lives of some people groups that this church has not been as effective at reaching, mainly non-Christians and the younger generation.

This is why after discussing this passion with the Senior Pastor, we have prepared a proposal for church-sponsorship. The elders (church board) have been looking over the proposal and we will soon get an opportunity to answer any questions they have. Andrea and I ask for your prayers regarding this issue - that the elders would approach this opportunity with wisdom. It is God’s desire to see His people working together to enlarge His Kingdom in Helena.

Regardless of how the proposal is received, moving forward is key. Knowing how, and to what extent our current church plans to partner with us will help us plan the next crucial steps in making Encounter a reality.

Difficult Times: In Other Words, Life :-)

Hey everyone!

The last couple of weeks has been quite eventful so it has been difficult to post, but I thought I'd check in and give you some updates with what has been going on personally and on the church-planting front.

First, we could use your prayers for Andrea's grandmother, Mabel. Having recently found out she has cancer, she was being prepped for surgery and there were complications with the anesthesia causing vessels to burst in her lung. Since that time, she has developed not one, but two serious infections: one airborne and one in her blood. All things considered, it is not looking good.

Andrea left early this week to drive down to Escondido (San Diego area) to help where she can. That means things have been pretty busy for me as Mr. Mom here around the house. So we ask you to be in prayer for all of us. Thanks.

More posts to come...

Relationships: Our Strategy...Unpacked

At Encounter, we want people to become followers of Jesus who are in a growing relationship with Him. Then it begs the question "How are we going to do this?" Or perhaps "What do we want people to do?"

That, in a nutshell, is the essence of strategy and we've stated ours as "creating irresistible environments where people are encouraged and equipped in three vital relationships: to Encounter God, Experience Community, and Engage Culture."

We can ask ourselves, what demonstrates a growing relationship with Jesus Christ? At Encounter, we believe the answer to that question is found in Jesus' words in Matthew 22 when He was asked "What is the greatest commandment?"

Jesus replied, "‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments."

It sounds simple, but Jesus is basically saying that loving God and loving your neighbor is what everything comes down to. Everything that has been written in the scriptures is summed up in these two statements. "Loving God" and "loving others" is evidence of a growing relationship with Jesus.

We've defined "loving God" as developing an intimacy with Him. We divided "loving our neighbor" into those inside the faith and those outside the faith. So part of what we want to do at encounter is to create environments where people can pursue these three vital relationships.

Read more about our vision and values here.

Growing Faith: Our Mission...Unpacked

The mission of Encounter is "to lead people into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ."

It helps answer the question, "What do we want people to become?" It sounds simple, but is it? Well, yes and no.

It IS simple in that it is easy to say, it's easy to remember. But it is not so easy to live. That is because, if you've heard Andy Stanley, a great vision is easy and simple to remember - but it is really incomplete. There is more to understand than simply "leading people in growing relationships with Jesus." So let me unpack a part of what it means.

IT'S NOT ABOUT US
We must first admit that it is not through our effort alone that others enter into or grow in their relationship with Christ. One cannot ignore or underestimate the power and work of the Holy Spirit. Yes, we serve a role, but it is ultimately an extension of God's work through us that bears fruit.

If you look at 1 Corinthians 6:19, we understand that the body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. That means that our bodies (as believers) are the place of God's presence on earth. More importantly, God relates to people through us. When people ask "Where is God in the midst of this crisis, in the midst of my journey?" The answer is that God is here, through us (as believers).

All this to say that we play an important role in the work that God has in this world. When we are wholly abandoned and submitted to Him, we are able to carry out His purpose for our life and to help lead another in a growing relationship with Jesus.

MOVING FORWARD
I've had a couple comments about how often we use this phrase when we describe what we're about. The questions that come sound something like this... Is this just about discipleship? What about evangelism? What about sharing the gospel? What about repentance, what about the power of the the shed blood of Christ?

First, leading people in a growing relationship with Jesus Christ involves all those things. It involves what we want people to become. No matter where someone is spiritually - skeptic, new believer, returning to the faith, growing believer - we want them to be moving forward in their faith relationship with Jesus Christ. That's because we see discipleship not as a goal to achieve, not as list of items to check off until we have reached a certain point - but discipleship is a process of becoming more and more intimate with Jesus Christ.

WHAT ABOUT THE GOSPEL?
Our mission really comes from Jesus' parting words from Matthew 28, "Go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit." Basically, as we go through life, we are to relationally connect with people in such a way that it encourages them to follow Jesus.

And don't miss that key point ... we are to "relationally connect" with people. That's part of what we call invest and invite. In order to lead people in a growing relationship with Jesus, we need to "invest" our lives in theirs. As we invest and develop trust relationships with others, we demonstrate our true concern for them. And this ultimately gives us the opportunity to effectively "speak" into their lives.

Whether it involves a discussion about the gospel, about repentance, about the blood of Christ, or about simply inviting them to a worship service, when we develop trust relationship with someone, it gives us the opportunity to help lead them in a growing relationship of Jesus Christ.

Read more about our vision and values here.