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.

ARC Church Planting Roundtable Update

Thought I would let you know how the ARC Church Planters Roundtable went last week. Here are some reflections...

• Colorado Springs is beautiful, even in the rain.
• New Life Church is pretty awesome - great place for the roundtable.
• Met Ross Parsley and Brady Boyd, New Life's new senior pastor. Boyd will be a great spiritual leader for the New Life family.
• Met about 50 people who have a true passion for church planting.
• Billy Hornsby introduced ARC as an organization dedicated to planting churches that look like Jesus - churches through which people can "encounter Jesus." No joke! Billy used the word "encounter" a number of times. Churches need to reflect the personality and attributes of Jesus - Did Billy read our Encounter Prospectus??!!!
• I really resonate with ARC's passion - to plant life-giving churches.
• Billy shared eight characteristics of life-giving churches:

1. Empowering Leadership - Leadership empowers believers to follow God's plan.
2. Gift-Oriented Ministry - Help believers identify and integrate their gifts.
3. Passionate Spirituality - Faith lived out with commitment, fire, and enthusiasm.
4. Functional Structures - Structures must help fulfill the purpose of the church. Cut the fluff.
5. Inspiring Worship - Excellent worship that inspires people.
6. Holistic Small Groups - Encourage groups where people can find intimate community, practical help, and intensive spiritual interaction.
7. Need-oriented Evangelism - Address the questions and concerns of non-Christians.
8. Loving Relationships - Form strong and genuine trust relationships.

I feel challenged by our next steps with ARC. A lot more was shared at the roundtable, including all the different ways they help and come alongside church planters. If you want to know more, just contact us and we'll talk. But here are the basic facts:

1. To continue, we must submit an application - if approved, we must attend a church planter assessment in Atlanta, Georgia. The cost of the assessment is small, but the travel expenses will be difficult. I estimate it will cost nearly $2,100 to travel and stay there for the assessment. Of course, it could be cheaper if we could stay with someone, find some transportation there, or receive a donation of frequent flier miles.
2. We must also secure a "sponsor" church to come alongside us. This sponsor church must believe in our vision enough to vouch for us financially. That means that although ARC will match all the funds we raise dollar-for-dollar (up to $30,000) - if the church plant falls through, the "sponsor" church will repay ARC for all funds provided.

We would like to pursue this partnership with ARC, but we're going to need some help. For now, we're praying for God's direction and working in this situation. If God is moving you to help with any of this, please let us know.

Steps Toward Partnership

Because of your help, we are going to Colorado Springs this week to attend the ARC Church Planters Roundtable (CPR) at New Life Church.

I mentioned the Association of Related Churches (ARC) before as one possible Encounter partner. ARC comes highly recommended by several people I've talked to recently as well as Craig Groeschel of LifeChurch.tv (see his post here).

Just to let you know, ARC seeks to provide encouragement and coaching that includes close mentoring relationships and financial resources for new church planters. There are four components in everything they do - and those four components are what interested us in ARC.

1. They Believe in a Big Start – They want to help us build up to a big start. They coach planters how to build a team, raise funds, develop a worship team and children's ministry, and open our doors with excellence and momentum. If we can start strong, we have a greater chance of growing strong.
2. They are Focused on Reaching the Unchurched — They are focused on finding ways to cross the cultural wall and reach the lost. ARC is all about helping build churches that are culturally relevant with passionate worship, practical Bible-based teaching and dynamic family ministries.
3. They Build Friendships and Do Life Together — They believe friendships and relationships are critical for being successful in life and ministry. As ARC churches expand around the country, there is a group of people that can help us, coach us, and be there for us as we plant Encounter in Helena.
4. They Offer a Network of Practical Resources — ARC offers help on many levels including conferences & seminars, the ARC Intranet (resources for sermon series ideas, outlines, PowerPoint and media), Bible training, internships, missions opportunities, and much more.

This week, we'll be learning more about ARC, and they will be learning more about us. If it is God's will, we may be joining with them to plant Encounter as a life-giving church community in Helena. Please pray for our travel and for the kids as they stay here in Helena.