No Excuse Vision Weekend October 27-28, 2018 Why Vision Weekend? - - PDF document

“No Excuse” Vision Weekend October 27-28, 2018

Why Vision Weekend? Because vision is incredibly important and yet it chronically leaks (easy to get busy, distracted and forgetful – vision needs to be continually re-infused in every marriage, family,

• rganization, and church)
• Prov. 29:18, “Where there is no vision, the people perish”. (KJV)

“Vision is a picture of the future that produces passion in people”. 6 Core Ideas to Our Vision that Every Hillsider Needs to Know:

• 1. We are really blessed (thankful that our church is a picture of growth and momentum; don’t take it for granted or

fail to appreciate it and live in the moment) Here are some 2018 wins…

#1 Guest speakers Dave O & Danielle Strickland #2 Handel’s Messiah (biggest Easter weekend yet) #3 Our Bold Prayers #4 “40 Days of Prayer” #5 Reimagine Campaign #6 Facility Upgrades (100K projects) #7 More Growth (up 10%) and More Steps Why We Exist? “To honour God by leading people to become fully-devoted followers of Jesus Christ”

Key Thought: Sharing these wins is a reason for praise, not pride! (Ps. 115:1)

• Mtt. 5:14-16, “You are the light of the world… Let your light shine before others, that they may see your good

deeds and glorify your Father in heaven”.

• 2. We are closer than ever before to the fulfillment of our 2020 Vision.

However… We haven’t reached the goal yet!!! (complacency not an option)

Our 2020 Vision in Review

“To be a lighthouse church in the region ministering to 1,000 people or more on Sunday mornings by 2020”.

2 What’s one of our most strategic Next Steps in 2019 to reach our 2020 Vision? Answer: To add an additional Launch and Vibe option at 9am starting next fall. § This will help to redistribute the number of children ages Birth-Grade 12 at both services. § The redistribution will improve the overall experience at 9am for everyone including the kids and volunteers, while also providing a more vibrant, balanced, and engaging worship experience for those attending the 9am service. § We see both services functioning as a growth engine with two equally appealing options for families with children. Why Fulfilling our 2020 Vision of ministering to 1000+ people each Sunday is a worthy, God-honouring goal? § It reflects God’s heart that we never stop sharing the Good News with others (“I came to seek and save that which is lost” - Jesus) § Reaching more is consistent with our church’s heartbeat (in 2013, we envisioned becoming a church of 1,000 when we were running less than 500; 1,000 was a very bold dream, but we acted upon it) § It’s also consistent with our mission of making more disciples (more people means more steps) § It sounds big yet, as a regional church, it represents less than 1% of our total metro Moncton population (152,000 people); also, it represents only a portion of the roughly 25,000 people in our E1G postal code area, most of these people don’t attend church

3 § Reaching the goal will bring out the best in all of us (greater faith, engagement, teamwork, and bolder prayers) § It will be a big encouragement to other churches in Atlantic Canada (raises the Believability factor, which is greatly needed; being a model to other churches is a biblical example – Rom. 1:8, 1 Thess. 1:6-8) 1 Thess. 1:6-7, “You became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you welcomed the message in the midst of severe suffering with the joy given by the Holy Spirit. 7 And so you became a model to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia”. Other Highlights on the Horizon (finishing strong in 2018)

NOVEMBER 2018

What Keeps You Up at Night? New Series November 4, 9am & 11am Tim & The Glory Boys Concert November 4, 7pm (get your tickets) Teen Challenge Choir November 11, 9am & 11am Getting Started November 11, 12:45pm (lunch served) Youth Sunday November 18, 9am & 11am Guest Speaker Sid Koop & Guest Worship Leader Andrew Stanley November 25, 9am & 11am

DECEMBER 2018

Waumba Land Kids Christmas December 2, 9am & 11am Christmas Baptism December 9, 9am & 11am “Straight Outta Bethleham” Christmas Musical December 15, 6pm December 16, 9am & 11am Christmas Candlelight Services December 23, 11am & 6:30pm December 24, 1:30pm, 4pm & 6:30pm

• 3. We are a church that’s always seeking to get better (a learning culture, improving & innovating; praying,

reflecting and discerning God’s next step for our ministry).

“The difference between a good leader and great leader is one who learns to anticipate rather than react” (same for

• rganizations). -Craig Groeschel
• Prov. 18:15, “The intelligent man is always open to new ideas. In fact, he looks for them”. (TLB)
• Our Core demographic consists of the following:

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• Much higher % of young fastest-growing areas (30% under age 20 – this % is roughly 50% higher than

Moncton and New Brunswick)

• 90% parents working outside the home (means busy, stretched, little margin)
• Professional/better educated (high % of financial/insurance and health care)
• Above average family income ($131K average household income parents with children, though many

living in semi-detached homes, likely working 2 jobs to pay the bills)

• More opportunities with internationals who are coming to our doorstep, what a blessing! (internationals

represent 51% of Moncton’s net growth in 2011-2016 census, up 500% since early 2000s, strong Asian influx in our area and we’re grateful to see many of these folks in our church family)

• Other tidbits:
• Our province is aging (significantly fewer in the workforce to support those in retirement),
• In addition to young families, our demographic includes a sizable portion of singles, widows, and single

parent families (we care about these people, too)

• The challenge of engaging millennials in today’s world (we’re grateful for the opportunity and are glad

to see an increasing number of millennials getting involved in our ministry Other Things We’re Learning: 1) The language/rhythm of seasons is helpful to our ministry (ie, our seasonal/quarterly All In missions projects 4x/yr; “Summer” – Camps, VBS, GLS; “Fall” – Homecoming & major fall church-wide alignment series, ending with Christmas; Winter “Anniversary Celebration” & Spring “Easter” & ending “Spring Baptism Celebration”) 2) That our building is a growth engine (a 500-seat state of the art of auditorium along with the other amenities of our building are attractive to outsiders) 3) That we’re increasingly living in a very broken, post-Christian culture (mental health challenges, isolation, fragmented families, dealing with changing values and negative cultural perceptions toward the church) 4) That engagement is a continual challenge yet an unrelenting priority in our very busy and distracted culture (hence, our culture of next steps; we moved from Vision Night to “No Excuse” Vision Weekend; hosting our Re:imagine Family Celebration events; seeing more people participate in Growth Groups or serve opportunities; leveraging strategic ways to communicate, etc) “If you want your church to grow, stop trying to attract people. Start trying to engage people”.-Carey Nieuwhof See Carey Nieuwhof’s article, “Why Engagement is the New Church Attendance” 5) That growing a culture of generosity requires continued teaching and relevant tools (did you know that 54% give electronically to our ministry?) New Development: our new Living Legacy Fund (another practical way to resource our ministry; for more information go to “www.hillsidemoncton.org/legacy) 6) The importance of prayer as a foundation to everything we do (our growing culture of prayer) 1 Thess. 5:17, “Never stop praying”. (NLT)

• 4. We have made a long-term investment into premier family ministry.

5 But, we have a challenge… lid we need to address! Our lid in 2018 was debt reduction; our lid in 2019 is Sunday Morning Kids’ Volunteers (let’s address it together). See articles, “Elevating Community By Thinking Small” & “7 Reasons to Serve in The Church Nursery”

• 5. We are excited about 2019.

Our New 2019 Theme “Made for More”

BIG WEEKENDS IN 2019

45th Anniversary Sunday February 9, 9am & 11am

(Guest, Todd Petkau, Riverwood Church Winnipeg)

Handel’s Messiah April 13, 6pm

(Partnership with Tutta Musica)

April 14, 9am, 11am, & 6pm Easter Family Experience” April 19, tour times between 10am-2pm Easter Sunday April 21, 9am & 11am Watoto Children’s Choir April 28, 9am & 11am Homecoming Sunday September 8th, 9am & 11am Homecoming Picnic (at Camp Wildwood) September 8th, 2pm-6pm Vision Weekend October (TBD) Kids Musical December (TBD) Christmas Candlelight Services December (TBD) Other Exciting Plans for 2019:

• 6. We have learned nothing great ever happens without commitment and sacrifice our calling to be a high devotion

church). Acts 2:41-42, “Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day. They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer”. (NIV) Stay tuned… Our “All In” Membership renewal Feb 2019 (5-year membership renewal, last time was February 2014 “All in”, so Feb 2019 will be 5 years)

6 See Thom Rainer’s article, “A Case for Membership” and Rick Warren’s, “Church Membership Covenant: Expect What the Bible Expects” Our Expectation for “All In” Hillside Members *Celebrate (attend weekly worship) “Celebrate and Serve” *Connect (participate in a Growth Group at least 1x/year) *Contribute (serving in 1 area of giftedness and giving faithfully to our ministry)

• Rom. 12:4-5, “Just as there are many parts to our bodies, so it is with Christ’s body. We are all parts of it, and

it takes every one of us to make it complete, for we each have different work to do. So we belong to each other, and each needs all the others”. (TLB) 2 Cor. 13:9, “Our greatest wish and prayer is that you will become mature Christians”. (TLB) “God did not give us local churches to become country clubs where membership means we have privileges and perks. He placed us in churches to serve, to care for others, to pray for leaders, to teach, to give, and, in some cases, to die for the sake of the gospel. Many churches are weak because we have members who have turned the meaning of membership upside down. It’s time to get it right. It’s time to become a church member as God intended… The concept

• f an inactive church member is an oxymoron. Biblically, no such membership really exists”. - Thom Rainer, “I Am a

Church Member”

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5 Reasons Why Engagement Is The New Church Attendance - Carey Nieuwhof

If you track attendance at your church (and who doesn’t), the vast majority of church leaders are tracking numbers that probably bother them. That can lead into a death spiral of trying to drive greater attendance,

• nly to discover more disappointment down the road. The mission of the church is the same in every
• generation. But the methods we use—our strategy—has to change.

So what’s one of the biggest changes we’re going to see? Simple. If you want to see your church grow, stop trying to attract people and start trying to engage people. In the future church, engagement is the new attendance. If church leaders put as much effort into trying to engage people in the mission of the church as they used to (or still) put into trying to drive attendance, they would see a huge spike in both engagement and attendance. Conversely, leaders who focused solely on attendance or misconstrue what engagement is will continue to see declining attendance. At Connexus Church, where I serve as Founding and Teaching pastor, we’re seeing encouraging spikes in physical and online attendance (the two are not mutually exclusive) at established locations, our online campus and our new location. The growth in the number of new unchurched people has come for sure by the grace of God, but also after almost five years of focusing on increasing engagement in these 7 ways. I also outlined why we made the shift and many people have made the shift in my book, Lasting Impact. Church leaders, if you cared as much about engagement as you did about attendance, you’d likely see a spike in attendance as your mission grows and expands. So why is engagement the new attendance? Here are 5 reasons.

• 1. ATTENDANCE WAS NEVER THE GOAL

When did we get the idea that church attendance was the ultimate goal? Flip back to New Testament days. Jesus never said ‘Attend me.’ He said ‘Follow me.’ The only reason you would follow Jesus (in Jesus’ day) is because you were either intrigued by who he was and what he did, or because you had come to believe that he was who he said he was. In other words, you were engaged. You didn’t attend Jesus. You followed him. A similar dynamic emerged in the first-century church. Early Christians didn’t attend church. They were the

• church. If you look back at the genesis of the Jesus movement, the idea of attendance as a hallmark would

have been completely foreign. You only attended because you were engaged. Period.

• 2. ATTENDANCE GROWS OUT OF ENGAGEMENT ANYWAY

As the Christian movement grew and it became the official religion of the Roman Empire, mere church ‘attendance’ became an option. Fast forward to our lifetime, and even in growing, effective churches, attendance had become an established path to engagement. The big idea was this: come, and eventually you’ll get engaged. That worked (quite effectively, actually) when people used to flock to church. But in an era when the number of unchurched is constantly on the rise and even Christians don’t attend church as often anymore, that strategy is becoming less and less effective. Yet, many churches (even growing churches) are still counting on getting people to attend, hoping it drives engagement. The shelf life of that strategy is limited because the number of people who want to attend church drops every year. To say it clearly one more time, in the future church attendance won’t drive engagement; engagement will drive attendance.

8 The new goal is to get people engaged faster and to engage people more deeply in the true mission of the

• church. In the future, the engaged will attend because, in large measure, only the engaged will remain.
• 3. TRYING TO ATTRACT PEOPLE IN A POST-CHRISTIAN CULTURE CAN WORK AGAINST THE MISSION

I am all for making church as attractive and accessible as possible. But in the future if that’s your only approach (better lights, cooler vibe, hoping people will come), you will get diminishing results. (I wrote on the death and rebirth of cool church here.) Why is that? Well, as outlined above, when attendance was more normative and, in some senses, ‘automatic’ in our culture, attraction was a decent strategy. Because people would go to church, creating a better church was a good approach. But (and here’s the underbelly), it also fed into consumerism. Consumerism has defined the last century of North American and Western culture. To some extent, the attractional church has played into consumerism. Build something attractive and people will come. Again, that strategy was very effective when people instinctively flocked to churches, not just in terms of numbers, but also in terms of baptisms and authentic faith-building. And you shouldn’t make your church inaccessible or unattractive on purpose. That’s just…weird. But in the process, building attractive, relevant churches has had an unintended side-effect: people have come to evaluate church by what they get out of it, not by what they put into it. That’s a mistake. Along the way, discipleship has even been redefined in many circles to mean consumption of knowledge. The more you know, the more mature you are. I believe that’s a flawed approach. Authentic discipleship has always been about dying to self. It’s about giving far more than it is about getting. Again, I’m not slamming the attractional church. I’m all for building bridges to the culture, not erecting barriers. Anyone who knows church knows that at the heart of every attractional church is a core of Christians who sacrifice—who give, who serve and who invite. What’s exciting is that selflessness will move to the forefront in the future church because those who remain will be engaged in the mission.

• 4. OUR CULTURE IS RIPE FOR AN ALTERNATIVE TO CONSUMING

One of the frequent criticisms non-Christians levy at Christians is that we’re self-indulgent and hypocritical. Those critiques are not without warrant. As a more selfless church emerges (even excellent, selfless churches), that will drive more curiosity and interest from unchurched people. While you can debate what Millennials really want out of life, there appears to be a growing attraction in our culture to rebel against

• consumerism. People are longing for an alternative to life as they know it. The church is that alternative.

In the future church, Christians obsessed with giving away their lives will eclipse Christians obsessed with themselves and their preferences.

• 5. PEOPLE BECOME THE MOST PASSIONATE ABOUT THE THINGS WITH WHICH THEY’RE MOST INVOLVED

A final reason that engagement will drive future church growth is simply this: people become most passionate about the things with which they’re most involved. Just talk to a football dad or a baseball mom. Or your foodie friend who just found yet another recipe. Or your triathlete friend who set another personal best. Engagement fuels involvement. Involvement fuels passion. Passion fuels invitation. That’s why your friend wants you to try that recipe, to watch the game with them and at least attempt a 5k. Engagement leads to

• invitation. Invitation leads to unchurched people following Jesus. In many ways, this can only be a good

thing.

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Elevating Community By Thinking Small – Orangeblogs.org

A parent is not the only relationship a child needs.” – Reggie Joiner If you have children, I am sure that you have experienced moments where you invest truths into them only to find that they may have fallen on deaf ears. It can sometimes be surprising when they come home from church or school only to tell you about something they learned and for it to turn out to be something you had said many times before. Those of us who are parents will learn pretty quickly that it is so important to allow other adults that we trust to speak into the lives of our children. They might say things that we say in a slightly different way or at just the right moment to where something important will stick with our children. One of the greatest gifts a church leader can give a family is to put other adults into children’s lives who will say the same things and reinforce the same things that the parents say. You see, children crave and desire approval from adults other than their parents. This is something that can’t be done in the large group setting. This is why we encourage church leaders to “lead small.” When you think small you create a community of leaders that can take a few kids and do something for them that would be impossible to do for all of them. When you elevate community through leading small you are essentially providing an environment where children and students can forge strong and safe relationships with adults that share a like mind with the church and the parents. You are creating a path for students to grow in their faith through the investment of

• thers. This is priceless in a child’s life.

So how can you elevate community in your church? I am glad you asked! Here are a few thoughts to get you started. You elevate community when you do for a few what you wish you could do for more. You can’t do something for everyone, but you can do something for someone. As you train the leaders in your area of ministry this is an important concept to help them understand. It is important for every leader in your church to be intentional about investing relationally in their few so those kids have a solid relationship with someone inside your ministry. This person should be intentional about knowing their kids’ families and situations and work hard to be a part of their life. You elevate community when you do something culture isn’t doing. You can invest a million dollars into creating the best large group production a child has ever seen only to turn around and see today’s culture take it to the next level. As good and important as large group programming is, it’s not a substitute for what can happen in the context of community. Conversations and interactions happen on a different level in smaller communities. This community is something that culture can’t provide. This is a strength that the church holds and we need to be capitalizing on it. You elevate community when you do something parents can’t do. As I said earlier, kids need other adults to confirm, affirm and approve their life. They actually crave it. Kids need to hear the voice of other people in their lives. It is difficult for parents to provide this for their children without the partnership of the

• church. When you take the time to have intentional and well-trained small group leaders in your programs,

you are providing parents with access to spiritual formation for their kids that may be difficult for them to provide on their own. Elevate community in your church to maximize the potential families have to grow in their faith. Lead small and provide a venue for leaders in your ministry to invest in a few.

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7 Reasons To Serve in The Church Nursery

Too often serving in the church nursery can seem like a thankless job. One of the key tasks for children’s ministry leaders is to help volunteers understand their importance. With that in mind, I offer these following 7 reasons why serving in the church nursery is important.

• 1. God is there.

This may come as a shock, but the Bible has specific promises about God’s presence when children are welcomed and loved in Jesus’ name. Read more about God in the church nursery.

• 2. It helps others.

Your service in the church nursery allows church goers to focus on worship, rather than worrying about their

• children. In a way, your ministry makes it possible for the pastor to fulfill his ministry.
• 3. Baby’s first impressions.

The first (and sometimes lasting) feelings a child will have toward church is formed in the nursery department. A a positive experience in the church nursery is essential.

• 4. The most special assignment.

When you serve in the nursery, you are being entrusted with the most important (and vulnerable) members

• f the church family. There is no greater treasure on this side of heaven than the little ones God has given
• us. You must be someone special to have a job that is so important.
• 5. Your own growth.

Your service is essential for your own spiritual growth. You may have never looked at it this way, but a growing Christian is always a serving Christian. Jesus was known for putting others first, when you serve in the church nursery you are walking in his example.

• 6. Visitors first impressions.

The church nursery is the first contact young families will have with your church. Your friendly greeting and exceptional care for their children can make a great first impression for your church. If they don’t feel like their children are safe, they will not return – and rightly so.

• 7. Front-line prayers.

Your service in the church nursery is a powerful opportunity for prayer. If every nursery worker would spend several minutes praying over the children in their care, imagine how God might begin to change this coming

• generation. There is no better way to create an environment of spiritual nurture than to pray while you serve

in the nursery. Remember that God blesses those who serve his children.

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A Case For Church Membership – Thom Rainer

In some segments of American Christianity, there is a clearly expressed concern about the concept of church

• membership. It is perceived to be more of a cultural influence than a biblical expression of local
• congregations. “Church membership is an idea we copied from secular organizations like country clubs and

civic organizations,” a pastor recently insisted. “It has no place in the life of local churches.” Admittedly, one will not find the phrase “church membership” in the Bible. But is there a case to be made that the concept of church membership has biblical foundations? I think there is. Some Points to Consider Local churches in the first century obviously included specific persons identified with their congregations. For example, Paul wrote “to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi” (Philippians 1:1, HCSB). He undoubtedly knew many who were a part of that local church, because he identifies some of them by name: Euodia, Syntyche, and Clement. When Paul said in 4:15, “And you Philippians…” we could understand that phrase to mean, “And you members of the Philippian church.” While the word “members” is not explicitly used to describe those associated with a church, it does seem that the concept is implicit in the New Testament. I understand fully why some struggle with or reject the concept of church membership. In most American churches, membership has little meaning or value. Many churches have less than one-half of their membership attend any weekly worship services. Many local congregations could not locate all the members

• n their rolls if they had an FBI team searching to find them. Membership means nothing because we expect

nothing. Advantages of Membership But church membership does not have to be a meaningless concept. If our churches began to state clearly the expectations of membership, especially as new people come into the church, we could see a whole new attitude about membership. Many of these high expectation churches stress that membership means every member is accountable to the others. All of the members have agreed on a clearly stated doctrinal position so there is no division about major and even secondary doctrinal issues. The members likewise agree to expectations of common mission and service in the community and the world. In essence, everyone who agrees to the membership standards has common beliefs, expectations, and behavior. Commitment and unity are real in high expectation member churches. That Word “Member” I have had more than one conversation with a church leader who would agree with the essence of this article, except for the use of the word “member.” They would argue that the word has been co-opted by secular culture and, therefore, has no place in the church. I certainly understand that perspective. And I readily agree that there is no biblical mandate to use the phrase “church membership.” But it is not without biblical foundation. The Bible, through the writings of the Apostle Paul, refers to the church as the body of Christ. And how does he denote those who are part of the body of Christ? He calls them “members”: “Now you are the body of Christ, and individual members of it. And God has placed these in the church” (1 Corinthians 12:27-28, HCSB). Further, note the sense of unity that comes with each person being a part, or a member, of the body

• f Christ: “God has put the body together, giving great honor to the less honorable, so there would be no

division in the body, but that the members would have the same concern for each other. So if one member

12 suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all the members rejoice in it” (1 Corinthians 12:24-26, HCSB). Perhaps the problem is not church membership per se. Perhaps the problem is that we have lowered the standards for church membership so much that it has little or no meaning in many churches. Instead of doing away with church membership, perhaps we should be raising the bar. Then we might truly see the body of Christ function as God intended.

Church membership covenant: Expect what the Bible expects - Rick Warren

Why do churches have so many people on their membership rolls who give little or no evidence of Christian commitment or even conversion? Why do many churches find it difficult to motivate members to give, serve, pray and share their faith? The answer is simple. The members were allowed to join with no expectations placed on them. You get what you ask for! The difference between attenders and members can be summed up in one word:

• commitment. It's like the difference between couples who just "live together" and those

who get married. While becoming a Christian means to commit yourself to Christ, becoming a church member means to commit yourself to other Christians. It is a commitment to a specific group of believers - to practice the "one-another"s of the New Testament. Paul mentions two different types of commitment in 2 Corinthians 8:5: "First they gave themselves to the Lord; and then, by God's will, they gave themselves to us as well" (GN). At Saddleback, we call these the first-base commitments. You commit yourself to Christ for salvation and then you commit yourself to other Christians for membership in our church family. In our church we define koinonia (fellowship) as "being as committed to each other as we are to Jesus Christ." Jesus said that our love for each other was to be the mark of discipleship (John 13:33-34). I believe it's an indictment of American Christianity that most believers can quote John 3:16 but they can't quote 1 John 3:16: "This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers." When was the last time you heard a message on this verse? Today, most churches are silent about developing that level of commitment to each other. The phrase "one another" or "each other" is used more than 50 times in the New Testament. We are commanded to love each other, pray for each other, encourage each other, admonish each other, greet each

• ther, serve each other, teach each other, accept each other, honor each other, bear each other's burdens,

forgive each other, sing to each other, submit to each other and be devoted to each other. All of these commands are what membership in a local body of believers is all about. These are the responsibilities of membership. At Saddleback, we only expect of our members what the Bible clearly expects of all believers. These expectations are summarized in our Membership Covenant. "Today, most churches are silent about developing that level

• f

commitment to each other."

13 The most important part of a marriage ceremony is when the man and woman exchange vows. Before witnesses and God, they make certain promises to each other. This covenant between them is the essence

• f the marriage. In the same way, I believe the essence of church membership is contained in the willingness

to commit to a membership covenant. It is the most important element of our membership class. Throughout the Bible and church history, spiritual covenants have been made between people in order for mutual edification and accountability. At Saddleback we have four requirements for membership: 1) A personal profession of Christ as Lord and Savior. 2) Baptism by immersion as a public symbol of one's faith. 3) Completion of the membership class. 4) A signed commitment to abide by Saddleback's membership covenant. I urge you to prayerfully prepare and adopt a membership covenant in your congregation if you don't have

• ne. It can revolutionize your church. You may worry, "If we adopt a membership covenant, there will be

some who leave our church over it." You're right. There will be some. But here is the fact of reality: People are going to leave your church no matter what you do. Don't be afraid of people leaving. People even walked away from Jesus. When your congregation adopts a membership covenant, at least you're choosing the kind

• f people who stay.

Here is a copy of our membership covenant: The Saddleback Membership Covenant Having received Christ as my Lord and Savior and been baptized, and being in agreement with Saddleback's statements, strategy, and structure, I now feel led by the Holy Spirit to unite with the Saddleback church

• family. In doing so, I commit myself to God and to the other members to do the following:
• 1. I WILL PROTECT THE UNITY OF MY CHURCH

...By acting in love toward other members ...By refusing to gossip ...By following the leaders "So let us concentrate on the things which make for harmony, and on the growth of our fellowship together."

• Rom. 15:19 (Ph)

"Have a sincere love for your fellow believers, love one another earnestly with all your hearts." 1 Peter 1:22 (TEV) "Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs..." Eph. 4:29 "Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an

• account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be no advantage to you."
• Heb. 13:17

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• 2. I WILL SHARE THE RESPONSIBILITY OF MY CHURCH

...By praying for its growth ...By inviting the unchurched to attend ...By warmly welcoming those who visit "To the church ... we always thank God for you and pray for you constantly." 1 Thess. 1:2 "The Master said to the servant, 'Go out to the roads and country lanes, and urge the people there to come so my house will be full.'" Luke 14:23 (NCV) "So, warmly welcome each other into the church, just as Christ has warmly welcomed you; then God will be glorified." Rom. 15:7 (LB)

• 3. I WILL SERVE THE MINISTRY OF MY CHURCH

...By discovering my gifts and talents ...By being equipped to serve by my pastors ...By developing a servant's heart "Serve one another with the particular gifts God has given each of you..." 1 Peter 4:10(Ph) "God gave...some to be pastors and teachers to prepare God's people for works of ministry, so that the body

• f Christ may be built up..." Eph. 4:11-12

"Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Jesus Christ...who took on the very nature of a servant..." Phil. 2:3-4,7

• 4. I WILL SUPPORT THE TESTIMONY OF MY CHURCH

...By attending faithfully ...By living a godly life ...By giving regularly "Let us not give up the habit of meeting together...but let us encourage one another." Heb. 10:25 "But whatever happens, make sure that your everyday life is worthy of the gospel of Christ." Phil. 1:27 (Ph) "Each one of you, on the first day of each week, should set aside a specific sum of money in proportion to what you have earned and use it for the offering." 1 Cor. 16:2 "A tenth of all your produce is the Lord's, and it is holy." Lev. 27:30