Intentional Mission Strategy

We had a great service this past Sunday. It was the kick-off of our E3 series. This series is all about revealing our intentional strategy for making disciples.

Just as spiritual growth does not happen by accident, so a church does not accomplish its mission by accident. A church will only accomplish its mission if it does so on purpose. Sunday we defined our mission like this:

Our mission at ACC is to lead people into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ by helping them to experience God, excel in spiritual growth, and express his love to the world.

Our intentional strategy is thus summed up in these 3 words (each of these links to previous posts I have written about them):

Experience

Excel

Express

This series will be about expounding on each of these.

Bring Somebody With You

Perhaps more than any other time of the year, this is the time when most people are likely to go to church. For that reason, I'd like to encourage everybody to invite a friend to church during this holiday season.

Researchers have indicated that many non-churchgoers would be willing to attend a church if they were simply invited. One of our goals at ACC is to be a church where people feel comfortable, excited, and proactive about inviting their unchurched friends to attend.

Our current message series Unwrapped, also makes for a good invitation opportunity during this season. We're studying how to get honest with ourselves and God as we experience the difficulties, pains, and failures in life. You can also refer people to unwrapped07.com where they can register to receive a free $5.00 coffee card on their first visit.

Vision

A clear and compelling vision keeps us focused on our ultimate mission. In today's culture there is such a tendency for us to allow distractions to keep us from pursuing God's heart and the mission he has given us. Scripture teaches us that "where there is no vision, the people perish." Therefore one of my greatest responsibilities as a leader is to seek the heart of God and cast a Christ-centered, God-honoring vision.

Our vision at ACC is:

To lead people into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ by helping them to Experience Christ, Excel in spiritual growth, and Express his love to the world.

God has called the church to "make disciples of all people." Each one of us has a part to play and a place to contribute. To borrow from the Apostle Paul's analogy, the church is the body of Christ. What a beautiful thing it is when each one of us with our unique giftings function together in unity and love working together for the sake of the gospel in our community. Each one of us, working in unison contributes to the overall mission that God has given us. He has commissioned us as "ministers of reconciliation" leading a broken and lost humanity back into a saving relationship with its creator.

Ministry Strategy Part 3: Express

The third and final stage in our discipleship process after Experience and Excel, is EXPRESS. This step is all about giving what we have been given. It is about expressing God's love to the world. It comes third because we cannot express his love to the world until we have experienced his love personally.

Expressing God's love is the natural result of experiencing him and growing or excelling in our relationship with him. As we grow in him, we realize more and more the importance of sharing his love with others.

After the disciples had experienced Christ and had begun to grow by listening to his teaching, they were sent out into ministry (Luke 9:1-2; 10:1-3). Ministry is the inevitable result of experiencing God and growing in him.

The entire book of Acts also testifies to this fact. After their powerful encounter with God in the upper room and their committment to meet corporately and from house to house, they proceeded to turn the world upside down for God!

At ACC, the primary ways of expressing God's love to the world is by joining a ministry team and helping with the various outreach events that we do. There are opportunities to lead a Life Group, become a Youth or Children’s ministry leader, become a Nursery worker, help with the coffee and hospitality ministry, become an usher or greeter, become an altar worker, help with the building and grounds crew, join the worship team, help with sound, lighting, and video production, etc.

It is so important that we not just grow in God, but give what we have been given. It is extremely unhealthy to only consume and never give out. The converse is true also that we cannot properly give if we are not receiving from God and growing in him. Both are necessary.

The natural result of experiencing God and growing spiritually is expressing his love to the world. Indeed we should not be able to hold it in!

Ministry Strategy Part 2: Excel

After EXPERIENCE, the next step in our spiritual growth process is EXCEL. While we are not talking about the Microsoft Office spreadsheet application, we are talking about growing in our relationship with God. This second step in our process is all about spiritual growth.

At ACC, our primary avenue for spiritual growth is Life Groups. Though this is certainly not the only place where spiritual growth happens, we feel that it happens best in the context of authentic relationships. Life Groups provide a more intimate setting which encourages thoughtful interaction and dialogue which is not always possible in a large gathering. A small group environment allows a group of people meet together for the purpose of growing in God's Word, praying together, and sharing life together.

Our Life Groups strategy is patterned after Jesus' ministry and the model of the early church.

In Luke 6:12-16, after Peter, James, and John had a powerful experience with Christ in ch. 5, they became a part of Jesus' small group of disciples. The 12 disciples at this point are following Jesus and are growing spiritually by observing his life and listening to his teachings.

In Acts 2:42-47 we see that the believers “…devoted themselves to the apostles teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers…And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people.”

Also in Acts 5:42 we read: “And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ.”

Christianity is not meant to be lived in isolation. We need to be connected with one another. By developing meaningful relationships with other believers in small groups, we are able to effectively help one another grow in our relationship with God, community with believers, and influence with our world.

Ministry Strategy Part 1: Experience

In a series of posts I'd like to describe our ministry strategy here at ACC. Since Christ has called the church to his mission, it is important that we be intentional about making disciples. If we are going to be intentional about anything we must be purposeful about making disciples.

Strategies and methods are not sacred. The Great Commission is. Strategies are merely the practical process by which we seek to fulfill the Great Commission. Strategies may need to change from time to time, but the mission and message never changes.

The first step in our ministry/discipleship process is EXPERIENCE.

Before someone can begin their spiritual journey they must have a personal experience with God in which he changes their heart and comes to live within them. We call this experience of God salvation. It takes place when we repent of our sins and submit our lives to the Lordship of Jesus Christ.

The spiritual journey of the disciples began with a personal encounter with Jesus (Luke 5:1-11). Along the same lines, the explosive ministry of the Apostles in the book of Acts took place after their incredible encounter with the Holy Spirit (Acts 2).

The primary (though not only) avenue for this step in our process is our Sunday Morning Gathering. It is during this gathering that we seek to experience God's presence together in corporate worship and the preaching of the Word of God. We expect that as we are together in God's presence that God will draw people unto himself and they will cross the line of faith and begin their spiritual journey. We also expect that believers will also be filled with God's power in order to be effective witnesses for Christ in our homes, workplaces, and communities every day.

Ambridge Clean-Up Day

Really excited about another opportunity we have to show love to our community. We've been invited again by the Committee to Clean and Beautify Ambridge to participate in a clean up day this Saturday.

We helped for a clean up day in April. You can read about that here. I love opportunities like this because it is such a practical way to show Christ's love!

Anyone is welcome to join us. We will be meeting this Saturday the 15th at Rook's parking lot on 4th and Merchant St. in Ambridge from 9-11am. We'd love to have you come out!

City Reach Is Finally Here!

Today I spent a good part of the afternoon walking up and down through the streets of Ambridge passing out flyers for City Reach. If even one person's life is changed forever it will have been worth it!

This is our biggest outreach event of the year. Last year we had an average total attendance of 300 each night with 30 total salvations. I'm believing that God is going to do even more amazing things this year.

City Reach is not about building up our church, it's about building up the kingdom of God. It's about being filled with God's compassion for his people and making His love known. It is about being faithful to Christ's command to go into all the world and preach the gospel. This is about the mission God has called us to.

If you're unfamiliar with City Reach, it's basically three nights of special services for adults with music, giveaways, and a message, and Vacation Bible School for children with games, music, prizes, and exciting Bible stories. Also, I don't want to forget that there is FREE FOOD provided for everyone, every night following the festivities. On Friday the 17th will be our annual Back-To-School Block Party. We will be blocking off the street behind the church and filling it with all kinds of games, food booths, and a moonwalk. We will also be giving away free backpacks and school supplies to students.

I'm so excited about this week! I'm really looking forward to all that God is going to do.

Workday

Last night and today a group of us are doing work on our building. We're sanding the wood floor in preparation for carpet installation next week. We're also doing some painting in our soon-to-be coffee cafe area.

It's so exciting to be part of what God is doing in the Ambridge area. I'm so thankful for all of the people who have invested their time and energy into God's work here.

As much as I like working on our building, my heart is for the people in this community. If better facilities help us reach more people, I'm game :)

New Series: DNA of a Hero

This week we began a new message series called DNA of a Hero. In the coming weeks we'll be looking at various men and women of Scripture and the characteristics of their lives that made them great in the sight of God.

While we're not talking about flying faster than a speeding bullet, being more powerful than a locomotive, or able to leap tall buildings in a single bound, we are talking about living to the fullest the life we were created to live - a truly extra-ordinary life.

This past Sunday, the introductory message was called "A Heroic Life" from Hebrews 11 which is now available for streaming or mp3 download here.

Penn-Del Ministry Summit

Today I am attending our Penn-Del District Council. This is the time of the year when as many pastors as possible from our fellowship in Pennsylvania and Delaware gather together for prayer, ministry workshops, and business sessions.

This morning began with a prayer service led by pastor and blogger Paul Grabill, of State College Assembly of God. The service was a powerful hour of worship and prayer in the presence of God. I'm really looking forward to connecting with some fellow pastors and leaders from our district.

20 Exhortations to Maintain a Healthy Church

Just finished our board meeting for April! It's a privilege to minister and work with such amazing people. I shared a basic list of exhortations from the Apostle Paul. Thought I might blog about them here:

This list of exhortations from the Apostle Paul describes powerfully how a healthy church should operate. The church is not primarily a building or an organization but people. It is the community of believers in Jesus Christ sharing one heart and mind, wholeheartedly pursuing the mission of Jesus here on earth.

For the mission to be fulfilled in its greatest capacity there are certain characteristics that it must embody. Here in Romans 12:9-21, the Apostle Paul gives a straightforward list of exhortations that need to define the way the church relates to itself and to the world.

“Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with God’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice;mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited. Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. On the contrary: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him;if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”

1). Love sincerely
2). Hate evil
3). Be devoted to one another
4). Keep spiritual fervor serving the Lord
5). Be joyful in hope
6). Be patient in affliction
7). Be faithful in prayer
8). Share with the needy
9). Demonstrate hospitality
10). Bless persecutors
11). Rejoice with those who rejoice
12). Weep with those who weep
13). Live in harmony with one another
14). Do not be proud, associate with the lowly
15). Do not repay evil back with evil
16). Do what is right before others
17). Live at peace with everyone
18). Do not seek revenge
19). Bless enemies
20). Do not be overcome by evil, overcome it with good

I love how straightforward Paul is on all this. You can't go wrong working these characteristics into the heart of your church. This is definitely the kind of church I want to be a part of!

Weekend Reflections

Saturday morning we had the privilege of joining the committee to clean and beautify Ambridge for their Spring kick-off. A group of about 12 of us from ACC hit the streets with probably about 40 other people for a couple hours of spring cleaning! I can't think of a more appropriate way of demonstrating love for a community than helping to clean it up.

In service on Sunday I really felt an exceptional spirit of joy and enthusiasm during the worship time. The atmosphere was just charged with expectancy. I gave a message called "The Unstoppable Church" from Matthew 16:13-18. We looked at the importance of having a right belief about who God is, how Peter's confession, "You are the Christ the Son of the living God" is the true foundation of the church, and the indestructability of the church, which the gates of hell can never overcome.

The gates of hell will never prevail against the church of the living God! Gates are stationary, defensive structures. So many times, as the church, we take a retreatist mentality. We go into hibernation mode and hide from the world. There's one problem with that: The church is called to play offense! There is nothing we have to fear because we are being led by the One who has all authority in heaven and earth. It doesn't matter what sport you're playing, you won't win if you don't play offense. I think a lot of times we disguise our fear as caution. I'm not saying that there won't be times to scale back and huddle, but when it's motivated by fear it's not of God.

We concluded by illustrating this with the story of Esther. She decides, despite the risk to her life to go before the king and plead for her people. I love the resolve she displayed, "If I perish, I perish." She wasn't going to be remembered as a loser. She knew she was created for "such a time as this" and she didn't retreat in fear.

Really makes me want to go for it!

Weekend Reflections

This past weekend was awesome. Friday night we got to attend the Rochester High School play "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat." So proud to see Mike Winich, one of our youth students play Judah. It was a great show.

Had a great time Saturday night giving the prayer at the Beaver County Young Life banquet at Geneva College. Young Life is an amazing ministry reaching junior high and high school kids for Christ. At the banquet we got to hear a testimony from Neil Berger, a Sophomore at Ambridge High School who gave his life to Christ through the ministry of Young Life and is now actively involved in our church. My friend Jason Smith, Area Director of Young Life in Beaver County and his staff are doing a phenomenal job reaching teenagers with the message of Jesus Christ!

Church Sunday was great. We concluded the series "Fit To Be Untied" with a message called "Freedom Catalysts." We discussed how each of us are called to know God and make him known. Each of us were created to leave a mark in history. God has given each of us the calling and responsibility of spreading his kingdom. In a way, all of us are preachers because our lifestyles proclaim something. We looked at how God desires that our lifestyles would in every way proclaim his life-transforming power.

We saw from Matthew 9:35-10:8 that ministry flows from compassion, calling, and his power that we have received. Each of us are called to be catalysts, sparking a chain reaction of freedom in the lives of the broken and hurting people around us. The closer we get to Jesus the more of his compassion we will feel when we see people. Christ's calling qualifies us for ministry, not our abundance or lack of credentials. True spiritual authority comes not from paper, but from God. What matters is not education or titles, but a burning passion for Jesus and a love for people. We certainly shouldn't downplay education or training, but it can never substitute for relying on God's power. What a privelege we have been given, to freely give to others what God has given to us!

Love Ambridge

I'm very excited about an opportunity we have to reach out and love our community. Saturday, April 21 we are going to join with the Committee to Clean and Beautify Ambridge for their Spring Kick-Off! As you may have already guessed, we will be cleaning and beautifying Ambridge.

In John 13, Jesus served his disciples by washing their feet. We get to serve our community by washing it's streets. I love opportunities like this to tangibly demonstrate Christ's love!

If you're interested in going with us, send me an email here. We'll be meeting at 8:30am on 4.21 at 552 Merchant St. Love for you join us!

Easter Sunday

I love Easter Sunday! I love seeing new faces and meeting new people. We had a great service with about 85 people in total attendance. I spoke about the resurrection from 1 Corinthians 15:1-16.

I'm really excited to welcome Pastor Cal to lead our Children's Ministries on Sunday mornings! Pastor Cal comes to us with 32 years of experience as a children's minister. Today was his first Sunday with us. Really looking forward to partnering with Cal to reach the kids in the Ambridge Area.

ACC History

Pastor Jeff from Allison Park Church is currently writing blog articles about the various churches that they have planted. Ambridge Christian Center is the second of six churches they have started in the Pittsburgh area. Jeff does a really good job retelling our story. Check it out here.

Ambridge Network of Hope

I'm very excited about partnering with Network of Hope to reach people in the greater Ambridge Area. The mission of NOH is to promote lasting change in individuals, families, and communities. This Sunday, our NOH pioneer for Ambridge, Mary Niewola, will be giving a presentation introducing NOH to our congregation. Looking forward to collaborating with NOH to see lives changed for God's Kingdom :)