Elders Letter: August 2022
Dear Church Family,
As we transition into Fall, we are quickly nearing the launch of our third campus at South Greene High School on Sun, Oct 16! If you have turned in your Multisite Response Card and committed to Worship and Serve in some frequency/capacity at a specific campus—thank you! If not, please prayerfully consider doing so soon—especially at South Greene, as we still need about 40 launch team members as of mid-Aug!
On Sun, Aug 7, we had a great turnout of 300 at our “Super-Duper (lots of words) Multisite Update Dinner Meeting” at South Greene High School! We saw a glimpse of what the campus will look like, sang a couple songs, heard updates on launch/relaunch plans, answered questions, and prayed together. It was gratifying to see so many volunteers from all three campuses working together to make this night happen—thank you! For a recap and the Launch Guide, with a calendar of events leading up to launch, go to the FCC app.
During Aug, we took a break from our series in John to focus on our 3rd Habit—Connect in a Small Group (Ephesians 2:19-22). If you are not committed to a Life Group, we strongly encourage you to do so now. Why is this so important? Because we were created with the need for relationship and community (Genesis 2:18; Ecclesiastes 4:9-12; Romans 12:4-5). Sunday mornings are not enough time to develop deep and lasting friendships. Life Groups are where relationships are forged and the “one anothers” happen. When the Bible calls us to bear one another’s burdens (Galatians 6:2), pray for one another (James 5:15), accept one another (Romans 15:7), and forgive one another (Colossians 3:13), it implies that we are in close relationship with other Christians. This doesn’t come easy. As Scott said on Aug 7, “We want to feel like we are part of a community, but we don’t want to feel obligated to it, and we are scared to commit to it.” So, we encourage you to be bold, get out of your comfort zone, and “walk in a manner worthy of the calling.”
Another reason to commit to a Life Group is that they are the primary means of shepherding our people. As we expand in size and location, it is not reasonable to think that one or even a few pastors can meet the needs of so many. Life Groups (LG) do so in the context and under the authority of local church leadership. So, along with Elders, the Campus Pastors (CPs) are local shepherds at each campus. Per the Elders’ oversight, the CPs have recently assumed the roles of LG Coaches for their respective campuses. They will visit LGs, meet regularly with LG Leaders, help with training, and equip LG Leaders to ensure effective shepherding of members. We are blessed to have such great CPs and a strong LG Director in Chris Oakes! For more about how LGs work, check out the recently updated page at fccgreene.org/lifegroups.
Finally, regarding general fund giving, we want to say thank you! God continues to work through you, reflecting our 5th Habit—Pursue Generosity. We’re on track with YTD inc v exp and at 97% of our multisite goal of $100k! Also, for voting members, we are asking Mike Schubert to serve a 3-yr term as Elder beginning Oct 2022, to replace Mark Liebert. He is well known to us, active in ministry, leads a Life Group, has completed re:gen, has previously served 2 terms as Elder, and is on the South Greene launch team, giving us Elders at every campus. For details about who is a voting member, go to fccgreene.org/bylaws. Vote on/by Sun, Sept 25 at fccgreene.org/vote or arrange in-person voting during normal office hours (office@fccgreene.org or 423-639-0126).
Your friends and coworkers in ministry,
Chuck Bowlin, Carl DelSorbo, John Hamilton, Mark Liebert, and Scott Wakefield
The Elders of First Christian Church
As we transition into Fall, we are quickly nearing the launch of our third campus at South Greene High School on Sun, Oct 16! If you have turned in your Multisite Response Card and committed to Worship and Serve in some frequency/capacity at a specific campus—thank you! If not, please prayerfully consider doing so soon—especially at South Greene, as we still need about 40 launch team members as of mid-Aug!
On Sun, Aug 7, we had a great turnout of 300 at our “Super-Duper (lots of words) Multisite Update Dinner Meeting” at South Greene High School! We saw a glimpse of what the campus will look like, sang a couple songs, heard updates on launch/relaunch plans, answered questions, and prayed together. It was gratifying to see so many volunteers from all three campuses working together to make this night happen—thank you! For a recap and the Launch Guide, with a calendar of events leading up to launch, go to the FCC app.
During Aug, we took a break from our series in John to focus on our 3rd Habit—Connect in a Small Group (Ephesians 2:19-22). If you are not committed to a Life Group, we strongly encourage you to do so now. Why is this so important? Because we were created with the need for relationship and community (Genesis 2:18; Ecclesiastes 4:9-12; Romans 12:4-5). Sunday mornings are not enough time to develop deep and lasting friendships. Life Groups are where relationships are forged and the “one anothers” happen. When the Bible calls us to bear one another’s burdens (Galatians 6:2), pray for one another (James 5:15), accept one another (Romans 15:7), and forgive one another (Colossians 3:13), it implies that we are in close relationship with other Christians. This doesn’t come easy. As Scott said on Aug 7, “We want to feel like we are part of a community, but we don’t want to feel obligated to it, and we are scared to commit to it.” So, we encourage you to be bold, get out of your comfort zone, and “walk in a manner worthy of the calling.”
Another reason to commit to a Life Group is that they are the primary means of shepherding our people. As we expand in size and location, it is not reasonable to think that one or even a few pastors can meet the needs of so many. Life Groups (LG) do so in the context and under the authority of local church leadership. So, along with Elders, the Campus Pastors (CPs) are local shepherds at each campus. Per the Elders’ oversight, the CPs have recently assumed the roles of LG Coaches for their respective campuses. They will visit LGs, meet regularly with LG Leaders, help with training, and equip LG Leaders to ensure effective shepherding of members. We are blessed to have such great CPs and a strong LG Director in Chris Oakes! For more about how LGs work, check out the recently updated page at fccgreene.org/lifegroups.
Finally, regarding general fund giving, we want to say thank you! God continues to work through you, reflecting our 5th Habit—Pursue Generosity. We’re on track with YTD inc v exp and at 97% of our multisite goal of $100k! Also, for voting members, we are asking Mike Schubert to serve a 3-yr term as Elder beginning Oct 2022, to replace Mark Liebert. He is well known to us, active in ministry, leads a Life Group, has completed re:gen, has previously served 2 terms as Elder, and is on the South Greene launch team, giving us Elders at every campus. For details about who is a voting member, go to fccgreene.org/bylaws. Vote on/by Sun, Sept 25 at fccgreene.org/vote or arrange in-person voting during normal office hours (office@fccgreene.org or 423-639-0126).
Your friends and coworkers in ministry,
Chuck Bowlin, Carl DelSorbo, John Hamilton, Mark Liebert, and Scott Wakefield
The Elders of First Christian Church
Posted in Elders Letter