Together We Can, Together We Will:New Contemporary Worship Service in 2010

After much prayer, conversation and consideration, your session has concluded that we will add a second Contemporary worship service to our Sunday morning worship offerings. The goal is to launch later this year. Below are some of the factors leading to such visionary action:


• A crucial part of our purpose statement is to share the love and grace of Jesus Christ with as many people as we can.

• According to Pew research, late Sunday morning continues to be the prime time that unchurched people are open to accepting a worship invitation.

• On the whole, research shows in today’s culture, the unchurched are more open to Contemporary worship than more traditional styles.

• History validates that a worship space is full when it is at 80% capacity. Our 9:40 contemporary service is operating at beyond 80% capacity.

• The delay in constructing a larger Worship Center demands a more creative use of our current time and space to maximize the fulfillment of our purpose.

So, what are the plans? What does this mean for the other 3 Sunday morning services? Your session is casting the vision and asking you to pray, think and help us discover the path that will allow us to arrive at where God is leading. Together we can, together we will.

I know that you have a heart for reaching new people for Jesus. I know that you understand the meaning of sacrifice, commitment and the importance of creativity. You have demonstrated more than once a willingness to do what ever it takes to achieve the mission God has placed before us. Together we can chart a course that will allow us to maximize and be good stewards of our time, space, people and financial resources. Together we will.

Please be in prayer for the vision and opportunity God has placed before us. Talk, brainstorm and pray about our purpose and vision in your small groups, friend and family gatherings. Read scripture, especially Matthew 10:1-42; 23: 37-40; 28: 18-20; Luke 4:14-19,Acts 1:8 & 2:14-41. Pray as you read, seeking God’s plan .

Email your ideas, thoughts, insights, prayers and possible solutions to Allan Mink, allan.mink@stmattcpc.org and Session clerk Kim Perkey, jkjjperkey@sbcglobal.net . Allan and Kim will disburse your creative ideas to the staff and session. Speak with or email an elder or staff person you are close to. They will pass on your thoughts, feelings and ideas on the rest of the staff and session as well.

Be open to an elder visiting your small group to engage with you in conversation, vision casting and prayer. Together, united as one church family, we can find a way to respond to the opportunity and challenge God has placed before us. Together we can, together we will.

When prayerfully considering how we can add a second Sunday morning Contemporary Worship Service, please consider these guidelines.

• We are committed to providing Traditional Worship on Sunday mornings.

• There are no sacred times frames. We can keep the same Sunday morning worship times, adjust them slightly or even start from a blank slate. The same is true for the meeting of our Sunday morning small groups. Think outside the box.

• Space is not sacred either. God is not limited by human architecture or design.

• Consideration must be given to the egress and regress of cars in the parking lot and people in the foyers and hall ways.

• Technology is a wonderful tool and we are committed to using it but funding has to be considered.

• We are committed to reaching the lost and providing a means where the Holy Spirit can transform them into Jesus followers.

• Small groups and discipleship groups are not limited to meeting on Sunday mornings. Most of the unchurched will give you 60 to 90 minutes at a time two different days a week.

• The goal is to add a second Contemporary Service in 2010.

We are living in exciting times. There are hundreds of people all around us who have a need for a relationship with Jesus. They have a need to be loved, belong and experience real community. They have a need for healing, forgiveness, friendship and hope. They have a need to be part of something that is wholesome, true and good. They have a need to serve and make a difference. In other words, they are waiting for your invitation to attend your church. They are waiting for us to do the work to make room in our hearts, our minds, our spirits and God’s facility.

With God’s help, together we can, together we will.

Peace,

Rick

Thank You!

2,000 plus different people poured through the doors on Easter Weekend seeking to celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus. Some came cautiously, others out of obligation but the masses came hoping to be renewed in their faith. Many left encouraged, challenged and hopeful because of your selfless efforts.


Thank you to all of the laity who tirelessly worked to clean and make ready the building to host all of the services. The time and energy to set up and take down for 6 services in four days is enormous. From stem to stern, the church plant looked and functioned great!

Thank you to all of the laity who worked from the parking lot to the chair/pew to demonstrate hospitality to every single person who entered the parking lot.

Thank you to all of the laity who practiced and practiced to present a musical offering to the Lord that represented the joy of the Resurrection. From beginning to end, Traditional and Contemporary services were filled with inspirational music.

Thank you to all of the laity who were    present at the beginning of all four services to make sure the Resurrection Drama was consistently well executed for God’s purpose.

Thank you to all of the laity who invited your friends and family to join your for worship. I hope your guests had a God encounter and will consider joining us again in the near future.

To those who joined us in the praise of our Resurrected Christ, thank you for attending St. Matthew this past weekend. There are many great churches in our community so we were honored that you chose to worship with us. Please come back.

And thank you to all of the staff who tirelessly worked from dawn to dawn for several days back to back. St. Matthew, please let your church staff, full and part time, know how much you appreciate them. We cannot afford to pay them what they are worth so please let them know their work matters and is making a difference. Honor them with a phone call, note, text or email. If you see them around the church or in the community, stop them and tell them “Thank you. You are doing a good job.”

Most of all, thanks be to God for coming to planet earth in the person of Jesus Christ and  taking care of our sin on the cross and then raising Jesus from the dead. We are a blessed people Lord and it is all because of you.

Live Life Strong!

Rick