How this Small Congregation is Both Transformational and Emergent.
Engedi Church is a younger congregation with appx. 330 regular attendees / partners aged 50 and under. Pastor Brian keeps the messages real and funny, and the music is contemporary. His church is made up of “flaming liberals, political right wingers, and others who are apolitical – and they are all friends”
What attracts newcomers to Engedi? He replied “It’s the people. We are warm and friendly, not glitzy”
Brian and I further discussed what he sees as the attraction for those who come to a semi-abandoned strip mall for Sunday services when there is a church on every corner in the small community of Holland, Mi. For believers, a significant attraction is the time and emphasis dedicated to outreach. As is prevalent in many emergent churches, Engedi spends much of its energy making connections with those who are on the edges of their well woven community. Yet Engedi’s message is not typically emergent.
The message presented in some emergent churches is that truth is grayed around the edges. While black and white, right and wrong existed strongly in the past, today we need to wrestle with these issues and come to a mediated, fresh experience of truth.
Pastor Brian disagrees. While they make connections with those investigating Christ, by acknowledging the faith journey, God’s word is still presented as unchanging and all-encompassing truth. People in relationship with their God don’t have to defend his word, or confront others. We are on a journey, and accepting others like Christ did doesn’t mean the message changes. The message is one of hope and transformation, and the reason Engedi meets.
The attraction to those who are still seeking, or investigating the claims of Christ is, foremost that they are accepted. Secondly, those investigating Christ are often attracted to Engedi because of their emphasis on social justice and social outreach. In practice this means that a large number of Engedi partners are committed to and involved in compassion based outreach. Twenty five percent of Engedi’s budget is directed toward local and international outreach. While Engedi partners shy away from political causes, they have worked to expand public transportation in their home town and raise support for African relief projects.
In short, the appeal for those partnering with, and investigating Christ at Engedi is outreach. Pastor Brian believes that this the central issue which makes Engedi a transformational and prevailing church. “We present the clear teaching of scriptures. We don’t dumb down the message. The gospel is radical and demanding, calling people back to Christ. The demands of the gospel call us to create a new community, and God expects us to take action. The purpose of Engedi is to create meaningful change in people lives in that direction.”
Engedi Church – a Small Congregation with Big Ideas.
Engedi Church ( www.engedichurch.com ) began meeting in a school cafe on Oct 5, 2005. A daughter of large and successful Central Wesleyan Church (CWC) in Holland Mi., Engedi was birthed by Pastor Brian Aulick and a small group of congregants who wanted to be less anchored in tradition and more freely focused on areas of living in a discipling community and engaging social outreach. This is not to say that Central Wesleyan was not concerned about these issues. As a growing church on Michigan’s west coast, CWC is a traditional Wesleyan church which has a great reputation and impact in the community. Those involved in Engedi simply wanted to shift their focus, not start a new denomination.
In our interview, Pastor Brian Aulick said he never planned on a church plant. Engedi started as a small group within CWC. After 5 years, the senior pastor suggested that Brian plant the unique congregation in order to expand their outreach and impact. Brian and Engedi members are more highly connected to living out their faith every day of the week. The group wanted to be more intentional in helping people serve in the community during the week.
Engedi was named after the small oasis which hid David from King Saul during the years he evaded Saul in wilderness. Engedi is a small valley, just off the eastern shore of the Dead Sea. In a parched region void of vegetation, a small stream breaks across the rocks, and falls down in the Engedi Valley, creating a cool lush retreat of green plants and animal life. The Engedi oasis was often a place where weary travelers stopped for refreshment and refueling. In this image Pastor Brian fashions this growing congregation.
Those who make Engedi their church home are called partners, not members. Each partner is called to, and willingly agrees to pursue a more deliberate, intentional Christian life. This paradigm is also promoted by Dr. Randy Carlson, speaker, writer and radio host with Family Life Communications. (www.theintentionallife.com) Partners commit to core practices, each of which linked to core values. The practical emphasis placed on these 5 core values make Engedi unique, and transformational for both partners and the community around them.
CABLE – A Means to Tie It All Together. Built on the acronym CABLE, the Engedi partners agree to practice the following.
C: To Care for others needs. The first core value is not restricted to those who come to church with you, or those you know. Each CABLE group is asked to have a community outreach project, such as collecting food for the local food bank, or mentoring local students.
A: To Acknowledge the journey with others regularly. Living your faith isn’t just a Sunday thing, and partners of Engedi intentionally seek out time to fellowship with others, and as Paul wrote: “Build up each other in the faith”
B: To Bless others weekly. “If the gospel is hidden, it is hidden to those who are perishing” Engedi partners seek to communicate, bless and give to others in some way that reflects the way Jesus would.
L: To Learn God’s word and to Listen to God’s voice. Being led by God’s spirit is, or should be an every day thing. By purposefully practicing God’s presence, Engedi partners seek to be an active partner with God’s work in everyday life.
E: To Eat with others. Jesus practiced what may sound simple – He slowed down to eat with those who knew him, and those who didn’t. Fellowship that happens over a meal can open doors to share more than just food. Relationships are built, and partners use relational evangelism to draw those who don’t know Christ a step or two nearer.
Tapping Ministry Resources from the Entire Church Body.
I became a member at Trinity Church shortly after they moved from a campus in East Lansing to a larger location on the city’s south side. The congregation had outgrown their prior facility, and with no available undeveloped land at their suburban setting, the congregation purchased land, built a new building, and relocated. Church growth and relocation is not in itself noteworthy. What makes Trinity’s move unique is that they successfully completed this major upheaval without the leadership of a head pastor.
As discussed prior, Trinity has a spiritually strong congregation, which is built on an equally strong foundation provided from two large governing bodies: elders and deacons respectively. Because the church is filled with spiritually, relationally, and emotionally maturing believers, the monumental tasks associated with this kind of change occurred smoothly, and with minimal disruption of the church’s ministry activity.
In my interview with Jeff Schneider, he related that a small staff of elders stepped forward to engage the process, and shepherd the rest of the leaders in this direction. Anyone associated with a church building project knows the importance of strong leadership. Yet, rather than relying on a single person, Trinity church’s strength comes from an Eph. 4 view of church life and leadership.
Eph 4.2-13 (NIV)
Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to one hope when you were called— one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. This is why it says:
“When he ascended on high,
he led captives in his train
and gave gifts to men.” (What does “he ascended” mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions? He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.)
It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
God’s model for ministry and church life is that each believer should be raised up to engage their own spiritual gifts. When each of us accepts this charge, and a church leaders empower and equip believers to live according to his model, the church grows strong, and we move, as described in Ephesians, toward unity in the faith, maturity, attaining the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
What makes Trinity’s church relocation noteworthy in my book is that the peaceful and successful outcome is evidence of the spiritually mature congregation, which itself grew from a biblical model of discipleship – decentralized leadership, and a community, or body ministry paradigm. Jeff was more humble when he described the events. “It was a God thing.”
Beyond the Walls: Connecting to ALL who Contact your Church.
Trinity church has borrowed a ministry model from Rick Warren’s Church in Saddleback CA. The diagram below illustrates how Trinity leadership views their place in their community. The diagram also creates a model the church applies in order to create disciple building movement within the congregation. The five concentric circles represent the spiritual condition of every person whom Trinity church contacts.
1. The outer circle is the general community at large, and specifically those within driving distance of the church building. Trinity Church views itself as a change agent, responsible to reach into the community. They purposely build relationships and sponsor connection events which would attract members of the community to Trinity.
2. The crowd is a subset of the community, and is made up of any person who comes to an event or weekend service at Trinity. They have made a step toward becoming involved. They may or may not have made the decision to make Jesus Lord of their lives. Nonetheless, they are regularly coming, and depending on Trinity to move them forward in their spiritual journey.
3. The congregation is made up of those who not only attend Trinity on a regular basis, but also have made Trinity their church home. This group may, or may not be involved in ministry events, yet they have completed steps for formal membership.
4. The committed are those who are connected, and involved in the ministry of Trinity Church. These Trinity members seek to learn about and become equipped to use their spiritual gifts in ministry.
5. At the church’s core are those who have completed the church’s spiritual formation classes, and are actively using their own spiritual gifts in ministry. They are serving in some aspect of church ministry and are committed to their own spiritual growth, and that of those within their own sphere of influence.
This model has helped Trinity shape the programs within the organization to address the complete range of spiritual needs of those the ministry contacts. The fruit of this model is that Trinity is a growing, spiritually healthy church, aware and seeking to meet the spiritual needs all those they encounter.
How often have you encountered a church focused on growth of the congregation and committed? How many months can go by without any new commitments to Jesus Christ occurring? How many opportunities will they miss to connect with those who are investigating Christ’s claims?
The same question can be asked about a church that focuses too narrowly on the community and the crowd. A church can be tunnel visioned on meeting the seeker – skeptic in their midst that the gospel become weakened, and those committed or at the core are not challenged to take up Jesus’ call to holiness, or personal obedience to the Gospel.
Trinity Church intentionally allocates resources on developing programs, events and tools which are designed to meet individuals’ needs across the entire spectrum. As spiritual needs are met, individuals find the encouragement, instruction, support and loving, quiet expectation that they can move from one circle to the next. The ministry paradigm, from the pulpit to the children’s church, is focused on this same goal.
A Personal Mega-Church
By the numbers, Trinity Church in Lansing, Mi would be considered a ‘Mega-church.’ With 3 services each weekend, an average 2700 adults attend pulling behind them 500 to 700 children. However, if you were standing on the balcony between services, you would experience a unique culture within the congregation. A large atrium stretches across the back of the auditorium, with light flooding in from a three story window wall. Before, after and between services, Trinity member and guests pause over coffee to genuinely partake of each other’s lives. The attendance numbers haven’t pushed aside real relationships, genuine caring, and time taken to build lasting friendships.
Trinity started in 1952 as a home fellowship. Students and adults associated with Michigan State University wanted a personal, relationally connected church fellowship. The congregation is still strongly composed of professionals from the East Lansing university and business community. However, since moving to Lansing’s south side, the congregation has grown in numbers, and diversity.
For the next couple weeks I will be highlighting Lansing Trinity for this reason: although the numbers are large, the relationships are intimate and those at the church’s core continually reach outward. While a member there, I couldn’t walk through the atrium without a number of genuine friends finding me, and asking meaningful questions. So often I hear/read complaints about how larger churches loose the personal touch. Trinity is an exception. As such, those of us in ministry can learn from their spiritual, relational, and community successes.
I spoke with the Director of Connection ministries, Jeff Schneider, and asked about this personal and genuine organizational culture that is at Trinity’s core. As we discussed what the church practiced in the way of supporting practices, Jeff told me that 70% – 75% of the congregation is regularly involved in small group communities. Most meet in homes during the week, and gather multiple times a month, with a few meeting in the church building
I asked Jeff to what he attributed this high percentage of small groups. He replied these three points:
1. The church leadership models small groups. The church leadership, from the head pastor to children’s church teachers are committed to “doing life together.”
2. Small group ministry as a model for Christian growth is supported from the pulpit. Christian growth and disciple building is understood and taught as necessary fruit in a Christian’s life. Small groups are a consistent vehicle to bring about that deep, abiding growth.
3. Each year, the church holds 2 connection events. In the worship program each week is an opportunity to indicate interest in small groups for the outgoing. What Trinity has found more effective is biannual connection events. Jeff related that face to face events, where those who are not involved in small groups can meet leaders and build relational bridges, are the most effective means to get a new person to take the risk of engaging deliberate Christian community.
Read more about Trinity Church, Lansing Michigan here.
Beyond Me: Living You-First in a Me-First World
Beyond Me: Living You-First in a Me-First World
By: Kathi Macias
Published by: New Hope Publishers, Birmingham, Al 2008
Ever had mornings you don’t want to get out of bed, days you don’t feel like going to work? What do you do when the issue is obeying God? You love him; you are his child. Yet you still don’t want to obey, to allow yourself to transformed into his image through your obedience.
The heart of Kathi Macias’ new book Beyond Me – Living a You-First Life in a Me-First World balances tenuously on this question. When the honeymoon is over – What Then? Inspired by a cosmetic line marketed as “It Is All About Me,” Kathi digs deeply into her 30 year personal Christian history to grapple with the issue of discipleship.
“Jesus didn’t call us to make converts,” Kathi said during our interview. “We aren’t called to sit and listen to teaching, or (passively) expect to be blessed. He called us to make disciples. . . When you are all wrapped up in yourself, you make a pretty small package.” According to Kathi, making disciples is about modeling a changed life. When we become a Christian, we learn how to live for Christ. The next step is modeling a changed life, living you-first in a me-first world.
As Kathi and I talked for nearly 30 minutes, she returned to a number of themes which are woven throughout the text. As people, we often have layers of emotional issues, learned habits which run counter to a discipled, disciplined Christian lifestyle. Living ‘you-first’ means allowing Christ to remove the layers in order to reveal the person he has called and equipped you to become.
As Americans, we often hold onto an “I can do it, and have to do it myself” kind of attitude. Yet Jesus calls us to participate with him. WE have the choice to allow Him to participate in our lives. When we do, we build his kingdom, not our own.
A third theme is that Christians expect that they are now members of God’s “Bless Me Club.” Too often Kathi has seen that Christians’ thoughts and prayers revolve in a fixed orbit around our own desires. Kathi’s book is an encouragement, and a challenge to take the message of the gospel and make it personal. It’s not about being served, but serving others.
Toward the end of our interview, I asked Kathi what she believed opened the door to this kind of lifestyle. I have often heard these words from a church podium, yet not taken up the charge to change? She responded, “The bottom line to every sin, everything that takes us away from God’s call on our life is a broken relationship with Him.” The external sermon becomes an internal motivation when we understand God’s heart toward us. He takes upon himself the shame of sin, he doesn’t give it. He reaches and forgives rather than standing aloof and demanding of us. For Kathi, as she writes in this book, God so loved that he gave. He calls us to do the same.
I want to thank Kathi for writing this book, and highly recommend it for anyone tired of living an average Christian life. We aren’t called to be average. we are called to be disciples, to live you-first in a me-first world. You can find more about Kathi, and her writing and speaking ministry at http://www.kathimacias.com/
Posted by:
Timothy Burns, Associate Editor Ministry in Motion Blog
Author, Forged in the Fire – Shaped by the Master
http://www.timothyburns.com
Square One: Starting a Small Group
My husband Jeff and I just recently left behind church ministry positions in California to relocate to North Carolina. Our plan–to start a coffee shop ministry. One of our goals is to reach unchurched people for Christ. A small group community will, we hope, be a key feature of this coffee shop fellowship.
I’m already growing impatient as we put preliminary pieces in place to make this dream happen. But, as is often the case, we need to walk before we can run. We met with Dennis and Jeannie, our two key leaders out here in NC and talked about the direction to take. After batting around ideas, we all agreed that rather than wait until the coffee shop opens to start our ministry, we should move ahead and use a small group venue and meet in homes. (Only we can’t meet in our home since we don’t have one yet.)
Our next challenge, deciding who to invite to the group. We’re relying primarily on Dennis and Jeannie since they know people in the area. And we’ve got more of a challenge since we are starting a small group without already being part of a church. Dennis and Jeannie brainstormed potential group member contacts. But their spiritual standing was very diverse. One couple was notorious for church hopping and never seemed satisfied with whatever fellowship they chose to join. Another couple who came to mind fell into the seeker and possible new age category since the husband seemed open to spiritual discussion but the wife, who was from another country, had some peculiar beliefs. Then there was the potential couple we’d been told about by a friend who said they were unchurched.
Would inviting this odd mix of characters really gel into a small group? Though we want to reach the unchurched, we feel it is important to carefully consider who we inviteto the group because it will dictate the personality of the group andperhaps even its health.
TALK BACK
What advice would you give to us as we launch this new group? What lessons have you learned? What precautions would you take? Click on “comments” below and let us know what you think!
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