how do we do this...
STARTING & LEADING GOSPEL INITIATIVES TO REACH MORE PEOPLE INVOLVES THESE APPROACHES FOR US:
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seeing needs & seeking wisdom
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setting the table
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collaborating
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mobilizing & enriching
seeing needs & seeking wisdom
We ask God to give us eyes to see - we aren’t just trying to do a bunch of things that look good, we want to be engaging the needs and the brokenness in our world that the Father leads us to. We humbly seek the Lord and let Him show us what to step into. We then ask for wisdom from God to address the need with the goal of longevity and lasting Christ-centered restoration and not just immediate fixes
Setting the Table
This means creating opportunities primed for engaging that moment/need in the lives of those we’re seeking to reach. What we desire to create is so much more than an event. Our desire is to create space in order for change to happen. Event's are good, but our hope is that every opportunity we create will lead into something more more. We pray that it will result in people leaving with new relationships with Christ followers that can point them to Jesus, new desires that lead them to live fully for Jesus, and even more opportunities to serve Jesus and serve and disciple others.
We want freshmen to leave our retreats knowing how to get connected spiritually in their college towns and having upperclassmen to do that alongside. We want them to have the space to ask themselves how they will live in college and make that decision early. We desire for international students to have an entire weekend with local students to really be heard, to know they have people in their town that desire to welcome them in, to know them more deeply. For kids through The Sandlot Development League to have a consistent commitment. To have ownership of being a part of a team. To play hard and learn the discipline of a new sport that builds character and self control. We want to offer time, to set the table for change to happen.
Collaborating
We collaborate with other ministries and churches to help make these opportunities what they need to be. We recognize it takes the entire body of Christ to truly meet needs and reach all people. So we set the table through opportunities to get God’s people from various churches to meet those needs. We seek to bless churches by collaborating together to mobilize and equip their people to engage needs and reproduce disciples to continue meeting needs. We collaborate with the body of Christ as a whole, understanding that we can't and shouldn't do this alone, we believe the promise from Jesus that others will truly know Him by how we unify, and collaborate, and love one another.
mobilizing & Enriching
Our desire through anything we do is never simply to staff an event so that it can happen. Our desire is for anyone involved to be in the right seat to bring glory to the Father and also to strengthen their love for and knowledge of Him. We desire to mobilize other believers because we understand change doesn't happen in a moment, it happens as we go. And prayerfully "as we go" more are brought into the Kingdom, who desire to be taught and equipped to bring in more as they go. We want to engage needs and reproduce disciples to continue meeting needs. And we want to make sure that everything we do is enriching the lives of those we overlap with, praying that anything we do only shows more of the Father, that more of Him is all anyone truly leaves with. Therefore we seek to honor everyone who comes to take a “seat at the table” so they will leave feeling honored and loved by the body of Christ.
that more may know him
1 Corinthians 9:22-23