The Power Of You

BY PAUL BARTLETT

We can all agree that it is God who gives power to all we do as churches and leaders. We sincerely want to do God’s will and purpose, particularly when it comes to where we get involved in our Communities. What about you?

Do you understand how important YOU are? I want to encourage you not to dismiss having a community strategy because your language is “God will do it”. It’s my understanding that God could do anything without us, but He actually chooses to do it with you. Can I suggest that serving your community doesn’t happen because of God; it happens because of you.

Are you a sheep or a goat? The best community engagement scriptures are found in Matthew 25 where Jesus shared the parable of the sheep and the goats. Today everyone wants to be the G.O.A.T (‘greatest of all time’) but trust me, in Matthew 25 you don’t want to be the Goat! This is how Jesus describes how important you are to your community, when He speaks to his sheep in Matthew 25:35-36 (NLT): “For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.” Jesus is saying to His Church: “It’s because of you people are fed, clothed, cared for and visited in prison.” This passage ends powerfully when Jesus said when we do this to the very least, I (Jesus) actually experience this myself! I used to think this scripture was bout good people (sheep) and bad people (goats) but, what if it’s really about this: People with Faith and Action (sheep) vs People with Faith? (goats) As leaders, we aren’t meant to stand glaring at heaven, waiting for a supernatural sign to serve our communities. Joyce Meyer said recently, “we can be so heavenly minded we are no earthly good”.

Paul Bartlett is the National Director of ACC Community Engagement FOCUS ON MENTAL HEALTH:

Join us for the Community Engagement Online Summit at 1pm on Thursday, 19th August.

DIPLOMAS AVAILABLE:

Every church in the ACC should have one person trained in this area of Community Engagement. ACC Community Engagement can help you get more involved in your community, and qualified and accredited. Check out the Diplomas of Community Services RPL and other courses available at Alphacrucis. For more information: ac.edu.au/awards/diplomacommunity-RPL/ Email community. engagement@acc.org.au

FOLLOW @acc. communityengagement ON INSTAGRAM

ACC Community Engagement Director Paul Bartlett met with his new team of state representatives on the Gold Coast in April. MATT BOULTON was announced as Community Engagement Coordinator, a role which involves assisting the state leaders in outworking Paul’s vision for churches and their communities.

COMMUNITY UPDATE

‘The most spiritual thing churches do is not on Sundays. It’s actually when they’re engaging people in the community and leading them to Christ.’ – Paul Bartlett The energy in the room was palpable when Paul Bartlett shared his passion for community with us. Like the rest of the team, I leaned right into this bold idea and felt grateful for this exciting era in the history of our movement.

It was my first day as Community Engagement Coordinator. As I listened to each state leader sharing stories of local churches doing us proud, my heart and head were pounding in unison, “This is so great – people have to hear about this!” You can follow our new @acc.communityengagement Instagram account that is a great inspiration of stories of what other local churches and ministries are doing in their communities to love their neighbours. A fresh update of the ACC Community Engagement website with further resources for churches will be launched in the near future.

Hearing what our churches have been bringing to the table through their service and generosity is just one part of our community care inittiatves. Through our partnership with NAYBA (formerly Cinnamon Network), we have been able to participate in Community Faith-Action audits; allowing civic leaders for the first time to measure in dollars and cents exactly what churches are contributing to their cities. In a recent faith-action audit, leaders in NSW’s Illawarra region were stunned to learn that churches contribute over $9.7 million in social impact value, while serving over 140,000 people in that region every year. – Matt Boulton, Community Engagement Coordinator

PARTNERSHIP WITH NAYBA ACC is proud to partner with NAYBA. They share our passion for community engagement, with Jesus at the centre of their mission. NAYBA is not about taking the place of the local church, but doing whatever they can to empower churches to bring community transformation. In addition to NAYBA’s Faith-Action Audits, they’ve also developed a menu of NAYBA Recognised Projects (NRPs). When it comes to community engagement, churches no longer have to reinvent the wheel. Instead, the NRP menu is there to help them with best-practice projects which are replicable, and already have the runs on the board when it comes to transforming people and communities. Visit the NAYBA website: nayba.co/locations/australia