CORE N E WS LE T T E R
10/6/19
Hey Gang! We had a great kickoff to the new programming year. Our Youth Ministries have gotten off the ground with a new surge of students in Middle School and High School falling more in love with Jesus. We had over 60 people come to our last College Heights Connect in September, all of whom are taking a next step in following Jesus. Another exciting number is that since Easter, we have had over 325 guests at College Heights. These are the guests who have taken a step to let us know that they are here, and around 70 of those guests are either serving in a ministry or are plugged into a small group, and all of this was before our three weeks of Small Group Connects that had over 130 people sign up to get plugged into a small group. It has been an intense several weeks, yet we believe God is moving in powerful ways through you and your leadership and service in so many different areas as we join with God on his mission of making disciples of Jesus who change the world. I read in a book this summer a message for Christians who were trying to live out their lives in uncharted territory, which is exactly what we are trying to do in this 21st century. The message was simply this: 1. Stay Calm; 2. Stay Connected; 3. Stay the Course. At the beginning of this programming year, I want to encourage you with the same message. In the midst of the uncertainties of life stay calm, remember God is on the throne, and he will advance his church against the gates of Hades. We also must stay connected to one another. Our enemy is not against flesh and blood, against this pastor, church leader, elder, or even other churches in our community, but against Satan and his minions. We must unite together and stay connected to each other as we follow Jesus. And lastly, we must stay the course. God is on the move, the Spark initiative is going great, we are seeing lives change, and the number of guests is tripling compared to last year, so we must continue to stay the course that God has led us on as we seek to make the glory of the Lord known among all nations. We must stay the course until the gospel reaches every person in every house on every street or until the Lord comes again.
Hey Sy!
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Did You Know...? Small Groups One of the most strategic ways that College Heights fulfills its mission to make disciples that change the world is through our adult small groups ministry. This ministry consists of groups of around 8-15 adults that meet together in homes, businesses, shops, and church classrooms to share the realities of life together. These are places of hope, encouragement, accountability, study, service, and much more. Our small groups ministry is one of the largest programs in the church. There are over 700 adults plugged into a group, making up of over 60 different groups that are run by over 100 volunteer leaders. This fall has been an exciting season, as over 150 adults have joined groups through organic invitations and our annual Small Groups Connection Kick-Off event. This was made possible because of the faithfulness of our current groups adding new members and 18 new groups getting started. One of the five key vision goals for our church is for 60 small groups to reproduce in the next five years. Through our times of learning, sharing, and growing, we are excited that 16 groups have already been reproduced towards this goal. We are hoping for many more in the future. At College Heights, we firmly believe that discipleship happens in relationship. The times of both knowing others and being known by others is made possible through these times of connection.
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SPARK Update
Our goal for the Spark Generosity Initiative is to raise $9 million to eliminate debt, cover our operating expenses for two years, fund the One Less Gift campaign, and make updates and renovations where needed. As of September 31, 2019, you as a church have given $3.93 million!
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Reporting Core Stories Over the last two years, we as a leadership have established six values that we believe represent who we have been, who we are, and who we desire to become for the future. Our desire is to tell you all stories of how different people in our church are living out the mission of making disciples who change the world through living out these values. Our hope is that the feedback button at the bottom of this article will empower you to have eyes to see people living out these values and that you will report them to us so that we can celebrate our mission being lived out each and every day. Our values and a short description:
K
Kingdom Influence. Everyone has kingdom influence and has been created by God with a plan to be used for his mission.
R
Raise Up and Send Out. We have raised up kids, pastors, missionaries, and church planters and sent them around the world with the good news of Jesus. And we only want to grow in this area even more.
I
Inclusive of Others. We will always be exclusive on Jesus, but we also learned from him to be inclusive of others, no matter their background.
M
Multiply on Every Level. We make disciples who multiply other disciples; we reproduce campuses that reproduce other campuses; and we plant churches that plant other churches.
E
Environments for Learning. We teach the Bible to kids, we create mission trips for people to learn about the global work of God, and we invite interns to do ministry with us. We want to actively raise up the next generation of kingdom workers.
S
Strategy is Prayer. If we truly want to be a part of something that lasts for eternity, then we must pray big audacious prayers and partner with God in making everything new.
Core Value Story There’s something inspiring about a multitude of people living out their common values daily with unity and focus. It can be powerful and full of possibility. It’s how movements start – good or evil, for justice or for injustice. However, when those values are Kingdom values and the people are His Church, then the power and possibilities exponentially increase. These daily interactions don’t have to be big weighty 500 lb. occurrences either, they can be 10 lb. everyday conversations and Christ-like actions. The sum of those intentional small interactions by multiple people over a period of time is a movement that changes the world. This past summer, as I was talking with one of the Administrative Assistants on staff, she relayed to me a story she had of one such interaction: “Recently, in a conversation I had with a new friend, the topic of what it means to a Christian came up. She is in a season of searching for answers in her faith, learning what it means to live it out and how that applies to every area of her life. During our conversation, I simply asked how she would describe the Christian life. Going to church and reading Scripture were the first things she said. Then, she asked me the same question. I pulled out the diagram that we’ve been using here at CH about the definition of a disciple and walked her through each of the three major components, how they work together, and how faith is more than going to church or reading Scripture only. As we talked, I could tell that things clicked. As we finished that part of our conversation, she said, ‘I’ve never heard it articulated so simply and yet clearly’.” No fireworks. No thunder. Just a conversation with a new friend talking through what it means to be a disciple, following Jesus, being changed by Jesus, and on mission with Jesus. The friend even texted her weeks later saying that she had been thinking a lot about that conversation and wanted to talk more about it. This is a simple example of how to embody a couple of our core values: everyone has kingdom influence and can create environments for learning. These are our values as a church, and we are convinced that if we live these out and celebrate when we see each other living them out, we will truly see ordinary disciples change the world in extraordinary ways. Thanks for your partnership in the kingdom of God to turn this fallen world upside down.
chjoplin
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chjoplin