Community. Field Guide. Am I faithfully leveraging all God has given me for His Glory?

Transcription

1 Community Field Guide Am I faithfully leveraging all God has given me for His Glory?

2 At Calvary our goal is to equip and inspire people to be PURSUING LIFE IN CHRIST LOVING GOD by knowing Him personally and worshiping Him collectively Is my relationship with God my daily priority? LIVING GOD S WORD by learning what it means and doing what it says Am I living out what I m learning from the Bible? GROWING WITH GOD S PEOPLE by relating authentically with others for their good and my growth Am I cultivating intentional relationships for growth? GOING INTO GOD S WORLD by extending the gospel to others right here and around the globe Am I actively participating in God s transforming work in the world? INVESTING IN GOD S WORK as stewards of God s gifts and servants in God s plan Am I faithfully leveraging all God has given me for His glory? Community is a vehicle for implementing our values of GOING INTO GOD S WORLD and INVESTING IN GOD S WORK. 1

3 The Community Impact Initiative is a vehicle for implementing the Calvary Church values of Going into God s World and Investing in God s Work. Join us as we Pursue Life in Christ together to bring glory to God and impact our community. God is calling the people of Calvary Church to serve Him at Calvary Church, whenever we gather at 1051 Landis Valley Rd. God is also calling us to serve Him as Calvary Church, wherever we go throughout our community. Many of you are already serving in our community. More of us should. The Community Impact Initiative will guide you, as Calvary Church, to serve God in your circle of influence and to impact people you know in all of your many and varied relationships. GOALS: SEE Identify people and places where you can invest SERVE Discover opportunities to deepen relationships SHARE Point people to the gospel CELEBRATE Capture stories and share with others 2

4 SEE: Identify people and places where you can invest FIXING MY EYES Knowing the character and purpose of God is where investing in the work of God must begin. That character and purpose is displayed fully and finally in Jesus Christ. That is why we start by fixing our eyes on what God has declared is our identity in Christ. Read the following Scriptures and briefly describe, in your own words, how God sees you, and then share your observations with the group. Romans 8:31-39 Galatians 2:20 2 Corinthians 5:17 Ephesians 2:1-6 See Ourselves How God Sees Us (Incarnation) Jesus incarnation is the pattern of life for all who follow Him. Jesus made his dwelling or camped out among us (John 1:14) and became one of us, yet without sin (Hebrews 4:15). He summed up his goal of life this way, the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many (Matt. 20:28). Jesus came to be our Savior to die and be raised from the dead to take away the sin of the world. He also came to be our example to experience what it means to be human and show us how a fully-functioning human being lives. Jesus goal of life should be our goal of life, not to be served, but to serve. He entered our world, shared our pain and invested in our lives. To be incarnational is to be like Jesus, to enter into another s world to understand them, love them and serve them. It means setting aside our agendas for God s agenda! 3

5 SETTING MY COURSE This field guide is designed to move you on a journey of incarnational ministry. The first step is to identify your circle of influence so that you can begin to pray and consider how God wants to use you to reach others. The diagram below is a picture of your relational world, your most natural environment for service and evangelism. It s your circle of greatest potential influence. Fill in the lines below with the names of the people who first come to mind in each of the six areas. MOVING FORWARD Think about the circles you enter into every day...the worlds of your friends, family, school, workplace. Think about each individual in them. How can you serve them? Who, in my circles of influence, likely needs Christ? FRIENDS SCHOOL NEIGHBORS Your Circle of Influence WORK FAMILY OTHER More people come to mind? Then PRAY! -To see them the way God does -For a heart full of compassion and love -that God will be with you and guide you as you connect with them 4

6 Look over the list on the previous page and ask: 1. Are you the Christian these people know best, or do you know other Christians in their circle of influence? 2. How may the Christian community be engaged to reach them? 3. What are the obstacles to sharing your faith or more deeply entering their world? 4. What opportunities do you have to invest in them and to build bridges for the gospel? 5. Identify concrete steps you can take to bring someone from your circle of influence one step closer to Christ. God wants us to make an impact where He has placed us. Another way to invest and serve in God s work is by joining in the work of one of the partnering organizations of Calvary Church or an organization with which you or your group (small group, ABF, family) are already familiar. Journaling/Discussion Which Scripture had the greatest impact? How does God look at me? SEE: Identify people and places where you can invest. 5

7 What does it mean for me to know that Jesus has entered, not only the world, but also my world? How might this comfort, encourage, or challenge me? How is God challenging me to carry out his plan through my life? What must I do to see people in my life the way God sees them? What has God taught me and shown me by serving Him? 6

8 SERVE: Discover opportunities to deepen relationships FIXING MY EYES The See section stressed that our mission field is the people all around us. If we re seeing right, we ll serve. But, being a servant is both difficult and unnatural. We ve spent much of life learning to be selfish. Turning from self to serve requires training and growth. The process of change will require putting to death the unholy familiar for the sake of making alive God s glorious unfamiliar. Challenge yourself to model your life after Christ s. A physical cross might not be yours to bear, but the motivation to glorify God that drove Jesus to give His life for us is the same motivation that should drive us to serve others. This process of investing in God s work by serving others is an act of worship. SETTING MY COURSE Telling your story, and how it s a picture of the story, best happens in relationships. We initiate and grow relationships because of the love of God. Befriending someone as a technique to share the gospel is not God s way of loving. God calls us to love others sincerely and sacrificially. It s only natural that by sharing yourself with others you will also share what s most important in your life your relationship with God through Jesus Christ. So, place sharing the gospel in the wider context of your circle of influence. Allow the way you pursue life in Christ everywhere, all the time, to illustrate the words you say about Christ when given the opportunity. MOVING FORWARD We don t invest in God s work alone. God says we can t. Romans 12:4-5 states, For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. He has given each one in the Body of Christ a set of gifts by which we serve God. No one has all the gifts. No one lacks a gift. We need to discover, cultivate and use our gifts both at Calvary Church and as Calvary Church wherever God places us. 7

9 Each act of service is unique. Each Community Impact opportunity will look different because the people who serve and those we serve are different. Three things we all invest in to build bridges for the sake of the gospel is our time, talents and treasures. Assess your stewardship of the resources God has entrusted to your care and consider how you can serve someone in your circle of influence by using your time, talents, or treasures. PERSONAL ASSESSMENT (BE SPECIFIC!) TIME: How are you investing time for eternal purposes? TIME: How will you invest more time? TALENTS: How are you using your talents for eternal purposes? TALENTS: How will you use your talents? TREASURES: How are you investing your treasures for eternal purposes? TREASURES: How will you invest your treasures? What relationships or organizations in your circle of influence could benefit from your time, talents, and treasures? Challenge yourself about how well you are Investing in God s Work by asking, Am I faithfully leveraging all God has given me for His glory? 8

10 Journaling/Discussion How am I becoming more like Jesus through serving? How is serving others related to following Christ? What stands in the way of me being a better servant to others? What can I do about these obstacles? SERVE: Discover opportunities to deepen relationships 9

11 Who among God s people should I discuss and pray with about better ways to serve others? How is God challenging me to carry out his plan? What resources should I leverage to serve others? 10

12 SHARE: Point people to the Gospel FIXING MY EYES At this point you identified your circles of influence and considered avenues of service within those circles. How do we point people to Christ? As we attempt to see and serve it s important we understand and are able to explain the hope we have found in Christ. Sharing the gospel is not one-size-fits-all. The gospel message remains unchanged, while our methods must vary. This may sound complicated, but remember it is all about relationships. Ask for Spirit-led wisdom as we seek opportunities to share. Jesus pointed people to the Father in different ways with different people. He understood the truth and the people well enough to connect one to the other in relevant ways. In the same way, we need to have a clear understanding of the gospel and a meaningful relationship with people to connect one to the other. Take time to review the following overview of the gospel, questions to help guide conversations to the gospel, and ways to craft your gospel story. One of the challenges of sharing the gospel is turning conversations towards eternal issues. Here is a list of sample questions to help guide the conversation towards spiritual matters. Try to incorporate these questions naturally into conversations you have. As we seek to love God and love others, God calls us to enter into our friends world and share what He is doing in and around us. Simply put, we begin to desire to know our friend s story, share our story and explain God s story. 11

13 UP DOWN UP DOWN GOSPEL OVERVIEW: God created human beings for His glory and in His image to have a personal relationship with our heavenly Father and Creator. (Genesis 1:27) We have been separated from God because from the very start we chose to disobey God s perfect plan. Because of our decision to disobey, every single person is infected and affected by sin. Our sin separates us from God, leading to both physical and spiritual death. (Genesis 3, Romans 3:23) God loved us so much that He created a way to rescue us from sin and its deadly consequences. That way is Jesus Christ! Jesus came to take the penalty of our sin on the cross. Jesus rose from the dead to give us life and to restore us to a personal relationship with God. (John 3:16, Romans 6:23) There is one way to have a relationship with God- faith! Faith in Jesus Christ means repenting of our sin and believing that Jesus alone can forgive us of our sin and become the Lord of our lives. (Romans 10:9, Ephesians 2:8-9) QUESTIONS TO MOVE A CONVERSATION TO SPIRITUAL THINGS 1. What challenges and struggles are you facing? 2. What is your philosophy of life and what principles do you live by? 3. How does faith impact your daily life? 4. Does God play a role in your thinking and life? 5. Tell me the story of your life-highpoints and low points? 6. What in life do you value most, and why? 7. How did you learn faith and values as a child? 8. When you look at the condition of the world, where do you think we are headed? 12

14 SETTING MY COURSE Everybody has a story. That story matters to God. Be a good listener of others stories. Stories give you insight into peopes lives, suggest how you can serve them and where you can connect with them. Be a good teller of your story, especially how it illustrates the way any person can come to know Christ. Write out a rough draft of your story. Don t be worried about wording or getting things just right. Include the main points, including how you came to know Christ, what the Gospel is about, and who you were before and after. What caused you to begin considering God/Christ as a solution to your needs? Specifically, how did you trust in Christ? How did your life begin to change after you trusted Christ? What other benefits have you experienced since becoming a Christian? (Especially think of those benefits that would best relate to the people in your circle of influence. Better relationships, security, etc.) After telling your story it can be helpful to conclude with a question. Write what your concluding question would be. (For example: Can you relate to any of this? Does this make sense to you? Have you ever heard anything like this before?) Other resources are available in our library and in Appendix A Gospel Resources SHARE: Point people to the Gospel 13

15 MOVING FORWARD Part of the journey is always being prepared to share about the hope you have found in Christ. (1 Peter 3:15) 1. After reviewing the various methods of sharing the gospel, practice communicating the gospel to a friend. Take turns sharing and listening as a way to build confidence. 2. Look over your circle of influence and ask God for increased opportunity to enter into meaningful relationships and conversations with the people in your circle. 3. Which person(s) from your circle of influence will you seek to serve and share the gospel? 4. Make a plan of the specific steps you will take towards serving and sharing. Some practical ideas could include: a. An upcoming activity that I could include my friend b. Show hospitality c. Spend time socially with other co-workers and learn their story. d. Become a regular somewhere in your community or with one of Calvary Church s partnering organizations e. Invite a friend to church with you 14

16 Journaling/Discussion Come up with a list of small things you might say or do to make Christ s work in your life more visible to those from your circle of influence. What specific ways will you share your story with someone? Share your testimony with someone else. SHARE: Point People to the Gospel 15

17 Extra space for processing your story 16

18 CELEBRATE: Capture stories and share with others FIXING MY EYES Let everything that has breath praise the Lord! Praise the Lord! (Psalm 150:6). One goal of Community Impact is to celebrate what God is doing by sharing stories. Everybody has a story to share that s one of the things that makes each of us unique. God wants us to share our story with others. It brings him glory and gives us joy when we hear stories of how someone s life has been changed by the gospel. Within your circle of influence and within the church, please capture these stories, big and small, using one of the means listed below so we can all celebrate together. SETTING MY COURSE 1. Visit: to share your story and see how God is impacting our community. 2. Community Impact Forms Pick up a printed copy at either Connection Center and return them to the church office. 3. Post stories to the Calvary Church Facebook page. Please include details about your event, who served with you, and what God did in and through your team to deepen relationships. 17

19 MOVING FORWARD Pray that God would give you eyes to see Him at work in others lives. Celebrate stories with others at Calvary Church to encourage them to invest in God s work and extend the gospel right here in our communities. Journaling/Discussion How could you encourage others around you to celebrate small or large steps of faith? What are ways to celebrate on a regular basis? 18

20 Other Resources Appendix A While telling your story can be a powerful method there are a host of other methods you can use. Sample the following links and methods. The goal is to become familiar with several methods, so that we will always be ready to give a reason for the hope you have found in Christ. Evangelism Evangelism Resources: One-Verse Evangelism Creative Ideas to Reach Out For helpful video demonstrations: Visit: