Not Just Sunday

Our 2010 fall campaign: FAMILY Pt. 8 - "The Opportunity"

This is my final post on our FAMILY campaign starting this Sunday. I hope I've done an adequate job of explaining what the campaign is about, how to be involved and why you should be involved.

If you are part of Calvary Fellowship, I hope you're fully on board for the ride! I also hope you recognize that as beneficial as this is for all of us, there are also many people who do not attend church that really need this too! They need to understand what it means to be a part of God's family and they need His precepts and power to transform their own family.

So, the opportunity we have now is to invite these people to our special kick-off service this Sunday (10/3). We are asking everyone in our church to partner with us to do just that. I understand that sharing our faith is so hard for many, so let me just streamline it into what I'm calling the ABCs of evangelism:

A. AVAILABILITY -First, we simple need to decide that we will be available to God to help share His message with other people. The Bible says, “But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them?” (Romans 10:14, NLT) Being AVAILABLE simply means we are willng to be that "someone" that tells them.

B. BOLDNESS -Just because we make ourselves available to God doesn't mean we aren't afraid! We may have complete willingness and yet still be totally terrified to share our faith. But that doesn't have to stop us! The apostle Paul prayed, “And don’t forget to pray for me. Pray that I’ll know what to say and have the courage to say it at the right time, telling the mystery to one and all, the Message...” (Ephesians 6:19, The Message). If even Paul prayed for boldness to share the gospel, then you and I can and should do the same. We can then move forward trusting God to give us the confidence in Him to be faithful in sharing His message.

C. COMMUNICATION -Essential to sharing our faith is WHAT and HOW we will communicate it. I won't get into communicating the entirety of the gospel here. Instead what we are asking everyone to do in context of our campaign is to extend is a simple invitation to the kick-off service on 10/3. (Consider it a partnership; you bring them to church and we will faithfully bring them the good news!) There are so many ways you can work out the HOW to extend the invitation; here are a few:

1. Give them a printed invite card and ask them if they would come with you
2. Use Facebook for ministry! (confirm your attendance on the event page, click share to post the invitation on your profile page, click share to send it to people with a private message).
3. Give them a call and tell them there is a great speaker from Fort Lauderdale talking about marriage. Invite them to go, and offer to buy them lunch afterwards (generosity goes a long way!)
4. Pray and ask God to show you other ways!

The comforting thing about this to me is that we are not responsible for whether or not someone takes advantage of the opportunity, but only for extending it to them. How liberating; the pressure for results is on God!

If you intend to invite someone and you'd like me to pray for boldness for you and receptivity for them, just let me know. You can also pray the same for me because I am planning to ask my neighbors (how awkward if you're reading this) to come too.

Hope to see you (and your peeps) on Sunday!!!

An open letter to the singles at Calvary Fellowship

An open letter to the singles at Calvary Fellowship (or "Our 2010 fall campaign: FAMILY Pt. 7: The Singles"):

Dear singles,

I have heard a few concerns that we have in some way neglected or not considered the singles in our upcoming FAMILY campaign. I want you to know that is completely false. With all this talk of family, I understand how one might come to that conclusion based on a surface glance. I also understand that some of you might be tempted to check out of a series/campaign that focuses on family, but I believe that would be a BIG mistake. As a single person (unmarried, divorced or widowed), you may not have a physical family of your own right now, but you are still a valuable and essential part of our church family. And the whole idea of our annual fall campaign is for us all to come together and focus on one critical area of study TOGETHER as a church family. Having said that let me share with you three reasons why I believe it is extremely important for you to be fully engaged (no pun intended) in our FAMILY campaign starting this Sunday:

1. The best time to build a biblical vision for your family is on the front end! -Every day movies, TV, music, people bombard us with their ideas of what relationships are all about; much of it confused, distorted and way off-base biblically speaking. To counter that we need to remind ourselves of God's plan for family and relationships on the front end so we can establish a plan that is Godly and intentional rather than haphazard. Once you begin dating, it is almost impossible to objectively evaluate spiritual compatability (essential to a truly healthy relationship); especially if the other person is hot (which to you they should be)! But if you have God's vision for your family in mind in advance, you possess a very helpful tool to help you prepare yourself now and assess a potential future mate.

2. We have considered you in the planning. -The reality is that 90% of you will marry someday, so ultimately this campaign will effect the majority of you very directly at some point. Someday, you will need this stuff! And yet, we have also planned some relevant things for you now. We have a Home Fellowship for singles only with a specific focus of discussion (though you're welcome in any group). There will also be some application in the messages that will correlate to where you are now. When I was a single person I kept an empty picture frame on my end table by my bed. It reminded me to pray for my future wife (that God hadn't revealed to me yet) and it reminded me to continually work on being the kind of man she would want to marry. The reason I share that is not to imply that this series is designed to make you more "dateable," but rather it is designed to help you develop a biblica vision for your future family that will inspire you to grow spiritually in the present.

3. Studying the Bible is NEVER a waste of your time. -At the end of the day, we are going to do what we do at Calvary ALL THE TIME; study the Bible. Studying God's word on ANY topic ALWAYS has value to you: “So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it. ” (Isaiah 55:11, NKJV)
Even if you don't get exactly what you hoped to out of the series, and even if you don't get exactly what we hoped for you to get out of the series, you will get exactly what God wants you to get out of the series. And I trust that as we open the Bible to seek to understand any apply it, every single one of us will benefit!

The "Building a Family that Lasts" series only runs through October (and then we're back to the final 3 weeks of Revelation). I hope that you will keep an open heart and mind, fully engage yourself in the campaign, and trust that God has some revolutionary things that He wants to share and you need to hear during this campaign.

Thank you for hearing my heart,

Bill

Considering Commitment

My encouragement and challenge to each person at Calvary Fellowship regarding their commitment to the FAMILY campaign beginning Sunday, October 3rd:

Considering Commitment

My encouragement and challenge to each person at Calvary Fellowship regarding their commitment to the FAMILY campaign beginning Sunday, October 3rd:

 

Our 2010 fall campaign: FAMILY Pt. 6 - "Commitment"

When we marry, we stand in front of our family and friends and make lifelong commitments to the one we love. When we have children, we make implicit commitments that we will love them, care for them and train them until they are old enough to fend for themselves. These commitments are important and essential, but just as it is important to make commitments at the beginning of a relationship, it is also important to maintain and make commitments throughout the course of a relationship!

We are asking our church family together to make several commitments to invest in their physical family (present or future) in a few very specific ways. I know, some balk at commitment or would even push back "It's none of your business what I do," but that is a heart that is spiritually immature and is contrary to the teachings of scripture.

The people of Israel in the Old Testament and the people of the church in the New Testament made commitments corporately and individually to strengthen their relationships with God and with one another. If you resist commitment, a good question to ask yourself is "Why?"

There are great reasons to commit! Commitments challenge us to focus our energies and to push ourselves in healthy ways that lead us to extraordinary results we won't do when we just "go with the flow." And commitments made with a group of people are even better! Commitments made in community provide us greater support and unite and rally us behind purposes that are greater than ourselves -even though the benefits are experienced on an individual level too.

So far in my posts on our FAMILY campaign, I've discussed an overview of our fall campaign and a breakdown of the elements involved. All of these things have the power to revolutionze our families and yet all of them will accomplish absolutely nothing in the absence of the essential ingredient of COMMITMENT.

To maximize the benefit of all the fall family campaign we are asking people to pray and then determine which of the following commitments they will make as an investment in their family during the month of October:

1. To attend (or listen online when you have to miss) to each part of the series
2. To participate in a weekly Home Fellowship
3. To pray daily for their family

On the first official day of the campaign (10/3) we will be asking people to make these commitments. In the meantime I hope you will:

• Examine yourself to see why you resist making comitments (if you do).
• Consider the commitments being asked of you in this campaign and consider the beneits you might experience if you would make them.
• Pray and ask God to reveal which commitments He would have you to make,
• Commit on 10/3 to the commitments you will make and then trust God for the discipline to follow through!

I'm praying for you and your commitments even as I pray about my own!

Our 2010 fall campaign: FAMILY Pt. 5 - "The Secret Weapon"

Our 2010 fall campaign: FAMILY Pt. 5 - "The Secret Weapon"

This week I will continue writing about our fall campaign. Today, I'm going to discuss the 4th element we're asking everyone to commit to and then I'll share some additional thoughts about maximizing the benefit of the campaign for the remainder of the week.

The fourth thing we are asking everyone in our church to do throughout the campaign is to pray for your family; even if you don't yet have one, pray for your future family! It is important that we study God's word to hear what He has to say about family. It is also important that we gather together in small groups to discuss what we are learning. However, our families will never be all that God intended if we don't also tap into the power of prayer and appeal to God for His help!

“...The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. ” (James 5:16b, NIV)

Specifically, we are going to encourage everybody to pray for these four things each day throughout the course of the campaign:

1. For a vision for our family
2. For wisdom to understand how to apply what God reveals
3. For courage to do what God reveals even if it's hard
4. For patience to trust God to what only He can do after we have done our part

This alone could have a transformational impact upon our family, but imagine what it might do in combination with all of the other elements we've discussed!

Our 2010 fall campaign: FAMILY Pt. 4 - "The Support"

This week I am posting the critical elements of our upcoming fall campaign focusing on family.

While the entire church gathers together corporately each week for our "Building a Family that Lasts" series, we are also asking everyone to commit to and participate in a weekly Home Fellowship. These groups help support the series and allow us to all help support one another!

Home Fellowships are small groups where people meet in homes at different times in different towns, and discuss biblical principles together. Just as important as the content is the community that develops as people discuss, share, laugh, cry and pray together.

For two Home Fellowship cycles each year there are a variety of different topics, but for our fall campaign all groups come together in unity and study the same book church-wide. For our family campaign we will be going through seven chapters of the book, "God, Marriage & Family."

Sundays are great for worship and study, but Home Fellowships are the key to community at Calvary! They are also a crucial part of our family campaign this fall.

Click here to check out the groups and to register now!

This week I am posting the critical elements of our upcoming fall campaign focusing on family.

While the entire church gathers together corporately each week for our "Building a Family that Lasts" series, we are also asking everyone to commit to and participate in a weekly Home Fellowship. These groups help support the series and allow us to all help support one another!

Home Fellowships are small groups where people meet in homes at different times in different towns, and discuss biblical principles together. Just as important as the content is the community that develops as people discuss, share, laugh, cry and pray together.

For two Home Fellowship cycles each year there are a variety of different topics, but for our fall campaign all groups come together in unity and study the same book church-wide. For our family campaign we will be going through seven chapters of the book, "God, Marriage & Family."

Sundays are great for worship and study, but Home Fellowships are the key to community at Calvary! They are also a crucial part of our family campaign this fall.

Click here to check out the groups and to register now!

Our 2010 fall campaign: FAMILY Pt. 3 - "The Series"

Each day this week I'm breaking down the elements of our new series focusing on family.

A core component of the campaign will be our new teaching series, "Building a Family that Lasts." We've called it that because with God's help we want to  equip people to build a family designed to last here on earth and on into eternity. One that endures, and in some cases avoids, the challenging pressures and pitfalls that have destroyed so many other families.

The series begins on 10/3 with guest speaker Dr. Bob Barnes teaching a message called "Building a Rock Solid Marriage." We will then look week to week at what God's word has to say about family, and how that can help us construct a vision and maintain a plan for our present or our future family. The overarching principle of the series is that "to experience health and happiness in our family, we must first practice holiness." We'll spend our time figuring out how to make that work in the real world.

We are very excited about this series because it will be It will be both very biblical and very practical and thus very helpful to everyone who attends. It is also the perfect series to invite a friend or someone you know to church with you too!

Our 2010 fall campaign: FAMILY Pt. 2 - "The Seminars"

As I mentioned in yesterday's post I'm going to spend the next few days explaining the components of our 2010 fall campaign. Today I want to talk about the family seminars we are offering.

We have invited author and speaker Dr. Bob Barnes to return to the area for a Marriage seminar on Friday 10/1 and a Parenting seminar on Saturday 10/2.

The reason we want to begin the campaign with these seminars is we want to do some concentrated "heavy lifting" on the front end before we dive in. The reason we have invited Dr. Barnes is because he specializes in working with the family, and he is a communicator that is uniquely equipped and gifted to speak about issues pertaining to marriage and family.

People like Dr. Barnes do not come to our area very often. We have gone through great effort and expense to bring him in because we want to make an investment in your family, even as we ask you to do the same. It is our hope that everybody in our church (and the surrounding community and churches) will seriously consider their participation. Those that are married and/or have kids will especially benefit. But we have also added single's pricing because we believe what Dr. Barnes shares will be helpful for the serious single Christian who wants to have a vision for a godly family even before they start one!

To register click here.

For a newspaper article with more detail on the events click here.

For the promo video click here.

Our 2010 fall campaign: FAMILY Pt. 1 - "The Overview"

Each year at Calvary Fellowship we launch a fall campaign where we focus all of our environments on one important topic. We have chosen family this year because family is important and relevant to EVERYONE. Family is something we have all come from, and the vast majority of us will create a family of our own some day.

As we look to God's word as the center of this campaign, we'll examine God's design for family and we'll be able to identify some good things we have experienced and some less than perfect things we have endured. We will also look to God's word to help us establish a vision for our current or future family. Married, unmarried, kids, no kids...this series has been designed with EVERYONE in mind!

The goal of the series is that everyone would experience the greater HEALTH and HAPPINESS in their families that are the natural outcome of HOLINESS (commitment to God and His leading) in their families.

Over the next few days, I'll be unpacking each component of the campaign to explain what it is about. But as an overview, here are the elements we are asking everyone in our church to commit to participating in:

1. Attending the Bob Barnes Marriage seminar (10/1) and the Parenting seminar (10/2)
2. Participating in the "Building a Family that Lasts" Sunday morning teaching series (10/3-10/31)
3. Joining a "God, Marriage & Family" Home Fellowship (starting the week of 10/3)
4. Praying daily for their families daily for the duration of the campaign.

Imagine the impact that such a focused biblical approach would have upon family. Now imagine what impact those families would make upon our church and our community!

More to come. For now, please begin praying about the commitments God would have you to make in this campaign as in investment in your family this fall.