Fri 22 Jan: Questions about the fruit of the Spirit (5:22)

1/20/2010

4 Comments

 
“The fruit of the Spirit is love joy peace...”(Galatians 5:22)

The church is meant to be a community that makes a difference, such that the Galleywood area becomes loving, joyful and peaceful.  Today, could I ask you to note down the answers to some questions about building up that kind of transforming community:

-      What’s missing in the life of this church?

 

-      What is your dream for transforming the Galleywood area though the children and young people in this church?

 

-      What is your dream for transforming the Galleywood area through the teenagers in this church?

 

-      What is your dream for transforming the Galleywood area through the working-age adults in this church?

 

-      What is your dream for transforming the Galleywood area through the elderly people in this church?

 

-      Have you ever visited another church and thought “we should do that!” ?

 

                                   
4 Comments
member1
1/20/2010 04:51:58 am

Here are my answers to the questions. I'm a bit ahead of the programme, but no one's ever accused me of following orders slavishly.

What's missing? A risk-taking mentality. Men.

What's my dream for children? Bringing joy to their schools and homes by enjoying church so much it just spills out of them.

What's my dream for teenagers? The same. When I was a teenager we used to say "deep joy". That's what we're after.

What's my dream for working age adults? All the stuff already on this blog about a 7-day-a-week faith. I've twice heard Andy preach about being a bit like God if our job is creating or manufacturing, being a bit like Jesus if we serve people, and I can't remember how we were a bit like the Holy Spirit but that really struck me as right. I think this kind of teaching brings in men in particular - and women below retirement age. And like someone commented on this blog a while ago, if we didn't put such a lot of energy into Sundays maybe we would be able to make a difference during the week.

What's my dream for older people? That there is a little joy for them too. That we have Songs of Praise and music hall nights and Harvest Suppers and lots of things that older people can come along to and have their long days be brightened.

I've been to churches where they have a real emphasis on praying for people in work - one week, praying for bankers, another week praying for those in retail, and so on. I think this would help us become a 7-day-a week kind of church.

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andy
1/20/2010 05:01:40 am

Thank you for kicking off this section. I hope many others will want to give this the same kind of prayerful thought as you have, and post their answers here.

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no name
1/22/2010 05:16:09 pm

1. What's missing? A Sunday morning service we'd want to bring our friends and neighbours to. Right now, what we have is very traditional (in both churches) and very geared towards longtime members. Once we have the service right, we could have some training on how to invite people to it.

2. What's my dream for children? I think our present children's work is working well. I dream more adults will wqnt to come to our services, and bring their children with them.

3. What's my dream for young people? It would be good to have a youth service, but maybe not quite yet.

4. What's my dream for working age adults? That there's a Sunday morning service that is just right for them. I do think Sunday morning is the "shop window", as someone expressed it. There are books and Bible Study groups to help Christians grow and develop.

5. What's my dream for retired people? The same. I also think we could have a "Song of Praise" half-hour from time to time, or maybe one evening service a month - that's a format retired people really like.

6. I don't know of a British church that does all this, but I do remember hearing all about Willow Creek church in America (Chicago?) a long while back - it seemed to have this kind of feel.

Thank you for asking us for our views, I've never really felt there was a way for me to express what I feel before.

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Fiona Selden link
1/26/2010 05:49:55 am

What's missing: a sense of church body; true inter-connection - that we have a corporate identity, calling and purpose in our community.

Dream for children/young people: to build strong foundations of faith in their lives. Encouraging them to be salt and light in their community and inviting friends to their homes, the church and social events.

Dream for teenagers: that they would be radical young people for God; challenging the expectations of the world. That they would have exposure to different gifts and ministries so that they can see where God is calling them and be sent out to make a difference where they go.

Work-age adults: that we would support and encourage one another. Social events that are outward-looking. Open to learn from older Christians. That we would all play our part in the body and not allow stress and busy-ness to intrude.

Elderly: that no one would be lonely. That they would be valued for their wisdom, depth and spiritual strength. That they would continue to be challenged and grow.

Overall, no group should be in a 'ghetto' - we need to be together to strengthen one another.
My gut response to the last question was 'We can't be 'another church', we have to be the church God has called us to be.'

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