1. Because we understand that found people find people…and we will not stop doing whatJesus commanded us to do.

• Matthew 28:18-20- “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.  And surely I am with you always, to the very end of age.”
• Matthew 9:35-38 – “When he (Jesus) saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field”

2. Because we understand that saved people serve people…and we will not stop doing what the Bible commands of us.

• 1 Peter 4:10 – “Each of you should use whatever gifts you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.”
• Matthew 20:28 – “…just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

3. Because we understand that growing people change…and we will not stop praying for Jesus to change us.

• Psalm 139:23-24 – “Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”

4. Because we understand that we can’t do life alone…and we will obey what the Lord has instructed us to do in Hebrews 10:24-25.

• Hebrews 10:24-25 – “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another – and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”
• Ecclesiastes 4:9 – “Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor.”

5. Because we understand that we cannot out give God…and so we will obey what God’s Word teaches.

• Malachi 3:6-12- ‘”Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,’ says the LORD Almighty, ‘and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.”
• Proverbs 3:9-10- “Honor the LORD with your wealth, with the first fruits of all your crops; then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine

Galatians 1:15–18 (ESV)
¹⁵ But when he who had set me apart before I was born, and who called me by his grace, ¹⁶ was pleased to reveal his Son to me, in order that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with anyone; ¹⁷ nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me, but I went away into Arabia, and returned again to Damascus.
¹⁸ Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to visit Cephas and remained with him fifteen days.

1. God often desires to forge in us a work of lasting transformation and character.  To do the work of God in ministry we must have a heart for people, we must craft our theology and we need to cultivate an identity solely in Christ.
2. Often it takes time to discover what REALLY matters.  In the dessert experience we learn that to be great leaders we must lead in areas that truly matter to God!
3. When we are so busy and fixing everyone else at breakneck speed, we simply can’t hear God’s voice clearly.  God takes us into solitude in order to slow down, get quiet and listen to his still, small voice.

“We live in a quick-fix, real-time culture. Between the news ticker and Twitter, we’re always in the know, always in the now. We don’t just want to have our cake and eat it too; we want the instant brand. We want to reap the second after we sow, but this isn’t the way it works with dreaming big and praying hard. We need the patience of the planter. We need the foresight of the farmer. We need the mindset of the sower.”

“On the Swedish island Visingsö, there is a mysterious forest of oak trees; mysterious because oak trees aren’t indigenous to the island, and its origin was unknown for more than a century. Then in 1980, the Swedish Navy received a letter from the Forestry Department reporting that their requested ship lumber was ready. The Navy didn’t even know it had ordered any lumber. After a little historical research, it was discovered that in 1829, the Swedish Parliament, recognizing that it takes oak trees 150 years to mature and anticipating a shortage of lumber at the turn of the twenty-first century, ordered that 20,000 oak trees be planted on Visingsö and protected for the Navy. That is thinking long. For the record, the lone objector was the Bishop of Strängnäs. He didn’t doubt that there would still be wars to fight at the end of the twentieth century, but he was the only one who anticipated that ships might be built of other materials by then.”

Everybody’s Welcome
Jesus was the perfect example/model of compassion for others. Jesus accepted and demonstrated love toward the unacceptable and unlovable of His day. Everybody was welcome to come to Him. He encountered prostitutes, Samaritans, tax collectors, gentiles, lepers or sinners of all kinds. In Matthew 9 we see that Jesus saw these people as sheep scattered without a shepherd and he had compassion on them.

My prayer is that Church at the Grove will be a community that has the same heart for people that Jesus demonstrated in the scriptures. We welcome people to journey with us even if they don’t agree with all we believe. We have created an environment where people can explore faith and their own pace hopefully experiencing the unconditional love of Jesus as they participate in our community of faith.

Nobody’s Perfect
We are all in need of forgiveness. Paul tells the Romans that “we have all sinned and fall short of the glory of God”. One of the core values we aspire to is “authentic relationships”. Because we are ALL in need of forgiveness there is no sense of spiritual superiority. We dream of a community at Church at the Grove where there is no need for hiding, no need for wearing masks, no need to impress anyone because we are all saved by the grace of God through Jesus Christ.

Anything’s Possible
Jesus believed in people like the fisherman Peter. Although he was impulsive, haughty and often would stick his foot right in his mouth, Jesus saw something in this uneducated fisherman that led Him to invest into Peter’s life in such a way that the world would ultimately be impacted by Peter’s leadership. Peter was the most significant leader during the birth of the early church.

God has called us at Church at the Grove to invest into the lives of people with the attitude and belief that “anything is possible”. We are to see people through the eyes of Jesus and roll up our sleeves and do whatever it takes to get the gospel into the lives of those “least likely to go to church”.

That is why we stepped out on faith over 5 years ago to launch a gathering in Walnut Grove AND that is why we take another step of faith today to launch a gathering in Social Circle. This is an outpost on the landscape of our mission field where the Word of God can be taught and the gospel proclaimed. Let’s go! May God bless our obedience to Him and draw people to Himself as we lift up the name of Jesus Christ!

Keep praying, Keep investing, Keep Inviting!

Russ

I feel a little like that this week!  It is very similar to the emotions I experience just over 5 years ago when we had our first preview services for Church at the Grove.

• This Sunday night we will have our first preview gathering in Social Circle at the Middle School Activities building at 6pm.  We would love for you to be there!

Although we have been through something similar to this when we launched CATGrove and we may be a little more prepared than we were over 5 years ago. Nevertheless, we really don’t know what to expect, who will be there and exactly how things will go! Isn’t that great!

It is in times like this that we get to experience God at work in the most intense and fresh manner.  We take a step of faith and He works in and through our faith!

I am hoping to have a great turnout from our Walnut Grove “Grovers” this Sunday night. We need some of you to come early and greet.  We would love to have some of you join us in the afternoon and set up and we will need some of you to stay a little late and help us breakdown.

On Saturday November 5 at 6pm we will have a Social Circle Launch Team Meeting for those feeling God’s leadership to be a part of this new endeavor.  The location is to be determined.

Please keep praying, keep investing and keep inviting!

We know that most people come to Christ on the arm of a trusted friend.

How are you doing at investing in people and inviting them to join you at Church at the Grove?

Remember, you gotta come yourself if you are going to bring somebody with you or have them meet you at the school!

Who are you investing in?

Here is the concept behind our Core Value “Missional Responsibility”:

We desire to fulfill the mission God has given the Church.  In both Old and New Testaments we encounter a God who is on a redemptive mission in the world.  In fact, we are astounded at the lengths to which God will go in pursuit of his mission to redeem the crowning achievement of his creation – people.  In North America, the term “mission” has been associated with either sending called people to other parts of the world or giving financially toward reaching others around the world.  With the United States now being among the largest mission fields in the world, and the fact that there are now multiple generations born and raised in a post-Christian culture, we must address the need for churches to think “missionally” in a local context.

What if each individual believer and household could see their home as a “base” for missional operations to reach the entire neighborhood for Jesus?

This is a core desire for Church at the Grove.

Those of us at the school to teach character education were asked to go to our classrooms and were given permission to turn the television on with the students.  I spent the morning with high school students, watching as the towers crumbled and life as we knew it was transformed before our eyes.  We talked, cried and comforted one another.   Adolescent problems didn’t matter in light of what we observed on that morning.

That morning was significant in shaping my calling to plant a new church. It galvanized my motivation to take the gospel to the unchurched and those far from God.  I was challenged to view the events of 9/11 through the lens of the Great Commission.  I couldn’t help but wonder what the eternal destination would be for over 3000 people that perished on that day.

It is normal and understandable to be horrified, angry and experience a gamut of emotions in the middle of all the circumstances surrounding the attacks of 9/11.  We experienced loss and grief as a nation.  Our security was challenged and we felt backed into a corner.  As the dust settled, the natural and human response became vengeance.  I completely supported the leadership of our nation based on scripture in Romans 13, but I believe strongly the Body of Christ has a Biblical mandate that is distinct from the State Government.  I think of the teaching of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount:

Matthew 5:43–45 (HCSB)
43 “You have heard that it was said, Love your neighbor and hate your enemy. ⁴⁴ But I tell you, love your enemies  and pray for those who  persecute you,  ⁴⁵ so that you may be  sons of your Father in heaven. For He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.

On Sunday morning September 11, 2011 at Church at the Grove, we will be celebrating 5 years as a church.  We will celebrate the many decisions of individuals who have turned to follow Jesus and the many baptisms that have taken place as a result.  In the midst of this celebration, we will pause, pray and reflect on those life-changing events of 10 years ago.  Our challenge that day will be simple:  The hope of change in this world is not revenge, bombs, bullets or even the ballot box.  The hope of this world is taking the Gospel to all people, groups and nations.

We must not allow the contemporary clash of cultures to distract us from fulfilling the timeless mandate of the Great Commission!  Maybe our focus of the Gospel should be toward those that consider us among their greatest enemies.

Matthew 28:18–20 (HCSB)
18 Then Jesus came near and said to them, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.  ¹⁹ Go, therefore, and make disciples  of  all nations,  baptizing  them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember,  I am with you always,  to the end of the age.”

I was talking with a friend today sharing some of the story of Church at the Grove and I was so excited talking about what God has done in five years of life-transforming ministry.  I get excited when I reflect on the past, rest in the present and envision the future of Church at the Grove!  My friend commented about how many churches struggle maintaining their focus on reaching people outside the church over the long haul.  It is a difficult task to maintain an outward focus but it is the very heart of God to make His name known to all people.

I came across the Spurgeon quote in the first line above and my heart ached at the thought that CATGrove would ever be negligent of the out outside world.

My prayer is that we would continue to flourish in the years to come by focusing on The Great Commission.  Let’s resolve to maintain our focus on the outside world and God’s love to for those that are yet to be reached.

Luke 15:7 (ESV)
7 Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.

Let’s stay focused!

This Week in The Grove:

5 year anniversary!
On September 11 we will celebrate an incredible 5 years as Church at the Grove! (Insert applause & cheers) These 5 years have been significant in seeing many people turn to follow Jesus & seeing lives transformed as we have impacted our local community and even touched lives around the world.  September 11 will be a big day and we want everyone who calls Church at the Grove home to be there and to bring your family and friends to join you!

Two Services on September 11
We have continued to see our CATGrove family grow and as a result, we need to create more space for new people.  On September 11 we will launch with 2 Sunday morning gatherings at 9:30 & 11am.  This is to create another opportunity for you to invite your family and friends that you have been praying for and investing in!

Community Groups begin September 11
Our new Community Group semester will begin Sunday September 11! I am convinced that one of the important elements to our growth this past year (God gets the credit, of course) was our Community Groups this past year.  We had more groups and more people connected to groups than ever before!  Please choose a group over this next month and get connected to other people in the church!

Church at the Grove Social Circle
This coming January we will launch a 2^nd location gathering in Social Circle.  God has called us since before we ever launched our 1^st gathering to be aggressive in ADVANCING the gospel through planting new churches and new locations of CATGrove!  I am asking everyone to please pray about being a part of this launch team that will help get this new gathering started.  It will be one of the most exciting things you have ever been a part of.  Consider making this your campus, consider giving one year or six months to help get Social Circle started.  We can’t do without people like you.