Sermon Cloud

            In my annual report last July, I shared how for the first time in the year and a half I'd been pastoring TFC, I had a crystal clear picture of God's purpose for our church.  Trinity Family exists to live out The 5 (put up ipod image).  It's been a whole week since I've talked about that, but that's exactly why we're here.  Our purpose became crystal clear last July, not only because our leadership team had sensed God's guidance in establishing "the 5," but also because I'd been watching the powerful life-change that happens when individuals and a community live out these disciplines.  It was while watching how living out these disciples spread the Kingdom that I realized this is exactly what God wants for our church.

            Since that's what we're about, my annual report is going to be a discussion of where we've been and where we're going in each of these 5 marks of a Christ-follower at TFC. 

            Ipod Slide Worshipping God  Worship is the act of taking our focus off of self and placing it upon God.  God created us with the need to worship.  If we choose not to worship God, we'll worship a lesser god (with a small g).  We practice this discipline every Sunday morning at 10:30, here in Madison Elementary.  The act of being here rather than doing all the other things you could be doing on a Sunday morning, is a way of focusing upon God.  Since we value this discipline, we keep track of how many people are in worship every Sunday morning.  We averaged 94 people in worship this past year.  That's 4 more people than last year.  While that certainly isn't huge growth, we did have more people participating in corporate worship than the year before.

            Worship happens not only as a community, at 10:30 on a Sunday morning, but we also worship as individuals and families all throughout the week.  Worship is done in community and in private.  Beginning in January, we've placed special emphasis upon personal worship.  Picture 1  In March we brought in Dan Arnold, to teach us some principles for private prayer.  Every single day in 2008, you've had scripture passages for your own personal worship; the SOAP readings on the back of your weekly. 

If your heart's desire is to grow closer to God, it's imperative that you regularly spend time in prayer and bible reading.  If Sunday morning worship however, is your only source of spiritual nourishment, you will starve, it's as simple as that.  Not only does personal worship keep your relationship with God vibrant, it will also enhance your Sunday morning worship experience. 

            Ipod slide Connecting with Believers  Christianity is not a solo-sport.  We were created with a deep need for strong relationships.  The journey of a Christ-follower is simply too difficult to be traveled alone.  We NEED each other!  The primary way TFC facilitates these types of relationships is through our small group ministries.  Small groups meet in people's homes on various nights of the week to share some food, pray together and read scripture.  Small groups provide an opportunity to get to know each other in a way that just can't happen on a Sunday morning.  The groups we have now are healthy and strong.  I'll admit, though that I haven't been very effective at starting new groups or connecting new people into groups.  It has happened over the past year, but it was despite my leadership rather than because of it.  Which is why I've been working on finding a person to oversee our small group ministry but this has been a slower process than I thought it would be.  It's in the works, however. 

            We've also added this year what we unofficially call "bridge events;" events that bridge the gap between Sunday morning worship and small groups.  Some recent examples are our movie night and the family game night. 

            It can be a risk to move from sitting in Sunday morning worship to sitting in someone's home, but it's a risk well worth the effort.  A couple weeks ago, I was talking with someone who recently joined a small group.  This person told me they'd been pretty nervous about the idea for several months, but now that they're in one, they're so thankful for the group.  They've gotten to know people on a deeper level and they've gotten to know God better.  That's exactly what this discipline of connecting with believers is all about! 

            Ipod Slide Serving Others  We've taken some big strides in this area over the past year. Picture 2   Last September, we celebrated our 2^nd birthday by meeting early in the morning for worship and then going downtown to help the city clean up after their 150^th birthday celebration. Picture 3  In May, we served alongside Christ Community CON at My Father's House in Paolo, a shelter for the rural homeless.  Picture 4  And every single month of this year, we've served the employees of the two local gentlemen's clubs through our Love Wins ministry.  The gift bags passed out once a month by Love Wins is a way to serve and build relationships with the employees of the clubs.  Initially, the emphasis was on the dancers, but the ladies who go into the clubs have been able to build relationships with the bouncers, bartenders and managers, too.  Picture 5  It takes a small army to gather all the supplies and then fill and decorate the gift bags in a female/ artsy way.  Some employees of Bonita Flats joined us in our service project at My Father's House, they also helped us sponsor some low-income families during Christmas. Picture 6 When you live out the Kingdom, the Kingdom can't help but spread! 

            We're committed to serving both outside the church, as I've just shown you, and inside the church as well.  It takes dozens of man and woman hours to do what we do on a Sunday morning.  From pulling the trailer to changing diapers in the nursery.  A LOT of you work very, very hard every week!  Picture 7  If you serve our teens, on our set-up/tear-down crew or our teen ministry, I want you to stand.  You are the workhorses who keep our church moving.  Thank you for living out the discipline of serving others.  Workhorses get tired, so we're in need of more people to serve in each of these 3 areas; set-up/tear-down crew, children's ministry and teen ministry. 

            Serving others is a reminder that it's not about us!  We give our life for others in the same way Jesus gave his life for us. 

            Ipod slide Giving Sacrificially  To take a significant portion of our income and give it away is one of the most counter-cultural things we could ever do.  It's also however, one of the most beautiful pictures of the counter-cultural Kingdom of Jesus.  Because sacrificial giving is so difficult and yet so beautiful, it's an important indicator as to whether a person is truly committed to Christ. 

            Which is why I'm excited to share some of our highlights from the past year.  Last September, we fell way behind in our budget.  We prayed, we sacrificed and on the 5^th Sunday of September, our offering was bigger than the previous 4 Sundays combined.  I remember fighting back tears when I was told the final count.  I'll never forget the hand of God in our church that morning.    

            During the Advent season, we gave $1,480 to Water Partner's International.  Many of you chose to spend less on gifts for family and friends, so you could help bring clean water to a village in Ethiopia.  That's the Kingdom!

            You gave over $1,000 to support our teens who are serving in Juarez, Mexico this very day.  You gave $1,900 out of your economic stimulus package to help our kids' ministry move to the new school.  Coincidently, $1,900 is exactly what it costs for the portable walls we'll use to section off the children's area.  You supported these 3 projects while continuing your regular giving.  That's the Kingdom!

            While the idea of sacrificial giving is giving until it hurts, I've always been up front about the biblical expectation of a tithe.  Scripture reveals that the entry level into a life of sacrificial giving is giving God the first 10% of your income, right off the top.  From there we'll grow in our giving.  Let me admit, I've always had this gnawing doubt that maybe only those who had been taught the discipline of tithing from an early age would be able to experience God's best in this way. 

            That is until this past year, someone who has been a Christ-follower for just about a year told me, "Donnie, I'm ready to start tithing.  I can't afford it, but I know it's what God expect of me."  Every month or so, I ask how they're doing and they tell me, "I still don't know how, but God's taking care of me."  I knew God would meet their family's needs, but it's thrilling to see someone experience that for the first time. 

            And I'm proud to announce that as a church, we'll be taking that same step this year.  The first two years we've been giving away 3%-6% of our income.  This year, we'll be giving a full 10%.  Trinity Family's tithe supports the work of our denomination, the Church of the Nazarene.  We also have a goal of giving an extra 3% to our denomination's global mission work.   

            I'll be honest, this kind of scares me.  At the same time we're increasing our giving, our rent is going up by $6,000 as we move to Pioneer Ridge Middle School.  I'm standing on the belief that God will do in our church what he does in our individual lives; as we put God first by tithing, he'll supply our needs.  As our church is taking this step, it's time for some of you to take the same step of faith, giving God a full tithe. 

            Ipod Image This final discipline is the highlight of my report.  Investing in Future Christ-followers  To steal a line from VH1, this has been our best year ever!  We've done several events this year that have raised our profile in the community.  Picture 8  In September, our band played before several thousand people at the Gardner 150 tailgate party.  Picture 9  In October, dozens of new families were here for our Trunk-or-Treat outreach event.  Picture 10  In March, we had over 300 people crammed in here for the mass chaos that was our late-night Easter Egg hunt!  Picture 11  In June, we hosted a neighborhood block party.  While we may not see immediate results, we can trust that there's a growing awareness in our community that Trinity Family is a safe place. 

            The most important number of this entire report is this one - the number 13.    It even gets its own slide.  13 is the number of families who before last July did not have a church home.  13 previously unchurched families who are now a part of the life of TFC.  Some are here because they saw our banner.  Some are here because they got a flyer in the new homes packet.  Most of these 13 families however, are here because you invited them. 

            Those of you here today who make up that number 13, know that we started this church for you.  And for your friends and family members who are not yet connected in a church. 

            Will you live out this discipline?  Will you continue to find ways to be building relationships with and praying for those who don't yet know Jesus?  Not for the sake of converting them, although we hope they give their lives to Christ but for the sake of loving people in Jesus' name.  If you haven't yet filled out a Fave Five card, there are some at the welcome table.  If you have, keep praying, loving and serving your Fave Five.  I know from experience that it won't be long until you have to add new people to your Fave Five.

            I close my annual report with a picture of our future.  Picture 12  On Sunday, August 31^st, we'll be moving into Pioneer Ridge Middle School.  We're moving from a room that can barely seat 80 adults into an auditorium with 330 chairs.  That's both exciting and scary. 

            The reason for moving is simple; we need room to grow.  Why do we need to grow?  Because we need to build some Trinity Family empire?  Because I'm on some sort of pastoral ego trip?  Nope.  We need to grow because our little corner of the world needs more people living out the 5.  We need to grow because there are people who this Sunday morning do not have a church home.  Because there are still people in our area that have not yet experienced the love of Jesus.  People who have not yet connected into a community of Christ-followers.  While we could comfortably maintain status quo here in Madison Elementary, we're stepping out in faith and moving to a larger facility.  Picture 13

            Let me be clear, we're taking a risk.  Although we have worked out a budget it's possible that the increase in rent may seriously hurt our finances.  While we aim to grow, it's possible that we feel so swallowed up in such a large room that we actually turn people away.  Those risks are worth the potential of connecting with new people.  So we're moving. 

            Buildings however don't reach people, you reach people.  Which is why our plan is to remain portable for the foreseeable future.  That's also why our individual choices decides whether or not we're able to live out our mission.  The degree to which you are committed to living out each of our 5 disciplines adds to or subtracts from Trinity Family's Kingdom impact. 

            Jesus promised us that his Kingdom will not be stopped.  Will you choose to be a part of Jesus' Kingdom work?  Thank you for allowing me to lead a church committed the Kingdom of Jesus.