New Community Church

Movement...such a cool word.  As i sit here and look at it i am tapping my feet because this is a word that would describe me.  I am always in motion or moving.  Well, that is when i'm not taking a nap.  Which is truely a spiritual experience for me.  Movement is a word that i want to use when it comes to describing the energy at New Community.  Constant motion, things moving and when NC launches, it will be a movement in the community.

Dominoes:
I have come to use this analogy to describe the process by which NC is being launched.  Kind of like Dominoes.  No, not the pizza, the toy.  For months we have been setting things in place.  We have been diligently lining things up so that on Feb. 25th @ 10:30 in the morning at West Jackson Primary School, we will tip the first dominoe...hold our breath...and feel and see the movement that is created in West Jackson County.  This is a beautiful picture...movement!

Movement is also a word that describes the flow of NC.  From the moment people walk through the doors, we want to invite them to move.  Our flow...or movement happens in three stages with the overall goal of bringing people to Christ and allowing them to move through the discipleship process.  Kind of like jumping in to the current of a river...jumping in at one spot and then ending up farther than if you stood on the bank.

Our Movement:  We invite all people to...

1.  Connect with each other as a faith community.  Now, this step is our first step but could happen in multiple events and venues in the life of NC.  Our large group gatherings on Sunday, our small group gatherings in homes and our community outreach events are all designed for people to connect to an overall community of people.  We have three places that people can jump in to the current of NC. 

The values that undergird this step are:

Connection...connect with each other and with God
Openess...all people...no matter who you are
Unity...one faith...one truth...one Lord

These three things speak to the heart of who we are.  When we say all people, we really and sincerily mean...all people.  We can see a community of people with different backgrounds, ethnicity and socio-economic status coming together  to connect with each other and with God.  And as this happens, we can see unity as the cement that holds all things together.

We invite all people to connect at New Community!

2.  Journey toward God through the person of Jesus Christ.  We know that spirituality isn't something that happens overnight and that none of us here on this planet can wake up and all of a sudden be perfect.  We do however know, that coming close to God can be difficult in the world we live in.  As we move toward Him, we should see it as a marathon.  This being said, we beleive that access to God is immediate and that access comes through the person of Jesus Christ.  Jesus said, while he was on this earth, "that I am the way, the truth and the life...no one comes to the Father except through me..."  Jesus is the doorway, the gate to God.  We feel at new community that even though access to the Father through Jesus is immediate, our spiritual life is a journey...one day at a time...moving closer to God through the person of Jesus. 

The values that hold this step in place are:

Mystery...Christ in Us...Colossians
Measurement...spiritual growth
Yoke...the teaching of scripture

There is something mysterious about the thought of God living in us...taking up residence in our body?  I honestly don't understand how it all works, only that my life is changed and different because he lives in me.  At NC, we want people to see spiritual growth in their own lives.  Our desire is for people to make progress and to look back over the years and see how far they have come through the life-changing power of jesus.  This will happen as we teach scripture.  Now, before you check out...i'm not talking about the Hell, fire and bremstone that our churches are famous for.  I am talking about the YOKE (teaching) of jesus.  Jesus said, that his yoke is easy and his burden is light.  We have moved past the days of weighing people down with hancuffs and now is the time to offer the freedom that Christ came to give.  Our teaching will challenge, but we feel it will line up with Christs' intent...to give life to the FULL.

3.  Partner with what God is doing in our world.

This is our final step in the movement of NC.  We believe in partnership and mobilization.  Our hope is to have major impact in this community.  This only comes when we partner with each other and with what God is doing.  We want the people of NC to partner with God in the areas of volunteerism, commmunity outreach, financial stability of NC and partner with the mulitplication movement of Churches in America and around the world.  God is moving...and we want to be a part of it.

The values that set this in motion are:

Now...the present
Inspiration...God still inspires
Tithing...giving back to God

The past is behind us and the future is ahead...what is going on right now?  There is a current that we can step in to right now!  We believe that God is working and moving; and with that, He is still inspiring.  We see it in music, the arts, teaching, science and in all of humanity.  Inspiration and truth are all around us.  In our partnership with God, not only with the inspiration that is going on right now, our giving back to Him is a big deal.  All the world is His.  Our spiritual condition and health are directly connected to how we partner with God financially.  Yes, i know.  Every preacher eventually goes for the wallet!  Now you are skeptical and are ready to move on to another website.  I am cool with that...but i am also cool with sharing with you why money is such a big deal.  You know this already, i am just shedding light.  For me, where my money is...my heart is also.  I don't know why or how, but somehow, whatever i treasure is connected to my heart condition.  Jesus talked more about money than anything else in His time on earth.  I know what money does to me.  Here is the beautiful part...God wants a portion, not because we are obligated, but because he wants us to partner with what he is doing in this world.  And when we do, our lives are changed...blessed!  So, if you are still reading and are skeptical...give some of your money to another church down the street consecutively for the next 3 months...and see what happens in your life.  Partnership...this is where we want people to land when they jump in with us.

We feel that all three of these things are vital to the life of our church and are key things for you as you consider jumping in with us at New Community.  Our prayer is that no matter where you are in your life and faith, that you would come and check out what is going on in the life of NC.  Things are set in place, everthing is in order and in just a few short weeks, we are going to tip the first dominoe and experience a movement like never before in this community.  Will you join us...

connect.journey.partner

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