When people find out that you're endeavoring to do something as large as planting a church, they all want to help...with advice. Not that I'm complaining, I won't pretend to know everything there is to know about the subject, and am more than willing to listen to those that have a piece of advice. The first piece of advice I got was the most useful so far (thanks SD!) His advice was to be prepared to compromise, but DO NOT compromise on your vision of the church. This was a mistake he made and has regretted it since. There are hills to die on, and those that you need to be more open about. Gotcha! Great advice! I've had others offer that we should hold off on the church launch until we get more people directly involved. Maybe some sound advice...maybe not. What makes a church? Biblically a church is a group of people (doesn't say how many) that come together to worship, to praise, and to be a family that loves one another in the sacraments and discipline. How many do we need to do that? Will we meet in a public place where people that want to come feel more at ease than in a home where it is 'less' comfortable? One of the issues about having more on board is that we can 'offer' more that way. What are we trying to offer? We (HCRBC) offer exactly what a church is supposed to be. We will offer what the Lord leads people to offer, and not until He sends them. For instance, we don't have a worship leader. We have a couple of volunteers that are willing to step up for the first worship date, but outside that, we don't have anyone in that role. Does that mean we should wait until we find someone? I don't think so. There are many ways to worship, we don't have to have the 10 piece band. We are not endeavoring to be something we're not, we will be what we are. At this point we're a group of people that love the Lord, and want to serve Him by starting a church plant and inviting others to join us. We will be what the Lord makes us, not what we think everyone will want to see. Will it be awkward if we meet in a larger public room and there's only 7 of us? Maybe, but the Lord will send who He sends, and if people are really put off by the openness of space then they are possibly coming to church to hide, and as we've already stated, HCRBC is not going to be a place of anonymity. We will be warm and welcoming regardless of size and space.
Another piece of advice I received recently was regarding our future "youth" pastor. I've written previously on that topic here and here, but I will maybe make our position a little more clear. We will not be having a traditional (previous 50 years) youth minister. It has been proven time and again that this model of student discipleship has failed miserably, and it's not biblical. A youth minister is usually someone that is hardly any older or more mature than the very people they are supposed to be discipling! HCRBC believes that we grow and disciple in community, more to the point, as a family! It is the job of the parents to disciple their children, NOT a 'youth' pastor! The job of the church is to come alongside families to assist them in discipling their children, NOT to replace them! All too often a youth pastor usurps the authority of the parents and is a larger influence over them than there parents. This is what churches are paying their youth pastors to do, and don't even realize it, usually creating more problems than solving them. We will love our youth and children in community, as a family unit, not ripping them from the hands of parents to 'professionally' train them up. Our elders must qualify according to scripture, not according to how well they can relate to young and mostly lost kids.
We are preparing for our next round of studies beginning Tuesday. If you wish to join us or would like to find out more of what we're about, please email us or call us.
hillcountryreformed@gmail.com or phone 403-932-0519.
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