A Fresh Approach
Sometimes it’s best to stop, take a step back with a deep breath and consider a new way forward. Such an approach can be needed even with the most time honored of activities. We have been doing a lot of that kind of thing of late and it has brought us to the realization that we need to take a fresh approach to our Wednesday and Sunday evening schedule and activities. Through the discussions of the Vision Team, your responses to their surveys, observations from many of you and collaboration between staff and Deacons; we have determined that we need a shift in focus on Wednesdays and Sundays.
Note here the choice of the word “fresh” as opposed to “new”. What we are proposing is not really new, but a return to a previous set of activities on Wednesday with what we hope will be a fresh commitment and enthusiasm for them. However, there is a new element that involves outreach to children on Sunday nights. So, here is the fresh approach.
Wednesday evenings will be a time for us to focus on building relationships within our family of faith through fellowship, prayer and Bible study. We will have programs for children and youth but they will focus on the children of engaged SABC families and not include transportation to our campus. Children will participate in our graded choir program and mission education (much like GA’s and RA’s although in a combined format). These programs will be staffed by adults allowing our youth to have a full Wednesday evening devoted to their discipleship needs. For adults, we will focus on prayer and Bible study. To do that, we have created a “conflict free” time frame; in that, we are asking our committees and others not to schedule any meetings that would conflict with our focus on fellowship, prayer and Bible study. So, here is the fresh schedule:
5:00 PM Family Night Dinner
5:30 PM Children and Preschool
Choirs &Youth Discipleship
6:00 PM Prayer and Bible Study
(no break between)
6:15 PM Children’s Missions and
Mission Friends for
Preschoolers
7:00 PM Chancel Choir
(Bible Study ends at 6:55 PM and all Youth and Children Activities end at 7:00 PM)
We offer this with the intent to deepen our communal spiritual life through a focus on joining together in prayer and Bible study. We invite you to join us in this renewed effort. Keeping with this theme, the Bible study for the fall will be Essentials: A study of Galatians and Ephesians. The new schedule will take effect August 4 with Church Conference that evening. The Bible study will begin the next week.
On Sunday nights we will begin a new ortreach to children we are calling Camp Connection. The idea is to create a stepping-stone opportunity to connect the children and families we meet through camp with the ongoing life of our congregation. This program will include transportation and an evening meal. It will run from 5:00 - 7:00 PM and be modeled on our summer camp. Our seasonal and special worship events will still occur as scheduled and will preempt this program. We invite your participation in this vital outreach ministry. This ministry will begin with a kick-off event August 8.
The goals here are to refresh our Wednesday nights, reach out to out community on Sunday evenings and find balance in meeting the needs of our congregation and reaching new folks. We hope you'll join us in this fresh approach.
Blessings,
Monty