Circles

Life is about relationships. As driven as we all are to make things happen and get things done it's the depth of our relationships that will ultimately define us. It doesn't matter how much we achieve or don't achieve if we fail to invest-in and empower the key relationships of this life. The relationship principle (that's right, principle) transcends everything. It's probably not difficult for you to agree with me on this, but we must charge ourselves to become more intentional about it.

At Longleaf Church, our vision for spiritual growth can be rolled up into three vital relationships; Intimacy With God, Community With Insiders and Influence With Outsiders. Jesus modeled for us that Life Change is best sustained in the context of Community. Practically speaking, we want to move people into life changing small groups. For Adults, we call these powerful circles of people Community Groups. Each time I see the Longleaf Church logo, I am reminded that circles will always be at our core.

In Community Groups, people find accountability, belonging and care. In Community Groups, people study God's Word, pray and discuss issues that matter. Community Groups are authentic environments where people can simply do life together. During the pre-launch days of Longleaf Church we are connecting Adults into Community Groups and we're diligently preparing to create small group environments for our kids on the very first Sunday that we have services.

Longleaf Church is becoming a church of small groups before we actually launch our church! That's pretty amazing. What a great foundation to build a church upon, Authentic Community. In fact, it looks and feels a lot like the fellowship of the early church (Acts 2:42-47). Our vision is to launch a church for Everybody that Engages Families and moves people into Small Groups. Be sure to check out the new Why Another Church? video on the Longleaf Church Homepage.

These ARE the days

Why do we call it Family Ministry? Well, we operate from the conviction that parents and churches should seek a partnership. This partnership should challenge and equip families to engage their faith together rather than abdicating it to a program-driven philosophy. Sometimes, an unintentional consequence of a program-driven philosophy at church is the disengagement of the parents role. In other words, it doesn't matter if our kids spend 1 hour or 5 hours in weekly church programming because what happens at home is more important than what happens at church.

We will direct our Family Ministry programming with a LESS IS MORE approach. We will produce one anchor Family Ministry environment per week for every age range. Our expectation for these environments is excellence and they will include; Memorable Experiences, Relevant Teaching and Intentional Relationships between small group leaders and every kid. We will hang our hats on environments that Engage the Family Unit and leverage Small Group Leaders. Parents will be equipped with weekly resources to drill down on the biblical truths that their kids are learning about at church. We think it's all about the family so that's why we call it Family Ministry!!

Our mission is to lead people into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ. Our vision is to launch a Culturally Relevant Church that unchurched people love to attend, that moves people into Small Groups and that Engages Families. During these days, the people of Longleaf Church are hanging on to this vision as we build a solid foundation to launch a revolutionary church like this. It's not easy and it's not fast but it sure is worth it.

Our Road Trip to Southside Church today was inspiring. It occurred to me that while Southside represents where we want to be, these are actually the days of Longleaf Church that we will most remember. These are the days when people will rise up and pour themselves out to be a part of something larger than themselves. These are the days when people are praying for God to do God sized things. These are the days when people will launch a church of small groups that will grow exponentially beyond what we can imagine. These are the days that we are building the church where our neighbors and our children will come to know the love of Jesus. These are the days when we are living on the edge and choosing to pioneer because the gospel of Jesus Christ is not about a program or a building, it's about a passionate movement of people. Sign me up for that!

Drive

Seven leaders from Longleaf Church just returned from a great conference at North Point Community Church called Drive. North Point's vision is to create a church that unchurched people love to attend. That vision has expanded to include unleashing other churches to pursue this compelling vision. It was energizing for us to be immersed in a church culture where people have poured their hearts and their gifts into this vision and to see first hand how God has been glorified in a BIG BIG way through North Point.

Longleaf Church is Strategic Partner of North Point and we share this vision. Our vision is to LAUNCH a church that unchurched people LOVE to attend. Our mission is to lead people into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ. We are convicted by the urgency to connect with FUTURE GENERATIONS, the urgency for people to do life together in SMALL GROUPS, and the urgency of churches to be CULTURALLY RELEVANT. We are excited about our shared vision with North Point and about the community of people in Central Georgia that are emerging to join us in launching Longleaf Church.

This is going to be hard work, we are going to make mistakes along the way and the leader definitely doesn't have all the answers. That's OK. This endeavor is the real deal. It's about joining God's unfolding story where we live. We know that it's worth it and we know that we can do all things through Him (Philippians 4:13). Man, this going to be fun.....

What's Next?

The central truth of the bible is expressed and personified as Jesus Christ. The ancient prophecy of hope and salvation was realized when Jesus became a man, was crucified and rose from the dead on the third day. Four books of the bible provide a historical account of the life and ministry of Jesus. These four books are called the Gospels and they introduce the New Testament. The authors of these four books either personally witnessed the miraculous life of Jesus or interviewed the people who did. The Gospels tell us that Jesus called people to follow, believe and ultimately obey him. Those closest to him were called disciples. When Jesus called his first disciples he issued an unusual statement of purpose to them;

Come, follow me, Jesus said, and I will make you fishers of men. - Matthew 4:19

Jesus taught his disciples that He was the way, the truth and the life. He was the very Word in the flesh full of grace and truth. He is the atoning sacrifice for all. Whoever believes in Him is granted eternal life. Following the resurrection of Jesus that we celebrate on Easter Sunday, Jesus remained on earth for 40 days. At the end of this time, he brought full context to his charge recorded in Matthew 4:19 when he issued the Great Commission to his disciples just before ascending into heaven;

Then Jesus came to them and said, 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 the age. - Matthew 28:18-20

The “what’s next” for disciples of Jesus in 2009 is to become his church. It seems that we are prone to get stuck in religious activity and we forget that our focus and purpose is to share the truth of Jesus. A surrendered heart and Christ-like character serves as the foundation of our influence. At Longleaf Church, it’s our vision to create relevant and strategic environments where people are encouraged and equipped to pursue Intimacy with God, Community with Insiders and Influence with Outsiders. Our dream is to launch a church movement that’s actively fulfilling this Great Commission as "church people" are empowered to invite their un-churched friends to church. We call this Relational Evangelism. The power of Easter reflects our newness of life through Christ and it provides purpose and strength for our lives. Wow! That’s exciting!