Dream with me about outreach opportunities at Mt. Oak.
For instance, a group we sponsor at Mt. Oak is the Boy Scouts. How can we develop ministries around this group of people coming onto our property? How can we show them love, build relationships and share the truth of God's Word with them? There must be more than allowing folks to use our facilities and properties.
How about with the many sports teams we have and sponsor and their families? How can other ministries gather around this and show love, build relationships and spread God's Word?
How about the elections coming up? What about Christmas Eve or Easter? Will we just be happy to have tons of visitors on those days and not take the opportunity to outreach to them with love, getting to know them and living/expressing God's truth?
How about the other activities we have at Mt. Oak? MOfest was awesome but it was an event - if we did this again - how could we bring ministries around this event to make it a time of loving people, building relationships and sharing the Word of God?
Going beyond our facility and grounds - what events or activities could we really share to show Christ's love, get to know folks better and share the Word of God?
Dream with me folks! Please leave your name so we know the author of the comments!
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When Quoting Scripture Inflicts Harm
6 years ago
5 comments:
Invite them!!
As head of Sports Ministry I have struggled with this question for several months. 90% of our players do not attend Mt Oak. A couple of weeks ago it occurred to me that our teams will show up for games and meetings, when ever I call one, yet I have never called for a meeting with the church. We plan to have our Basketball team kick off the season with a special "scrimmage" with Amped. I pray this is only the beginning of bridging these two grops together.
Alvin
G.TeSelle 11/15/07
Dreams for Mt. Oak Church
My dream is that we would be a sending church … and at some point we will be ready for the sending. In Luke 10, Jesus appoints 72 to go ahead of Him to every town he was about to go. He gave them instructions telling them among other things … the harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.
At Mt. Oak, I pray our workers would grow to an army of men and women and families who would GO love their neighbors and GO make disciples. The Great Commandment and the Great Commission are our greatest vocation as workers. We were born and called for this reason … to be ambassadors of Jesus Christ … to walk around as Jesus did, building relationships in our neighborhoods, our communities, and in our workplaces … praying for people, caring for people, and sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ with people.
My dream is that the pastors, lay leaders, small group leaders, Sunday school teachers, and ministry leaders of Mt. Oak would prepare us for this work, teach us how to pro-actively build relationships so we know how to pray for others, how to show others we care, and if they do not know Jesus … how to best share our testimony and invite others to have a relationship with Jesus Christ. And then, when we are ready, send us out … telling us as Jesus did … I am going to follow-up, I am going to visit your neighborhoods and see how you are doing (Luke 10:1). Every Sunday morning and Wednesday evening we would have a time of testimony about what God is doing and encouragement to keep pressing on towards the goal of reproducing and growing the body. The growing body would not just be the body at Mt. Oak, but we would team-up with other Bowie churches. We would join forces and create a movement with other evangelical Bible—believing churches and show the world that we love one another. “By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” John 13:35.
Erwin McManus, in his book The Unstoppable Force – Daring to Be the Church God had in Mind, said it this way … “Species do not have to be taught to reproduce. It is inherent in their nature. In much of the church, however, this characteristic seems to be missing. The church must be released to do that which comes naturally.” Reaching out to the hurting and the lost is not reserved for the pastors, the clergy, the elite, or the specially gifted. Giving our lives to those without Christ is a part of God’s radical minimum standard for Christian living. If just a few Christian churches in Bowie would join together, focusing on the Great Commandment and the Great Commission, we would be an unstoppable force. A movement would change into momentum and revival would break out. The community would be transformed. A transformed community loving Jesus Christ and loving each other is our outcome. Let’s set some standards on how to measure progress and get it done!
Gale, that is fantastic! I only have one comment though - Jesus never waited to train the 72 before He sent them out. Maybe we just need to go now and see what God does.
Just a thought.
wow, excellent dreamwork fellowes! i like seeing this.
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well, i guess it's time for me to tell/share this. come fly with me...
my dream is also large, interdenominational/ multichurch and serves the community at large. It is not of my own design. I believe i was given this vision through the Holy Spirit, and the beginning of it dates back to December - Christmas Eve to be exact - 1998, not long after i began attending mt oak umc fellowship. i say, the beginning, because it was not revealed all at once, but over many months and even years have gone into the revealing process.
I see us as a people of our own area Adoption House (Facility?) with Elderly Care and Family Crisis Center. we will teach Family Care and Family Healing and Family Support. We will teach young people how to really care for ourselves by caring for each other and caring for the earth and valuing and seeking out and utilizing our God given talents and "natural" resources. We will supply teaching for "green" living - supplying most of our own energy supply, lawn care & gardening including growing vegetation-enough to help support the facility. We will teach motor repair, car upkeep & repair, Household handiwork & carpentry, also, Family & Elderly Care, Family Growth, Family Living & provide Marriage Counseling. I believe, By the Power of God and by our diligence and obedience to His Word, his will be done, and we will be living this dream! Thanks to all. ann =)
What if our outreach approach changed? I guess that most of us think of outreach as bringing in the un-churched or otherwise called pre-Christians to share with them what WE have that they need. What if we were to reach out to the community, get to know individuals, their skills and talents, and invite them to share with Mt. Oak what THEY have that we need?
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