Below is an outline of the sermon from November 27, 2011. You can listen to the audio of the message at www.churchatriverhills.com.
2011 has been an incredible year!! God has moved at River Hills Church in ways that we’ve never experienced before. As we discuss the state of the church it is important to remember Mark 1:32-39. Jesus experienced a lot success, but that was accompanied with challenges. He responded to the increase of his popularity by spending time with God and being laser focused on his purpose. As we think about 2011 and dream about 2012, it is important that we acknowledge the areas where God has moved, the challenges that we face and our pathway into 2012.
Things to celebrate:
1) RHC has grown by 25% this year. Most growing churches average somewhere between 5-10%.
2) We’ve baptized 40+ people this year. This is my favorite thing to celebrate because those baptisms represent changed lives.
3) 65% of the available attenders in our church (not including kids and students) volunteer on a regular basis. This huge!!! Most churches have less that 20% of their folks volunteering on a regular basis.
4) We’ve launched Barrow Ministry Village. A partnership with other churches in the community that seeks to meet the felt needs of Barrow County.
5) We’ve launched the Multiply Network. A network committed to planting 100 churches in the next 2 years.
6) River Hills now offers two services on Sunday mornings.
7) People from our church have gone on mission trips to Haiti, Peru, Africa and Mexico.
Through your generosity our giving has increased by 16%.
With these success there are some challenges.
1) Our nation’s current economic climate is challenging to say the least. This has severely impacted churches across the nation. One mistake that I have made is hiring too many people too soon. While our attendance matches the amount of staff that we have, our revenue does not. God has convicted me, the elders and our finance team to make difficult decisions so that our church thrives financially rather than survive. The decision was made to not fund the worship coordinator position. Currently Robert Williamson leads out in this area and does an outstanding job. He is a man of competence and character, but tough decisions had to be made. Starting January 1 our children’s coordinator, Elissa Ewald, will be transitioning to worship/production coordinator and oversee kid’s ministry. We have an unpaid intern (Anthony Welch) and many volunteers who will implementing our children’s ministry. Our budget need for 2012 is $4500 a week. This includes monies for operations, missions and reserves. Our operational budget is at the 2010 budget level. Again, cuts have been made so that our church can thrive, not just survive.
2) While we do have 65% of our church volunteering, our kid’s ministry has taken a hit. Due to pregnancies, life-changes, people moving – we have lost over a dozen kids ministry volunteers. We need help in this area. I’m asking for 15 new kid’s ministry volunteers. Please consider serving once every six weeks. God is truly moving in this area of our church – and we’re seeing kids come to Christ and offered hope all the time.
Those are our challenges, and I feel confident that they will overcome them and that Christ will continue to be preached. With that in mind – here is what I believe God is calling us to do in 2012:
1) Volunteer/Missions – we always need more volunteers, but we also are sending mission teams to: Haiti, Peru, and Romania. Not only that, there are opportunities to serve in the community, through small groups and in the church. Please consider being a missionary. Ultimately we wan to reduce the amount of people who do not know in Barrow County and beyond (currently 92% of our community does not know Christ).
2) Prayer – as Jesus knelt in prayer and nurtured his spiritual vitality in Mark 1, so must we. There will be more emphasis than ever on prayer and a call for each of us to join together in prayer.
3) Small Groups – life happens in small groups. It is not a perfect place, but it is a place to learn, develop relationships and serve others. If our spiritual growth is based solely on Sunday morning worship – that would be the equivalent of trying to drive from Atlanta to Dallas with a half a tank of gas. Get involved in a small group starting in January.
4) Property – the YMCA has been gracious to us in allowing us to meet in their facility for free, but it is time that we stepped into our own place. This is not something that will happen overnight, but it is something we’re going to begin to work toward. My heart in moving our church is not so that we can say that “we have our own place” but to provide a larger and permanent venue so that we can reach more people. We’re going to begin working toward this by doing three things: 1) Prayer – please pray that God would provide a place and the resources; 2) Save – we have a line item in our budget for opportunities and obstacles; 3) Prepare – we are currently developing a team to help guide our efforts and determine what we can and cannot afford. They will be made up of me, a few Elders and other people in our church.
God has done great things – he is doing great things. As we read in Joshua 3:14-17, the people of Israel were facing a great barrier: the swollen Jordan river. They had experienced success, they were facing a challenge, and their purpose was before them (across in the Jordan was the promised land). They brought down the ark and the water parted, but here is what is most important: the water didn’t part until they put their feet in the river. I’m asking you to put your feet in the river with me – and watch do BIG things.
Soli Deo Gloria