Monday, March 9, 2009

Next generation // servant-leaders

Hmm....interesting.
Key #8 says: "We model and cultivate Kingdom character and values for the next generation".
Key # 9: "Men assume their God-given role as servant leaders".

See the bible verses to the right that support these keys. Great verses! Good keys as based on those verses.

BUT....my eyes and heart focus on different phrases of the keys than those emphasized by the verses. Instead of thinking of children and fathers/husbands, I see 'next generation Christians' - our spiritual children & grandchildren. Do you have any?
I also see 'servant-leader' - a possible description of my relationship to these next-generation Christians. Do you see yourself as a servant-leader?

My heart is ever more pulled toward reaching out beyond the walls of SAFMC. The bolded words speak to this pull - this desire. I believe that as we deepen our relationship & intimacy with Jesus as Lord (i.e. become stronger disciples of Christ), we will be unable to resist this pull to reach out to a new generation of Christians through being servant-leaders.
The questions now become:
  • In what venue can we form relationship with a next generation Christian?
  • How can we be a servant-leader while modeling the love of the Lord to these next-generation Christians?
I have a couple of ideas floating in my head and heart on how we, as a church, might do this:
  • offer workshops on finances, job searching, parenting, marriage, anger management, health issues, etc.etc. These workshops would be free to the community. At the conclusion of the workshops, information can be available for further help in these areas via church ministries.
  • take these workshops into different locations closer to the 'next generation' we are trying to reach rather than having them come to the church
  • up our involvement with the weatherization effort that already exists in the community
  • as individuals, offer servant-leadership through volunteering in the schools, library or other public locations in which we can make a difference
  • as a Community Group choose a venue in which we can reach out to the next generation Christians around us
Via the comment section below, would you consider sharing some of your ideas of how we, as a church, can better reach the next generation of Christians in the Jackson, Parma, and Concord areas ... ane how we can more effectively be servant/leaders while glorifying God's name?

2 comments:

  1. Sherrie, you may want to talk with Greg Bentle. He has been considering a possible job fair kind of event that might fit with some of your ideas here. He thought it might be something the church and the University could coordinate together. His office number at the University is 750-6763.

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  2. Hey! Possible ideas/things already available.

    SAFMC offers Affordable Eyeglasses to anyone who wants them. And we're talking AFFORDABLE (think starting at less than $40/pair.)! That's a GREAT service to the community. Now we just need to figure out a way to let them know about it. ;)

    Additionally,

    www.centralmichigan211.org is a good resource for groups looking for opportunities to help out what's already going on in our area.

    http://www.servantevangelism.com/ This site gives GREAT ideas for random acts of kindness/servant evangelism projects you can do anywhere.

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