This last Sunday was our sixth Sunday together at Story Church. Today seems like a good day to give a quick recap and assessment of where we're at as a church. The reality is that we are beginning to see the dust settle from our launch. It's been an incredible beginning - but it's just a beginning. Our first six weeks were kind of strange. We launched with a series called GROW. But in week 2 the earthquake in Haiti hit, and we set our series aside to tackle head on the issue of suffering. We had our biggest offering that day - which we gave away to Haiti relief. Week 4 was snowed out, so our original 4-week series ended up lasting six.
Since our launch, we continue to see new faces each week. People continue to hear about us from facebook, from yard signs, and now we're beginning to see people get invited by their friends. As a pastor, I'm most excited about seeing people get connected relationally, and beginning to get plugged in through serving.
One of the important lessons I've learned in these first few weeks is to define the "win" and keep that in front of me all the time. For us, a "win" is seeing people who don't normally go to church coming and getting involved. It's seeing people ask questions, take steps to further their relationship with Jesus, and seek healing and wholeness in their relationships. And we're seeing tons of those things.
As a confession, it's real easy to get caught up in numbers like attendance and offering - two realities a church needs in order to sustain life. But to keep the "win" in focus has been huge for me. I know that those other things will take care of themselves if we stay true to the vision God has for us as a church - to help people embrace the story they are meant to live.
If you are a Story Church attender - what have been some of the highlights for you so far?
4 comments:
My highlights have been meeting new and wonderful people at the church! Everyone is so warm and friendly it's absolute contagious. I am really excited about the "Follow Me" series. I've been thinking all week about peanuts and George Washington Carver. I guess I never really thought about the infinite amount of intelligence Jesus has. It is mind blowing to even think about. I love the cultural context that Pastor Jeremy gives with some of his sermons. It is so helpful in relating biblical teachings to current times. I really enjoy story church. I just feel greatness happening over the next few years and I’m excited to watch the body grow and love Durham. The church will be in my prayers. Story Church rocks!! Whoohoooo!
Mmm.. peanuts. Yeah in retrospect, we should have given out peanuts to everyone last week - dang! Wish I had thought of that sooner.
Hey Jeremy,
I just wanted to say that I'm one of those people that hadn't attended church in a very long time until I started coming to Story Church. Let me just say that today was my 4th time at Story Church and that is already more times than I've spent at any other church in my adult life. I think you're doing an awesome job and I'm excited to be a part of it. Thanks!
Thanks for sharing that Eric! So glad you've been coming. You are the reason we're doing this!
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