We seek to bless the greater Carlisle area.

//bearing fruit at Engage

Hey Engage Family,

I am excited to report some really cool and fruitful things happening through your Engage community this past week or so. This past Sunday we talked about how knowing God means we will be growing in our care for the poor and disadvantaged around us. We dug into Isaiah 58 and Jeremiah 22. Both of these passages are powerful and rather challenging.

We are putting down roots in this Season of Growth. One of the roots we’ve been reading about in the Season of Community Guide is the root of Community Impact. As we grow roots we begin to experience fruit. So get this! Nate Hempel (who is an active part of Engage) works at a local business and has befriended a local homeless man named Daniel. Daniel is a hard working fellow who lives in a storage unit near Nate’s work. Nate has been opening his eyes and heart to those around him and has befriended Daniel. Daniel recently lost his temp job and fell behind in his car payment. Last week his creditors took the tags off his car. Daniel was crushed. Without a car he has no way of finding work and thus the cycle of homelessness continues unbroken.

With nowhere else to turn Daniel reached out to Nate asking for prayer. Nate called Engage last week seeking if we can help! We did! Daniel only needed $200. $200 is the difference between one man’s ability to find a job and work or stay trapped in the cycle of homelessness. We were able to send Daniel’s creditors a check to keep Daniel in the search for a job.

At the same time a girl who has visited Engage three times now had dinner with Tom and Sarah Kaden last week. At dinner Ciarra began sharing her story. Ciarra is from out of town and is doing an college internship in Harrisburg for the next few months. Ciarra is a vibrant young adult who has experienced homelessness first hand. Due to tragic circumstances beyond her control Ciarra was forced into homelessness during high school. She was all alone. On Sunday Ciarra shared with Engage her passion for helping to provide for the homeless because she experienced God’s abundant provision in her time of need through organizations like www.thejoyofsox.org.

Back to Daniel. Daniel came to Engage on Sunday! He came to personally thank this group of people who would so graciously provide for him a stranger. He said, “Engage engaged me first. I’m here to thank these people who would help someone like me.” Homeless people feel invisible! Kind of reminds me of that passage in 1 John, “We love (Christ) because he first loved us.”

On Sunday Ciarra asked Engage if we would help her provide socks for her homeless brothers and sisters. Engage has accepted the challenge. On Tuesday Aimee and I bought socks for the homeless. Would you pick up a couple packages of socks this week and bring them to Engage on Sunday? We will be collecting socks to help Ciarra provide for the homeless. You can buy socks for children and or adults of any age or size. We will be collecting socks through April 3rd, 2011. Oh, and on Sunday March 27th we will be feeding those in need by cooking and serving food at My Brother’s Table at the Carlisle Salvation Army. Can you help your church in this way? Contact Harold Travis if you can. Deeper roots = greater fruit!

Isaiah 58…
7 Is it not to share your food with the hungry
and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—
when you see the naked, to clothe them,
and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
8 Then your light will break forth like the dawn,
and your healing will quickly appear;
then your righteousness[a] will go before you,
and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard.
9 Then you will call, and the LORD will answer;
you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.

Shalom,

Jon Hand

Posted on March 9, 2011 – 2:29 pm
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//EnVision Engage Year Three_Resources

Welcome to Season of Growth page.  Please use this page to keep up with resources and updates to our Season of Growth Year Three. Engage is a community of faith formed around Jesus Christ. Over the past two years since our first Sunday January 11, 2009 we have been living out (albeit imperfectly) the vision and mission God has given Engage Church.  On January 1, 2011 we entered our third year of existence as a community.  Year three is a make or break year for your church! Why, you ask? 2011 will be our greatest test yet as a church and will be our finest hour to date but we have some real challenges ahead of us.

1. We know your not suppose to talk about money and church. But the reality is our family of churches has generously funded Engage Church since our beginning in 2009.  This year we are losing 15K in subsidy from our BIC family of churches. We knew this day was coming. We can’t rely on mom and dad forever! However, our expenses have gone up since we started Engage. We are a growing church. If everyone who has visited Engage since we started decided to stay at Engage we would be a church of over 450 people.  We are not that size because Engage is not a church for everyone.  It takes money to fund the spiritual impact and community outreach of Engage Church. In fact, this in 2011 we need to grow our weekly giving from $2,067 per week to close to $2,800 per week. That’s an increase of close to $35,000 this year just to maintain current impact and see people loved and lives changed. I know, that’s crazy. We may even need God to meet that goal :) This year alone the core 11 families and individuals of Engage have committed to give over $58,000. What can you do to join, shape , and support the vision of Engage?

2. Currently, at Engage we have a large pool of people who come on Sundays to explore the message of Jesus and enjoy a community of love.  This is exciting for us. We started this church for those who are new or returning to church.  We welcome all.  However, we also have a small pool of people who are deeply committed in serving, using their gifts, impacting the community, and giving generously. If Engage is going to extend our reach and bear greater fruit in year three we then need to shift these two pools. We need a large pool of people deeply committed to the mission of Engage and a smaller shallow pool of those who are not yet committed.

Here are some key resources to help you put down deeper roots in Year Three!

1. Listen an inspiring brief podcast of the needs, vision, and changes we are making in year three.

2. We kicked off our Season of Growth Year Three with a gathering of close to 60 adults from Engage to learn more and speak into the vision of Year Three. Here is what they said! recap-of-envision-engage_jan-2011

Several Engagers at Envision shared powerful stories of transformation and life change. We hope to have video of these powerful stories up soon.

3. Season of Growth Overview - This is our plan of action in year three. Engage needs to put down deeper roots in order to bear greater fruit. Here is how we hope to do this. overview_seasonofgrowthplan

4. Season of Prayer Guide - This is an incredibly helpful resource to facilitate reflection and prayer for Engage and ourselves as we seek to put down deeper roots so we can see greater fruit in our lives and community. praying-together-in-this-season-of-growth

5. Season of Growth Monthly Financial Updates
sog_monthly-financial-updates

feb-28-engage-financial-notables

Posted on January 29, 2011 – 4:04 pm
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//Season of Growth Financial Updates Jan - Feb, 2011

Hey Engage Church,

We are committed to being transparent about money and finances. We take seriously the call to steward well the money God has entrusted to us!  Through our Year 3 Season of Growth we have a financial goal we must reach in order to maintain current levels of impact.  We are making progress and God is providing for work through Engage.  Here is a quick update so you can thank God for what He’s doing and continue to pray for His provision.

feb-28-engage-financial-notables

Posted on January 28, 2011 – 4:38 pm
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//March_Season of Growth Update from EnVision Engage Night January 22nd

March I Season of Growth Update
Season of Community
March 24, 2011
Greetings Engage Family,

Each month (starting last month) we are trying to update you as to how we are doing in our Year Three: Season of Growth.  Close to 60 adults from Engage met for a EnVision Engage on January 22nd.  Many of you expressed great ideas, dreams, and prayers for Engage as we move forward together putting down roots into Christ and the mission of Engage.  Check out last months progress we are making as a church.

{FYI and Save the Date:  Our next EnVision Engage Celebration will be  a luncheon on Sunday May 1st immediately following our worship gathering}

Now we continue in March with celebrations and fruit from the EnVision Night. The Vision Input statements come right from the minutes we took of the ideas and dreams you shared that night.

Vision Input: We have a greater desire to be doing more deeds of love and justice in the local community.

  • Spring is here outside and inside Engage Church. The fruit of our Season of Growth is beginning to blossom into deeds of love and justice.  We have seen over $500 cycle through our benevolence basket as we have helped two homeless men with transportation to stay employed.  We gave money to the Clouse family who lost 7 children in a tragic house fire in Perry County.  We are doing a sock drive for the homeless and to date have received close to 100 pairs of socks.
  • Our community groups are preparing and serving dinner for over 70 people at the Salvation Army this coming Sunday night.

All of this fruit is coming from the “bottom up” and not “top down”.  A tree doesn’t have to tell it’s branches what fruit to bear and when.  If a tree is healthy a tree organically grows fruit.  The gospel of Jesus and Engage act as the tree, the fruit is a natural extension of how deep the roots are going.

Vision Input: Have a better way of connecting new people and helping interested people find ways to volunteer at Engage. Improve our follow up and ways for people to use their gifts at Engage.

  • Over the past two months leaders at Engage  have been working to build a solid Connection Team. This team will  1. Follow up with new people, helping them to feel valued and cared for. 2. Help people find their place at Engage through community group involvement and matching their gifts with volunteer opportunities.  This team now has 5 dedicated volunteers who are beginning to each take aspects of this vital process . They are excited to stay connected with new  people for the first six months of their participating at Engage or until they are fully connected.
  • On March 6 we had a luncheon for the college students who have been attending Engage this winter.  63 college students stayed and over 50 students expressed interest in putting down roots at Engage by wanting to connect relationally and volunteer their time in service. These students are very excited to be in a church that values them as people, seeks to minister to their needs, and desires to unleash their gifts and creativity in God’s work.


Vision Input: We need to find a way to grow the 40+ age group at Engage. We want to be a generationally diverse community of Jesus

  • This month a group of  young professionals at Engage will be starting a once a month ‘youth group’ for our upper elementary and middle school age kids.  Church plants tend to be very young in age because they often don’t have the resources to create more specific or targeted communities like youth groups.  As Engage develops a ‘tribe’ of young people we will see families with young teens begin to stay at Engage and put down roots.   We are excited, as well, to see a group of our young teens attend a Christian music festival together this Summer.  With time we will be able to better meet the age specific needs of the 40+ parents and their children.

Vision Input: We desire to have better communication about the ongoing changes and development of the mission and vision of Engage.

  • After an extensive interview process and much prayerful consideration the Leadership Team of Engage extended an invitation to Travis Leaman to join the Leadership Team.  It is becoming clear to the LT that God is calling Engage Church to be a place that invests in young Christian leaders.  Travis brings a connection to a population of Engage who has been under represented on the Leadership Team level.  Travis will be able to help us better communicate and listen to the young professional and young adult population of our church.

We are excited once again to see how YOU are putting down roots .  WE are making progress in year 3,  and how GOD is bearing fruit in our church and beyond!!

Be. Explore. Inspire Life. Multiply
Jon

Posted on January 28, 2011 – 10:40 am
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//what some are saying about exploring faith at Engage

Paul and Kim talk about questions and doubts, Jesus, and unexpected finds at Engage. from Engage Community Church on Vimeo.

Meet Paul and Kim. Here is their story of how they are finding faith in Jesus at Engage!

Carla Shares Her Story from Engage Community Church on Vimeo.

Meet Carla and how she found Engage.

Here how Carla is exploring faith at Engage.

Posted on December 31, 2010 – 12:26 pm
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//EnVision year 3: a season of growth

Save the date

We trust you had a great time together with family and friends over the Christmas celebration. On January 11th Engage will officially be two years old. What a gift the last two years have been to so many people! On January 22nd at 5:00 we want to pause and celebrate what God has done this last year both in our personal lives and in Engage as a whole. Please join your church community for “EnVision Year Three” at the Ribbon Mill. We have so much to celebrate and praise God for as we look at what He has done and where He has brought us. On January 22nd we will spend time looking back at what God has done, looking into the present, and preparing together for the future of our church.

Our calling

Engage is not simply an organization, rather Engage is a body. And bodies need direction and purpose. Our vision can be summarized in four words. Be, explore, inspire life, and multiply:

1. God has called Engage to be a community of safety, acceptance, and friendship for those who are far from God and maybe somewhat skeptical of organized religion.

2. God has called Engage to provide places where people explore the message of Jesus and through commitment to Jesus experience Jesus-shaped transformation in our everyday lives.

3. Christ inspires a desire in us to bring life to those around us and invites us to multiply his influence in healing and restoring broken lives in a broken world.

This is the vision and calling God has given this community.

Where we are

On January 22nd we will re-examine this calling in light of Year Three. When we started Engage we knew that Year Three would be different than previous years. This is the year when we are losing financial subsidy from our BIC family of churches and will face our greatest financial challenge yet. Due to this subsidy loss Engage needs to grow our giving 40% from our current levels in order to sustain the current levels of leadership support, learning opportunities, equipping, community initiatives, and administrative support. This means we need an additional $42,000 in 2011 (or $800 per week) to get from here to there. Sound crazy to you? Sound scary? Sound risky? Does that amount sound like we may even need God’s help and grace to attain it? The leadership team has struggled with this, prayed through this, and sought council about this amount. We know many of you reading this may have reservations about this goal. We feel the same tension you feel. However, the challenging and risk of this goal is exactly what we need to keep growing roots in Christ. We firmly believe we must forge ahead with this God-sized goal until God shows us otherwise.

Where we need to go

The current ministry impact at Engage is too important and life changing for us to not go for it! It is much easier for us to set goals that we think are fairly attainable within our own ability. Right now, Engage needs a God-size goal. We need to risk something greater than our own abilities can achieve. Engage, as a whole needs to be in a place where we need God.

Year Three, however, is not just about money. The challenge of this year goes so much deeper. Year Three is the pivotal year when Engage must grow down deeper roots as community of Jesus. We believe the roots put down this year will have bearing on the vibrancy and caliber of Engage in year six and year eleven and year twenty-four and beyond.

Year Three is an invitation grow together as a church and grow together in our love for God and his world. We are calling 2011, Year Three: A Season of Growth. We will look back on the challenges of this year as the year where we saw God answer specific prayers, lives changed, our faith in Christ maturing and deepening, hurts healed, false gods exposed, and our love for others expanded. If the good stuff is going to happen in our lives then your church needs you to choose active ownership in this Season of Growth. Here is what you can do for your church.

What you can do

1. You will be receiving a 2011 Spending Plan in the mail. Please read the Q and A and bring questions and comments you may have to our meeting on the 22nd. Expressing questions and concerns or giving feedback is not perceived as complaining, rather it’s integral to having ownership in the vision of Engage. Make your voice heard!

2. Celebrate what God has done. Please come to the Jan. 22nd meeting ready to share some of the ways God has used Engage to change your life? What do you love about your church? What are some stories or things God has done that get you pumped up? We will share these stories of transformation and growth as a part of our EnVision Night.

3. Looking into the future. What are your hopes and dreams for the future of Engage? We believe God doesn’t just speak to a handful of “spiritual elites” rather God speaks to the body of Christ and those of you who are part of this church. We want you to please begin asking God what he might be saying to you about your church.

1. What kind of impact do you want your church to have?

2. What do you want your church to be known for? How do you want to see God use your church?

3. What are some key ways you think we need to grow as a church?

This evening will take some preparation on your part. Please try and discuss these questions with your community group and family. We want you to bring your celebrations and dreams to this exciting night shaping the future of Engage.

With anticipation of what God will do,

The Leadership Team

Posted on December 23, 2010 – 12:45 pm
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//A Season of Growth

engage_a_season_of_growth_20112

Greetings Engage Community.  For those of you who don’t read blogs and emails, please, please, please keep reading for like 2 minutes of your time!

We are asking you to please be paying close attention to what is happening at Engage right now.  Part of being in a community of Jesus like Engage, means you take responsibility to keep up with what God is doing in YOUR church.  This is necessarily, especially,  if you have not been to a Sunday morning worship gathering in the last few weeks.  Now, thankfully through technology we’ve made it easy for you to stay connected. All you have to do is click the link to learn more.

This past Sunday November 21, 2010 we gave a two part financial update on the current and future financial realities as a church.  We made a 14 minute podcast describing where we are financially, where we will be if things don’t change, and how we are going to grow through this season and experience God in deep and profound ways in the process. Please listen to this podcast.

As you may or may not know, Engage is heading into our crucible year as a church community.  2011 will be our greatest test yet as a church and may be our finest hour.  Here are some of the tough realities we knew were coming to Engage year three. 1. We are losing 15K in subsidy from our BIC family of churches. 2. We didn’t see this coming, but our giving has been down $200 a week for the past 11 weeks. 3. Our expenses have gone up since we started Engage. We are a growing church. If everyone who has visited Engage since we started decided to stay at Engage we would be a church of over 450 people.  We are not that size because Engage is not a church for everyone.   The result of this “perfect storm” means we have to make up $42,000 in 2011 in order to maintain our current levels of ministry and impact. Wow!  I know that sounds crazy. We may even need God to raise that kind of money. :)

The Leadership Team has to make tough decisions. Please, please pray for us!  Some of us are losing sleep over this.  We are not afraid of what is happening and what needs to happen.  However, some of us are feeling the weight and strain of leading and guiding Engage as we moving forward.  In the coming weeks we will be rolling out our 2011 Spending Plan details on what we are calling “A Season of Growth”.  The best thing you can do for now is pray. Begin asking God to begin teaching you about his generosity in deeper ways.  Pray for Engage to grow together in unity through this season.  Pray for us to not allow our focus to be diverted from Christ.   Second, pay attention to what is happening in the life of Engage Church. Read email updates. Ask questions. Go download the latest podcast if you miss a worship gathering on Sundays.  Our weekly talks will be peppered with teaching and vision as we invite God to deepen us in this season.

What does all of this mean? First, it means we refuse to live in fear. We refuse to guilt people or use shame or pressure to get people to give to Engage.  If we ever do this it means God has left the building and we may as well shut the doors and go home.  God does not use fear, shame, and guilt in how he relates to us, nor does he “need” us to use those means to accomplish his good purposes.  Rather, the more we get to know Jesus the more we grow  in security, love, courage, confidence, and freedom. Listen to the podcast to find out more. Thanks for paying attention to the future of YOUR church community.  Stay tuned.

BTW: After numerous requests from those who don’t carry cash or check books, Engage is now using Pay Pal for you to give generously to what God is doing.

Posted on November 22, 2010 – 1:47 pm
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//Financial Update November 2010

Greetings Engage Community,

Here is an online version of our latest financial update. You will be receiving this in the mail early next week.  Be in prayer for Engage as we sail into 2011. This year will be our greatest financial challenge yet with potential to be our finest hour in growing deeper roots in the life of this young church.  Please read!!

Posted on November 5, 2010 – 1:03 pm
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//Greenfest 2010 . . . Engaging the Community

Hey Engage Community and Friends,

Meet my friends Paul and Kim.  Paul and Kim came to Engage a year ago after learning about us when they visited Greenfest 08.  For them Greenfest was the beginning of a deep and profound spiritual journey.  Watch Paul and Kim talk about Greenfest

Greenfest is only 10 days away. We are working hard to build momentum and spread the word for Greenfest 2010. Last year we had over 40 volunteers and 800 people cycle through Greenfest ‘09.

If you are not familiar, Greenfest is an outreach of Engage Church. We love our community and seek to add value spiritually, economically, socially, and artistically.  Greenfest does all of this.   On October 16th from 11:00 - 4:00 p.m. we will host a festival featuring over 30 businesses, non-profits, or passionate individuals who offer a environmentally sustainable produce or service.  We will have great food, games for kids, and a concert by WXPN featured musician John Francis.

What can you do? I’m glad you asked :)
1. Can you help us spread the word? Go to www.carlislegreenfest.com and learn more.  Create an email inviting your friends, co-workers, and family to join you at Greenfest on October 16th (rain date Oct. 17th)  What if they aren’t into “green”.  That’s ok.  Invite them to join you at 3:00 p.m. for a live concert  in the park with John Francis.

2. If you are a praying person, please pray for Greenfest. I have a friend (we will call him Jim) whose probably never going to come to church. Jim is an atheist.  But Jim is open to coming to Greenfest.  I want my friend to meet all of you. I want Jim to see what Engage is about. I want him to be around a group of people who are finding life with Jesus and desire to extravagantly love our community.

3. You can be present. One of the greatest ways you can impact our community is be open relationally.  What if you came to Greenfest with the sole purpose of being a friendly face and helping our guests feel welcome and appreciated for coming?  Who knows what kind of friendships or connections can be made!! How many more Paul and Kim’s are out there waiting and searching for a safe place to explore faith.  Plus, if all of the lovey dovey stuff doesn’t doe it for you, if you volunteer at Greenfest we will give you a free t-shirt.  There you go :)

Click here to learn ways to help Greenfest.

Thanks for caring about our community.
Be. Explore. Inspire Life. Multiply. TOGETHER

Posted on October 5, 2010 – 4:46 pm
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//It all started at Greenfest. . .

Paul and Kim talk about questions and doubts, Jesus, and unexpected finds at Engage. from Engage Community Church on Vimeo.

Kim and Paul share their faith journey at Engage and it all started with Greenfest!!

Posted on October 1, 2010 – 8:11 am
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