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//Christmas Eve At Engage Church

December 14, 2011 – 6:11 pm

Greetings Engage Family and Friends Beyond,

We are excited to announce that Engage Church will have our first ever Candlelight Christmas Eve Celebration. This celebration will be geared for families and friends. We will spend at hour (and only one hour) from 6:00 - 7:00 P.M. singing, reading Scripture, and lighting candles reminding ourselves of the light that God sent into the world in Jesus and what it means for us today.

Please take advantage of this opportunity to invite friends and family who may not regularly participate in a Church community. We hope to treat people to some Engage Christmas hospitality and welcome them as we join together for Christmas Eve.

Merry Christmas!

By jon hand | Posted in blog | Also tagged , | Comments (0)

//EnVision May 1: Looking back to move forward

May 5, 2011 – 11:38 am

Below are celebrations of how people have been experiencing the growth of Jesus-shaped lives at Engage since January. As you scroll down you can read people’s hopes, dreams, and prayers of how they could envision God using them to impact our community with Jesus’ revolution of love.   How awesome it is to be a part of this movement of Christ at Engage. We have much to be thankful for.

pictures of baptism and envision celebration

Vision from Envision Meeting May 1st

How have you grown spiritually in the past four months:

· I do not attend Engage regularly, only when I am in the Harrisburg area. What I am blessed by every time I attend Engage is how God helps the church to grow. It has helped me in my spiritual walk as I contemplate what it means to pioneer or initiate a God-inspired effort.

· I realized that I had stopped loving people and had taken an attitude of selfishness. Through the lego lab and tearing my mcl I’ve realized how well God actually put me together and his power in that. I’m looking forward to his help as I move into a somewhat unknown future.

· I have grown in leaps and bounds! But I know that God has so much more to do… and I look forward to that- It’s exciting!

· I learned to have peace in God’s love and faithfulness when going through a time of uncertainty. I learned that God is a master at creating beautiful things out of nothing.

· I’m learning the blessing of peace in uncertainty. I still have no idea what I’ll be doing in a month after graduation but surprisingly and thankfully, God is leaving me with a sense of “it’s ok”

· This time has allowed me to realize that God can redeem me no matter how much I fail

· I have grown by stepping up to be in charge of set-up.

· I have grown by learning a lot of the things I was taught when I was younger. Now it actually means something.

· Through the support of others and scripture, I’ve grown more confident in my faith to do the “uncomfortable” things

· Deepening of faith through walking out Christ’s love purposefully in everyday actions. Ex. Our journeys can become self-absorbed, but I am making a conscious effort to see and seize opportunities to bless/ help people in my path.

· I have been given opportunities to trust God will provide for people. I have seen Him provide for others. Also, thinking about what it means to pursue joy and how to help others in this season of life.

· I have grown through the sermons – which don’t seem like sermons- Jon’s gift of helping one to understand the Bible.

· I feel like God has brought me here. Every Sunday I walk away from the service realizing that God has met me where I am. That has meant so much because you don’t find that in every church.

· I learned how to be married. My husband found that God loves him. I learned to deal with conflict. I learned to judge myself according to God’s judgments.

· My relationships with people have become more God-centered. I’ve connected spiritually with new friends. God has opened doors to minister to my co-workers and those around me.

· Engage has helped me to dive deeper into my faith by bringing it to me in a way I can relate.

· I was someone burnt out by church and Christianity. I thought that the church mission in America failed and was a sinking ship. Engage has shown me that God is still real.

· I have grown in men’s prayer group

· Engage has given me opportunities to serve and get involved in ways I have never been able to do in church, using my gifts and abilities. The sermon’s have been in the word and are helping me look at the Bible in new ways.

· I’ve come to see that getting connected and growing in Christ’s work is a very organized process. It happens one invitation at a time, and before you know it, you’re part of the family.

What do you want to see happen at our Church next Fall?

· My friend at Banch Creek has started a ministry called, “The Image Project”. I don’t know much about it, but I know that they host community events with the intention of integrating and bridging the gap between the religious and nonreligious community. They host dialogues at Barnes and Noble, organize community block parties and town festivals. I’m going to join that and do what I can to learn enough to bring it back to Engage.

· More Potluck’s. When I first met a friend, their church has their service and then a potluck each week after service. Church is an all day affair. I always enjoyed the intimacy and connection the post-service meals brought to the people at the church.

· I want to see people be more willing to make themselves emotionally available. I pray that God will continue to work in the marriages of others.

· Maybe a women’s support group

· I have told family and friends about Engage. Some have attended and learned so much. They want to return. I want to see this church have more people attending. Reaching young families who don’t know God.

· Continuing to invest both in those within the church and outside of it. I am graduating in two weeks. My attendance and involvement at Engage will change, but I hope that I will be able to stay connected/ involved in some way.

· Activities outside of church to fellowship with believers and connect with members of the community (depending on the activity) (trivia night at the pub, or hikes)

· Neighborhood BBQ

· Childcare network for single moms, to provide babysitting for them

· Married couple date night co-op

· Paint over graffiti

· Roller derby team

· Block parties

· Build margin into our lives for non-Christians/ outsiders

· Gift card drive to give groceries and gas to families in need

· A “program” to help discern people’s calling and/or ministry fit

· Invite others to do “ordinary” things for Christ. Picnics, boating, community service, mini golf, etc.

· Discovering passions in groups

· More involvement in the community we’re in

· Free car wash

· Engage swap( free stuff)

· Mom’s group

· A coffee meet and greet

· I would like to see a regular set of youth group members

· Coat drive for the homeless

· Mitten/scarf drive

· We could have people from church have kids over for breakfast.

· Email conversations with members

· Connect school students with the Engage community. Maybe as simple as a family having them over for breakfast once a month/ week. Or something like a big brother setup.

· Have a similar “college Day” in September

· A better understanding of global community and ways in which God is working outside of the US, celebrating what God’s already done in the lives of Engage members

· Continue having Greenfest to reach out to environmental people

· Have a tutoring program for students in local middle and high schools

· Offer instrument lessons to the community

· Over the summer I would like to see a group that meets at a local coffee shop to discuss the Acts study, in a relaxed setting where I could invite unchurched friends

· Meeting with people once a week to discuss what Jesus is doing in our lives

· Have a mentoring network

· Get groups of men to do hands on work with people in the community.

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//EnVision Engage Year Three_Resources

January 29, 2011 – 4:04 pm

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

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//A Season of Growth

November 22, 2010 – 1:47 pm

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.

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//Investing in what matters most. . . your relationship!! Sign up Today for the Grow Your Relationship Workshop

August 10, 2010 – 1:45 pm

We all invest our time in the things that matter the most to us.  Think back on the last month. How much time did you spend fixing up your house or decorating the living room or working in the yard? How much time have you spent exercising or shopping for clothing? How much time have you spent watching t.v. or movies?  If you have kids, how much time have you spent reading to them or taking them to the pool?  We all spend time on the things we value.

Here’s the question. How much time have you spent lately growing your relationship with your spouse, or significant other?  We know, you are busy.  Ya, school starts that week.  This time away from the kids will make you a happier parent.  Everyone wins when you are better connected to the one you love.  Don’t allow business to keep you from investing in your most significant relationship.  Engage Church exists to bring life to those around us.   Sacrifice the time to bring life into your most important relationship.

Engage Church will be hosting Growing Your Relationship Workshop taught by Bob and Gloria Lane.  Bob and Gloria have been married for over 40 years and have taught this workshop to hundreds. Each time the Lanes teach this workshop they experience an overwhelming response with repeated invitations to this to more couples.

Here is what people are saying about this workshop.
“Extremely productive.  The tools are useful and clearly will make a difference in our marriage”        –Indianapolis

“I have received tools that will help our marriage “flourish”–Married 32 years

“We are better able to clarify each others needs and how to work on our relationship together.  We are convinced our relationship will grow as a result” – Newly married

“Great!  A must for all married and yes singles in understanding how to build a growing relationship”          –Dallas, TX

“Although not married, I decided to attend to learn more about myself, but WOW! I received so much more that will guide me in any future relationship.  Thank you for the time, insight, and values received”       –Atlanta, Georgia

Workshop will include

✤     How to affirm your spouse no matter how long you’ve been together.
✤     Four basic needs in marriage.
✤    Understanding love languages.
✤    Value apology languages.
✤    Deepening levels of relationship.
✤    Identifying emotional stressors.
✤    Finding out your personality types. Who you are. Who your spouse is.
✤    Grow in understanding yourself and grow in understanding your mate.
✤    How to communicate in a way they will hear you.
✤    How to understand the core needs of your mate based on their personality.

The workshop includes an online personality tool called Prism Perspectives that must be taken ahead of time.  You will receive information about this once you register.

When.
Join us on 8.28.10  from 6:00 - 9:00 p.m. and Sunday 8.29.10 from 1:00 - 5:00 p.m.

Where. 
Engage Church

Cost.
$40 (cheaper than a night out and a movie)
**This includes lunch on Sunday.  We are also trying to provide babysitting. No guarantees but we will see what we can do. Babysitting would be included in the cost.

Hurry.
Space is limited to 15 couples max! We already have 4 couples signed up. You must register and pay by August 22nd. Make checks payable to Engage Church.

Who.
This workshop is geared for married couples, engaged couples, or those in a long-term relationship moving towards life long commitment in marriage.

Participants do not need to attend Engage Church to participate.

Please download the brochure to register today!!  relationalworkshop_aug2010

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//Check in for cool updates on life at Engage

June 15, 2010 – 9:57 am

Hey Peeps,

We’ve created a new page called What’s New? We will try to use this page to upload pictures, video, songs, and little snippets of some of the exciting things happening at Engage.  So for this first one we will load you up with some interesting things from the last few weeks.

1. Listen to Zach’s powerful story. We baptized Zach Brigante and Cuyler Paine on June 6th.  Link to pictures and read more. . .

2. On Sunday Christi Hadden gave us an update on the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.  She has a passion for Creation Care.  Christi gave an articulate and passionate explanation for why this is so important from a ecological, human, and theological perspective.
Listen here to her 6 min. talk

3. Listen to the latest song written and performed for Engage by our resident singer / songwriter Stephen Santos.
“Sweet Mercy” - Stephen wrote this song for a talk at Engage from Jesus’ teaching on from the Matthew 5. my-sweet-mercy

“Where do I turn” - In May we did a series called “Off Script”. We were looking at this vision Jesus gives us of a life lived outside the box that normal life tries to cram us into. On this morning we took song lyrics from different people that morning and while Jon talked Stephen wrote a song incorporating the lyrics–and weaving it into the topic for the day “Hungry and Thirsty for Righteousness”.  If you like this song link to it from your email, web page or facebook.  Help Stephen get the word out about his music.
where-do-i-turn-1

“There’s a Call” - Stephen wrote this song for a gathering of pastor’s in our family of churches called the Brethren in Christ Church.  This is a powerful vision of how our faith moves us deeper into the world.
theres-a-call

4. Last but not least. We had our Engage Picnic this last Sunday. Check out the fun times had by all.

Fun times at Engage Picnic from Engage Community Church on Vimeo.

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//Creation Care: Why Are Churches Talking About the Oil Spill?

June 15, 2010 – 7:10 am

This past Sunday Christi Hadden, a local teacher, shared the following slideshow during the morning service at Engage Community Church.  Christi shared her passionate care for creation which is rooted in her faith.  The following slides present a compelling argument that reminds us that events like the BP oil spill matter to God and his people.

Listen here to Christi’s talk and follow along with the power point slides below. oil-spill-update_christiehadden

The following slide shows the size of the spill, as of Sunday June 13, and allows you to move the spill to compare its size to well known landmarks like the state of PA.  To create your own comparison go to Ifitwasmyhome.com.

The health of the world’s oceans is intrinsically connected to the health of the planet.  For example, 70% of the world’s oxygen comes from the ocean.

The health of the ocean effects not only the planet, but also its inhabitants.  The effects of the BP oil spill have already impacted the livelihoods of thousands of families.  

The Bible speaks again and again of the goodness of God’s creation and its reflection of God’s grandeur and glory.  The first chapters of Genesis paint a picture where humans live in interdependent relationship with the created world.  Serving God is connected, in the prophets and psalms, with caring for and tending the world around us.  In short, we should care because God does.

What can you do?  While the effects of the oil spill are overwhelming, this is not a time for finger pointing and fear mongering.  Please join Engage Community Church as we seek God’s face in the midst of this disaster and ask for healing.  The people of Engage are passionate about helping to connect people to local opportunities to promote environmental sustainability - check out our annual event, Carlisle Green Festival, which will be held on October 16, 2010.

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//Baptisms @ Engage

June 10, 2010 – 10:00 am

LISTEN to Zach’s powerful story!!!

Cuyler Paine

Zach Brigante

This past Sunday June 6th was a beautiful day at Engage.  We ended our time together with a celebration of baptism.  Cuyler Paine and Zach Brigante both followed Jesus in Baptism as a statement of their faith and trust in Jesus.  This was our second baptism service at Engage.  The first one was on Jan. 10th. You can scroll down to watch video and view pictures from our celebration in January.  As we baptized Cuyler and Zach I once again watched many of you.  You were moved to tears and some of you tough guys even choked up a bit (I saw you :).  I was reflecting on this again this past week. Why is baptism such a powerful symbol? Why does this symbol evoke such strong emotions deep within?  I think it’s because baptism is such an intimate and vulnerable expression.  Each person we baptize read their story of how Christ has been at work in their lives healing and shaping and freeing them in some way.  Each time these stories are laced raw honesty, meaning, and hope.  On Sunday Cuyler showed us pictures of him praying with his counselor at Summer camp as this young guy of 9 yrs. old told his creator that he trusts Jesus as his friend and savior.  The child-like faith of Cuyler Paine is a reminder to all of us of our need to approach God as a loving Father with innocence and vulnerability.

When Zach Brigante read his story many us welled with tears as we heard this story of hurt and loss, pain and emptiness.  But his story didn’t end there.  Zach’s story moved from void or loss or regret–to hope.   Hope that something better and fuller has been found through knowing and trusting the Creator who came to be with us in Jesus. I watched you grimace as you identified with the emptiness or darker sides of this story.  I was moved as you teared up or broke a smile when Zach spoke of redemption breaking through layers of doubt and skepticism or hurt and loss.  Why is this?  Many of you didn’t even personally know Zach.  The reason is simple. We want reasons to hope. When we find corners of this world where hope wins over our cynicism it moves us in deep ways.  My hope is that Engage is a community where hope is always winning.  Not fake, syrupy, conjured sentimentalism living in refusal to see reality.  No–more like the refusal to give in to the cynical impulses that so quickly leap, squelching our imaginations of faith.  There is a reason why Jesus was always pointing to little children when teaching about trust and faith.  Children aren’t cynics. They believed God could work in ways that are befitting of, um, God.  They have the faith to dream of God-shaped possibilities in this world.  May hope increase and fear be extinguished as we continue to get to know the ultimate source of hope–Jesus Christ.

Listen to Zach’s story in his own words zach-story_baptism

I leave you with Zach’s powerful story. In his own words:

I was asked to answer two questions, “Why do you want to be baptized” and “What does it mean to you?” Why I want to get baptized has more to do with not wanting to be baptized really. I was raised in the church, a mega church in Southern California where my mother attended since I was very young. She taught kindergarten there and we would often attend more than once a week. She would read me the Bible before bed, and she would have me pray.

The honest truth is that I don’t remember much of anything from what she read me and I spent most of my time at church avoiding actually going to a service. I would often fall asleep as my mother read to me, and I never really understood why we went to church or why we believed in God. I did believe in God though, regardless of lack of reason to. I would be afraid of dark rooms and posters with eyes, and I would pray to God for protection and I honestly believed it.

When I was around 7 years old I began to question what we were doing every week going to this place and why we were praying and what it all really meant. My mother attempted to assuage my questions, but the people she asked rarely had satisfactory answers, or if they did I would find more questions in the answers I was given. I fought her for many years about going to church, and I finally stopped going around 13.

I felt that it didn’t affect my life much, not being a Christian. Nothing really seemed to change other than I didn’t go to church any more. It was easy at that point because we had just moved away from Southern California to Baltimore, Maryland and we did not have a church yet. I developed an interesting habit of visiting churches with my mother and talking to the pastor afterward, asking him the questions that had led me from God. They rarely had answers that satisfied.

And so began my little crusade, to poke holes in the Christian faith with the use of logic and the understanding that most believers did not know why they believed, and they didn’t care. I would ask the right questions to people who had never really thought about it before, and soon they would be drowning in doubt. I questioned students in college, high-school, pastors, and teachers. For seven years I wandered the spiritual wilderness searching for the one thing I desired over all else, control and power.

In those seven years, I became Pagan searching for the power that the supernatural supposedly holds. I studied witchcraft understanding that the Bible talks of abilities held by humans who did not believe in God, abilities that I desired. I soon found witchcraft to be full of self delusion, just as I thought Christianity was. I became Agnostic, understanding that I believed that there was a force in the world, something beyond and above us and with us that guided and protected us, but acknowledging that I did not know what that was. I continued to ask questions, and I continued to find no answers.

When I was 19 I started dating a girl who  had a nice grudge toward Christians as arrogant and judgmental people. She owned a set of books called the “Left Behind Series” which I had heard about before and was curious about. I loved to read and devoured many books in those days. In these books, God gives his believers abilities, persuasion, discernment, and protection.

My lust for power led me to be curious about the Bible, to see if these abilities were really given to God’s followers and how valid they were. I began meeting with a friend in College, asking him the questions that came up to me when I began reading Genesis for what to me felt to be the first time. He didn’t have answers either, but he encouraged me to keep reading, and affirmed me that my questions were valid ones and some day they would be answered. He gave me a book called, “The Case for Christ” by Lee Strobel, and a few weeks later I failed out of college.

I finished “The Case for Christ” just before I was forced to move out of my dorm, and on a cold night of December 19th, 2006 I gave up. I admitted defeat. I decided that I was tired from running from something and pretending that something didn’t exist when I know in my heart that it did.

In my mind, I can never recall ever being baptized, and I have always understood it as something those other people do to get a Godly experience. Why would I need that, when I have God inside of me at all times. I would justify not doing it, by saying that it wasn’t necessary. However, I would continue to feel that I should, because the Bible says you should, but I didn’t understand that until I went back to college and learned about what the Bible really says. It has taken me almost 4 years to get the courage to give up control of my life to Him, and to you, the people in my life that know Him. To trust, that somehow I cannot be the one to guide my life.

Baptism, to me, is surrendering again. Giving God control, and admitting to Him, to myself, and to all of you that I love you. I love you all, all humans and all people. I want to be your friend, I want to trust you, I want to give my heart to you. But I am afraid, afraid of failure and rejection, and of being alone. Baptism is facing my fear. I want to be baptized because I am tired of being afraid of community and friendship and love. I want God to wash the fear from me. I can do this.
–Zach Brigante

Baptism from January 2010

Mike Greene Baptism @ Engage from Engage Community Church on Vimeo.

Amy Greene Baptism @ Engage from Engage Community Church on Vimeo.

Mitchell Greene Baptism @ Engage from Engage Community Church on Vimeo.

Evelyn Cruzat Baptism @ Engage from Engage Community Church on Vimeo.

Elijah Hyndman Baptism @ Engage from Engage Community Church on Vimeo.

Desirae Moyer Baptism @ Engage from Engage Community Church on Vimeo.

Anna Jane Friess Baptism @ Engage from Engage Community Church on Vimeo.

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//Ready for Company

February 18, 2010 – 2:29 pm

Being ready for company. . .

**ATTN: If you are a leader or regular part of Engage. Please carefully read this.
Hey Engage Leaders and those serving Christ as Engage,

What’s up my friends? Many of you were with us when we first started Engage.  This past Sunday  looked out over the full house we had and thanking God for the community of people he is drawing together and expanding outward.  I just want to say thanks to everyone for how you serve Jesus at Engage.  I believe with all my heart that God is using Engage in a unique way in our community.  The life God is shaping in us is making a difference in lives, even for people who don’t even go to Engage.  Just last week I had lunch with a local business man who doesn’t go to our church. In fact, he’s not even a “church” type at all.  But someone close to him hangs out with some of people at Engage and they are being loved and accepted for who they are in a way they doesn’t experience with most people.   This business man is so intrigued with what Engage is about that he is going to pay for us to have an ongoing add in the Sentinel.  Again, he’s not church guy!!!  Another friend of Engage paid for us to have a 30 second video “commercial” in the  City Cinema Theater in Camp Hill. We are working on producing this 30 second commercial that will run before every movie in every theater for a year.  City Cinema has 46,000 people who attend their movies during a month’s time.  WOW.  Each week we are seeing new people “check out” Engage to see if this is an authentic place with real people where they can explore faith.

Many of you were with us the day we launched on Jan. 11th, 2009.  Remember how we thought of every little detail? We noticed if the chairs needed straightening. We jumped to make sure people were greeted and made to feel comfortable. We sat in strategic places so we could meet new people. We were aware if things were out of place or if there was trash lying around. We wore little name tags so people could address us without feeling awkward. We parked at Weis and walked a half-mile to make sure our guests didn’t have to walk as far.  Why? Because we believe in the mission. We know that there’s way more to being the church than Sunday morning, yet we also know that if we wanted to get people OFF the Front Porch they needed to be relaxed and safe ON the Front Porch.   We are still doing some of these things every week!! But I want to invite us to reignite our level of intentionality as we come to Engage on Sundays.  Think of it as being ready for company.  Being alert and intentional to the needs of others is not just the “responsibility” of those greeting or making coffee or doing set up on any given week. Being ready for company is something we ALL can do each week.  Here are a few thoughts I had based on some helpful feedback from this past Sunday.  This past Sunday we had a very full house of 134 people at Engage. We hit our highest ever attendance for the second time.   98 of whom were in the worship gathering.      
               
                                      4 Things you can do to be ready for company.

1. Be attentive to people and to the environment.  If you see people come in that you don’t know. Go introduce yourself and ask how they heard about Engage.  Ya, but what if they already attend Engage? Great, then you just learned someone’s name. No harm, no foul. 

2. Go out of your way to greet people in the chairs. You know who sits in the chairs? The people are who most disconnected or new to Engage. 

3. If you have to sit in the chairs due to space issues, don’t sit in the back row! Why? This last week a line of guests came in late and had to walk all the way through the table section to the other chair section and they had to sit on the front row.  No one wants to sit on the front row on their first or second visit. 

4. You have  permission! If you think we need more chairs when people are still coming in late and the tables are full–get some people together and add another row of chairs.  Take the lead. Go for it. Engage is a place where you have permission to go for it and, um, engage :) pun intended :)

Our dream is to not be a church that  grows so big that everyone can anonymously come and go for years on end.  No, we want to grow, raise us Jesus-mission -shaped leaders, and send out people to go start Engage Communities in neighboring towns and cities…. Being intentional now only helps us be ready for the growth and training it will take to be a part of that bigger story.  Plus, these are small things we can do to show people that we aren’t into religion and just “attending” church.  The gospel of Jesus is like nothing else when it’s authentically lived out in small ways!

Living a better story together.  Love ya,
Jon
 

By jon hand | Posted in blog | Also tagged , , | Comments (0)

//Past. Present. Future. . . One year anniversary of Engage.

January 2, 2010 – 11:17 am

Reflecting on the PAST
One year ago, Engage Church was mostly just a dream lodged in the hearts of a handful of people.  We really don’t know how good our Creator is.  Even long time Church people don’t always live our lives with the confidence that God is more giving, more gracious, more compassionate, and loving towards us than we can imagine.  We believe God isn’t stuck in time on some rigid rail distantly overseeing his creation; watching us flail about trying to figure out life on our own.   Instead, God works dynamically to meet us where we are and fill in the needs of our thirsty hearts.  When we planted Engage, we saw a need in this community.  Who was going to be a church for all of the people who are maybe looking for God but are skeptical of church as they’ve known it?  We believe with all of our hearts that God raised up a group of people with a desire from God to meet that need.  We launched our first worship gathering on Jan. 11th, 09. Ninety-four people came to see what this was all about.  Over the rest of the year many people came to Engage and many (like yourselves) stayed at Engage because they’ve said, I’ve never met people like this before who are so open to friendship and who care about the things in life that matter most.   Most importantly we’ve heard people say, “I come to Engage because it seems like God is there.”  We’ve also heard people express the feeling of being pursued by a relational God when they recall, “Engage has helped us find something that we didn’t even know we were looking for.”

Fully engaging the PRESENT
On January 10th Engage Church will celebrate our one year anniversary by having our first baptism service.  Baptism is admittedly a weird act of faith.  But there is a megaton of symbolism packed into this out-of-the- ordinary act of faith.   If you consider Engage to be your community of faith, please be at Engage on January 10th to help us celebrate God’s goodness and lives deeply changed by Christ.   No party is complete without food.   So plan on sticking around on Jan. 10th as we will be having a meal to follow our celebration.  How can you help? Good question, thanks for asking. If your last name starts with an A-M please bring a side dish and a drink to share and if your last name begins with a N-Z please bring a main dish to share.

New Sunday Morning Series:
For the next five weeks starting Jan. 3rd we are doing a series called, “Cover Bands Don’t Change the World: Living Creatively in Mundane Life”.  Most people don’t associate “God” with creativity. In fact, most people have come to see religion as more dull and drab than compelling and innovative.  In Jesus we find a creative and innovative God who gives us new eyes and a deep motivation to live everyday life creatively.  Ever been to a wedding and danced it up to the old familiar cover band tunes? Cover bands just recycle what everyone else is doing.  They simply follow the crowd. It’s easy for us to just live life taking it as it comes and follow what everyone else is doing.  That doesn’t take much creativity.  Over the next month  we will explore  together  the intersection of creativity, imagination, and the life and teachings of Jesus.   The more you encounter Jesus the more your imagination grows.  You begin to see everyday situations, people, work, and family in God-infused creative ways. The call of Jesus is a call to create life around you with God.  Join us at Engage as we seek to live creatively.

Shaping the FUTURE
Well, ‘09 is now a thing of the past.  I don’t know how ‘09 was for you, but for me ‘09 was exciting and hard at times.  We had a dream to start a church for people who aren’t connecting with God at church as they’ve known it.  God did that this year through us!  That is no small feat. Only one in 7 church plants like Engage grow to a numerical size of 100 or more in the first 3-4 years of their existence.  That means God has greatly blessed our efforts at Engage.  People are coming, lives are changing, relationships are being forged, and we are engaging our community.

Now we look ahead into 2010. What does God have for Engage in 2010? When we started Engage a group of us asked God to show us what He wanted to do, who He wanted Engage to reach, what He wanted Engage to look like?  We built Engage on the answers to those questions.  As we look ahead, we realize Engage is not the same church as it was one year ago.  Leading up to the start of Engage we believed that God was speaking His vision for Engage to “us”, not just “me”.   So we want to hear your visions and dreams for Engage in 2010.  Over the month of January the Leadership Team at Engage (Harold Travis, Kelly Chripczuk, Jon Hand, Matt Tuckey, and Jeremy Owen) will be listening, praying, seeking, and planning ways we can live out God’s dream for Engage in 2010.  Please help us by leaving your dreams, vision, and what God is speaking to you by leaving a comment.  We need your input as we seek God’s direction for Engage in 2010. All of your comments will be read and considered by the leadership team.  Please leave your comments from now until January 15th. SCROLL UP AND CLICK ON THE TITLE OF THIS POST TO LEAVE A COMMENT. Thanks for contributing to the future of Engage.

By jon hand | Posted in blog | Also tagged , | Comments (1)