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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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//Engage 6 month financial update…good stuff

August 17, 2010 – 11:42 am

Hey Engage Community,

Every quarter the Engage Leadership Team has been updating you on the financial status of Engage Church.  Engage has been blessed. From the beginning we have been on a three-year plan of receiving subsidy from our Brethren in Christ family of churches.  Year one we received $50,000 dollars and this year (year two) we will receive $25,000 dollars.  Year three, 2011, we will receive $10,000 dollars.  For better or for worse we knew from the beginning that we were on a three-year plan to become financially self-sustaining as a church.  Right now we are exactly in the middle of that time line. So let’s celebrate a bit.

Celebrating the present
One year ago, in August of 2009, our weekly budgeted need was $1,260.  As we looked ahead last year, we saw that our weekly needs would increase in 2010 to $2,067; that was a 39% increase starting January 1, 2010.  From January to June we sustained that 39% increase in giving, averaging $2,053.

Money, however, simply enables us to fulfill the mission and vision of Engage.  Here are some noteworthy highlights of God’s activity from the last six months.

1. Of those who filled out a connect card, Engage has hosted over 110 unique first time visitors on Sundays since January 1, 2010. That’s over 100  people who have engaged with the message of Christ in safety without fear of judgment.

2. Of those 100 people, 28 (including children) now consider Engage their Christian community.  A 25% retention rate is considered a B+ for church plants our size.

3. Due to the leadership of Kelly and John Chripczuk and Kevin Barr we saw 13 people graduate from Story Core after interacting with God’s story in the Bible and exploring faith in Jesus for eight weeks together.

4. We hired Kelly Chripczuk as part-time Associate of Spiritual Life. Kelly’s impact has already been significant on many levels at Engage.

5. Engage gave $5,500 to invest in church planting and compassion ministries through our BIC family of churches.

6. Engage raised over $2,200 for Haiti in the aftermath of the earthquake.

7. We baptized nine people as a public expression of faith in Jesus over the last six months.

8.  Our church helped a young, pregnant mother in need by providing friendship, love, housing, transportation to work, emotional support, and financial help over the last four months.  We hope and pray for more opportunities like this!!

9.   We are a young church in age. The average age of attendance is 30 years old. Last fall we began praying that God would bring older, mature followers of Jesus as “missionaries” to Engage to use their gifts and passions here.  In the last six months, we have seen God begin to answer this specific prayer.

10.   Increased attendance. We celebrate this last because it’s simply one of many indicators that people are finding life with Jesus at Engage.  In our first year, our highest attended Sunday morning was 137 people in April of 2009.  In the first seven months of 2010 we hit attendance of 125-133 people four times, 134-142 people five times and 143-145 people two time.  Overall, this trend indicates consistent attendance growth at Engage.

Envisioning the future
We have much to be thankful for. Today we stand in the same place we did one year ago.  On January 1, 2011 our giving need will increase 40% over 2010.  This is due to two factors.  First, Engage is growing up.  Part of growing up means you get off mom and dad’s dime and start supporting yourself.  The same is true for Engage. We have been heavily subsidized by our family of churches to the tune of $75,000 for the first two years.  Starting in 2011, we will be losing $15,000 in subsidy.  The challenge of 2011 means we will be taking on the responsibility to be a church who will stand on our own.  However, the goal is never simply to stand, it’s to walk and run in the direction God is calling Engage.  We believe God is calling Engage to grow deep roots in Christ and grow outward in our focus.

When we first started Engage we said we don’t want to just be busy Christians who go to a church event on Sundays.  Instead, we looked into the future and saw a community of people with gospel-shaped hearts. We saw a community of people relationally connected with Christ and deeply connected with each other.  We saw people from Engage inviting unchurched neighbors and coworkers over for back yard barbecues showing we value them as people before inviting them to church.  We looked into the future and saw democrats and republicans, believers and skeptics, gay and straight, and rich and poor sitting across the table from each other having conversations about faith in Jesus.  We can see a church full of men mentoring young boys in our community.  We can see a church full of women helping pregnant single moms find their way and support their child.  We envision a church full of gospel-shaped relational missionaries sent out to embody the message of Jesus to those who are far from God and outside of faith in Jesus.

Not equal giving, equal sacrifice
In 2011, our weekly needs will be $2,926 per week or +40% above current giving levels.
Year three, 2011, will be our greatest financial challenge yet!!  We are already half-way to financially standing on our own two feet as a church.  Over the next five months we must increase our giving up to $859 per week to meet our approximate weekly need of $2,926 in 2011.  Currently, Engage has giving partners whose  giving varies from $1,350 to $25 per month.

Certainly, not everyone at Engage makes the same income. Therefore, we are calling you not to equal giving but equal sacrifice in your giving. We invite you to begin praying and asking God how you can increase your giving as we approach 2011.  Do the math? What would your budget look like if you increased your giving by 5% in 2011?

Generosity always involves sacrifice and our Creator has never been afraid to call his people to sacrifice for His purposes in the world.

Proverbs 11:29 says, “A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed.” Using the analogy of planting seeds Paul says, “Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.”

In the Bible, generosity is always first based on a God who gives himself generously to us in Jesus.  God holds nothing back from what He knows we need the most.  The invitation to generosity, then, is an invitation to trust God.  For many of us, money is the very thing that gives us a sense of freedom or security.  The call to generosity is the call to replace our trust in money with a trust in a loving God whose generosity and provision can never be depleted.

How do we get there from here?
We must step out in faith if we are to move in the direction God is calling us.  We trust God to provide the resources we need to live the vision He has given to this church.  If everyone gave, we would only need an additional $14 per “giving partner” per week or $56 per month to meet our goal. In other words, for the same price as dinner and a movie for two we can continue to turn this vision into a reality.

Thank you for your presence and partnership at Engage. You are a gift to this community of Christ.  Thank you for investing the time to read this update.  Please pray for the spiritual depth and financial growth of Engage.

Consider setting a goal to increase your trust in Christ by inviting Him to grow your generosity at Engage.  Imagine setting a goal to increase your giving.  What would that look like for you?

Sincerely,

The Leadership Team at Engage
info@engagecommunitychurch.com

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//What’s new? Life at Engage_June 24_2010

June 24, 2010 – 9:40 am

Hey Peeps,
I was in Texas last week at a fellowship of church planting pastors with churches similar to Engage in size and vision.  I came across this video and LOVED IT!!  In just two minutes this video explains what we are about and what we are constantly trying to work towards at Engage. Would love for all of you to watch it and post a comment or two. Oh, think of one person you can forward this link to. Share the message. Click on the header to view comments. Thanks Kevin for being the first!!

Enjoy!!

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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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//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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//Counterfeit God #1. Romance

November 4, 2009 – 1:37 pm

Click the header on this blog post to see comments or add a comment:

Right now I’m reading a book called Counterfeit Gods by a pastor named Tim Keller.  The book is based on the idea that we all have something or someone we hang out hopes on in this life to give us peace, security, hope, happiness, and relief.  We all feel restless and anxious and churn at times because we long for more from this life, but can’t seem to find it. Keller’s premise is that God is the only one who can fill the ache in our soul but we don’t always start there. So we fabricate meaning and hope or security and happiness in other things. Things he deems counterfeit gods.  We’ve always done this. Read your history, study the ancients. Deep in our collective human experience lies, well, lies.  Lies that we can find rest in almost any other place except in knowing and being known by our Creator.  So for the next several weeks or when it hits me, I will share some nuggets I’m collecting from the book. Maybe it will entice you to read it for yourself. I bought 12 copies of this book and will be giving it to key influencers and leaders at Engage. My hope is to spread this book like an idea virus through our community….if we take it to heart it will mean that Engage will continue to be a place that celebrates honesty about these parts of ourselves that go searching for life or salvation in everything else but God….I would love to have you comment and start some dialogue.  Check out the video teaser for the book. http://www.counterfeitgods.com/

page 39 - Speaking about our tendency to look for fulfilment in romance. No person, not even the best one, can give your soul all it needs. pg 40  The failure of romantic love as a solution to human problems is so much a part of modern man’s frustration…No human relationships can bear the burden of godhood….However much we may idealize or idolize him (or her, the love partner), he / she inevitably reflects earthly decay and imperfection….After all, what is it that we want when we elevate the love partner to this position? We want to be rid of our faults, of our feeling of nothingness. We want to be justified, to know our existence has not been in vain. We want redemption–nothing less. Needless to say, human partners cannot give this.

Keller at one point quotes C.S. Lewis about our human longings which nothing can satisfy:
Most people, if they have really learned to look into their own hearts, would know that they do want, and want acutely, something that cannot be had in this world. There are all sorts of things in this world that offer to give it to you, but they never quite keep their promise. The longings which arise in us when we first fall in love, or first think of some foreign country, or first take up some subject that excites us, are longings which no marriage, no travel, no learning, can really satisfy. . . There was something we have grasped at, in that first moment of longing, which just fades away in the reality. I think everyone knows what I mean. The wife may be a good wife, and the hotels and scenery may have been excellent, and chemistry maybe a very interesting job: but something has evaded us.

U2 was right. We still haven’t found what we are looking for….

jon

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//is this shameless self promotion? you decide

October 22, 2009 – 11:09 am

As you may or may not know, Engage is a part of a family or network of churches called the Brethren in Christ. Great people, antiquated name.  The name was useful at one point about 100 years ago when everyone was your brethren.  Not so much anymore, eh? Regardless, we are proud to be a part of this family of caring, generous, and supportive community of churches.  Engage is funded in part from the generosity of the BIC. All of the churches who are a part of the BIC send a portion of their money (up to 10% per year) into a cooperative pot called “Cooperative Ministries”.  This past summer the CM people called me and featured Engage in their yearly publication that goes out to all of their churches to promote the great use of their money for places like Engage.  So here is a little snapshot of what they said, but after I posted it I realized you probably can’t read it. So I will include it at the bottom if your my mom or grandma and actually want to take the time to read it. Thanks mom!! I can always count on you to download my stuff :)

Really, thought, this article hits the reason why we started Engage and why we think it matters.  Last Sunday we interviewed some new friends to Engage. It was incredible to hear two very professional and seemingly self-sufficient people share how they are finding meaning, real joy, and contentment because of their new relationship with Christ. My friend (we will call him Jason) at one point choked up as he began to describe how confused or lost he felt on an existential level before beginning to explore faith in Jesus at Engage.  He said, “It’s like we were looking for something but didn’t know what it was or how to find it.” Jason and his wife were looking for what they could not find and are starting to find it in Jesus.  Again, I go back to my little blurb in the article. Unless people are becoming connected to healthy Christian community they simply will not be able to experience a real, life-changing, world-altering relationship with Christ.  Just doesn’t happen.  I am proud to be a part of this kind of imperfect community of faith.

cm09-booklet

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//Calling all Community Group Leaders at Engage

October 7, 2009 – 2:26 pm

Watch the following video for some fun filled info about Community Groups at Engage!!

Hey Community Group Leaders,

Over the last two weeks Jon and I have been talking, scheming and praying about Community Groups at Engage. I’m very excited about the potential for growth and relationship-building within the groups, and have a passion for the kind of community that is fostered within groups like these. If our Sunday morning gathering are like the front porch, our community groups are like coming into the living room. This is where we find friendship and go a little bit deeper, interacting with the Bible and what’s being talked about on Sunday mornings, and care for one another. Our desire is to see authentic relationships and real community develop at Engage, and Community Groups are an important avenue for these things to happen.

Over the next week I will be contacting each of you individually to connect about what’s going on with your Community Groups, talk about ways that Jon and I can support and resource you as leaders, and share some of the vision that we’re developing for the groups. We also want to meet together with all of you soon, and so are inviting you to a gathering of Community Groups leaders after our Sunday morning time on Nov. 1. Here are the details:

Community Group Leaders Meeting
Sunday, Nov. 1
11:45am - 1:00pm
Lunch and childcare will be provided.

A big thanks to all of you for serving as Community Group Leaders. I am praying for each of you and your groups, and looking forward to hearing more stories about how God is working in the groups.

Kevin Barr (Director of Community Groups @ Engage)

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//In their own words . . . what people are saying about Engage.

May 29, 2009 – 10:09 am

“I am a warm fuzzy type of person who needs to feel connected, loves relationships and shies away from situations where I feel intimidated.  Instantly at Engage I felt a sense of acceptance and comfort.  I loved the mission of Engage, the people of Engage and the vision of Engage right away.

My priority right now in life is my boys, so of course I was obsessively worried about how they would do at a different church with different people,etc.  It took my son almost 3 years not to cry and grip my leg when we would leave him at our previous church.  Put it this way, we now refer to Engage as Mimi’s church.  Mimi was the first person to approach our oldest son and he just fell in love with her the first Sunday.  There have been Sundays when he hasn’t wanted to come home with us and would rather stay in his Sunday school class.  Our youngest son’s class went well too…Kristen and Aimee made him/I feel at peace and we all went home excited, hopeful and relieved that the morning had not been a nightmare for the kids.

You asked how Engage has changed me?  I would say Engage has opened my eyes and heart to a life I had not been open to before.  I have never been surrounded by so many people that are motivated and driven by helping others find a relationship with Jesus without it being pushy or forced. . . I look for ways I can help others to show them a kindness they may not know. “—Kristin

“I like Engage because it is a comfortable atmosphere that makes it easy to build friendships and ask difficult questions (though I haven’t actually had the courage to raise my hand and ask a question yet, the topics get me thinking about my beliefs, which is something I haven’t done for a very long time, if ever). So thank you for that.  So why did I start going to Engage? Well, I am at a point in my life that I would like to discover my beliefs and build a relationship with God. I am trying to become a more positive person. Nothing in particular has happened to bring this about, I was just invited to your church at a perfect time. Since the first time I went, I knew I would love it and feel comfortable there. And I’m meeting the most wonderful people!  I would like to get my husband involved too. Like myself, he was not raised in a religious environment, so it might a little difficult to get him interested. I know he would like you a lot because you very down-to-earth friendly people. I think he might be intimidated because he doesn’t want to feel like someone is pushing their own beliefs on him or looking down on him for not being very religious…but I know he wouldn’t feel that way with you. I think it would also help strengthen our marriage . . .” – Amy

“I am glad that I found Engage. I have felt like something has been “lacking” in my life for a while now and I think I found the answer to that. I still have lots of doubts and lots of questions, but I feel better knowing that others do too. I appreciate what u are doing at Engage and I’m glad to be a part of it!” – R.F.

“Through the years I have received numerous invitations from friends and acquaintances to visit their churches.  I was never compelled to do so.  My parents were not church goers and rarely discussed their belief (or lack there of) in God.  I have always believed Jesus was a unique and special person who did amazing things during his short time on this Earth.  I’ve never quite bought into the whole “son of God” thing.  I’m an extremely factually-based thinker and having faith without proof takes me out of my comfort zone.  However, through the years certain events and happenings have made me question coincidence versus God’s work.  I think my faith has been lying dormant for years and it’s just starting to stir.

Shortly before the official launch on January 11, Matt Tuckey shared some information with me about Engage.  It sounded interesting to me.  Matt later sent me an email invite to the launch.  When I went to the Engage website and started reading about Engage, I was compelled to check it out.  Looking back, I was amazed at myself for walking into a situation where I didn’t know anyone and had no knowledge of what the Engage experience would be like.  But I had this feeling that I needed to attend and bring my children also.  I was so surprised when I did not feel out of place or labeled as the “newbie”.  I enjoyed the service immensely and my children asked, “Can we come every Sunday?”

Engage is a non-judgmental, non-threatening community where I can explore my faith and beliefs and spend time with genuine people who are there as a resource and support for my journey.  It’s hard not to feel like Engage was designed specifically for me.  So far, my involvement with Engage has been attendance at Sunday service primarily.  However, I’ve already noticed changes in my perspective of daily activities and more of an awareness of my own actions.  And I feel the potential is there for so much more.  It’s all up to me.

To the Engage leadership team – I greatly appreciate all you have done and all you continue to do.  Without you there would be no Engage and I would still be writing off God’s work as coincidence.” – Carla

“I’m in a very interesting/difficult place in my life right now… living out here on my own and not being able to break-in to the “culture” here, my parents getting divorced, overly stressful/demanding job, recently broke-up with my boyfriend, etc.  I really have no “home” (back home) anymore. . . I’m at this “Cross-roads” really and I just don’t know which way to go. I’ve always had goals (ie: go to school, get a job, by a house, etc) and now I’ve done all of that and I guess I’m just trying to find myself again and figure out why I’m here and what I can do that’s meaningful.. . .I’m observing and listening to others (at Engage) to see if they are the “real deal”. I must say, I’ve observed you guys and listened to your messages on Sunday and so far I’ve seen nothing but the “real deal”! THANK YOU!!  That’s what I’m looking for.. the real deal, no more of people being fake.” – L. Maloney

“There’s a great sense of community at Engage!”– Amy G.

“Engage is low-key and inviting without judging. Truth is preached and yet not in a condescending way.  People were friendly and flexible and made them feel comfortable.” - J. Davis

God is still writing stories at Engage….

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

//Speaking the language. . .

March 11, 2009 – 4:30 pm

Wow, its been a few weeks since I’ve updated the blog. Engage is about 9 weeks old now!  Since we began we have seen some pretty exciting things happen at Engage.  We made the paper the other day. Click here to check it out. Engage exists to help people find life with Jesus. The people we hope to engage (no pun intended) are people who would not typically imagine themselves going to church on a Sunday morning or something crazy like that. People like my friend Amy B. Here is what she said:

“I like Engage because it is a comfortable atmosphere that makes it easy to build friendships and ask difficult questions (though I haven’t actually had the courage to raise my hand and ask a question yet, the topics get me thinking about my beliefs, which is something I haven’t done for a very long time, if ever). So thank you for that. So why did I start going to Engage?  Well, I am at a point in my life that I would like to discover my beliefs and build a relationship with God.  I am trying to become a more positive person.  Nothing in particular has happened to bring this about, I was just invited to your church at a perfect time.  Since the first time I went, I knew I would love it and feel comfortable there.  And I’m meeting the most wonderful people!  I would like to get my husband involved too.  Like myself, he was not raised in a religious environment, so it might a little difficult to get him interested. I know he would like you a lot because you very down-to-earth friendly people. I think he might be intimidated because he doesn’t want to feel like someone is pushing their own beliefs on him or looking down on him for not being very religious…but I know he wouldn’t feel that way with you.  I think it would also help strengthen our marriage.”

How many more people are out there who feel like something beyond them is calling them to explore, investigate, and discover what else is there beyond the routines of family, work, and weekends.  We want as many people as possible to hear about the relational message of Christ.  One of the things I love about God as we know him in Jesus is that he always speaks our language.  Over the last 400 years the Christian Church has sent out people to different countries and cultures to introduce people to the message and teachings of Christ.  Often times a tribe or specific culture has trouble grasping the irreligious message of grace, sacrifice, death, forgiveness, and resurrection in Jesus…that is, until the messages gets translated in their language.  One person said it this way after hearing the message of Jesus translated in their own language, “I didn’t know how to know my Creator until he started speaking my language.”

Engage is committed to speaking the language of the people in our area who are somewhat skeptical of organized religion and for whatever reason, maybe, turned off to faith in Jesus.  We are a Church that says, “We may not agree with all of your beliefs, ideas, and criticisms but we understand where you are coming from. Now, let’s dialogue and get to know each other.”  Now we are at a point where we want to introduce ourselves to the surrounding community in a unique way that hopefully speaks their language.   As you can see we are going to send this mailer to thousands of addresses later this month.  We are doing this because we believe there are others out there who may be looking for God in some way…but not know where to go or how to take the next step.  Maybe they would see the mailer and begin to realize that God has already been looking for them. Engage Mailer April 5th

We are going to send this mailer to roughly 12,000 addresses–encouraging people to join us on April 5th for a visit to Engage and exploring the theme, “Why Jesus thinks religion gets in the way of knowing God in a relational way.” Click here to learn more.

During the month of April we are sending another batch of mailers to an additional 10,000 address inviting those people to join us at Engage on April 26th.  Now, I know what you are thinking.  What if??? What if?? All of those people actually show up.  Well, first, that is a good problem to have. I’d rather have that problem than the opposite.  Secondly, our mailer is not targeted at the average person living in our area.  Most people living in South Central, PA are fairly traditional, conservative, people who believe they should attend church on Sundays.  Engage isn’t trying to reach that person. There are many other churches around who are doing a great job helping those people find deeper life with Jesus.  Therefore, I don’t think we are going to have thousands of people show up.  But we may have 60-80 people?? We don’t know! All we know is it is a risk, you are right!! We think, however, that it’s an appropriate risk, a God-sized risk.

If you are a praying person…we need you to pray.  We need you to pray that the right people show up as a result of the mailers.  We need you to pray that we aren’t totally overwhelmed on the 5th, 12th (for that matter–Easter), and the 26th.  And we need you to pray that we have enough helpers and volunteers at Engage who can step in and help with Engage Kids, or help with greeting our guests, etc.  We don’t want people to have a horrible experience if they risk their time to come meet a bunch of strangers at Engage. So we will need all the manpower we can muster on those days to ensure our guests have a favorable experience and want to return to further engage with Christ and what matters most.

We need you to pray that people can see Jesus in a way they have never thought of or imagined.  We want them to know that God speaks their language!!!

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