The Gathering Recap
“ So much time and energy is put into religious concerns-church buildings, church committees, church programs, and activities – that the secular world suffers from pure neglect. But it is in that very world, Christians spend more of their time. If the Christian faith is going to have any kind of impact at all, it must address how believers live in the secular world. Ordinary people must learn to live as disciples of Jesus when they are NOT at church. Perhaps we need a new category of saint – a ‘ secular saint’ who lives passionately for Christ while serving as a banker or teacher or construction worker or artist.”
Gerald Sittser – Waters From a Deep Well
It is hard to believe that it has been almost 2 weeks since we had our Guest Services and Local Outreach team Gathering! But it’s true, the days have flown by and it is time to prep for Thanksgiving and Christmas!
If you were able to join us for the Gathering, the quote above was one I explained that stood out to me when I read it but I wasn’t sure why at the time. But as I continued to think about and stew on the quote, it finally dawned on me…..
As a Guest Services and Local Outreach team, you are fulfilling this quote.
As a team, we welcome guests onto our campus and inside our doors and in our worship center. As a team, we go into the community and serve many different schools, organizations and people of all kind to be the hands and feet of Jesus to each of them. As a team, you are all secular saints. People that do not do ministry full time as a career, but a group of people that have fallen in love with Jesus and are genuinely passionate about Jesus and wanting others to know who Jesus is, all the while being that secular saint in your work places and homes that are in the secular world. The premise that Mr. Sittser speaks of in this quote, is that ordinary people learning to live as disciples of Christ in a secular world is one of the hardest but most fulfilling roles to have in life. And as a team, you are all a part of that premise and are doing amazing at it!
Before I get to any sort of information or details about a few things that will be coming in 2024, let me encourage you going into a very busy time of year:
” Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for i am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for you souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-20
Jesus speaks these words when he is talking with his disciples as well as disciples of John the Baptist. Jesus says these words also to each and every one of us. That when we are in the craziness of life, the mundane daily tasks, the transportation company that is your vehicle to practice and games and concerts and friends houses, that Jesus is the best place to find rest.
My hope for you individually, is that you are able to find rest in Jesus. I hope that you find the rhythms that find you resting in Jesus far more often than you have at any other point in your life. That 2024 can be a year that is a catalyst for a life long journey with Jesus as not just a need or help in dark times, but the source of light and life in your every day.
We are going to need it. Because in 2024, there will be two big things changing on an every week level that you need to know about:
- A new Database – ChMS – Some of you reading this are probably thinking…huh? Why is this important? Well, in years past it may not have been. But this year, mainly for our Guest Services teams, this change to a new database is going to be a pretty large move, due to the additions of:
- Self Logins – meaning, you will have access to this database. You will be able to create a login username and password for you to have access to ChMS. Sure, still may not seem like a big deal, but our reach just became massive! Having your own login will allow you to be just as big of a resource as a coach or leader because we all become ambassadors for our teams and our church. Recruiting is a massive task and when all of us have the ability to recruit and contact people, it makes recruiting an easier opportunity.
- Scheduling – did you know that there are 8 teams that make up the Guest Services team as a whole?? Parking, Golf Carts, Greeter, Communion tables, Section Hosts, Living Room Guides, Guest Central, First Aid and our Mission Cafe is a huge partner with us. All of those teams have their own schedules right now….that is a lot of schedules to keep track of. In January 2024, we will be moving to using ChMS as our primary way of signing up to serve and keeping schedules. This will also allow ALL members of the Guest Services teams to see who is serving and where. As an individual team, it can seem a little lonely, but when we see the whole picture, we know that we are part of something bigger than ourselves. There will be more talk about the online schedules in the coming weeks.
- The Belong Experience, wont Belong anymore – man that sounds so depressing, and it kind of is. But, we are brining our Belong Experience to a close so that we can start something new!
- Enter – Discover Harvester – Discover Harvester, starting in April, will be our new space to invite and push new guests and anyone wanting to get more involved with Harvester CC. Just like Belong, Discover Harvester will be where people can learn about who we are as a church, what we believe and how they can get involved. But instead of attempting to do that in one hour, it will be broken down into TWO parts:
- Week 1 – this will be very similar to what our Belong Experience is right now. It will be video driven and information based. However with filming new videos, it will also free up a ton more time for table conversations all about Harvester. Think these two things about week 1 – we want people to make a decision for Jesus and then Harvester.
- Week 2 – part 2 of Discover Harvester will also be video driven but will be geared and designed specifically to help people have more time to see where it is that God might be calling them to take a next step. Through video stories, table conversations and hosts, week 2 should be a great chance for not only the hosts of the morning, but also the attenders to make a great decision on where God is calling them to be involved with HCC.
The last thing about the Gathering that I do not want to over look is this:
Our goal for 2024 – is to not get stuck in what was, but embrace what could be.
The great theologian, Olaf the Snowman said this in Frozen 2 – ” Oh how I wish this could last forever. And yet change mocks us with our beauty.”
Olaf could not be more right. The machine is clicking right now. Things are working and each week, as teams fulfill our team goal of being the most welcoming church anyone can experience.
The danger that we run, especially in a season like it is right now, that if we do not begin to change or think about how things get better and move towards that, we get stuck and end up behind the game. And it is much harder to catch up instead of trying to be ahead of the curve.
So come along with us for another great year of welcoming guests and being the hands and feet of Jesus to our church, community and world!
Oh yea, here are some dates you might want to know:
Christmas 2023: all services are full programmed except the 11pm service on the 24th.
- Friday, December 22nd – 6pm
- Sunday, December 24th – 8am/9:30am/11am & 3pm/4:30pm/11pm
Guest Service and Local Outreach Trainings 2024:
- Thursday, February 29th – 6:15-8:30pm in the Mission Cafe
- Thursday, May 16th – 6:15-8:30pm in the mission Cafe
- Thursday, October 24th – 6:00-8:30 – The Gathering in the Landing
feel free to reach out if you have any questions!!
Love you guys, thanks so much for serving!
