Acts 2:42 - 47
The
image above is from Acts 2:42-47, a passage that comprehensively
describes life in the New Testament church. Our goal as Jesus'
followers is to imitate their example. Therefore, we are making some
wonderful changes at the church...
1 - Our Gatherings will be more "Family" Oriented
The practices of the early church resemble a family, not an institution.
A. Services will be Outside on the Lawn
Getting people out of the pews and the kids out of the basement is a great way to foster that "family feel." No more assigned seating or segmentation. Now the kids can run and play in a green, fenced in area, and the adults can mingle. (Plus, we now have really cool "Tiki-Torches" to make it resemble our backyard.)
Weather permitting, all services will be held on the lawn at OSL.
Folding chairs will be provided, but feel free to bring a blanket if you
wish to sit on the grass.
B. There will Always be Food
Families
eat together, and now we do, too! Every member is encouraged to bring a
dish to share each week. This can be side or a main dish, but it does not need to be "large."
If everyone would make enough to serve a family of four, there will not
only be enough food for everyone, but there will be ample "leftovers"
to take home or give away. We believe that in simply sharing a meal, we
will see more miracles take place!
C. The Service will be Conversational
Instead
of one or two persons doing all the talking or leading, all will be
encouraged to participate. The format for our gatherings will be
3-part: Fellowship, Worship and Teaching.
When you arrive, we hope that you will release your kids to play and
that you will gather with us around the food table. When the time is
right, we will sing to the LORD or give others a chance to share
something that God is doing in their life (I Cor. 14:26). There will then be
a time of Bible-teaching for both the kids and adults. We have a great
kids program, and the adults will continue to study the book of John
during the summer months. Teaching will exceed no more than 25-mins,
total. The goal is to provide more opportunity to "do," rather than
simply "listen."
D. Specific, Rather than Vague
The
early church had a clear mission and they did it together. Each week
we will present a simple and specific objective that we will all seek to
accomplish together. These goals will vary each week, but will revolve
around a single, superior goal of worshipping Jesus and proclaiming Him
to our community. This week's goal is simple: to play together at
Flushing Meadow Park on Saturday, June 23rd, from 3-5pm.
2 - We are Eliminating Podcasting
While
we understand that there are some who cannot make it church for
legitimate reasons, we also know that there are many more who use this
feature for the wrong reasons (like avoiding "community"). The truth is
that you cannot fully practice the Christian-life outside of Christian
fellowship. "Hearers" need to become "Do-ers."
3 - Glo-cal Involvement
Every
effort of the church will be to impact both the global and local, external and internal, community. If God is providing for those inside
the church, then we want to mediate His work to those outside the
church. There will be greater emphasis and opportunity given to
community projects both in Rego Park and around the world.
(Get your passport ready!)
So,
there it is. Our first steps to becoming an even stronger, biblical
church so that more people can know Jesus. We're not interested in
competing with others (churches or otherwise), we just want to know and
experience God's love and power. It's not about how many come to church, it's
about WHO comes to church; and we pray that YOU will join us this Sunday.
www.genesisnyc.com
taking
place at our church in order to be "more like the Family of God." This
includes sharing meals when we come together for worship (Acts
2:42-47).
