One of the things that I’ve always appreciated about Hope Fellowship is the freedom to try something different. I’ve even been told, “Surprise us.” This is much more liberating than the old standby, “We’ve never done it that way before.”
In the last two years we have tried something really different. We integrated the spring All Church Meeting and a Sunday service. Our reasons? To articulate the vision and the mission of our church on an annual basis. To celebrate what God has accomplished in the previous church year. And to enable the maximum number of people to embrace the budget required for future ministry opportunities.
Last week, someone asked whether we’re crossing a line by combining a congregational meeting with a worship service. Valid question! Here’s what I learned.
Constitutionally, a quorum of the membership (majority) is required to adopt a budget. Opportunity must also be provided for members to ask questions. In a Sunday service we definitely have a quorum. The opportunity to ask questions by e-mails or in a meeting with church leaders has been provided in the past two weeks.
But what does the CRC Church Order have to say about public worship? It says that the worship service must include appropriate songs, prayers, an offering and the proclamation of the Word. You can be sure that all of these elements will be included this morning. What the church order does not say is that a worship service is a dialogue between God and His people. You can also be sure that you will hear from the Lord this morning and be given multiple opportunities to respond.
I have come to see this annual spring service as our church’s Vision and Mission Sunday. The message, the interviews and the reports will testify to God’s goodness. It all adds up to a worshipful package that sees our whole church family moving forward as one. The fact that our giving has exceeded our budget since we introduced this annual Vision and Mission service is icing on the cake and God’s blessing on this “out of the box” way of doing church together.
- Pastor Peter
In the last two years we have tried something really different. We integrated the spring All Church Meeting and a Sunday service. Our reasons? To articulate the vision and the mission of our church on an annual basis. To celebrate what God has accomplished in the previous church year. And to enable the maximum number of people to embrace the budget required for future ministry opportunities.
Last week, someone asked whether we’re crossing a line by combining a congregational meeting with a worship service. Valid question! Here’s what I learned.
Constitutionally, a quorum of the membership (majority) is required to adopt a budget. Opportunity must also be provided for members to ask questions. In a Sunday service we definitely have a quorum. The opportunity to ask questions by e-mails or in a meeting with church leaders has been provided in the past two weeks.
But what does the CRC Church Order have to say about public worship? It says that the worship service must include appropriate songs, prayers, an offering and the proclamation of the Word. You can be sure that all of these elements will be included this morning. What the church order does not say is that a worship service is a dialogue between God and His people. You can also be sure that you will hear from the Lord this morning and be given multiple opportunities to respond.
I have come to see this annual spring service as our church’s Vision and Mission Sunday. The message, the interviews and the reports will testify to God’s goodness. It all adds up to a worshipful package that sees our whole church family moving forward as one. The fact that our giving has exceeded our budget since we introduced this annual Vision and Mission service is icing on the cake and God’s blessing on this “out of the box” way of doing church together.
- Pastor Peter
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