Equipping You
Our mission at Canonsburg UP is Welcoming You to Grow in Jesus. We say it all the time, we mention it on nearly every piece of written literature, I sign off every letter with it – to remind myself as much as everyone else, what we believe we’ve been called to do here. We also talk about growth happening as we gather together (in worship and smaller groups), gaze (or pay attention to God, ourselves and the people & world around us), give (of our time, talents and financial treasure), and go (back to our homes, neighborhoods and world with purpose). And even with all of that… I sometimes forget that there is a very specific part that I play in that growth.
A significant part of my role as pastor, as defined by the Apostle Paul in his letter to the church in Ephesus, is to equip you for your work. That equipping can take place on Sunday mornings through sermons, sure, but not all of it happens there. So I send out weekly e-mails to the wider church (this Build UP and Friday’s leader-specific Catch UP) – but it can’t all happen there either. Each year our Session takes time to Study, being equipped by God through the work of writers and pastors like Alan Kraft (The Intimate God), Ruth Haley-Barton (Discerning God Together), Lesslie Newbigin (A Walk Through the Bible) and Rich Villodas’ (Good and Beautiful and Kind). And then there is the opportunity that I try to provide to stretch ourselves by trying something new (members preaching, reading, leading in worship and more) – and yet, I’ve been feeling lately that there are some additional avenues of equipping that I’ve not yet engaged in.
Our Future of the Church Task Force (as Dan Miller mentioned in his Financial Update on Sunday) has been hard at work for four months, and just completed Walt Kallestad’s Turning Your Church Inside Out; Building a Community for Others… which just happens to be the book our entire Session read back in 2022, which was a catalyst for some great work coming out of Covid. In the next-to-last chapter, Kallestad mentioned the following:
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Helping people be all that they can be – [leaders] need to know that they are entering upon the path of perpetual growth:
Practice of spiritual disciplines – What could be more important to a Jesus community than a [leadership] that takes God seriously enough to take their own spiritual growth seriously?
Development of gifts – When people are growing, there is excitement in the air, expectation and hope, enthusiasm.
Development of ministry-specific skills – By neglecting continuous learning in the area of ministry, [leaders] do themselves a disservice, do the community of faith a disservice, and do the others the church exists to serve a disservice
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Over the coming months, I want to put an emphasis, not just on numerical growth of our worshipping community (we should be literally welcoming people, and if we have something special here, wanting others to experience it too!), but also in equipping you to grow!
So here’s a few things I’m planning.
First, I’m attending a seminar Thursday morning for pastors and church leaders, aimed to help me, and us, grow.
Second, I’m working on adding more simple, concrete “training” for various volunteer roles around the church, much like the recent “Lay Leader Training” that is being sent out to everyone in preparation for them serving as a leader. I’m thinking about Greeters and Communion Servers and Pastoral Visits and if you’ve got some more ideas, please let me know!
Third, I’m working on some short-term discipleship… classes that we can offer Sunday mornings between worship services and midweek evenings, that focus on Christian practices, biblical overviews, and age/stage specific content that can help us all grow in particular areas.
AND… that’s where you come in. As members of this big community, who I believe, want to grow, I want to hear from you. How can I help you grow? How can I better equip you?
Shoot me an e-mail or text, call the church office, send in a written note (please, don’t just pull me aside on a Sunday morning… I’m unlikely to remember it fully at that time) – to steal a line from that really old movie “Jerry Maguire” (yes, Blake I’m an “Unc”) – “Help Me Help You!” I truly do want to help you grow!
Welcoming You to Grow in Jesus,
Pastor Don