Have you ever seen someone bungee jump from a high bridge. I’ve never done it, but I can imagine what it feels like. You’re at the edge, every nerve in your body firing away. You’re brain and your feet are protesting what you’re about to do. It’s risky, it’s dangerous, it’s crazy. But then you do it and the thrill far outweighs the fear.
Well, Helen and I feel like this right now. If you haven’t heard, we are about to take a big leap of faith in the next several months. After 2 1/2 years of praying, thinking, planning, researching and praying some more, we’re planting a multi-site church on the east side of Baltimore county! “What’s a “multi-site” church?” you ask. Good question!
Here’s the basic answer and I’ll start from the beginning:
Trinity, where I’ve been on staff for 11 years, is moving into a new season of ministry. We’re calling it 20/20 Vision which has a double meaning. We have both a 10 year vision (taking us to 2020) and this vision involves a clarified focus right here in Baltimore. For many years the outreach focus at Trinity has been national and global and the results have been amazing! We’ve given hundreds of thousands of dollars to support missions efforts across the globe over the past ten plus years. We’ve built and/or worked on churches, schools, orphanages, clinics and more. We’ve sent hundreds of our own church family members to places all over the world. All of this has been because the Lord has blessed us and led the way.
Over the past 18 months or so, our Sr. Pastor, George Raduano (pronounced Rad-wan-o…get it right people…LOL) has been sensing that the Lord wants us as a church to focus more on the greater Baltimore area. Global missions work and support will still happen, but for the next 10 years, we will strategically focus more efforts here in Baltimore to reach out with the love of God. Thus the idea of 20/20 Vision. Clear vision both “far sighted” (global) AND “near sighted” (Baltimore).
At the same time that Pastor George was being stirred in his heart for Baltimore, Helen and I were also being drawn to one day lead a church. We had no idea what that might look like. Well, to make a long story short, we will be planting the first of hopefully many multi-site church locations in Baltimore under the leadership of Trinity. Here’s a snap shot of what it looks like:
- Mission – The goal and most important reason we are planting this church site is to reach people. Our passion is to reach out with the love, grace and compassion of Jesus to people who are un-churched or de-churched. People matter deeply to God. His heart is moved by the lives of everyday people and he’s raising up new churches all over the nation that are reaching new people. Make no mistake about it, Jesus wants everyone to know His love and grace. That’s what we are all about. We welcome the skeptic, the cynic and the seeker. (more about this in later posts)
- Vision and DNA – Each multi-site will share the same vision as Trinity, to be “A Community Where Faith Comes Alive”
- Leadership – Trinity’s current leadership, Pastor George, the Elders and Admin Board, are also now the leadership over each multi-site church location. Think franchise, but without the golden arches. The technical term for our model is a “Parent Affiliated Church”, developed by our denominational fellowship, The Assemblies of God. Think of a family. Trinity is the “parent” church and we are planting a new “child” church. Similar DNA, but with it’s own “personality”. Click here for a good article by a church that is currently running a multi-site church model. The way we (Trinity) will do multi-site will be a little different, but you’ll get the gist.
- Strategy – Our strategy is threefold.
1. Through weekly Sunday morning services packed with inspiring worship, practical teaching and authentic relationships. We want to create an environment where the unbeliever is free to explore the Christian faith, where the de-churched can find a safe church family to belong to once again and where those new in their Christian journey can find foundational footing that will help them grow in their relationship with Christ.
2. We believe in the power of “we”. God never intended us to do life alone. People will gather in small groups throughout the week to study the Bible, ask questions, pray for each, care for each other, laugh with each other and eat each…wait…no…not eat each other. Because that my dear friends is cannibalism, and we don’t do that (sorry, I couldn’t write a post without some strange humor). Bottom line, life is better when lived in real relationship with others. Faith grows best in the greenhouse fellowship (read, well, the entire book of Acts to see what I mean).
3. When you look at the life and teachings of Jesus, you see a strong emphasis on loving people. In fact, that’s a huge understatement. He was and still is madly in love with us. That was the entire reason He came. To reach us. To love us. To share His incredible grace and mercy through His sacrificial death and miraculous resurrection. As a church, we will reach out with this same love to our community. From Perry Hall to Whitemarsh to Middle River to Essex and beyond, we want to go the extra mile to show God’s love. More than just talk, beyond the church walls. (more about this in later posts)
There is so much more I could share, but my word count is at 1012, so (1013) I (1014) should (1015) finish up now. I’ll post updates along the way. Helen and I are so excited about this next chapter. We’re humbled to be used by the Lord like this. Please pray for Helen, the kids and I as we embark on this adventure. Also pray for the leadership at Trinity and the incredible team of people that’s coming together to serve as the launch team for this multi-site church.
Until next post,
PK
