For those of you that missed this past Tuesday at 640, we held a little discussion titled, Hello, My Name is Church. The purpose of the night was to help us understand that church is more than something we go to or do, as Christians it is a part of who we are. I would say the church is the ethnicity of Christians. It is something we carry with us everywhere we go. We have the capability to drag its name through the mud or lift it up to the sunlight so that it sparkles and shines to catch bystanders’ eyes.

I wanted to discuss what the church is to us, as a ministry of twentysomethings, so that we can begin to see the direction that I believe God is moving us. Over the years we have come to accept church to be this thing that only takes place on Sunday mornings, but the first century church was so much more than that. It was active. My hope for 640 is that it will become a group of Christians, involved.

So, the format and structure of 640 has been different for a little while, but I want to confirm that that structure is going to stay. 640 will no longer be a duplication of Sunday mornings. Two reasons: 1) I am in the same place of life that all of you are. I do not have experience over you, or insight into the truths of God that you don’t, to be able to stand up in front of you and teach every week. 2) I do believe that God is moving us towards becoming a group of Christians that is all about loving in deed, by serving and doing what we have learned, instead of learning more.

With that being said, I do believe that what takes place on Sunday mornings is very important. I think it is very beneficial for us to come together, worship together, and hear from someone that has spent time studying the word of God, and share with us the experiece they have found in that. So, do not hear that Sunday mornings are not important, they are. But 640 is a ministry of FBC. Ministry is all about meeting needs of others. And I believe that the needs of the people that attend 640 is to live out their faith through action. Ministry is not a spectator sport.

Thanks to everyone that was there last night. I really appreciated all of your input. If you weren’t able to make it to the brainstorming session last night, feel free to send me your thoughts on the notes from last night (below).

MEETINGS:

Hang-Outs = thumbs up
- Frisbee/kickball

Book Discussions
- you get others input
- a busy schedule doesn’t always allow for reading
- what about guests? – potentially feel out of place and excluded
- meet once a month
- during Experiencing God we lost guests
- off-site, in addition to Tuesdays
- have broader topics so that people not in on the book might still be able to participate
- cost?

Schedule
- we are flexible on the meeting schedule
- meet every other week, and the weeks in between would be more hang-out oriented.

Location/Venue
- the Barn
- dress it up
- possible awkwardness/distraction/limited, coming in late
- make it more informal/casual

- in homes
- regional groups
- more comfortable
- ownership
- easy access
- bible study
- Darcee has a house.

COLLEGE STUDENTS:

How to keep connected?
- care packages
- using technology
- sending DVD of events
- visit
- how can they come back and not just be comfortable but integral?
- send personal reports/notes
- how do we maintain strong community?

Kent State Tusc
- pray

Thanks again to everyone that was there, and if you weren’t there I hope that these notes will be able to provide some insight to what went on, and I would love to hear your thoughts on 640, feel free to leave a comment, email me at craig.warner@fbcnp.org or hit me up on Facebook.

Next week, Frisbee and/or Kickball @ 7pm, FBC.