Success!

People often define success in church planting as creating a self sustaining congregation with it’s own building. We don’t. Here is an example of what success means to us:

Last week I found out that one of our ministries is actually larger than the church. It’s called Raw @ The River, and it’s a ministry started and led by one of our folks to help people be healthier through diet. After only three weeks, more people are part of that group than are part of the church. That’s wonderful.

Our vision is to be a church that is out there serving people and making a real difference in their lives. This is how we plan on attracting people to The River- helping them, serving them, loving them in the name of Jesus. It’s what Jesus did, so we figure it’s a pretty good way to go.

Having a ministry that is larger than our church shows that our ministry goes way beyond our walls. We are not just meeting the needs of our members. We are not inward focused. We really are an outward thinking, outward thinking, outward acting church. Eventually, we hope that some of the people we are serving will see the Holy Spirit alive in us and want to know more. That is how we plan to grow. That could take awhile. Until then, I’m just thrilled that we are succeeding. That our ministries are touching others and making a difference in profound ways. Because for us, that’s what church is all about. And that means that regardless of whether or not we ever become a self sustaining congregation with our own building, we have succeeded.