All In - Part Two

The Bible tells of a young man of great wealth who came running to Jesus one day eager to ask his question. This man wanted something that he believed Jesus could tell him how to receive. So he asked, "What must I do to inherit eternal life?"

After Jesus asked the young man what the law would say one must do, the young man professed with confidence he had sufficiently kept the law. So to this Jesus said, "Go sell all that you have and give to the poor. Then come follow Me." At this the young man was greatly saddened and walked away from Jesus. The reason the writer tells us is that the man possessed great wealth.

Jesus was much more concerned not with us possessing wealth, but that wealth would possess us.

It is often said that the most difficult thing for a pastor to preach upon in any church is the topic of wealth, money, and possessions. This may be true. But what is for sure true is that often the last thing to come under the lordship of Jesus is our wealth, however big or little it may seem to us.

Being all in to follow Jesus means being all in to give to advance His work. We want to see God work. We want our local churches to thrive. Yet we can be withholding the resources God intends to support that very work.

Some today have called tithing (giving 10% of one's income to God's work in the local church) an obsolete concept and something erased by the New Testament. Certainly the New Testament speaks less of tithing and more of sacrificial giving. However, the New Testament does not negate the teaching of tithing and also presents how grace should demand we give more than the law ever did and not less.

Are you all in in following Jesus? Would you resources and wealth reflect this?

God intends to fully fund the work of His kingdom through the giving of His people.

God has already demonstrated the greatest generosity we can ever know in the giving of His Son who in turn has given to us the gift of eternal life.

Take a Daniel moment:

1.  Celebrate God's generosity to us in giving us His Son and eternal life.
2.  Worship God as the giver of all good gifts and all things we possess.
3.  Ask God to empower you to by faith go all in by giving to Him generously and sacrificially.
4.  Pray that the work of Christ's kingdom would not be hindered by our lack of faith and giving.

All In

We go all in for a business venture, all in for a romantic relationship, and all in for sports. While some have made following Jesus a half-hearted pursuit or a part-time commitment, being a disciple of Jesus has always been a call to go all in.

Jesus said the only way to follow Him was to deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow Him. In short, Jesus said you have to go all in. This is the great commandment. We are to love God with everything that we are and all that we have. It isn't a command to love God with part of your heart, mind, soul, and strength. It is a command to love God with everything.

The work of God in our world for the transformation of our generation demands that we go all in as followers of Jesus. We must trust in Him with all our heart. We must rely totally on His wisdom and understanding. In everything we plan and do, we must go all in to submit to Him and His ways. Only then will He make our paths straight and advance and accomplish His mission in and through us.

Are you all in?

Take a Daniel moment:

1.  Praise the God who went all in for us so that we can be all in with Him.
2.  Celebrate the price Jesus paid at the cross to go all in to the Father's will to purchase our ransom.
3.  Ask God to reveal any area of your life that doesn't have a white flag staked in it.
4.  Choose to go all in today in whatever way God asks you to do so.

Team Effort

For years it has been reported that in most churches 80% of the work is carried on the backs of 20% of the people. In truth, this could be more optimistic than reality (some suggesting that it is more like 90/10).

Why this is true cannot be reduced to one single issue. Reasons range from a person diffusing responsibility to others around them to the selfish pleasure of merely seeing church for what one gets rather than what one can give.

Individuals sometimes do not volunteer because they got "burned out" trying to do too much or because they don't like the way things are being done. Others have so flooded their schedules and the schedules of their family that they simply do not believe they have the time to give. Still others simply have never come to realize that God has gifted them for the benefit of His church and the advancement of His mission.

The beauty at Refuge Church, since we are a church plant and have known from the beginning this is a team effort, is that we are certainly above the 80/20 margin. Even so there are still areas where volunteers are needed, still individuals who haven't yet connected in an area of serving, and still blessings individuals are missing out on until they choose to take the next step of volunteering/serving.

These are specific areas where you can connect and be blessed in serving at Refuge Church, as well as meet needs as we serve together to fulfill our mission.

Kids Ministry
We believe at Refuge Church that no one is too young to begin hearing and learning about God's love and encountering Jesus personally. Our youngest ones at Refuge Church aren't just tagging along with adults, they are here for us to display the gospel and declare the hope of Jesus Christ.

Areas to Serve: Early Childhood on Sundays or in our Kids Worship on Sundays.

Set-up and Take Down
Sometimes being a portable church we get a sense of what the Israelites experienced in the wilderness. Each week we set-up our worship, kids, guest services, and next steps areas.

Areas to Serve: Set-up Team or Take Down Team.

Guest Services
Every week we typically have first time guests. We strive hard to think about the guest experience from the moment they pull into the entrance till the moment they leave the campus. Reports show that 87% of guests do not return for a second time. When a guest returns for a second time they are significantly more likely to continue coming. Guest services focuses on first impressions, greeting, and assisting guests who are unfamiliar with things we take for granted (where are the bathrooms, where do my kids go, where is the worship area).

Areas to Serve: Guest Services Set-up, Guest Services Greeting/Guest Reception

Worship
We were made to worship and worship is the most important aspect of who we are individually and at Refuge Church. We want to continually create an atmosphere of worship and lead individuals to behold and worship Christ.

Areas to Serve: A/V Team, Worship Team, Creative Team (for worship and message series)

Connections
We want to strive to create better connecting points for guests and regular attendees at Refuge Church. 
The primary way for individuals to connect and belong in community is Refuge Life Groups. Additionally, we want to create periodic times in 2014 for connection among different Life Groups and for connection among all Refuge Church. We hope to have quarterly men and women's connection times, along with periodic lunches following our worship gatherings.

Areas to Serve: Life Group Leader, Life Group Host, Connections Coordinator (men and/or women)

Ministry and Administrative Assistance
As resources allow, our goal will be to have a ministry and administrative staff assistant. In the meantime, volunteers who have interest in taking tasks that arise would free pastoral staff to focus on primary areas of responsibility.

Areas to Serve: Office tasks, data entry, ministry projects, local mission partnership outreach/planning


As we advance forward, there will be other needs that arise. But when everyone sees the work and mission of Refuge Church as his or her work and mission, everyone will find his or her place of volunteering and we will see the beauty and power of God working through a team (body).

If you are not currently volunteering and would like to be connected with the Ministry Team Leader of any of these areas, please email me at Justin@refugenc.org or Chris Leader at Chris@refugenc.org.