The Next Chapter at Lake Forest Church
Spring 2010
The next chapter of our church’s role in God’s Story reflects our desire to live Jesus’ commission out more faithfully over the next several years. I revealed four story lines for the next chapter of our church’s life together last Sunday. You could also call it our church’s Vision for the next 3-5 years, and I can’t describe how excited I am about this shared God-sized future!
This Vision is a direct result of placing the first decade of our life as a church up against Jesus’ words to all of his current and future followers, including us, recorded in Acts 1:8 “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” We have best eye-witnessed to Life found in Jesus Christ in our Jerusalem, and at several ‘ends of the earth,’ during our first decade as a church. In the coming decade, here are:
Four Storylines in the next chapter of Lake Forest Church’s role in God’s Story:
1. Mo capacity for “mo betta” disciples on Gilead Road.
8519 Gilead Road is our Jerusalem (showing and telling the good news of Jesus to people like you, who live very close to you). This means expanding physical capacity by wrapping a full balcony all the way around the inside of our worship center (increasing single-service capacity from 625 to 1,100 in an intimate environment); adding consequent capacity and quality space for children and students; improve parking. This will make more space for ‘one more person/child/student who has given up on church, but hasn’t given up on God.’
2. Missio Dei community and ministry center in our ‘Samaria,’ fueled by a social entrepreneurship micro-business.
There is a neighborhood nearby with high unemployment, predatory renters, and almost 100% high school dropout rates. We will partner with good folks there to relationally and physically love people in this, our closest Samaria (showing and telling the good news of Jesus to people less like you, who also live close to you). We intend to do so by building Sudsy’s - a laundromat like no other. We envision this as a new hub of positive activity for the community, both for people wanting to do laundry at a reasonable price and for people looking for a positive place to spend a day. Community rooms will be attached for various uses such as Bible studies, ESL classes, tutoring, after school programs, prenatal classes, etc. There is currently no laundromat closer than three miles away, requiring a lengthy bus ride by residents without transportation. Lake Forest peeps will be involved in every step along the way, including construction, and most importantly building long term relationships with precious people who matter so much to God.
3. Three new churches in three years, within a 15-30 minute driving distance.
This is our Judea (showing and telling the good news of Jesus to people like and unlike you in your larger region). We will follow this New Testament model of spreading the faith (as well as living out our mother church’s DNA implanted in us 11 years ago) by launching open-future campuses in the Lake Norman/N. Charlotte area, where there is a need for an LFC-like church. Open-future means most will begin as a Lake Forest campus under the shepherding leadership of a Campus Pastor, with a several-year defined pathway to become either an independently functioning church, or a permanent church site of LFC. Preaching will likely be shared live via video link between campuses, consisting of myself as lead preacher, and continuing to include Mitch White and Michael Flake. The first three new churches will include at least one congregation targeted to reach a different cultural mix than the current Gilead Road campus does. The more different the cultural context of one of our new churches is from our original campus, the more likely it will begin as a purely independent church plant and/or have a very different service style. We will also experiment with extending our hand of blessing to unique ‘mission outposts’ of remarkable ministry led by LFC people, as well as become permission givers for LFC ‘house churches.’ In all of these ways, we will faithfully witness to the goodness of Jesus in our Judea, and we will avoid pursuing a complete ‘mega-church’ model, as we launch more intimate worshipping communities near where more people live.
4. Spiritual formation and leadership development are a storyline that will weave throughout this chapter of our life together.
A recurring theme in all the stories of life transformation of Lake Forest people is the importance of relationship, person-to-person, in extending the grace of God. This has implications for everything we do these next years at LFC. Although our church is not small, we are committed to keeping it personal in every element of the church. We will equip and encourage those who lead and serve at LFC to remain attentive to the spiritual needs of those with whom they serve, as well as those being served, remembering that people, not projects, are the goal. It also means that all levels of leadership must carry an even greater emphasis on relationship with one another over and above just getting things done. This will naturally permeate the entire church, “If you love each other, everyone will know you are my disciples” (John 13:35). We will design and execute a three year focii for these above purposes. A Spiritual Formation emphasis will directly involve our entire church. A Leadership Development process will offer more intentional shaping of those who serve by leading others, focused not on program development but instead on people development.
Lake Forest - this next chapter of our life together is coming into focus. Our elders, staff and many congregational leaders have all touched and influenced this vision. Much work is yet to be done on the details of these plotlines, including timing and funding. But I am excited at the realistic nature of the challenges this vision entails. That part of the story will be written next fall, so keep a bookmarker here until then!
Meaningful participation in Jesus’ great commission to spread his Good News, in word and deed, adds coherent meaning to our lives, knowing we are tying ourselves into God’s primary mission during this era of cosmos history. As you continue to worship, serve, give and lead at Lake Forest, know that you are participating in this wild, wonderful purpose. May you thus experience a greater infusion of meaning and significance into all of the other areas of your life. For your good. To the glory of God.