In my last post, I laid out what the Lord has been doing over the past year. Here's a look at what we are expecting Him to do in the future.
Harvest Party – October 31
Every Halloween we transform our campus to a Harvest-themed night out for kids. This event offers a safe, warm, family alternative to the traditional trick-or-treating for members of the community and other churches. Last year, 200 adults and children came through our doors for our Harvest Party. This year we are anticipating a large turn-out and here are some of the ways you can get involved: setting-up, decorating, helping with games, baking, and cleaning-up. Email the church office to volunteer to help.
Seattle Harvest with Greg Laurie – November 5 – 7
Since 1990, Harvest has put on large-scale evangelistic outreaches around the United States and in Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. More than 4,180,000 people have attended a Harvest event in person, and more than 346,100 people have registered decisions of faith in Jesus Christ. (harvest.org “What is a Harvest Crusade?”) The Seattle area has not participated in a Harvest Crusade since 1992, so this year Calvary Fellowship is excited to partner with 280 churches as we pray and pursue God’s mission in reaching the lost.
Night of Thanksgiving – November 24
Every year on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving we gather during our normal Wednesday evening service (7-9:30pm) to give thanks publicly and corporately as a church. We give thanks to Jesus for his grace and for all of the people, things, and blessings he has given to us. If you are in town, join us on this special Night of Thanksgiving.
Christmas Eve with the fathers – December 24
Last year our Christmas Eve service retold the Christmas story from various perspectives of the Scriptures, intertwined with worship in the midst of a dimly lit, seasonally decorated room, as families gathered together on blankets and pillows, listening to the Nativity. At the conclusion fathers and grandfathers led each family in communion, inviting those nearby who were away from or didn’t have families to join their families in celebration of the coming of our Savior. Similarly, this year promises to be a festive familial celebration of our Lord and his coming.
Home Groups
Since January we have formed six new home groups. Home groups seek to enhance the ministry of the word through discussion, specific application, prayer and accountability; the love of the body at the home group level as well as the church at large; and the mission of the church by serving their local neighborhoods and being invitational. As these six new home groups and the fourteen existing home groups rally together this Fall, participating in events at the church and helping out in their local neighborhoods, we encourage you to join a home group. If you are considering leadership, participate with us in one of our leadership trainings.
Campus Plants: Wallingford & Capitol Hill
Calvary Fellowship alone has planted 35 churches over the years, and recently we have decided to begin planting “campuses” locally. These campuses will enjoy closer fellowship, shared resources, common home groups, and greater finances than a traditional stand alone church plant. Yet, they will remain locally led, given freedom of vision, and enjoy leadership autonomy even as they are led by the overall organization of Calvary Fellowship. Our first campus, besides Mountlake Terrace, was planted in the fall of 2009 in the Wallingford neighborhood of Seattle and is overseen by Minister Jack Coultas. We have seen the Lord build up that campus to a core of 50 each Sunday and are looking forward to watching the Lord build up each member of the church in the future. Our second campus is in the midst of being birthed in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Seattle under the oversight of Pastor Justin Thomas. We are currently renting a large house in the neighborhood and have a prayer and Bible study gathering on Tuesday nights at 7pm attended by 25 adults. Church planting is a major emphasis at Calvary Fellowship and will continue to be in the years to come, our goal is to continue planting churches as the Lord raises up leaders and opens doors.
Financial Outlook
Currently, we are on par to meet our proposed budget through the month of October. The Lord has been faithful and generous to us, and as the Administrative Pastor I am hoping to expand our budget for the upcoming 2011 year. With the renewed vision of church planting and the continued exercise of our core ministries, I believe that the Lord would like to provide for and add to the work that he is doing here. Currently, we have a monthly budget of approximately $100,000 (depending on the month) with which we pay expenses for 3 campuses, 18 full/part-time staff, facilitate 5 services, manage 20 ministries and operate a small Bible College. It is right for the church to “seek the kingdom of God” corporately through creatively pursuing as much ministry as possible with the resources they have been given, and I think it’s fair to say, we have been and will always do that. Therefore, I am faithfully seeking to expand the amount of work we are able to accomplish and the amount of people we are able to reach by prayerfully considering a 25% increase to our monthly budget.
Overall, I am content and excited with what the Lord has in store for Calvary Fellowship Church(es) this year. Join me in prayer for these upcoming events and vision and let us remember all the great things the Lord has done in and through this church.
