Our Church - Part 4
Acts 2 describes the Great Collaboration, a picture of what it looks like to follow Jesus in concert with others. It describes the first church in Jerusalem, a group of people who worshiped together, met in homes to talk about and remember Jesus together. They were people who shared what they had with great joy and generosity all the while praising God and living in a collaborative and cooperative community.
If you have been around for awhile you have probably heard about the high value we place on these elements of the Great Collaboration... a desire to consistently gather together to worship God, to be in a small group that talks about and supports each other in living according to the teachings of Jesus, and to share our time/treasure/talents with each other.
Did you know that our Elders have also recognized that the Great Collaboration is not just limited to an individual congregation? Rather it is something that should be applied towards the way churches interact with each other. Our value of Undeniable Kingdom Impact... is not just limited to the efforts of our individual campuses. Any time we are supporting or coming alongside to coach or encourage another church or local pastor to see God's Kingdom expanded, we are participating in the Great Collaboration.
One of the most humbling gifts the Lord has given our church is His invitation to ensure that we have healthy (not perfect) leaders across our church, and to be a part of not only the ministry in our five campuses, but also what He is doing across Portland and the northwest. We are invited to do that because of the faithfulness of our church family - investing not only in the ministry that happens here, but investing through our church to reach others. We can only do this because of the generosity of each of you.
Since 2015, fueled by your generosity, we've come alongside dozens of churches, and hundreds of pastors, to help coach, serve, and be a conduit to ensure that no pastor walks alone. Our coaching relationships have birthed successful mergers not only for our church, but for many churches and organizations who have recognized that they can serve Jesus better together. Our desire to walk alongside pastors looks like hosting and underwriting coaching, counseling, spiritual direction, cohorts, and regular gatherings where church leaders can be seen, known, cared for, and supported in the best ways we know how.
The Great Collaboration puts our hope in Jesus, and we receive His call to partner with Him as the Hope of the world.
We are working on spending time with God during the week. Here are a couple tools you can use.