THE CULTURE OF THE LOCAL CHURCH!

 THE CULTURE OF THE LOCAL CHURCH!

When we speak about culture...it is the tangible & intangibles of that group!

It's more then the way people dress & behave...it’s the intangibles...harder to grasp...it's values...beliefs & assumptions...how problems are addressed...

It is the TANGIBLE & INTANGIBLES ...

Problem with culture it often goes unnoticed, unspoken & unexamined...

CULTURE is of more importance then VISION...vision &strategy usually focuses on products, services & outcomes!

But culture is about VALUES!

Culture describes the air of the congregation...It's the snapshot of the church! It is the sense or feeling u get when you walk into the church!

EG:     -Are people valued...who are the leaders...is rewarded...is there                  

            loyalty...JOY?

The culture of any church begins at the top! Values! The leaders integrity, competence & care...

This is for better or worse...the culture of your church is cultivated by you & those you discipleship.

1. The church must cultivate & develop a culture of hope!

Rom. 15:13 – “I pray that God who gives you hope will keep you happy and full of peace as you believe in him. May you overflow with hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.”

Hope…such a powerful concept in the bible & yet so often it’s absent from most of our lives…
Although we are one of the most prosperous generations to ever exist we’re still surrounded by broken, fragmented, angry & despairing people.

One man said, “Most people lead lives of quiet desperation…an unconscious despair is concealed even under what we call the games & amusements of mankind.”

Here’s what most people are experiencing – no matter what kinds of gimmicks & gadgets you have in this life, no matter how many bells & whistles you associate with your lifestyle choices…life still stinks!

Do you know why? It’s because most people live their life w/o any sense of real hope!

The question is, “Why should the church be the purveyor of hope?” I’ll tell you why, because hope can’t be found anywhere else.

The world offers its own special brand of hope, but it’s always an illusion.

The world says put your hope in these kinds of people…politicians, superstars and athletes - but they always let us down.

So where is our hope? I believe it can be found in the church. Not in the organization or the building but in a relationship with God through His Son Jesus Christ.

Eph. 2:12, “if you are without God then you are without hope.”

The message we have to share with our culture is a message of hope, in fact it’s the only hope they have.

That’s why we must work hard to create a culture of hope in this church…because generations are depending on us!

When we talk about the culture of hope then we’ve got to let people know that they don’t have stay the way they are that there’s real hope for them to change, not into something we want them to be, but into all that God has created them to be.

Isn’t that a great message for today?

If the church is to develop this culture of hope then…it needs to have the

1. The priority of preaching the gospel…We believe in preaching the good news is what will bring real hope to your life!

Luke 4:18, The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed;

Preaching has the power to open blind eyes…those who are deaf can hear…healed from a  broken heart…to be set at liberty…feel free for the 1^st time in their lives!

THIS IS OUR HOPE, that Christ died for us, he died for sinners and he has saved us and redeemed us.

It’s not about the music, the facilities we use or the programs we have, IT’S THE GOSPEL, fully preached that brings hope…

Roms 8:23-25, Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body. 24 For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance.

2. The second tool is fellowship…this is when we take fellowship beyond the 4 walls…

Acts 2: …they  broke bread from house to house…

Fellowship is designed for building a community within the community…you’ll find life-long friendships.

It’s the only place where you can truly be YOU – where you can be truthful with your struggles & excited about your victories.

It’s in this small group context where real, sustained and measurable growth can happen. It won’t happen in the bigger, more impersonal worship experience.

This model is our future because we know that spiritual growth & maturity are the results of the accountability that happens in a small group.

Here’s a point of application – if you’re not connected in fellowship…do it today!

3. The third tool our church offers is ministry…now I know that this word often conjures up images of professional ministers… But that’s not what I mean.

Doing ministry of any kind has the capacity of producing hope in your life. Do you know why?

-Because you can see the difference you make in someone else’s life…

I don’t have the time to go through a list of all the ministries we have here…

Just want you to know if you have a desire to grow spiritually mature, then that won’t happen w/o giving yourself to ministry. Find a place and plug in!

When a culture of hope is engrained in a church that place begins to see radical changes in their community & in the lives of those they are reaching & here’s the real advantage for this kind of culture. When hopeless people find hope here in our church, then they become the greatest advocates for our church.

In other words, when lost people get found, then they’re ready to do whatever it takes to find more lost people.

Maybe you’re here & you feel hopeless. Let me encourage you with these words – God has a plan for your life, it’s a plan with a future and a hope. All you need to do is surrender to his leadership in your life.