At Austell First UMC, this is the grounding for who we are as a church, our vision for making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world:
Blessing our community is more than just loving our community. Through our actions, in cooperation with the Holy Spirit, we express God’s grace, the love of Christ.
Blessing involves God. Many citizens love and serve their community. Christians are the only ones that can bless their community.
BLESS core values
• God goes before us (prevenient grace)
• Generously BLESS others
• Servant hood (Jesus washing disciples feet)
Go to be a servant, not serve (we don’t take an agenda with us)
“When we serve others, we look strangely like God.” (Pastor Erwin McManus)
• Deliver radical love that amazes the world it touches (Randy Pope, Perimeter Church, Georgia)
• We want people to wonder why we are doing this.
Are church members living in such a way that they demonstrate something people far from God cannot live without? (Bill Easum) We want people to ask, “How can I get some of that. How can I be like that? How can I serve/love/bless like that?
• Being an asset to our community (they would be worse off without us)
□ Can you imagine the community being genuinely thankful for your church?
□ Can you imagine city leaders valuing your church’s friendship and participation in the community- even asking for it?
□ Can you imagine a large number of your church members actively engaged in, and passionate about,
community service, using their gifts and abilities in ways and at levels, they never thought possible?
□ Can you imagine the spiritual harvest that would naturally follow if all this were true?
(Pastor Robert Lewis, Fellowship Bible Church, Little Rock AR)
• A catalyst for community transformation (can’t do it all, but we can get it started)
• Bring healing to a hurting world
• Impact our city with the love of Christ
• Taking light into darkness
• The Body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:27) - the hands, feet, and heart of Christ in the world
• Reach the world for Christ by serving one person at a time
• Sharing God’s love in practical ways
• No strings attached. Blessing folks even if they will never set foot in our church.
• Blessings are gifts; they can’t be earned. Thus, we BLESS even those we may think don’t deserve it. Unreasonable grace.
1 Peter 3:9 Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing. You can give them back what they gave you. Or you can give them back what God gave you. (Steven Furtick)
• Move people one step closer to Christ. (SCALE)
• Leave the results to God. Trust God to take our efforts and do great work through them.
• God gets the credit
Matthew 5:16 Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.
• BLESS is not what we do. It is who we are. Blessing is a lifestyle for Christians.
