Julie Scott (Food Pantry Interview)

I talked with Julie Scott from St. Peter’s Episcopal Church

The church decided to start an outreach program 11 years ago and provide food for the needy in Phoenixville and the providing areas. What they offer is the food for the clients for the fist 10 years but last year they incorporated and have the opportunity to sit down for a hot breakfast, as well as Phoenixville hospital has started a health screening process during the times that the panty is open which helps give those who do not have enough money for health care a free health screening. They are funded 100% off of donation. The church is about 60 families and Boy Scout groups Girl Scout. Large grant from a company, community businesses (Biocare), they also run a big food drive every year. Shows the power of partnership and how effective it can be when you get the community behind you. Everyone who works at the pantry is a volunteer. If anyone wants to work they try to fit him or her to their best place of ministry. The one story that Julie shared that was very touching and powerful was about a 10-year-old girl that is the youngest volunteer at the pantry. One Saturday morning, she asked her mom why people were standing in a line. She asked, “isn’t there someway we can help” so she decided to run a food drive that gave 30 boxes cereal to those in need. Then on Friday December 9^th she held a benefit concert with 9 bands that volunteered to play and they pay a cover fee with all the money going to those less fortunate. She went to the chamber of commerce site and sent out 350 letters asking to give money or food the church and she was able to give a large amount. They also had Boy’s scout sent their goal for 2,000 cans to give to the needy and they reached their goal with 2,040 cans. When the pantry started Julie said they had10 families now at 130 for thanksgiving! 

Strength Finders by Tom Rath

Marcus Buckingham

·      Find ways to find strengths

·      He said he was unique

o   Build my strengths and manage around my weaknesses

·      Which do you think will help you be most successful? (2000)

o   Building on strengths or fixing weaknesses

o   United states is the most focused strength country

§  59% said fixing problems but only 41% said building on weaknesses, but it was still the highest. (2000)

§  China lowest with 29% on strengths

o   You only learn about excellence by studying excellence... not the opposite of failure

o   Purnell School in New Jersey

§  Helping students find their strengths when other schools were telling them they had no strengths.

§  Asks, “when will someone ask if something is wrong with the system”

o   These are the signs that we are moving from a remedial society to a strength based

·      2006 building on strenths was 37% strengths based

·      2007 41% strengths based, right back where it started in 2000

·      What % of people spend most of the day playing to their strengths?

o   2005 – 17%

o   2006 – 14%

o   2007 – 12%

·      People’s strengths are our greatest assets

·      As leaders how do you move this number?

o   You should start with yourself first.

§  Are you one of the 12%

ú  If you aren’t how do you get to be?

ú  What is stopping most of us is that we believe the wrong stuff

·      3  myths

o   Myth 1 – as you grow, your personality changes.

§  Truth – as you grow, you become more of who you already are.

o   Myth 2 – you grow most in your areas of greatest weakness

§  Truth – you grow most in you areas of greatest strength

o   Myth 3 – a great team member put his strengths aside and does whatever it take to help the team

§  Truth – a great team member volunteers his time to areas of his strengths

o   3 skills to learn

§  identify what your strengths are, be specific.

§  Change something, each week put together a strong/weak plan and push towards them.

§  Be able to talk about strengths without bragging and your weaknesses without complaining 

Church Boot Camp

This week in class I had the privilege to hear from a church planting boot camp team. The team consisted of Jason, Ryan, Dave, John, and Caleb, each one with unique experiences and ideas. Jason from Life church planted a church 5 years ago in Texas Ryan, Washington state, went to southern Idaho (Boise) and planted a church, Dave works with training, John a church planter, Caleb is a student pastor who is working on a city of Boston church plant.

Some of the Outreaches that was very effective in their ministries. Jason purchased an additional trailer that held inflatable’s so they could throw them up anytime... any community events. Also he had 3 large events every year, anchored to a holiday event, 4th of July, Halloween, Christmas, Halloween Put up inflatable’s at people’s houses and gave away candy and coffee for the adults 9 out of 10 people came to a community event. Ryan partnered with the community a lot of times. He had a Citywide carnival and everyone they hired left them hanging.... so the church staffed the carnival and it looked like the church threw the whole thing. He said, “Don’t try to compete with your city, partner with them and work with that.” Dave stated, find what your strengths are and work intentionally around them. Sports community, art, theater, ect. John (Northpoint) said do things with no strings attached. In December he had Bike giveaway where he 225 bikes were given away (all of them had to be put together). Caleb stated “Creating a bridge for the people in the church to serve in the community and those who are not in the church to serve alongside those in the community.” He had a Student ministry in February because it is a big month where resources run out in the non-profit organizations. So the church found every non-profit organization that the students could go out and serve each organization. (Spread the Love). 

Gary Bellis

Gary Bellis was the guest this week in class. He went to Zion Bible College and received Christ into his life in 1971. He soon became the youth pastor at his home church and while there his Senior Pastor went to Ohio and asked him to go along with him, but he declined the offer.            

            Growing up Gary was heavy into drugs and everything that went along with that but once he found Christ his life was restored. He went on in ministry to Newport, NJ a city of 46,000 people. He has now been in ministry 37 years. His primary passion is discipleship and missions, he say’s the church is not doing a good job of it. He likes the idea of faith at home, which is basically making the home the focus of the church and ministry, the idea that if you get the home you get the family. He has been on a number of mission’s trips. In his church he takes on a year minimal for missions projects. Gary has been to India over 10 times, while there the ministry he works with does a lot of medical projects, usually set up in the brothels. 

            Gary stated that it is important to have a clear purpose statement. His church statement is, “To know God, to be his people, to value others, and change the world.” He liked the idea of using the acronym S.H.A.P.E, Spiritual gifts, Heart, Abilities, Personality, Experiences; to disciple people. Overall it was great to learn from Gary and his ministry. 

Rich Jones of Element

       This week in class we had the opportunity to hear from Rich Jones from Element Church. Rich started his ministry in a church in Roxboro, where he was the youth pastor for 5 years. Eventually that season of his life came to an end and he went to another church in New Jersey but it would only last 3 months. He didn’t connect with the pastor very well. A funny story he told us was that he pastor had a problem with the suits that Rich was wearing so he decided to take things into his own hands and sent Rich out with a representative who picked his suits out for him. After his short stint in New Jersey he left and landed a youth pastor position in Michigan. This would prove to be a rough journey for Rich as well. There was a time of ministry at this church where Rich lived in his car for two weeks. Rich would eventually decide he needed to move on from this church as well. One thing Rich said which I found to be wise was that he went into the church thinking he could change the culture of the church and found out that was not that case. He moved back to Pittsburgh with his family.

        This is where he began getting into church planting, which he claimed he would never do. Millvale Matters (Church) is the church plant he started. He would do such events as the Great Millvale Egg Hunt, which took place two weeks before they launched the church. The egg hunt had 2 companies that funded their event. Other event were the Family BBQ, Parents Night Out this took place around Valentines Day and gave the parents a night out with the kids being supervised. The structure of the church is a circle according to Rich, the people he works with work together as a team, and when there is an event all of the church helps out.

            “Understand where you work well, go somewhere where that you’re wired for” 

Brian Haynes' "Shift" (Book Review)

This week in class we had a book review on the book Shift by Brian Haynes. I will give an outline of what the book covered.

·      The Original Blueprint

   o   Deuteronomy 6:4-9

·      Spiritual growth begins in the home, at birth

·      Suggestion

   o   Milestone Strategy

           §  Bringing the discipleship process into one common path where parents and church work

               together

           §  The goal is to equip parents with motivation, resources, training, study and a clear path.

   o   Seven Milestones

   o   1) Birth of a baby

           §  Age: birth-12

           §  Church Leader: Preschool Minister

           §  Parent Seminar: Fist steps

           §  Core Competency: the parent as the primary faith influencer

   o   2) Faith Commitment

           §  Age: 7-13

           §  Church Leader: Children’s Pastor

           §  Parent Seminar: Leading Your Child To Christ

           §  Church Event: Faith Commitment Ceremony

           §  Family Celebration: Spiritual Birthday Party

   o   3) Preparing for Adolescence

           §  Age: 9-12

           §  Church Leader: children’s pastor

           §  Parent seminar: preparing for Adolescence

           §  Church event: 4^th and 5^th grade retreat

           §  Family celebration: road trip

           §  Core competency: identity in Christ, Spiritual Growth, Spiritual Disciplines

   o   4) Commitment to purity

           §  Age: 12-15

           §  Church Leader: Youth Pastor

           §  Parent Seminar: Commitment to Purity

           §  Church Event: Commitment to purity weekend

           §  Family Celebration: Purity ring celebration

           §  Core Competency: Biblical purity, healthy relationships, identity in Christ

   o   5) Passage to adulthood

           §  Age: 16

           §  Church Leader: Youth Pastor

           §  Parent Seminar: preparing my child for adulthood

           §  Family Celebration: Passage to adulthood ceremony

           §  Core competency: roles of men and women, spiritual gifts and service, basic tenets of the

                 faith

   o   6) High School Graduation

           §  Age: 17-18

           §  Church Leader: Youth/Student Pastor

           §  Parent Seminar: Preparing my child to leave home

           §  Church Event: Senior Summit

           §  Family Celebration: Blessing

           §  Core Competency: Defending my faith, God’s plan for my life, dating, marriage, life skills

   o   7) Life in Christ

           §  Age: 17-death

           §  Church Leader: Senior/All Pastor’s

           §  Core Competency: Prayer, Scripture

           §  Milestone 7 is about discipleship, further developing a personal walk with Jesus

   ·      Do we need to rethink our mission statement?

   o   Such a shift in thinking is met with resistance and apathy.

            Establish the Home as the model of spiritual growth. (Deut. 6:4-9)