Church Constitution

Weekly Update – October 27th, 2022

In our September members’ meeting, the main proposal that was presented, was a complete rewrite of our church’s constitution.  The reason for this proposal is so that our church might best reflect the structure that is presented in the New Testament.  What we see throughout the New Testament is what we call congregationalism.  This is where the final authority for all matters, specifically regarding doctrine and direction, rests in the hands of the congregation or the church.  Even so, though the church as a whole retains the final say, there are two offices given to the church for the purpose of carrying out ministry.  They are the offices of elder and deacon. 

Elders have been given the task to shepherd God’s people through preaching/teaching and prayer.  They are men who are called to love, care, guide, guard and lead the church in ministry and in service.  The New Testament indicates that typically there is one specifically devoted to the preaching and teaching (1 Tim. 5:17), but that there are others who serve alongside him in the discipleship of the church (Eph. 4:11-16).  The example that we see from the New Testament is that of, what we call, plurality, meaning that every time elder is mentioned with church, it is always a singular church that had multiple elders. Consider just a few examples: Acts 14:23; Acts 15:4; Acts 20:17, 28; Philippians 1:1; 1 Timothy 4:14; 1 Timothy 5:17; James 5:14; and 1 Peter 5:1-2. 

Deacons of the church support the work of the elders.  You might say they are called to facilitate or to ensure that the practical needs of the church are met.  These men are officially set apart by the church to lead by example through their service.  These men are to be full of “the Spirit and of wisdom” as well as glad-hearted servants.  In Acts 6:1-7, they are unifiers through their selflessness, while at the same time, they are men of lion-hearted faith, who won’t back down when the truth is challenged.  In many ways, they serve as the shock-absorbers of the church.  This means that take care of the “bumps” that might prevent the church from carrying out its mission. 

In many ways, over the last several years, our church has functioned with a sort of mixture of these two roles.  What I mean is, the office of deacon has been a conflation for the role of elder and deacon pushed into one.  This means that you might often have one man who is officially called to serve as a deacon, care for a practical need of the church on a given Sunday by running the sound, but then he might serve in the role of an elder by also teaching on that same Sunday.  In the same way, you might have a deacon who is expected to care for a practical need such as organizing the clean up of a widow’s yard, while also seen as the spiritual authority to make a decision alongside the pastor.  The bottom line here is that through the mixture of two roles into one, we as the church miss out on having the gift of functioning at full speed, where some are devoted to leading ministry and others are devoted to supporting ministry. 

My hope through this new constitution is that, together, our church will live out the call that God has given to it, in serving as an embassy of light in the midst of a dark world.  I pray that by clearly functioning the way that the New Testament displays the church, we too, might endure faithfully through the attacks of the evil one, as we spur one another on to love and good deeds, resting in Christ and the salvation he achieved for us.  Ultimately, functioning in the way that the New Testament displays for us is for our health as a church, so that we might have the structure in place to rightly carry out the Great Commission as we speak and live out the gospel of Jesus Christ together.

Therefore, this Sunday night, if you have any questions about this proposed constitution, please come to the Q&A in the sanctuary at 6:00pm.  Let us not be confused about who we are as a church, or the direction in which we are headed.  Instead, let us seek to move forward together, for the sake of fulfilling our vision in seeing our families, our community and our world transformed by the power of God.    

Serving Him with You,
Pastor Michael Nelson

Written by Pastor
Michael Nelson

Fighter Verse for the Week

"He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed."  - 1 Peter 2:24

Announcements:

Volunteers Needed: Volunteers are still needed during the 10:30am nursery time. Check the update or email the office for more information on how you can serve.

Budget/Constitution Q&A: We will meet at 6pm on Sunday, October 30th, for the annual budget meeting. We will also be having a question and answer time about the proposed revisions to the constitution.

Trunk or Treat:  On Monday, October 31st from 5:30-7pm, we will host a trunk or treat outside in our front parking lot. We need people who are willing to hand out candy from the back of their cars, others who can help with set up and/or break down, and some who can simply be present to help with anything else that might be needed for the night. There will be a barrel out in the Welcome Center to collect candy. Sign up in the hall to volunteer.

Class Brunch: The Ladies’ Sunday morning Bible Study taught by Mary Furr will be having a class brunch at 9:30am in the Faith Center Gym. If you are part of Mary’s class, you can find more information about this event HERE.

Ladies’ Brunch and Crafting: Ladies of the church are invited to the Diaz home for a potluck brunch and crafting at 10am on Saturday, November 5th. More information can be found HERE and a signup sheet can be found on the bulletin board.

Thanksgiving Dinner: The annual Thanksgiving Potluck Dinner will be held following the service on Sunday, November 13th. Turkey and mashed potatoes will be provided. Please sign up on the bulletin board in the hall. More information can be found HERE.

Awana

Join us for Awana Bible Clubs on Wednesday nights. Dinner is at 6:00pm and Awana Clubs are from 6:30-8:00pm.

Bible Study

Join us for Bible Study at 9:15am on Sunday mornings. Click HERE for more information.

Giving

To Give Online, Go HERE. 

You can also mail your offering to: 1416 Main Street, Grandview, MO. 64030

Home Groups

Home Groups began on Sunday, September 18th. If you are interested in joining one, you can find more information HERE.

Ladies’ Bible Study

Ladies, join us for a Bible study through the book of Exodus on Tuesday nights at 6:30pm. You can learn more about this 10 week Bible Study HERE.

Prayer

An updated Prayer Guide can be accessed HERE. 

Prepare for Sunday

Guide for Worship can be found HERE.