ShepherdsCorner

From the desk of Pastor Jim...

Who Are We?
The Elders met together October '06 to seek God’s clear direction for the future of RVCC.
We began by looking at the seven churches in Revelation 2 and 3. God commended each
church for the things they did well and then indicted them for what was lacking. Finally, God
showed them what He wanted them to do and be.

After some time of looking at this passage, we spent a significant amount of time in prayer,
asking God to clarify to us those things He wants us to do and be. We believe there are
seven Core Values, non- negotiables to which we are committed here at RVCC:

•        Prayer                                •        Holding true to God’s Word
•        Worship                             •        Caring Relationships
•        Outreach                           •        Ownership of Ministry
•        Financial Responsibility

We want to improve our communication inside and outside the church. One of the ways is to
share this information with you in detail. We want to look more closely at each of the Core
Values and prayerfully think of ways we can implement each value at RVCC. We trust you
will respond with your ideas to help us fulfill what we believe God wants us to do and be.

We encourage your feedback... to contact us with your thoughts and questions, please click here.

Your Pastor,
Jim Groenink

                                                 ____________________
                                      RVCC Core Values:

Financial Responsibility
This is a hard article for me to write. I have no problem presenting the needs to carry out ministry or talk about
being responsible, but when a large portion of our weekly budget is my salary, that makes me uncomfortable.

I love what I am doing. I wish I could do it whether I get paid or not. However, just like the church has bills to
pay, so do I and I can’t work pro bono. I also know that many people have the impression that pastors/churches
are always asking for money and I cringe at the thought of fitting into that stereotype.

First and foremost, I want to confirm our commitment to financial integrity. As a Board of Elders and Deacons,
our desire is to keep RVCC financially responsible to God and you as a congregation. We are going to live
within the income of the giving week to week.

At our annual meeting in February of this year, we voted on a budget that would need our weekly giving be at
$2,900.00. We have not consistently reached that amount. We also are not spending based on budget, but based
on our actual income.

In retrospect, we have overspent to this point, for which I am responsible. When there was a cushion in the
general fund, some maintenance was done for the building at that time (carpets cleaned, sound board repairs,
furnace repairs, additional speaker lines put in the foyer and nursery). We have added some other items (TV
monitors in the sanctuary and foyer, coffee cart), but those were paid with
designated funds.

Secondly, we also are considering the specific maintenance needs of the facility and know there are projects that
need to be done. We would like to set up a project list where funds can be designated to a particular need.
None of these will be done without the funds being available:

• Our outdoor signs need to be replaced and/or redone to give a more welcoming appearance.
• The parking lot needs to be repaired/resurfaced so that the damage done by extreme weather doesn’t get worse.
• The vacuum cleaner is on its last suction and needs to be replaced.
• One that is close to my heart is a hearing assisted listening system. There are several in our congregation who
have hearing impairments and this would allow them to hear what goes on in our services more clearly.

All of this is exciting to pursue and see what God will do, but we also need to address the needs before us. We
are current with all of our bills to date but need to receive $8,500.00 the next 2 Sundays to stay current. This is
about $3,000.00 over and above what our regular weekly giving has been.

Pray with us that, “God will supply all our needs according to His riches in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:19).
Let’s be in prayer about how each of us would take part in obedient stewardship and experience the blessing of
increased ministry here at RVCC.

                 ____________________
OUTREACH
A core value the Elders of RVCC hold dear is Outreach. When I think of Outreach, Acts 1:8 comes to mind.
Christ was very clear that the whole world was to hear the gospel. That meant first to Jerusalem (our
neighbors), to Judea (that region outside our neighborhood), Samaria (which we would see as that area within
North America) and then to the utter most part of the earth.
We need to be aggressive and strategic as we develop ministries that will reach out with the clear message of the
gospel.   We need to provide opportunities for all of us to experience the joy of witnessing the saving work of
Christ in the life of another person.

We need to develop ministries that will tug at the hearts of those living near the church. We need to be sensitive
to the needs and concerns that affect those who live in our community. This could happen through our own
witness and through ministries we provide here at RVCC for children, youth and adults. These ministries could
be neighborhood parties with an emphasis on outreach and programs for children such as VBS, Awana, athletic
clinics, music training, tutoring, carnivals, etc.   Activities like Marriage and Family Living Conferences,
Financial Peace and community service, are all methods to reach out to the adults and families in our community
with the gospel.

We need to keep better contact with our missionaries so we know what their needs are. This will help us better
pray for them and to strategize how we can care for them, both on the field and when they return home. To do
this we will need to develop and train liaisons to our missionaries. We have some liaisons now who have
signed up for some of our missionaries, but we need more. We want to increase our financial and prayer support
to missionaries as well.

Overall, we want to increase our own awareness for missions and find and provide opportunities for all of us to
experience the joy of serving Christ in a cross-cultural ministry. It is exciting to think of the possibility of an all-
church mission experience what an incredible opportunity it would be if God would direct.

I hope you will be praying with me that we all can stretch out of our comfort zones.

                   ____________________
Worship
Another core value that the RVCC Elders hold dear is Worship. Most often when we speak of worship we think
of the music prior to the message. Although music is an important element of worship, there is so much more.

Let’s start by looking at the meaning of worship. In the Old Testament the word that is usually translated
“worship” literally means to bow down and make confession of God as Lord and King. Worship In the New
Testament is seen as ascribing worth. Over all, the biblical words for worship literally mean to bow, bend the
knee, fall prostrate – a gesture of awe and self-negation. It is the creation’s recognition of the surpassing majesty
and worth of his or her Creator. – Ascribing glory to God.   The elements of New Testament worship are prayer,
praise, confession of sin, confession of faith, reading of scripture, preaching and the Lord’s Supper.

We clearly want to experience a freedom of expression when considering our worship, having the freedom to
express our joy and appreciation to God for His great worth is a personal offering of sacrifice to God. Each
individual demonstrates this differently.

Every part of our Sunday morning service needs to direct our hearts and lives to worship God.   We want the
music to help focus our thoughts and emotions towards the greatness of God. Our prayers need to reflect our
dependence on the Holy Triune God…a God who listens to our praises and requests seeking to draw us close.
The message needs to be true to God’s Word, challenging us to live our lives in obedience and trust.

When we consider the style of music to be used in the services, the words need to be sound in doctrine and truth
and lead us to focus on God and the life He offers us. We, the Elders encourage a blend of contemporary
balanced with hymns of the past. It is my prayer that we will be flexible in our style preference so that the old,
the young and everyone in between can experience worship offered to God.

Using our gifts in service for God is another expression of worship. We offer worship to Him when we allow
God’s Holy Spirit to freely work in us. God has uniquely equipped each one of us to freely express ourselves in
praise to our Maker.   You are special to God and bring your own personalized style of worship that can be
duplicated by no other.

We would love to hear from you and encourage your responses to these thoughts.

                       ____________________
Prayer
Another core value on the list is Prayer. We asked this question: “What would it look like if we were a
church of prayer and how would we accomplish that?” We pictured people responding to a prayer request or
need immediately, right where they were…not just telling someone that they would be praying but praying right
then and there. We saw an expanded community prayer time….expanded in the number of people involved as
well as more times of gathering for corporate prayer, seeing an increase in the number of requests and praises.
We want to see people with an increased desire for prayer.

Instruction would be a vital part of fulfilling this value, but experience is just as important. We want to provide
opportunities where together we can see and hear from God through sharing answers to prayer and clearly seeing
God’s work accomplished through prayer.

Last Sunday morning we saw very clearly what prayer can do leading us to humble ourselves before God and
each other. It is my desire to see more of those times as we celebrate God’s healing work among us and feel
freedom to share openly in that time of worship on Sunday mornings.