ELDER NEWSLETTER 4.1
April 1, 2024    

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Hi Canby Alliance Family, 

I’m sitting here looking at the beautiful weather today and feeling the warmth in the room I’m working in.  I can hardly wait until it’s warm enough for plants to grow like crazy!

I have something really exciting to share with our church family and I hope you are able to appreciate how God answers specific prayers and perfectly orchestrates plans. 

As you know, we have been working on MAPs (Ministry Action Plans):
1.    MAP for Loving Community:  Build deeper relationships by inviting people into our homes with one focus group being the new visitors and sharing a meal with them. 
2.    MAP for Gospel Demonstration and Proclamation:  Initiate relationships with our church neighbors and communicate to our neighbors that we want to be considered their neighbors and that we value being neighbors. 
3.    MAP for Empowering Leaders:  Develop an introduction class in leadership development. 
4.    MAP for Welcoming Place:  We want to develop an opportunity for parents of our youth group members to meet us and get to know us and get to know what we do during our Wednesday Youth Group Meeting. 

Well, an additional one came up this week and since it will take place on 5/2/2024 I’m going to start with this one.  Let me first share how it was a direct answer to prayers!

I would like to share an entry from my journal from 2/29/2024: 
“You say that we don’t have because we don’t ask.  Lord, I am asking.  I am asking for clarifications and solutions and direction for this problem of how we better intersect with our community.  I pray for creative and capturing ways to do this for both our church members and our community members.  I pray for a win-win situation where everyone who is moved to be involved will feel good about what we do together.  I also ask for a supernatural ability to genuinely love those who you bring along our paths.  I ask over time, your time, that we will have spiritual curiosity expressed by anyone who doesn’t know you yet and even for those who know you already, that they may have a greater love and intimacy with you.  Lord, transform us through this.  Call us to a newness at CAC that you have longed to see.  I pray for willing and open hearts for this.  I pray for our staff that you might communicate this, by your Holy Spirit, and we would be of like minds.”

This week, Willamette Valley Big Band contacted us about using our facility for their Spring concerts and possibly for future concerts because the place where they have done it previously is not big enough for their 200+ attendees.  The concert takes place on 5/2/2024 Thursday from 7-9pm.  There is a suggested donation of $5.00 per person.  Could God have dropped an opportunity like this in our lap that answers our prayers (from the elders, PEAK team, staff) more specifically?  It would be great to have 200+ community visitors and junior/senior high band students potentially in attendance!  So out of this opportunity we developed an additional MAP:

MINISTRY ACTION PLAN:  WILLAMETTE VALLEY BIG BAND CONCERT
Loving community:
●    Welcome for non-believers
Gospel demonstration and proclamation:
●    Demonstration of the gospel in word and deed
●    Local neighborhood
 
WHAT:  As a church we have prayed for more opportunity for CAC to interact and intersect with our community in order to build bridges and genuinely demonstrate love in word and deed.  We were approached by Willamette Valley Big Band if we could use our facility to host their Spring Concert because they have grown to >200 people and their prior venue is too small to comfortably host that many people.  As an aside, we would like to draw band students to the event through their band teacher. 

HOW:  
1.    Provide a facility that allows a concert to occur comfortably.
2.    Provide an opportunity for 91 School, Baker Prairie Middle School and Canby High School band students to attend for exposure to a band instrument concert.
3.    Call and discuss opportunities with 91 School, Baker Prairie and CHS band teachers by 4/5/2024. 
4.    Have youth staff available to interact with the students–discuss with Nick and Rachel.
5.    Mobilize the prayer team to begin to pray for this event by 4/1/2024.
6.    Develop a small planning team.  
7.    Approach CAC members with passion and gifting of greeting and loving attendees by 4/12/2024 and ask for volunteers.
8.    Organize a short training time for CAC members wanting to be involved to cast vision and help CAC participants to understand the strategic role they play in this concert to love and interact with our community and build bridges possible dates 4/21//2024 or 4/28/2024 after service. 
9.    Our gift will be cookies, water and lemonade refreshments for the intermission:  contact deaconess to help with this.

WHEN:  May 2, 2024, 7:00-9:00 pm

CELEBRATE:  
1.    We had our first meeting on 3/28 11 AM with David Gauthier said our facility is perfect and is excited about greeters, refreshments and getting band students involved in this event.
2.    Celebrate when the  prayer team starts praying for this event.
3.    Celebrate when we have the greater team and refreshments arranged.
4.    Celebrate the accomplishment of the event
5.    Celebrate stories from CAC greeters.
6.    Celebrate when anyone from that event attends CAC in the future.

This really meets our CGIs for CAC:
a.    The Critical Gospel Impact of CAC is...our unique building facility…for youth and community opportunities,…to share the love of Christ.
b.    The Critical Gospel Impact of CAC is,..equipping our youth outreach for improving mental health to see lives transformed by Jesus.
c.    The Critical Gospel Impact of CAC is...our facility,..for the continued work of the great commission, reaching youths and the community and to  provide a place for other ministries and groups as are allowed.
This meets the following RRRs:
A.    REPEAT:
a.    Youth and Children:  There is something about youth and children that CAC has an apparent legacy of success. 
b.    Generosity:  CAC is known for not just financial generosity but attendees seem to be generous with their time. 
This meets our compass definitions:
a.    LEADERSHIP:  Leadership:  Committed Godly servants who help and inspire others to pursue our mission. Use opportunity to train greeter team about being leaders in loving our community and serving God through this
b.    DISCIPLESHIP:  Discipleship is an authentic intentional connection for the purpose of passing on a growing relationship with Jesus.
c.    MISSION:  Mission is to advance God’s kingdom in Canby by welcoming, connecting, loving and serving our neighbors in a relevant way to introduce them to Jesus Christ. 

So what do we need from our church family?
1.    We need people and prayer groups to start praying for this event.
2.    We need volunteers who have the natural gifting to greet people and love them and welcome them to our facility.  Don’t be surprised if you get approached to help in this area because we know who you are!!  Haha!
3.    We need people to make yummy cookies.
4.    We need people to get water and lemonade ready for the intermission time.
5.    We need people to attend the concert to love and intersect with our visitors.  Hey, it's big band music!
6.    We need people who have contacts with the band teachers at Baker Prairie and Canby High and 91 School to contact the band teachers and explain this opportunity.   We can provide the needed info for these people to communicate accurate info.
7.    We need to set up a short meeting with those interested in helping to discuss this event and do some training.

I hope we are excited about this chance to intersect with our community and genuinely love our visitors!

Last thing, we have scheduled our meeting with the PEAK Team + Steve Fowler (district office) for 4/16/2024 Tuesday where we will develop our Pastor Next Profile. Please keep this meeting in your prayers!

Thank you again Canby Alliance Church family for all the love and support through all of this.  It is nice to see that things are moving along, slowly but surely!  I am expectantly waiting upon the Lord to unfold what he has for CAC in the future!

 

Your faithful servants,