The NEXT 5

The NEXT 5 

In November, as we celebrated our 5th anniversary as a church, we shared with you a vision for the next 5 years of ministry here in Fate.  That vision included 6 goals:

1.     Reaching our Jerusalem [our local context]

2.     Expanding & Launching New Ministries

3.     Raising Elders & Deacons

4.     Developing & Deepening Partnerships

5.     Establishing an Intern/Residency Program

6.     Finding & Funding a Permanent Home

Goals for 2021

In 2021 we are beginning to work toward several of these goals in these ways:

·       This month our elders voted to set aside $3000 towards education assistance for a future intern or resident here at Redeemer. 

·       In addition, we are considering launching a Grief Recovery ministry later this year to meet a real need in our context as people in our community wrestle with loss in their lives. 

·       We are also working to develop new partnerships through a new church to church partnership with Friendship Baptist Church in Royse City.  We’ll begin this partnership by preaching a joint sermon series with them after Easter and gathering with them on a Sunday evening for a joint worship service in May. 

·       We are deepening partnerships with existing mission partners by making significant contributions to both India Tribals in Ministry and Latitude GLC from our leftover 2020 mission funds.  

·       We are working with leadership at the city of Fate to determine how we might partner to serve people in need in our neighborhoods. 

Finding & Funding a Permanent Home

In addition, we are in the initial stages of planning for the finding & funding of a permanent home.

As we think about the next five years of our history as a church in the city of Fate, it is exciting to consider that one of our aims is moving to a new home base for ministry in our community!  As we embark on the design of a new facility, we need to remember that any commercial building we occupy does not make us a church body.  What makes us a church body is our assembling together for the purpose of fulfilling the Great Commission: sharing the gospel, shaping disciples, and sending missionaries into our neighborhoods and across the globe.  Any building we occupy, in the present or the future, is only a tool to fulfill our mission.  A building helps to facilitate our gathering as a body but is itself not the church. 

A building provides a place to…

…gather for the expositional preaching of God’s Word

…gather for the exaltation of God through Christ-Centered and Spirit-Filled worship

…gather to deepen our biblical and theological roots in the soil of Scripture

…gather to comfort and correct each other as we order our everyday ordinary lives around Jesus

…invite our neighbors to find life and healing as a part of God’s family

…provide ministries that meet real & practical needs in our community

…send out our members to live on mission in our neighborhoods for the glory of God

All of this work can take place anywhere, but it must take place somewhere.  A building is where the church meets, but it is not the church.  We would all do well to be reminded of this reality more often!    

As we begin this process, we want to hear from you!  We have created a feedback survey to hear from you in relation to the priorities we should consider as we enter the design process.  At this link you will find that survey where you can weigh in on the future of a new facility.  Take a moment between now and February 20th to respond to this survey and let us know your thoughts as we begin the initial phases of design for a future home base for ministry in our community.

Pastor Shannon