It all started last year when I took a trip to NorthPoint Church when the NVC staff and I went to the Drive Conference.  I met a guy by the name of  Bryan Miles of Miles Advisory Group (MAG) from the two founders –Shannon and Bryan Miles and he introduced me to his company and the idea of a virtual assistant.  This was a totally wild idea for me but I was interested.  In the last year I have been very purposeful and intentional at aligning my schedule with my goals.  I had no idea how hard this would be.  With all the details of running the day to day operations of a church (and details are not my strengh) I knew I needed someone around me who could help in my weakness so that I could work out of my strengths.

Bryan and I agree to try it for three months.  He assured me that it would take that much time to get used to it and to build trust with a virtual assistant.  Bryan assigned me Misti.  Misti lives in North Carolina but has a local SoCo number, a NVC email, and responds as if she is in a cubicle at NVC offices.  She even joined one of our staff meeting via Skype–we put her on a chair (the lap top) and she interacted with us as if she were actually there.  Misti has become a part of the team and I don’t even think of her a “virtual” because she’s not — she is a real person.

Here’s what she does:

• She screens my email. She checks my main email accounts, handles what she can, and “redirects” the messages that require my personal attention to my private account. She has reduced my email load by 90 percent.
• She books my travel. She handles all the details, including airline reservations, hotels, car rental, etc. She sets up a trip in TripIt, so I have everything I need in one place.
• She makes calls on my behalf. She makes appointments (both personal and professional), confirms my appointments, checks my voice mail, and follows up as needed.
• She manages my calendar. Almost nothing gets on my calendar unless it passes through her first. We have agreed together that I will only accept appointments on two afternoons a week, and she works to stay within those boundaries.
• She handles other projects as needed. I continue to turn over more and more to her. She is currently accumulating a list of names of professional counselors so that we have a solid data base to refer people to that we trust and can meet specific needs

I’m curious about your experience in church.  Would you be willing to respond to these questions below?  Your insights would be really helpful to us at NVC to create steps for people to move from rows to circles.

1. How has your “church” background shaped your current perspective/view of what church is?
2. Do “circles” or “rows” best describe your background with church?
3. Why do you think people have difficulty choosing to participate in community?
4. Read Acts 2:42-47. What do you believe God’s purpose was in establishing the church?
5. What do you observe about the relationships of these Christians?
6. Are their areas of your life that are prohibiting you from becoming a “lifer”" in community groups?
7. How has your life/relationship with God changed/grown from choosing to be in a community group?

It is crucial that we believe that community (based on what we see in Acts) is God’s best plan for us to courageously apply what we already know about following Him. We must believe that this is our best chance at living the life God has for us! Thus, it is equally as important that we determine to be a “lifer” in regards to participating in community groups. We must adjust and prepare our life for the opportunity for community. Therefore, there may be things in our lives that we need to “stop doing” to ensure we have this capacity.

“They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” Acts 2:42

1. We moved our church back to a facility that we own and renovated the entire campus with more than 100 volunteers!
2. We relaunched KidStuf, a way to partner with parents, in December with a bang and look forward to making that a once-a-month event in the Fall of 2012.
3. We blessed several families and individuals with our #nvcwish Christmas campaign from gifts, to beds, to hear-aids and more.
4. We had over 1,173 people came to three Christmas Eve services to end the year.
5. Volunteers gave more than 72,800 collective hours of service in our church and in our community.
6. Lori Connor came to New Vintage for the first time after sitting in the parking lot for two weeks. In her words, “It was either walk in those doors or drive off a cliff.”  She is not a Christian and was baptized. Hundreds of other people visited New Vintage Church for the first time.
7. When we held an emergency budget meeting, the people of New Vintage stepped up and raised $30,000 to keep the mission moving forward in Sonoma County.
8. We held our first ever, GroupLink event, where we launched three new community groups and began a season of offering Men’s and Women’s groups.
9. Twenty-five people went public with their faith through water baptism at three different Night of Worship events and at least 8 more are ready.
10. Seven people signed up and raised funds for a Philippines mission trip this February.
11. You were a part of all this because you made a financial contribution.

On Christmas Eve we took a special Christmas offering to cover the expenses for that weekend and New Years’ weekend (we canceled church to rest and spend time with our families).  I asked you to give above and beyond so that we could do some extras to launch the church into the new year.

Do you know what you did?  You gave $65,000 toward Christmas offering!!!  This amount covered our expenses for the two Sunday weekends AND provided $33,000 extra for other ministries.

What does this mean? We will be able to do the upgrades in Waumba Land, UpStreet, and the Warehouse.  It means we can continue to be generous to those in need in our community.  We will be able to fix a leaky roof.  Yea!!

I love the fact that you have a heart to lead people into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ by creating environments that unchurched people love to attend.  I love that about you NVC!!!

Thank you so much for helping others through church.    It’s such an awesome privilege to be part of such a generous community.

Andy

“We have a clear sense of birth, but a theoretical sense of death.  Understand that you have a certain number of days.  There is no good time to die.  You don’t retire from life and get ready for death.  When you leave this planet you will never again have the privilege of sharing the Gospel, serving the lost, feeding the poor.  This is not a guilt trip but a reminder to enjoy the opportunity and privilege of representing Christ to the world.  This proceeds out of love.  The love you give back to him drives the opportunities you have.  We must not just wait to get to heaven but relish the only opportunities we will have.”

I love how Mark kept expressing the “privilege” of doing and serving to make a difference in the world around him.  What we do with our lives reveals our priorities.  Serving determines who we are living for.

“So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all people….Conduct yourselves with wisdom toward outsiders, making the most of every opportunity….Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men and women but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil.”  Col. 4:5, Eph. 5:15-16

We believe that being a part of New Vintage Church is about more than just showing up. We believe that the local church is the hope of the world and that if you would really engage with God’s design for the church that everything would be different; in your own life, at home, at work, and in our community.

Starting this week, we are discussing the 4 simple ways that you can partner with New Vintage to change our community.  The first of the 4 Things is serving.

Serving has become Trendy in the last few years. It seems like everyone is doing it including famous musicians, athletes and actors. Serving others has become “cool”. I imagine that God is profoundly pleased with this, seeing as “Loving Others” was His idea. However, God wants this idea to be more than a trend or the cool thing to do. God doesn’t want us to simply participate in random acts of kindness or causes, but rather to participate in strategic acts of service that are also aligned with His purpose and heart for the world. What do you think God could do through you if you determined to serve Him Strategically?

Here are some questions to consider about serving.

Describe a time when you volunteered for something. What type of service did you do and for how long?  As you look back, has serving been a natural part of your life, or rather a strategic choice you have made?  What are some of the roadblocks that keep you from strategically serving?  What area of  New Vintage Church are you already strategically serving in? OR What area of New Vintage Church would you most be interested in serving in? (Waumba Land, Upstreet, Inside Out, Host Team). Where can your time, skills, and passions best intersect with what God is already doing in and through Athens Church?

As we continue to determine what it looks like to be fully engaged with the heart of God, it is vital that we determine to love others in the way that He does. There is such great potential is focusing on and being faithful in our service. What would happen in Sonoma County if we all determined to be strategic about our investments of time? What would happen in your own heart if you committed to serve strategically each week at New Vintage Church? Great change would occur in both arenas!

As you consider this, how might you choose to strategically serve?

“The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, He is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed but wants everyone to repent.” 2 Peter 3:9

George Barna in the book “Maximum Faith” describes 10 Stops Christians experience on their journey to spiritual maturity.  When we go on the ultimate adventure of growing up in Christ and experiencing the fullness that God has planned for us, we discover that there are stops on the journey to wholeness.  When we are aware of these stops and recognize them as a part of the process toward maturity, the stops don’t paralyze us but we see them as a normal part of the process of growth.  Look them over and take a self assessment of where you are.  Pray and ask God to help you break through this next year to continue to grow in your faith.

10 Stops

1. Ignorance of the concept or existence of God
2. Aware of and indifferent to sin
3. Concerned about the implications of personal sin
4. Confess sins and ask Jesus Christ to be their Savior
5. Commitment to faith activities
6. Experience a prolonged period of spiritual discontent
7. Experiencing personal brokenness
8. Choosing to surrender and submit fully to God: Radical Dependence
9. Enjoying a profound intimacy with and love for God
10. Experiencing a profound compassion and love for humanity