Author Archives: Micah Foster
NVC iPhone App Released!
We’ve released the NVC iPhone App today! Merry Christmas and enjoy and share it with your friends and family.
See you at 5:30 for our Christmas Eve service later today.
My Story
We’re story collectors. We’re story tellers. And here are two stories recently told at New Vintage.
Do you have a story to tell? Click here.
NVC Exposed: Communion
Q: When does New Vintage take communion? I’ve been here a year and haven’t seen it on any Sunday. Jesus says, “do this in remembrance of me.” So, when do we take it?
A: Communion is an intimate experience. It is an experience we reserve for the believer. Since Sunday is our foyer environment that is created with the non-believing guest in mind we reserve this sacred practice for another environment. There are two places that we do communion.
1. Community Groups. This is a great place to celebrate in a small community of believers.
2. Night of Worship. NOW is a worship gathering for the believer that is designed to give you a place to let go and allow yourself to worship with your entire heart, mind and soul for one hour with the family of God. Our next NOW is May 20th (thurs) from 6:30-7:30pm at the 3300 Sonoma Ave Venue.
NVC Exposed: Are the sermons “deep” enough?
Q: When I first came to New Vintage Church, I loved the sermons. Andy was so clear and simple. It was exactly what I needed to hear, but it’s been a couple of years and I think I pretty much get the idea by now. Are we going to go any “deeper” in the sermons?
A: This question requires a two part answer:
- The first thing you need to do is define what the word “deep” means. What most people mean when they say “deep” is more information. What most people are really asking is, “This is not new information for me anymore. I’ve learned that already, can you dig into the bible more and give me a greek word study or break out some maps of the biblical region or something? I need more information so that I can feel like I’m deep.” There’s only one problem with this…deep doesn’t mean more information or knowledge. Spiritual depth isn’t measured by how much you know, but by how you’re being transformed by Jesus to look more like him. In other words, are you living the simple truths you “know?” If you want to be “deep” live out the teachings of Jesus.
- The second thing that you should know is that our weekend worship services are meant to be simple enough for anyone who walks in our doors to understand. In fact there are a few standards we hold ourselves to. We ask these questions about every service we create: Was it helpful? Was it fun? Was it relevant? Keeping in mind that our weekend service is the place (foyer environment) where we invite our unchurched, non-believing friends, we strive to create the right atmosphere for them. With that in mind, we also have a place for our churched, believing members and attenders. It is called Community Groups (kitchen environment). We believe that real, sustainable life-change happens in the context of small groups. That is where you will find both more information AND be held accountable to live it out.
Are you ready to go to the next level of community at New Vintage? You can sign up for a small group by visiting our website, emailing us or signing up at the information table.
NVC Exposed: Membership
Becoming a member of New Vintage Church is a great way to solidify your commitment in our community. It is a way of saying, “I believe what Jesus Christ is doing through this community and I want to partner with you in accomplishing his mission for New Vintage Church and Sonoma County.”
Q: Why should I become a member?
A: When you become a member of our community, officially, you are saying…”I agree with the mission of New Vintage Church and I want to be a part of the story God is writing through our community. I want to make an impact.”
Q: I’m new to the church, and I’m not ready to make that kind of commitment, but I do want to know more about New Vintage. How do I do that?
A: We have an environment for you called NEXT. It happens once a month and it is a 20-minute orientation where Andy talks to a small group of people about our Mission, Vision, Strategy and also answers questions you may have about the church.
Q: How do I become a member?
A: It’s really easy. Attend First Step, an environment where you can learn what it means to be a Christian and a member of New Vintage Church. At the end of the course you fill out a paper that tells us if you want to become a member or not. We do ask that every applicant be a Christian and be baptized before becoming a member. If you want more information on how you can go about becoming a Christian or being baptized, please contact us (707.545.7344) and we would LOVE to share with you.
Q: Do you require anything from a member?
A: No, but we do ask our members to commit to these four things:
- Invest & Invite: Invest in relationships with people who do not regularly attend church and when the time is right, invite them.
- Percentage Giving: Something happens to your heart when you give to God. It’s a part of your spiritual growth that can happen no other way.
- Community Groups: Sustainable life-change and spiritual growth happens in the context of a small community. For us, those groups are the glue to our church.
- Strategic Service: Serve on one of our service teams on Sunday mornings. We ask our members to go to a service and serve during a service. There are a few main teams that you can join – Children’s Ministry, Student Ministry, Coffee, Host Team, Production Team and Set Up/Tear Down.
Have other questions? Please let us know so that we can share the answer.
NVC Exposed: Wells Fargo – Should We Stay or Should We Go?
We have over a year under our belt at the Wells Fargo Center for the Arts! But there’s a question on your mind and we’d like to address it.
Q: Are we staying at the Wells Fargo Center for the Arts? Are we going back to the old campus on Sonoma Ave? Or are we doing something else?
A: We are staying at the Wells Fargo Center for the Arts. We have signed a contract for another year.
Q: Wouldn’t it be easier to create a quality experience on our own soil and not set up and tear down every weekend?
A: The short answer is yes, it would be easier. But…
- Volunteerism is Up – New Vintage is no longer a place you go, it’s a place we create together.
- Giving is Up – New Vintage is not a place where our regular attenders and members just show up, but they invest in, financially.
- Investing & Inviting is Up – New Vintage is investing in relationships in the hopes that it will lead to an invitation.
- Small Group Involvement is Up – New Vintage is creating smaller communities all around Sonoma County as we grow bigger as a large community.
We have been stretched in every sense of the word over the past year, but our faith has deepened and our community is better and healthier for it.
Q: Why Wells Fargo?
A: The Wells Fargo Center for the Arts is a prime place to have a church for people who don’t like church.
- The building was built as a church and imploded on itself. It represents a win for Christ in our community that another church now inhabits that space.
- The WFCA is a hub for our community for gatherings, concerts, dramas and more. Everyone has been there. Everyone knows where the restrooms are. There are tons of parking spots and tons of seats.
- At our old facility we were packed out and maxed out. We could not grow. Now we have plenty of room for growth, 1,600 seats and every one of them represents a real person that you know.
- We get great service and excellent pricing for renting the facility. Seriously, you have no idea.
Here’s the bottom line: We love the venue and we love the results we’re getting. God is at work and He is changing lives through you.
If you have any questions don’t hesitate to email or call (707.545.7344) us.
NVC Exposed: What happened to…
New Vintage Church is known for “creating environments” that are excellent. In the past we’ve done many different kinds of “environments.” Recently we’ve been focusing on just a few “environments” and you may left wondering…”What happened to…?”
Q: What happened to our events, like MarriedLife Live, SingleLife Live, 20-Somethings, and KidStuf?
A: Last fall we did a MarriedLife Live, Fusion (20-Somethings) Event, SingleLife Live, Band of Brothers, Her Time, Night of Worship, and more…and it was awesome. These events and environments created a great deal of momentum, yet it was also physically and emotionally draining to our staff and volunteers. Because we focused so much energy on these environments, we focused less time and energy on our weekend services, small groups and service teams. In January our staff agreed to focus our energies on these three environments as well as one Night of Worship and one GroupLink event for the remainder of the ministry year.
Q: Will we bring these other environments back?
A: We don’t have a definite answer on this. We do intend to bring back some of these environments because they are an incredible way to connect people and create an incredible experience for our community. As we bring environments back, we will let you know.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us. Email or Call (707.545.7344) anytime.
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