The Long Haul – Part 1

The Purpose Driven ministry model is not designed to be a quick fix. It requires time and dedication – kind of like our commitment to Christ. There will be times of tension, as there are when ever there is change in a church. Evergreen has asked that even those who are already members go through the 101 seminar. Many members have gone through the seminar and enjoyed it. Some never will… that alright.

The advantages of the Purpose Driven model are many. I have already focused on the five many components of the model. However, there are other advantages to having a church move in this direction. One benefit is that the church has a set of core values. The expectations for Evergreen’s members are:

• Knowing God
• Attentive love
• Covenant Friendship
• Nurturing families
• Contagious Joy
• Healthy lifestyles
• Keeping commitments
• Purposeful mission/evangelism
• Enduring faith
• Whole-hearted worship
• Continuous spiritual growth.

We have expectations for the members of Evergreen Presbyterian Church! Think for a moment… most civic organizations have higher expectations for their members than do churches. We should be embarrassed! My Dad use to be very involved in Rotary. He never missed a meeting. If he missed a meeting he was fined! When out of town on business he would try to find a Rotary meeting to attend. The members of Rotary give regularly of their time and $$$. Imagine a church having expectations like Rotary. Imagine a church “fining” a member for missing a worship service. Imagine a church removing someone from its membership for missing five or six times in a row. Imagine Rotary putting up with someone who continually caused problems—they wouldn’t! Yet, church after church has lower expectations for its members than does Rotary, the Elks or Kiwanis.

The core values communicate that Jesus expects a lot from us. The core values communicate that Evergreen has expectations of its members.