Clover Hill Commitments (Pt. 3)
Clover Hill Commitments (Pt. 3)
“…to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.” (Ephesians 3:21)
Over the last few weeks we shared the first four of our “Clover Hill Commitments”. These are six dimensions of life together that we want to pursue as a new church. Each commitment is intentionally framed as a “both/and”, rather than an “either/or”. But we’re not pursuing balance, we’re pursuing fullness. We don’t want each commitment to receive an equal 50%/50% split of our focus and energy. Rather, we want to pursue these commitments with fullness, 100% focused on each aspect of our life together as a church!
The final two we’ll look at this week are “Neighbors and Nations”, and “Word and Deed Ministry”.
Neighbors and Nations
The Lord Jesus has given the church our marching orders in the Great Commission, so we want to make disciples of both the nations and our neighbors. We pray that the gospel will impact all of Blount County and all the world. We seek to fulfill this mission both globally through intentional efforts in cross-cultural missions for the sake of the name of Christ. We fulfill this locally through individual evangelism, corporate outreach, and church planting/church multiplication. Our deepest desire is for our great God and Savior to be worshiped and adored by every person and every people group, both here in East Tennessee and to the ends of the earth!
Word and Deed Ministry
We desire to bear witness to the gospel through a ministry of both word and deed. We proclaim the good words of the gospel, and we live out the good works that adorn the gospel. We pursue strategies of courageous witness paired with social action to show the supreme value of Christ to fallen people and fallen culture. We are committed to the expository preaching of the whole counsel of God, as we also show compassion to relieve human suffering, near and far, in order to show the justice, mercy, and soul-satisfying beauty of Christ — forever. The truth we believe and proclaim (orthodoxy), and the way we live (orthopraxy), go hand in hand together as our church reaches out holistically to the world.
The Lord be with you all this week!
“The Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;
the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.” (Numbers 6:24-26)
News/Events
TOMORROW - Core Group in the Park - Save the date! We’ll have one final core group meeting before the launch of Clover Hill! On Monday 10/30 we’ll meet at the Pearson Springs park pavilion from 6:00-7:00pm. This is for everyone who is going to Clover Hill! We’ll open the Word, sing praises, and hear a few final updates about the plant. You can read more HERE, along with the short video below. See y’all tomorrow!
NEW - The Bergquist/Esmark Growth Group is now meeting on Sunday nights from 5:30-7:30pm. If you’re not currently in a group, this is a great time to join one that’s going to Clover Hill! If Sunday nights don’t work for you, you can find a list of growth groups HERE. (The Clover Hill groups are marked with an *asterisk*)
NEW - Giving Opportunities: If you sense the Lord leading you to give above and beyond your regular giving, you can read about several specific giving opportunities that will help launch Clover Hill in the document below.
We also want to praise God that a member of our body has already pledged around $11,000 towards the security system (which only leaves about $3,000 more for that particular expense)! We are so thankful for the Lord's gracious provision and the abundant generosity of you, our precious faith family.
If you would like to meet one of these giving opportunities or contribute to them, please contact Amy Houser at amy.houser@therocc.org to let her know which need you will be covering.
UPDATE - Clover Hill Women’s Study- The Bible is one big, beautiful story from Genesis to Revelation! Join us as we take a six-week journey through four major themes of the Bible with Greg Gilbert's book "The Epic Story of the Bible". We will meet at Clover Hill on Monday evenings from 6:30-8:00pm, starting November 6th. Books are $5. Please sign up on Church Center. For more info, contact Martie Thomas or Nikki Moore.
UPDATE - Prayer Meetings: We meet to pray together on the 1st and 3rd Mondays of each month for Clover Hill. We’ll meet for prayer again next Monday (November 6th) from 6:30-7:15pm at the new building (713 William Blount Dr.).
Launch Date & Service Time - The official launch date for Clover Hill’s first worship service has been set for Sun, Dec 3. We will have one service that begins at 10:30am.
Online Bookstore: Our church is committed to making disciples, and one way we can help each other follow Jesus is through reading Scripture and reading good books. We have partnered with 10ofThose.com to feature biblical resources recommended by our elders on topics like theology, Christian living, marriage, and family. You can access the online bookstore HERE.
Prayer:
Pray for the Lord to show you how you can serve our church and community through both word and deed.
Pray that Clover Hill will foster a community of discipleship, both here and around the world.
Pray for the Lord to raise up missionaries from our own church body.
Pray for the renovation project and the volunteers that are helping. The drywall is finished the security system is now installed.
Resources:
Bear Witness in Word and Deed - Amy Dimarcangelo (Article)
“The good news is too good to keep to ourselves, and we’re called to bear witness to it in both word and deed. To be truly gospel-centered, we must be gospel-transformed. We must preach the good news and be devoted to good works for the glory of his name.”
“A missions conference geared for 18-25 year olds and their leaders. January 3-5, 2024. Louisville, KY. Join us as we exult in the God who brings life out of death and joy out of sorrow. Together we are called to worship and to bear witness, that our coming and conquering King might be known and adored by the nations.”
The Bacheller Family
We’re very excited as a church that we can partner with Ben and Becky Bacheller (and their wonderful children) as our first missionaries to support through Clover Hill! You can subscribe to their newsletter HERE. Please pray for them, and it’s always great when they get an encouraging email from their folks in their sending churches.