Continuing in Faith: Identity Church's Statement of Direction
Identity Church’s Statement of Direction
The season that we are in and may possibly be in for the next few months is very unique but as I’ve prayed and asked God for guidance about it, I’ve been comforted by the thought of it being an opportunity for us to grow closer and be more focus on our mission. We will continue to see changes made, the biggest of them is that our gatherings will need to be hosted online opposed to face to face but I say in faith that this will not hurt IDENTITY CHURCH, but it will strengthen it. In an effort to keep everyone dialed in on the same page, I’ve organized a statement of direction for Identity as we go forward. Our focus will center around Care, Content and Connection.
// CARE // CONTENT // CONNECTION //
CARE
“Feed my lambs … Shepherd my sheep … Feed my sheep” John 21:15-17
My role as pastor goes far beyond Sunday morning preaching. I have been called to care for you all as a shepherd. This season offers a sweet opportunity for me to slow down and spend more energy into caring for the “flock”. I want to spend a substantial amount of time pursuing new and old ways to care for you all a lot more. With that being said, I want to share with you a few of the things that you can look forward to while we are not meeting physically and beyond this season.
· Bi-weekly Check-in’s by phone
· Video counseling calls
· Home visits (as health permits)
· Morning devotionals posted in our group
· Video counseling calls
· Home visits (as health permits)
· Morning devotionals posted in our group
We can utilize technology to have more contact and for pastoral counseling. Please utilize the “Meet with Pastor” section on our app and website to organize specific times for 1-on-1’s. This is a time where I want to grow closer to you and know more of your lives and with that, I also repent for not offering more of myself up until now. I truly find it as a joy and a privilege to care for you all and I am actively looking for more ways to do that.
Caring for One Another
Our physical bodies are wonderfully made as they are constantly at work healing, protecting and growing themselves. Our spiritual body is a reflection of God’s masterful creation, as it should look to work towards internal healing, protecting itself and growing from within. Please use this time to get better at:
· Checking in with one another directly via text, phone call, email.
· Start and have deeper conversations (Go beyond “How are things going?”)
· Asking “Is there anything I can help you with?”
· Asking about spiritual, mental and emotional health of others.
· Praying for others in our faith family more regularly.
· Start and have deeper conversations (Go beyond “How are things going?”)
· Asking “Is there anything I can help you with?”
· Asking about spiritual, mental and emotional health of others.
· Praying for others in our faith family more regularly.
CONTENT
“Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season…” 2 Timothy 4:2
With our gatherings moving online, content is more important than ever. My promise to all of you is that I will do all that I can to see that the gospel is preached well during this time and increasingly as we progress. We will be producing more content to be engaged as this season presents a balance of challenges and opportunities for members of the church and those not yet connected to a church. We need to use our content to deepen our love for Jesus, encourage our body AND reach new people for Jesus Christ. For the foreseeable future, we will produce the following forms of content to accomplish those things:
// ID: ONLINE
ID will produce a weekly online worship experience that will be hosted through our website and Facebook. It will be a self-paced experience with built in prayers, confessions and worship songs for each of us to have church at home with our families and those close to us. For those who would like to meet together at the same time, there will be a weekly broadcast in our Facebook group of the pre-recorded content. You should always be able to find the videos at www.identitydaytona.org/online.
// MDWK
We will also host a mid-week Bible study through Facebook Live.
// PRAYER WALK
Pastor Byron will also have a weekly prayer walk that will be posted online through Facebook live.
CONNECTION
“…let us grow in every way into him who is the head—Christ. 16 From him the whole body, fitted and knit together by every supporting ligament, promotes the growth of the body for building up itself in love by the proper working of each individual part.” Ephesians 4:15b-16
As we will undoubtedly spend extended periods of time away from each other in this period, let’s remember that connection is essential to growth as a family and growing in spiritual maturity. This is not a time to fall away but a time to deepen our connection. And we should use as many platforms as we can to make that possible. Our goal during this period is to Stay connected to Christ, keep connection with ID and make connections with new people for Christ.
· Be active in the Facebook group
· Interact and leave comments on the content
· Invite others into the Facebook group who may be interested in our mission.
· Call and text other members of our body in your time away from face-to-face interaction.
Questions to ask:
· How can I become better connected to the other members of Identity in this time?
· How can we be a part of using this hard season to connect others to Christ?
We will continue to use our Facebook group as our primary source of internal communication. All other communications will go through the app first, text second and email third. We may also try and use a video conferencing site to do some group discussions.
Finally, continue to engage the website as the hub of these communications.
My worries have quickly turned into excitement over what God is going to do in us and with us in this season.
I love you and thank you for reading.
-Pastor Byron
“Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season…” 2 Timothy 4:2
With our gatherings moving online, content is more important than ever. My promise to all of you is that I will do all that I can to see that the gospel is preached well during this time and increasingly as we progress. We will be producing more content to be engaged as this season presents a balance of challenges and opportunities for members of the church and those not yet connected to a church. We need to use our content to deepen our love for Jesus, encourage our body AND reach new people for Jesus Christ. For the foreseeable future, we will produce the following forms of content to accomplish those things:
// ID: ONLINE
ID will produce a weekly online worship experience that will be hosted through our website and Facebook. It will be a self-paced experience with built in prayers, confessions and worship songs for each of us to have church at home with our families and those close to us. For those who would like to meet together at the same time, there will be a weekly broadcast in our Facebook group of the pre-recorded content. You should always be able to find the videos at www.identitydaytona.org/online.
// MDWK
We will also host a mid-week Bible study through Facebook Live.
// PRAYER WALK
Pastor Byron will also have a weekly prayer walk that will be posted online through Facebook live.
CONNECTION
“…let us grow in every way into him who is the head—Christ. 16 From him the whole body, fitted and knit together by every supporting ligament, promotes the growth of the body for building up itself in love by the proper working of each individual part.” Ephesians 4:15b-16
As we will undoubtedly spend extended periods of time away from each other in this period, let’s remember that connection is essential to growth as a family and growing in spiritual maturity. This is not a time to fall away but a time to deepen our connection. And we should use as many platforms as we can to make that possible. Our goal during this period is to Stay connected to Christ, keep connection with ID and make connections with new people for Christ.
· Be active in the Facebook group
· Interact and leave comments on the content
· Invite others into the Facebook group who may be interested in our mission.
· Call and text other members of our body in your time away from face-to-face interaction.
Questions to ask:
· How can I become better connected to the other members of Identity in this time?
· How can we be a part of using this hard season to connect others to Christ?
We will continue to use our Facebook group as our primary source of internal communication. All other communications will go through the app first, text second and email third. We may also try and use a video conferencing site to do some group discussions.
Finally, continue to engage the website as the hub of these communications.
My worries have quickly turned into excitement over what God is going to do in us and with us in this season.
I love you and thank you for reading.
-Pastor Byron
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