Planting Churches: My friend Kate sent me this great talk (its not really a sermon) on planting churches by Tim Keller, and its really fascinating - tons of great information there, and there was a lot of stuff that really struck me.

First, Keller does admit that new churches can exact a cost on established churches, especially in the form of leaders that move to the new church. But he also said that statistically, 60-80% of growth for new churches comes from new believers, where 60-80% of growth for established churches comes from people that just change churches. The issue is whether we're "kingdom-minded" (more excited about the new people that come to Christ) or "tribal-minded" (more worried about the people we're losing from our church). I realized that though I want established churches in our area to be kingdom-minded, that I also need to be kingdom-minded myself, and, in particular, care most that friends find a godly, Bible-based church to attend, even if that's not my church. I'm excited about what we're doing, and about what God is doing, and want to share that, but I need to make sure I prioritize things correctly. Also, along these lines and interesting to me, the people who have committed to being a part of the Bridge Church are, for the most part, not coming from an established church in this area (with one exception). Instead, they've either moved here (like Nick, Heather, and I), they've been burned out on church in general, or they just hadn't found one.

Another thing Keller mentioned is that older churches tend to spend the majority of their time and money on the needs of existing members of their congregation, rather than trying to meet the needs of those outside of the church. He says this is only natural, and I suppose it is and that it isn't all bad, but I wonder - how do you make sure this doesn't become true? Up until now, almost everyone in our church has been super-committed and focused on reaching new people, but as we get further along in our Sunday services, I'm sure we'll have members and regular attenders who are more focused on having their needs met. I don't see us losing that focus anytime soon, mostly because I think Nick does an excellent job at promoting a vision and church culture that is outward-focused. Its hard to think that many years down the line, though.

Children's Ministry: Here's the struggle with children's ministry in a new church - it just takes so many volunteers to make it work. We had set up a schedule through March 11, with four workers each week (two in Bridge Kids, two in nursery), and we're basically using everyone who doesn't have a dedicated job during the service itself. But, based on attendance at our first service last week (8 kids who were 3 and under), we really need an additional person in the nursery each week. There's a part of me that just wants to do it myself, because I'm hesitant to ask more of the people who are already committed. And, honestly, part of the struggle is that I know that not all of these people necessarily feel called to children's ministry, and I don't like asking it of it more than I have to. Plus, we've just got a lot of people with alternative schedules, who already have to miss 3 out of every 9 weeks, and I want them to be able to experience the service. I think I'm probably making a bigger deal out of it than necessary. I love these first few services and the excitement they bring, but for the children's ministry, I'm looking forward to a bit further down the line, when we can have more volunteers to pull from.