Wednesday, September 24th, 2008
Grace Rivers Development
Our plans are working out well. After just three meetings, our Steering Committee has made a tremendous amount of progress. I think the most important progress we have made is in effectively embracing the spirit of Grace Rivers. I truly believe that when the development team understands the concept of Grace Rivers, the rest will fall into place. I am thrilled to see this begin to take shape.
Our Steering Committee representation, myself and Todd Posey will be meeting with an attorney to begin the process of corporate applications and non-profit status applications. Thank you for praying for this very important part of our development process.
Todd Posey and I will be meeting for two whole days to develop a specific plan of implementation for Grace Rivers on Tuesday and Wednesday, September 29th and 30th. Please pray for God’s anointing on our time together.
Our Steering Committee has agreed to a final draft for our vision statement, mission statement, and our core values. See below:
Vision Statement:
Seeking God’s grace in our lives so that we can share it with others.
Mission Statement:
Grace Rivers is a worldwide ministry actively stirring the body of Christ towards healthier relationships and spiritual growth by helping people become more honest and real with themselves, others and God using biblical principles, resulting in a more passionate response to fulfilling the great commission.
Grace Rivers – Core Values
This is a draft of the Core Values that we will adhere to as a ministry. We honor them in order to keep communications and relationships within the leadership safe, honest and open, and to show respect and love to each person present.
pursue personal evaluation of one’s own motives and attitudes. (Luke 6:45;) Authenticity
practice honest, open, yet loving communication with each other that comes out of an internal honesty. Honesty (John 8:32)
refrain from talking at and preaching or teaching to one another, but rather will keep the focus on one’s own issues and feelings. (Matthew 7:1-5) Non-Judgmental
actively participate with respectful listening, personal input, and attentiveness. (James 1:19) Active Participation
refrain from attacking or demeaning another’s character. (Romans 12:10) Honor
put off responding defensively if confronted by another until enough time has passed to pray and reflect over what has been said. (James 1:19,20) Transparency
maintain strict confidentiality with regard to personal matters that come up within their time together, whether at conferences, with participants, or generally about personal and church matters. (Proverbs 11:13) Confidentiality
show sensitivity and give affirmation when someone has chosen to speak out in an honest and vulnerable way. (John 13:34) Sensitivity
stop any distracting behaviors (eating, gum chewing, drinking, fidgeting, doodling) when someone else is requiring focused attention – and electronic devices during all meetings. Respect
Tags: Core Values, mission, mission statement, vision, vision statement
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Monday, September 1st, 2008
Grace Rivers Develeopment
Your prayers this week have definitely been heard! As of Thursday I discovered a practical plan of how to establish the ministry of Grace Rivers. After meetings with advisors some things really became clear for me.
I also had a very productive and encouraging meeting this last Saturday that laid a foundation for what Grace Rivers actually can become!
Please read through this entire letter to find out exactly how your prayers are being answered.
Last week was very productive for Grace Rivers development. Thank you so much for your prayers. I have contacted six men to ask them to consider being part of the initial “Steering Committee” for the development of Grace Rivers. Five of the six have already confirmed their interest and I have set up meetings this week with each of them to further discuss the plan of the Steering Committee. I can’t tell you how encouraged I am to have these particular men walk alongside me in making Grace Rivers a reality.
A man named Todd Posey contacted me about six weeks ago to see if I could help him develop a ministry within his church that would set a place for more authentic and honest relationships. Todd and his wife, Ann went through the Radical Living program at Love In Action about five years ago and really wanted something like this for their church. This initial phone call has ended up in hours of meetings and phone calls with Todd. Todd has become my right hand man, helping me greatly to develop Grace Rivers. He has experience in marketing, business, budgeting, and inter church relationships. He definitely brings to this project the experience and personality that merges with mine to help fill in the gaps.
On Saturday, Todd, Scotty Bollinger (Word Creative, my web designer) and I had a five hour brainstorming session to talk about what Grace Rivers really is designed to do. Out of this time together we developed a rough draft of a mission statement.
Grace Rivers is a worldwide ministry actively stirring the body of Christ towards healthier relationships and spiritual growth by helping people become more honest and real with themselves, others and God using biblical principles, resulting in a more passionate response to fulfilling The Great Commission.
Grace Rivers is a model of communication, tools for healthy relationships, and teaching materials to support its model. I can see it working in virtually any church to help implement the mission statement we drafted. It can be implemented into small groups, topical groups, home groups, Bible studies and also includes a recovery model for the needs of those who are stuck in destructive life patterns.
The wonderful thing about Grace Rivers is that it is not designed for recovery, rather for practical Christian growth and discipleship. This allows for less of a stigma for those wanting to join a Grace Rivers group with all of the benefits and depth of honesty of many recovery groups. The exciting thing about this is that many more people might find significant Christian growth through Grace Rivers.
The other component of Grace Rivers is the outcome of dramatically increased spread of the gospel. I hear from the world that the Church is full of hypocrites and dishonesty. Well – Grace Rivers addresses these concerns by helping us take our masks off and get more real. The byproduct of this is more effective relating with others outside the church.
Please pray for:
• My meetings with the Steering Committee members this week
• Meetings with staff members of Central Church here in Memphis this week
• Further development of the foundation elements of Grace Rivers – I want to do this RIGHT!
Tags: Development, mission statement, prayers, steering committee
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