11 months ago we planted St. Andrew’s City Church which meets at the Music Farm in Charleston, SC. Over the years we have had a hand in re-plants, we have sent folks out to be a part of plant teams, and now, with City Church, I’d have to say that we have developed a real joy and commitment to the church planting process.
This past Sunday marked the expansion of services from one to two (9 & 11 am) at City Church. Making the jump on a holiday weekend had me a bit curious to see how well attended the second service would be. So, I was delighted when I learned that the attendance this past Sunday crested 370 (120 at 9 & 255 at 11). The Lord has been good to us!
The one question I am asked most frequently about SACC is, “what do you offer? / What is the attraction?” And the simple answer is this: we have no idea why SACC has taken off the way it has – other than simply the favor of the Lord. We offer a Sunday morning worship experience and LifeGroups (by intention and design). That’s it. No programming. No nursery. No Sunday School. No mid-week fill-in-the-blank (heck, no building). Of necessity, people have to be involved and actively serving the body, and, local mission is engaged through our LifeGroups. In addition to the missional nature of our LifeGroups, they also provide primary pastoral care and give individuals an opportunity to identify and employ their gifts. The Sunday Celebrations are the gathering of our LifeGroups – the “temple-sized” celebration where we worship the Lord, giving Him thanks as we recount what He has done and is doing in our lives. It’s low maintenance but high accountability. It’s structurally lightweight but high on invitation.
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Could you add a description of your typical Sunday Celebration and your typical Life Group? Include a description of your Sunday Celebration support ministries and a description of the population segment or segments that you are reaching. Do you have many children in the congregation and what are you doing for them, if anything, on Sunday morning and during Life Group meetings? Do you have Life Groups for children and teens? How is the church supporting parents and other caregivers in leading their children to faith and growing as new believers/new disciples? What pre-evangelism,if any, are parents/other caregivers doing? If you sort some of these things out, it will give you a better idea of where and how the Holy Spirit is at work in the church. It will also give others a better idea of the model that you are using and help them in determining whether the Holy Spirit might work through that model in their area. Sharing this information and similar information is one way that you can contribute to the upbuilding of the Church. You may also want to address the critical questions: “Are we seeing gospel growth as well as numberical growth? How are we impacting the community in which God has placed us?”