Changes...

Hi ICCJ! I want to inform you about some changes that are being made which are designed to improve our serving people as a Church. We have prayed, researched and considered all of the ramifications for many months and are instituting these changes, knowing that God has been involved in this process.

1) Limited Announcements: the only announcements that will be made are for urgent items (such as a change in date or venue for a function) or special items (such as promoting a retreat). For normal ministry information, please visit the information table.

2) Shorter Services: the 1st service is designed to be a 90 minute service. Previously, the 2nd service was designed to be 120 minutes. The 2nd service will now normally be 90 minutes but with the flexibility to go to 120 minutes depending on “God’s Flow” in the service. The 1st service of the month is expected to last 105 minutes because of serving Communion.

2.a) However, I want to assure you that we will never quench the Spirit of God, and so when the Lord is moving in worship or through a message or prayer time, we will allow this 2nd service to go longer.

3) CARE Emphasis: we are emphasizing the CARE ministry (Home Groups) above all other week-day ministries. Though we appreciate every ministry at ICCJ, God has been very clear that the CARE style of ministry is extremely effective because it BUILDS COMMUNITY and gives everyone an opportunity to BE a MINISTER.

4) Thursday Service Change Coming: April 24 will be the final Thursday night regular service. There will be no more regular Thursday night services beginning May 1. Instead, a prayer service will be conducted every other week on Wednesdays. We will emphasize this change closer to the time. The goal is that for those who choose to join, Wednesday is “Church Night” and Thursday is “Family Night.” And so Prayer and CARE are on the same night of the week, alternating from week to week. If anyone gets confused and comes to Bellagio on a CARE week, the CARE group at Bellagio will be meeting in the sanctuary foyer and all will be welcome to attend.

The items listed above were hi-lighted in the bulletin, but I wanted to share more with those of you who "need" to understand the reasons in greater detail:

Though our purpose includes ministering to existing members, our greater purpose is to reach the un-churched. Most of our current members enjoy 2 or even 2 1/2 hour services, but visitors do not. And since our greater purpose is to reach them, this is why we are initiating the change of normally limiting the services to 90 minutes and eliminating unnecessary items.

CARE ministry has been extremely effective and I have often advised people that I would rather, should they have to choose, that they attend a CARE group then any other week-day ministry. This is so that community can be emphasized, relationships strengthened and all who participate have the opportunity not only to be ministered to but also to touch someone elses life. If all of the people who previously regularly attended the Thursday night prayer meeting stopped coming and went to CARE meetings instead, I would be pleased. Please hear me out on this. All of the meetings we conduct in the Church including CARE meetings ARE prayer meetings and more. In the days at ICCJ prior to the time that we had a CARE ministry, the many previous Pastors would disciple the people primarily at the mid-week prayer meeting or in the Women's and Men's ministries. As the CARE ministry has developed, the primary place for discipleship in the Church has shifted. We recognize this and are simply doing what the scriptures describe as "putting new wine in new wine skins."

But this is not a replacement of a prayer meeting, men's or women's ministry. What I am anticipating for many is a deeper commitment by both groups of people...those who have been attending the Prayer Meeting and those who have been attending CARE groups. For the Thursday night Prayer Meeting attendees, this is an opportunity to join an interactive CARE group and become more involved in relationships within the Church... and to continue joining the prayer meeting on alternating weeks. For those who have been in CARE groups, they will now be able to dedicate every Wednesday evening as a time given not only in serving others but also in further developing their prayer life.

Our entire staff and our Pastors have for the most part been attending the Prayer Meeting and not the CARE groups with the exception of Pastor Rishi. This is because of our truly heavy schedules which often include being at the Church as a staff until late night most Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and a very early start on Sundays. We will all be joining CARE groups/Prayer now on Wednesdays, freeing up our Thursdays for family time and are all excited about developing the new relationships destined to be forged in the homes of ICCJ... just as the Bible describes as primary ministry in the early Church in the book of Acts.

For those who will miss the Thursday night gathering who do not need this time with family, might I suggest going out into the world and being salt and light and doing something evangelistic? Maybe having dinner with people who you can then invite to your CARE group after you develop trust? By the way, did you know that most of the salvations these last 2 years at ICCJ occurred because of CARE groups? Pre-believers are more likely to come to a home gathering then to a Church facility.

Thank you for your loyalty and support ICCJ! Thank you for allowing us to put new wine into new wine skins. The old wine skins though they were perfect in the past are not to be re-filled now. Please join me in emphasizing and participating in CARE groups. This is not to say that our other week-day ministries are not valued. They are and they are helping specific people in a mighty way. But if you must choose between joining one or another ministry, please choose to join a CARE group.