CORE N E WS LE T T E R
Hey Gang!
9/4/19
Did You Know...?
Welcome to the very first edition of our “Core News” for those who are part of the Core of College Heights. This newsletter serves two purposes. The first purpose of the newsletter is to communicate inside information to those who are not on staff but who have heart ownership of the mission and vision of College Heights Christian Church. That is you. And we recognize that we cannot fulfill God’s mission and vision for his church if we do not partner with you in unleashing and empowering your gifts for the sake of the kingdom. For this partnership to work, it requires trust. Trust in staff leadership, elder leadership, and trust in volunteer leaders. And at the very heart of trust is good, healthy communication. So we want to give you as much pertinent information as we can so you can be aware of the exciting things that are happening, the prayer needs, and the areas where we need improvement. This monthly newsletter is to improve communication with you and we will evaluate at the end of the calendar year its effectiveness. The second purpose is to provide feedback loops on things that are you are seeing that we might be missing. We, the staff and eldership, cannot see everything in a church our size. It is impossible. So we need your eyes to help us learn what our blindspots are so that we can fix them. You all are the right group to help us continuously improve because you have heart ownership of our mission and vision. You have sacrificed money, time, resources, blood, sweat and tears. And I believe that feedback comes from those that have heart ownership, yet criticism comes from consumers. You are not consumers. That is why each edition of the newsletter will provide an avenue for you all to give feedback directly to me, to celebrate wins when you see others commit “KRIMES” (See the article on “Reporting KRIMES for more info), and to inform us of things that are going on that we might not be aware of, both good and bad. Thank you for all that you do. And I hope this monthly communication is another way we can partner with each other on making disciples of Jesus who change the world.
Hey Sy! I’d like you to know...
Less Then Half The Debt! At the start of the 2018-2019 fiscal year, the church owed debt of $2.05 million. A major goal of the Spark campaign is to eliminate that debt. As of July 31, 2019, we have cut the debt in half; we now owe just $950,000!
I’d like to give feedback
Solar Powered! In July we began receiving electricity from the field of solar panels at the north end of our property. By utilizing solar power, we expect to save about $20,000 during the first 12 months. We paid nothing to have the solar panels installed. The solar company approached us, has paid all the costs for the system, and will pay for all maintenance for 25 years. The system will provide nearly the same amount of electricity as we have been purchasing from the electric utility. The solar company installed a 452.1 kW solar energy system, and will also soon install a battery energy storage system. The battery will be large enough to essentially offset our current utility demand charges. In exchange, we will purchase electricity from the solar company, rather than from Liberty Utilities. As mentioned, our costs will be lower than they were with Liberty. In addition, our annual electricity cost will not increase for the next 25 years!
Kids Swap Rooms In recent years our Elementary children have used the Chapel for most of their programming, and our Kindergarten and Pre-K children were tucked away in a corner near the cafeteria. Parents had to walk long distances from the Atrium to the areas where they drop off children, especially if they had kids in more than one area. Guests were sometimes confused as to where to find their children after worship. In July our kids changed locations in the building, improving the experience of families in dropping off and picking up their kids. All drop off points are now just a short walk from the Atrium and our children are in more secure environments behind locked doors. By changing locations, we have been given opportunities to change how we do programming, which has been a blessing and brought about welcome improvements. Kids have more choices in their experiences, such as choosing between a quiet or active space to start their day, and choosing between a game or craft during our lesson connection activities. We appreciate the support of the church body and are thankful for adjustments made by our entire church family so that these improvements could be realized!
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Reporting KRIMES Over the last two years, we as a leadership have established six values that we believe represent who we have been, who we are, and who we desire to become for the future. Every week, the entire staff in their regular team meetings shares stories of people in their ministries living out these values, celebrating little wins of how we are “Committing KRIMES” against the status quo, turning the world upside down one ordinary moment at a time. Our desire is to tell you all stories of how different people in our church are living out the mission of making disciples who change the world through living out these values. Our hope is that the feedback button at the bottom of this article will empower you to have eyes to see people living out these values and that you will report them to us so that we can celebrate our mission being lived out each and every day. Here are the values and a short description:
K
Kingdom Influence. Everyone has kingdom influence and has been created by God with a plan to be used for his mission, changing the world around them and beyond them.
Raise Up and Send Out. Over the decades, we as a church have raised up kids, pastors, missionaries, and church planters to be sent out all around the world with the good news of Jesus. And we only want to see us grow in this area even more, because the true measure of a church is not her seating capacity but her sending capacity.
R
Inclusive of Others. We will always be exclusive on Jesus, but we also learned from him to be inclusive of others, no matter their background. This comes directly from Paul’s instructions to us in Romans 12:13 to “practice hospitality.” The word for practice is the same Greek word that means “the fervent pursuit after something”. We don’t want to just welcome someone who shows up to our church on the weekend, but we want to fervently pursue hospitality to everyone in our community from every background.
I
Multiply on Every Level. If the knowledge of the glory of the Lord is to fill the whole earth, then the only way for that to happen is for us to be a church that multiplies on every level. This means we make disciples who multiply other disciples; we reproduce campuses that reproduce other campuses; and we plant churches that plant other churches.
M
Environments for Learning. Ever since the beginning of College Heights, we have created environments for people to learn about who God is, what he desires, and what his mission is for us. This means we teach the Bible to kids, we create short-term trips for people to learn about the grand mission of God, and we invite interns and residents to do ministry with us so that we can raise up the next generation of workers to be sent out.
E
Strategy is Prayer. Jesus says that apart from him we can do nothing. If we truly want to be a part of something that lasts for eternity, then the only way to do that is to pray the big audacious prayers of God, allowing our relationship with him that is the foundation for everything we do, for it is out of that overflow we are able to partner with God in his making everything new.
S
These are our values as a church, and we are convinced that if we live these out and celebrate when we see each other living them out, we will truly see ordinary disciples change the world in extraordinary ways. Thanks for your partnership in committing KRIMES for the kingdom of God to turn this fallen world upside down.
chjoplin
I’d like to report a KRIME!
chjoplin