The Wheatland Mission

What Are "Working Groups"?

The Wheatland Mission is a young church and as a result there are issues within our church that we have yet to address. There are obvious concerns that have to be addressed immediately and have been. These include such issues as where are we going to meet? What about ministry to our children? What about money? However, there are other concerns that we need to address as a church that are not quite so obvious but just as important.

Starting right after the beginning of the New Year there will be three teams of people organized into what are called "Working Groups". (Pretty inventive title isn't it?) These three "Working Groups" are going to help The Wheatland Mission accomplish some important tasks in the early life of our community. These three teams are going to identify key issues in these three areas: membership, statement of faith and structure.

Each working group will consist of 6-8 people who are 1) committed to The Wheatland Mission; 2)willing to do some studying on the subject of their group; 3) and able to meet at least once a month for a 2-3 hour session. These groups are going to last for a few months as we identify key issues, pray about them, and make decisions regarding the future of The Wheatland Mission.

Let me explain in more detail what each of these three group are going to cover. If one of these areas is of interest to you you might want to pray about participating with us on this project.

MEMBERSHIP
Some of you have been members of various churches throughout your lifetime. Some others of you have never been a member of any church. Unfortunately, membership in a specific church body often carries little significance. The "Membership Working Group" is going to explore the significance of church membership and how TWM can make membership meaningful.

As of right now The Wheatland Mission has no means of identifying who is an official member of it. I must say, I like the "organic" nature of what we are now. However, there is still a great deal of value in official membership and I also believe that we can have it without losing our sense of being an "organic" community.

STATEMENT OF FAITH
My assumption is that most people who are a part of The Wheatland Mission feel that this is a safe place "theologically" because they trust me or because they trust people who trust me. I don't take this trust lightly. In addition, I believe it is important for us to discuss what we believe and why we believe it. There is not enough time to do this adequately during our worship gatherings. One of our "working groups" will be committed to exploring how we are going to express our statement of faith in a way that is clear and concise. (And, this should go without saying, orthodox.)

Sometimes a statement of faith for a church or organization is written in techinical language that is not easily understood by those involved in the church. Furthermore, and this is unfortunately true much of the time, the statement of faith is simply not very practical. I have heard Christians make comments like this one, "Sure I believe in the Trinity but that doesn't really matter in my everyday life." In order for our statement of faith to be meaningful we also need to identify how it is practical for our everyday lives. The "Statement of Faith Working Group" is going to give attention to this important detail as well.

STRUCTURE
How is The Wheatland Mission organized? As of right now the The Wheatland Mission has one official employee, me. It has a financial team, children's ministry team, and four corporation signers. Beyond that we are not structured to any other degree than what circumstances dictate. Our "Structure Working Group" is designed to aid us in the organization of our ministry in the realm of leadership and accountability.

It is my desire that we not add unnecessary structures and systems. This mitigates against a Spirit directed, organic, (there is that word again) community of faith. However, structure and leadership are necessary. It is our desire to identify a form of governance and structure that is not only biblical but also consistent with the way God is directing our church.

If you have reached to the end of this post please stop, stretch, and then pat yourself on the back. AND, if you are interested in helping out in one of these "working groups" please respond to me directly at thewheatlandmission@cox.net. The only requirements are that you be able to commit some time and effort to study and discussion, that you commit time and effort to the work of prayer for The Wheatland Mission, and that you consider yourself committed to The Wheatland Mission.

What these teams produce is going to greatly direct our ministry and our future. Don't underestimate the importance of what these groups will be doing. Even more, don't underestimate what you can contribute to these vital discussions and to the life of our church.

Addendum:
A lot of the books and resources that have helped me identify the direction we are going as a church are listed below. Some of these are also going to be used in our "working groups". If you are interested in what kind of church we are becoming you might be interested in checking out some of the following:

"Missional Church" by Darrel Guder, et.al.
"Call To Commitment" by Elizabeth O'Conner
"In The Name Of Jesus" by Henri J.M. Nouwen
"Life Together" by Dietrich Bonhoeffer
"Reimagining Spiritual Formation" by Doug Pagitt
"The Divine Conspiracy" by Dallas Willard
"Community 101" by Gilbert Bilezikian
Next Wave E-Zine at www.next-wave.org

posted by The Wheatland Mission @ 7:47 AM