Andover Launch Group Update January 31st

The group met last night to get an update on the happenings at Andover, talk about calendaring three high profile community events for 2007, and discuss building direction. After beginning with a time of prayer to seek God's wisdom and courage we began with a recap of the Dance Academy. Elley Fisk (Andover Outreach Coordinator) reported that the Dance Academy has 150 children registered for the Spring semester. The registration has gone well and there has been a lot of help during the evening to make it happen. She also updated the group on how well she has been received by the Andover community. Lots of wonderful people with a real interest in what is happening in the future.

We then moved to a time of looking at community events for 2007. There will be a community wide Easter Egg hunt on Saturday, March 24th. The group would like to pursue a Easter Sunrise service and pancake breakfast on Easter Sunday, April 8. We are also looking at hosting a car show and movie night on Saturday, August 3rd. And finally, the group discussed doing a Christmas concert and fundraiser for the Nathaniel Mission on Saturday, December 8th. The only event officially on the calendar is the Easter Egg hunt.

We spent time discussing the state of the current building and possibilities for refurbishing. We are currently praying through several possibilities and will update you very soon on a direction for the building and corresponding funding needs.

There is a sense of excitement that pervaded the group. As overwhelming as it might seem (rightly so!), the group felt a strong call from God to continue moving forward even more quickly. The days of "if" are behind us, we are fully focused on "when".

Look for more information very soon. Thank you in advance for your continued prayers.

Why Andover? Sunday Sermon Comments 1/28/07

Lexington has over 230 churches representing 38 denominations for approximately 260,000 people. It is fair to say that there is no short supply of places for people to worship in the city. Now, wait a second, I thought you were about to tell us why we needed to start a worship service at Andover. Right you are!

Lexington does not particularly need another worship service. But I will tell you what Lexington does need. More of you. I don't say this in a prideful way, but I mean that we are so richly blessed and have a responsibility to share with others. Lexington does need more of you.

More of your commitment to warm, vital, and traditional worship. Look around our city for a moment and you will see what we do on Sunday mornings is slowly going away. And yet, you and I both know how God is powerfully working at First Church. In the Andover area, there is not a traditional worshipping congregation presently meeting. And yet, the demographics studies show that 28% of people living within 5 miles (about 75,000 people in total) of our Andover campus would prefer a traditional worship experience. The national averages tell us to throw out half that number because they already attend church and you are left with a target audience of over 10,500 people living right around our Andover campus. And this area of town is rapidly growing faster than the national average. What I am trying to say is this: The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. The Andover community is ripe for a warm, vital traditional First Church worship service.

In addition to a commitment to warm, vital, traditional worship, Lexington needs more of your gifts and talents. We are blessed. This church is full of so many talented and gifted people. Leaders in our community and indeed our nation. Who better to reach out to our neighbors than us? Who better to accept them, encourage them, and show them that they are of invaluable worth because they are children of the God of the universe. I say again, the harvest is plentiful.

Lexington needs more of your commitment to warm, vital and traditional worship, it needs more of your gifts and talents and Lexington needs more of your love. This place is filled with people who genuinely care for each other. It is filled with people who have deep roots in this community. You understand how to make people feel welcomed and valued. You know what hospitality means. The neighborhoods right around Andover are filled with people new to the area and new to Lexington. A great need of anyone new to a place is to find a community to share life's good and bad times with, a community of people with whom to raise their children, and the ability to be an integral part of something bigger than themselves. You are so good at this. And one of the most powerful ways of showing love is being incarnational. Rather than waiting for them to come Downtown, we go to them. Jesus showed love in this manner when he left his throne in heaven and took the form of a human. Starting a service in the Andover area is a sign of our love for the people there. The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few.

Therefore, this morning, I beseech the Lord of the harvest to call forth workers from every corner of this place to join together in on an incredible journey of faith. Young and old. Single, married, and widowed. Families with kids and empty nesters. Fifty-year members and fifty day members. All are invited to join in this journey. Know that it will not be easy. It will not be without sacrifice. But nothing worthy of the calling of God ever is.

Andover FAQ #1

In an effort to respond to some of the questions about Andover that we hear, we are going to begin regularly posting Frequently Asked Questions and trying to respond to them. By the way, questions are a wonderful way to find out more about what is happening at Andover. We relish the opportunity to listen prayerfully to a question, take it to heart and see if we need to change or implement something, and then hopefully respond.

Question/Statement #1 Will the Andover emphasis pull resources, energy, and momentum away from what we are doing Downtown?

Very good question and a good word of caution. The last thing that we want to do as a church called to minister to this city is destroy what we are currently doing. In order to make sure we do not lose momentum, we will need a concerted effort of communication, patience in beginning the service, and fiscal responsibility.

Anecdotally, we have looked at other churches doing similar things (ie. multi-campus worship) and we are finding reports of increases in attendance, participation in discipleship programs along with mission and outreach activities and stewardship across all worship location sites. In fact, one such church with similarities to First Church, which happens to be under the episcopal leadership of Bishop Lindsey Davis of the North Georgia Conference, has found God moving in powerful ways through the multi-campus approach.

See the following link for the full story.(http://www.umph.org/pdfs/circuitrider/R102CBCh.pdf)

A rising tide lifts all ships is a common expression. In other words, the net effect of a new worship service at an off-site location, if done right, is positive for the entire church. Now this is not the expreience in all situations and places, but as a general rule we have found this to be true. We do need to be careful. We do need to communicate constantly. We do need to be reminded about doing anything that would compromise First Church as a whole.

After looking at all sides of this issue, we are under the conviction that starting a new worship service is 1.) faithfully living out God's mission for us to go and make disciples and is therefore, 2) good for the entire church, and finally 3.) part of our DNA for the past 218 years.

Great question, thanks for asking!

What is going on at Andover? Update for January 16, 2007

The Dance Center just finished up registration for the Spring term and again had over 200 students. Congratulations to Maura, Betsy, Kathy and the entire crew who works so hard to make this happen.

In addition, many thanks to all you who helped input names, take money, and greet the incoming students over the past two weeks. We were able to have some great conversations, get to know more folks, and hand-out copies of Together magazine which detail the "Andover Journey".

More and more people are asking, "What is going on at Andover?" as well as "How can I help?" The answer is that we continue to put together a start-up plan for a new First Church traditional worship service at the Andover site beginning sometime in 2008. We need everyone's help by praying for God to moves upon hearts.

It is our intention to keep everyone up-to-date on the progress through this blogsite along with other First Church publications. Bookmark this page and come back often.

'til next time.

Unless the Lord builds...

NLT Psalm 127:1 A song for the ascent to Jerusalem. A psalm of Solomon. Unless the LORD builds a house, the work of the builders is useless. Unless the LORD protects a city, guarding it with sentries will do no good. 2 It is useless for you to work so hard from early morning until late at night, anxiously working for food to eat; for God gives rest to his loved ones.

NIV Matthew 6:33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

These passages are a good reminder that God is the architect, the builder, the equipper, and the provider of all our needs. As for the plans at Andover: They are completely dependent upon God. Our first and greatest task is seeking God's will through prayer and meditation on Scripture. My prayer is that God will give us the heart, patience and perseverance to do just that. All our good works and hard effort are in vain if God is not in the very center of everything.

Pray today for God's will to be accomplished in your heart and in the Andover project. Pray that God will bring the right people, resources, and ideas to complete what has been given to us. Pray that God's Holy Spirit will be poured out upon the people in the Andover area.

January 5, 2007 Update

A group of people spent Wednesday evening, January 3rd, in CLEAR-UP mode at the Andover campus. We purged the remaining elements of about 10 years worth of goods from the site. In the midst of the cleaning, an office area appeared, a conference room, and ample space for additional groups to meet. A hearty thank you to all who were able to participate.

The campus is now ready for the beginning of the Spring Dance semester. Maura Jones (Dance School Director) is anticipating another group of dancers to number over 200 from about 80 families. In addition, a Home School Co-op ,which has been using the building for over a year, is also gearing up for a busy spring. It is exciting to think that the Andover site will be teaming with families and their youngsters! What a wonderful opportunity and sign for us to build upon.

The Andover Building team has asked the architecture firm Sherman Carter Barnhart to look at the existing building and give us some suggestions on remodeling. We are looking to create a traditional (looking and feeling) worship space, more dance studio area, as well as update the building which is in need of much help. More details to follow when they become available.

And finally, the next Andover Start-up group meeting will take place Tuesday night at 6:30 on January 30th at the Downtown campus. If you are interested in helping or knowing more about what is going on, this would be a good place to start.