Some years ago now we wrote and sent a letter to the members in our church as were at a point where the church was about to make a shift in terms of the size and dynamics of the church. I think it still works because it spells out what it might look like in our context for someone to be a contributor and not a consumer of church. It’s attempting to ground in a gentle, warm but clear way how an individual or family might feel involved in the life of a church, including three core investments.

Here is a draft of what we sent (some historic details have been edited out)

Dear ……

We’re really grateful that you’re a part of the Grace Church family and I wanted to take this opportunity to share with you some of the many things we’ve been working on and to invite you to be a part of the next chapter of our story.

Recently I was having lunch with some friends and it was interesting how each of us approached the same issue from a different angle. One focused on the ‘what’, another the ‘why’ and I was very much focused on the ‘how.’ But the truth is we need to answer all of those questions. So here are some thoughts about us as Grace Church:

Why? We exist to glorify Jesus and by making Him known everywhere.

What? By being a vibrant living expression of a New Testament church throughout Stockholm. See our values on our website for a reminder of the things that are precious to us

How? We seek to reach the city of Stockholm with the love of Jesus by making disciples & multiplying Christian communities that connect together for the good of the city and the glory of God. We want to see a church map that looks something like the rail network map – so that everyone, everywhere is close to a community of disciples.

We’re working hard to make sure the things we do either strengthen the culture of our family around our values or help us towards our mission. We’ve a long way to go but we’re confident that we’re moving in the right direction. Here are 3 key ways you could respond to this:

Invest in yourself: Now this might sound selfish but what we mean by that is we want to encourage you to take your spiritual development as seriously as any other area of your life and to invest in, make time for it, train in it. Just as much as you would your body, your family, your home, your career. Following Christ is our highest calling and greatest privilege. It’s worth investing in. One way is by committing to a small group. It’s one way we encourage everyone to do the fundamental ingredients of Christian discipleship – confessing our sins, outreach to unbelieving friends, reading scripture and being obedient to the Spirit’s leading. It’s not obligatory but we urge you to make sure there’s time in your day, week and month for intentionally growing in your following of Christ. We are all disciples.

Invest in the mission: There’s a lost and broken world all around us, and we don’t want to simply huddle up and shut our eyes and ears to the world around us. God has sent you and us to the world. Our hope is to equip each one of us in Grace Church to be confident in making disciples where you are: in the schools your kids go to, the businesses you work in, the communities you live in, the leisure activities you get involved in. The sports groups, meet up groups, book clubs, networks you’re a part of are all places for us to engage with and share our faith with people who don’t know Jesus. We’ve invested in training in church planting and supporting other church plants in Sweden. We want you to see yourself as part of this mission of God in the ordinary stuff of your life, every day. We are all missionaries. 

Invest with us:  We’ve learned (the hard way) that just as we spread out we also need to find ways of holding together so that we strengthen our sense of family, deepen our values and culture and create ways to involve more people and share more gifts. So Sunday gatherings are important but they are not the only important thing. We’ll work hard to try and keep that balance right. Through new prayer times, through sharing prayer needs, and raising money for needs within the family we want to be a genuine family. We are all part of a family.

There’s a lot happening and we would love you to be a part of this. Here are a few ways that you could respond:

1. Be a part of a small group. It’s key, we don’t follow Christ alone.
2. Share stories of God at work. Hearing stories of opportunities to pray, share, steps of faith, meeting with God in the everyday stuff of life encourages us all to do the same. From small things to big things. Let’s encourage each other with what God is doing.
3. Get involved. We need you, we’re better when you show up and even more so when your unique gifts & talents are put to good use serving the body of Christ. From serving on a Sunday to starting a mission group, there are lots of ways you can make us stronger.
4. Give.  Giving is important, it’s part of our worship. Grace Church only runs from the giving of it’s family members. So if you consider Grace Church your family do please consider giving to the work we do together.

I’m excited about the future God has for us – as we learn together to be a family together on a mission, I hope you are too.

Phil