Heritage Weekly for March 18, 2009

Dear Family,

I sent the following letter to families in the Rockford area that might be interested in seeing a church be planted in their area. Lord willing we will be holding an informational meeting on April 19th at 3:30 p.m. in Rockford. If there are any families that would be interested in attending in order to describe what being in a family integrated church is like let me know.

Rockford Church Plant Informational Meeting

Heritage of Faith Church of Sugar Grove (HOFC-SG) has begun the process of prayerfully investigating the possibility of planting a family integrated church in the Rockford, Illinois area. The first informational meeting is tentatively planned for Sunday, April 19th at 3:30 p.m. The location has not yet been determined. This will be a time to meet some of the people from HOFC and ask questions about the plans for the church plant in Rockford. Our desire as a church is always to do the will of our Father in heaven and to do all things in submission to Him. We, therefore, move forward with this process for the following reasons:

Fulfill the Great Commission
We desire to see a church planted in order to obey the Great Commission which Christ gave to His disciples (Matt 28:18-20). As we read about the first disciples’ fulfillment of this command in the book of Acts, we see them planting churches as the reach of the gospel expands beyond Jerusalem (Acts 11:19ff; 16:25ff, 17:1-9, etc). Evangelism is most effective when it is connected to a local church and under the authority of church leadership.

In addition, we believe that an important part of the great commission is “making disciples”. Discipleship, in our opinion, is the overriding imperative of the commission and the area upon which we should focus. With this in mind, we see family integrated churches (FICs), as an instrument for equipping and encouraging discipleship in the home as step one of fulfilling the Great Commission.

Much of the discouraging news about the state of the evangelical church in America can be traced to a lack of discipleship in the home. According to one study done by the Southern Baptists, somewhere around 80% of young people from Christian families leave the faith by the end of their freshman year in college. Every generation must defend the faith anew if the faith is be sustained. Parents cannot follow Christ for their children and they certainly cannot be there every time someone challenges their faith as adults. It is a culture of discipleship that will prepare the future generations to defend the faith once delivered to the saints (Jude 1:3).

See families in fellowship in a local church
More and more Christian families are catching the vision for living a Deuteronomy 6 lifestyle of walking with their children in a discipling relationship. They are discovering that it takes a great deal of effort and time with their children. They are also discovering that shared experience—whether in labor, recreation or worship—is one of the best ways to disciple their children. The problem occurs when the church is not willing or able to support that type of relationship. Families feel ostracized and isolated even in the church. This is not always the church’s fault, but it has certainly become a problem.

We have discovered in planting HOFC that there are many families that have given up on the local church after years of searching. They have grown weary of trying to find a church that would accept them as a unit and minister to their needs as a family rather than as individuals. The end result is families missing out on the blessing of local church membership and churches missing out on godly families ministering in their midst.

A church plant in the Rockford area would be a community of believers coming together to minister, and be ministered to, as families. While house churches of 2-3 families can be helpful for a time, we believe it important to be a part of a true church demonstrating the biblical marks of a church. These marks of a true church include ordained leadership (God called and local church recognized), administration of the Lord’s Supper and baptism (the sacraments or ordinances), preaching of the Word, and church discipline.

God’s glory
Ultimately, and most importantly, we desire to plant another local, family integrated church to bring glory to God. He alone is worthy of all praise, honor and glory and it is our duty and the goal of the Great Commission to bring more and more worshippers into the church to worship Him. So we want to plant a church in the Rockford area to see more people gathering on the Lord’s Day to praise His name.

In addition, a successful church plant is only possible if He wills it to be so and if He providentially makes the details work out. If He is pleased to use weak, sinful people to build a church all the glory and laud for the success of that church will be His and His alone.

Eventual independence from HOFC-SG
The church in Rockford would initially operate under the auspices of HOFC in Sugar Grove. This would allow for oversight by the elders of HOFC. This also will allow HOFC-SG to maintain the finances of the Rockford church plant and to provide for the necessary elements of worship (hymnals, etc.). HOFC will also provide pulpit supply with Pastor Christensen preaching regularly.

Eventually, however, the goal would be to raise up in the Rockford area local leaders who would one day take over the leadership of the church. We believe that we must equip fathers to be the leaders in their homes. Once they are successfully leading in their homes, they will be qualified to lead in the church. The home is the training ground for future church leaders (I Tim. 3 & Titus 2).

Please feel free to contact Pastor Vaughn Christensen or Mike and Dawn McGirk if you would like more information about the church planting effort. You can reach the McGirks at (815) 393-4404 or Vaughn at (630) 346-2060.

In Christ’s service,

The Elders of Heritage of Faith Church

This week’s (13th week) memory verses: John 7:37-38

(Review: Proverbs 3:5-6; Psalms 16:11; Ephesians 2:8-10; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Micah 6:8; Psalm 86:11-12; Romans 11:36; Philippians 2:5-11; Hebrews 4:15-16; 1 John 1:7-9; Psalm 63:1-4)
*If you have fallen behind or haven’t begun, don’t get discouraged! Skip to this week’s verse and start from there. Ask the Lord to help you to be diligent in hiding His Word in your heart.

><>><>><> 3/22 LORD’S DAY<><<><<><

Sermon:
1 Timothy 1:18-20 Fight the Good Fight

Hymns:
P 354 Leaning on the Everlasting Arms
P 227 Thine is the Glory
P 274 Break Thou the Bread of Life
P 8 Praise to the Lord, the Almighty
P 623 Gloria Patria

><> OTHER NEWS & ANNOUNCEMENTS <><

Announcements:
- The coin collection bottles for the Pregnancy Information Center (PIC) are due this Sunday. Please bring them to church so the Vejvodas can collect them. I believe the value of coins they can hold is approximately $20.

Upcoming Events:
3/21 – Mother/Daughter Tea Party @ Christensen home – 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
3/25 – Ladies fellowship @ Emrick home – 7:30 p.m.
3/28 – Men’s breakfast @ Harner’s Bakery Restaurant – 6 a.m.
4/5 – Fellowship meal following service
4/5 – HOFC Annual Meeting following meal
4/12 – Waubonsee campus closed
4/12 – no teaching time
4/12 – Service at Chapel on the Green, Yorkville – 10 a.m.