A Poem for Anchor

A is for our amazing grace,
N is for never alone,
Cis for caring people,
H is for our second home.
O is for our Savior that we worship together each week,
R is for the respect we have for our pastor we love to hear speak.

If you are feeling lost or all alone,
if you have a problem you just can' seem to fix,
they understand at Anchor, so come jump on our ship.

We have a worship team who sings like angels,
worshipping the Lord,
a laid back place to give thanks to Christ,
through every note and chord.

Our pastor is a big fan of Starbucks,
so if not here you may find him there;
he's even brought back to Anchor
their tables and their chairs!

He has helped so many people
in so many different ways,
well to thank him,
I just don't know what to say.

Tim and his family are an inspiration to us all,
here at Anchor we love you
and will always be here
to catch you if you fall.

So thank you all for everything,
I just thought I would try to express my thanks with this little rhyme;
I fell I owe you all so much,
so when in need, just ask me anytime!

~ Tracy Fink, Sunday June 10th, 2012

Recipe for Success

Recently my Mum made 34 dozen monster cookies for the staff at Coventry Meadows Nursing Home where my dad had lived the past few months before he died. Then she made another 34 dozen monster cookies for us! And Eli got to help. And he got to use a lot of measuring spoons and cups. I wouldn't be surprised if he memorized the recipe! The monster cookies were a hit, of course.

It got me thinking about what are the ingredients required for a great church? What's a recipe for success? What is even success for a church? It could be an endless debate.

Friend of Missional is a great place to learn about how churches are learning to think like missionaries in their own culture. It's been influential on me for years. It's been helping me rethink what are the ingredients needed for a great church these days, especially in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

Below is a list of observations about a successful church. As you scan through them, which ones do you think apply easily to Anchor? Which ones don't? Your response in the comment section would be helpful!

1. Not simply how many people come to our church services, but how many people our church serves.

2. Not simply how many people attend our ministry, but how many people have we equipped for ministry.

3. Not simply how many people minister inside the church, but how many minister outside the church.

4. Not simply helping people become more whole themselves, but helping people bring more wholeness to their world. (i.e. justice, healing, relief)

5. Not simply how many ministries we start, but how many ministries we help.

6. Not simply how many unbelievers we bring into the community of faith, but how many ‘believers' we help experience healthy community.

7. Not simply working through our past hurts, but working alongside the Spirit toward wholeness.

8. Not simply counting the resources that God gives us to steward, but counting how many good stewards are we developing for the sake of the world.

9. Not simply how we are connecting with our culture but how we are engaging our culture.

10. Not simply how much peace we bring to individuals, but how much peace we bring to our world.

11. Not simply how effective we are with our mission, but how faithful we are to our God.

12. Not simply how unified our local church is, but how unified is "the church" in our neighborhood, city and world?

13. Not simply how much we immerse ourselves in the text, but how faithfully we live in the story of God.

14. Not simply being concerned about how our country is doing, but being concern for the welfare of other countries.

15. Not simply how many people we bring into the kingdom, but how much of the kingdom we bring to the earth.