Inspire, Spring 2009

Cedarville University presents HeartSong LIVE HeartSong’s first live concert recording! Visit our website to: • Listen to song clips • Purchase this and other albums • View HeartSong’s travel schedule • Request HeartSong to visit your church Available on April 16, 2009 www.cedarville.edu/heartsong “The brilliance of the Gospel is that it goes everywhere God wants it to go.” ■ Michael: When we first started, the goal was to reach the postmodern and emerging generations. But as our church started taking shape, we realized that it wasn’t just the younger generation looking for something real. People of all age groups want to connect with what God is doing. Did you have specific areas of ministry in mind? ■ Earl: We chose the state of Ohio because we saw a large percentage of unchurched people, with a small percentage of evangelicals. Although there are megachurches in our area, 85 to 90 percent of people are unchurched. They have no compelling reason to go to church because they don’t know the Lord. ■ Jason: We just chose a geography — we call it being target-driven — and take responsibility for every man, woman, and child in our area. ■ Scott: We always say we want to be an outwardly focused church, doing whatever we can for the community. For one of our outreach initiatives, we bought gift bags with candy bars, hand sanitizers, and gift cards to Starbucks and Target and handed them out. We want to be generous because Christ was. ■ Michael: We chose Louisville because we knew we’d meet progressive, postmodern individuals there. But we quickly learned that God was calling us to a broader spectrum of people. Some members are disenchanted and hurt from previous church experiences. There are a handful of mature Christians who help and come alongside us. But a lot of people are checking out Jesus and like to hang around. It’s just as the Spirit has moved us. Planting Seeds How do you think starting a church today is different from the past? ■ Earl: There’s been a real shift in culture. In the first two churches we started, people had exposure to the church and knew that “good people” went to church. Many of the people we are reaching now were made to go to church as children but grew up and said they wouldn’t do that to their own kids. It’s a different world. We now have respectable sins — the sense of shame is gone. ■ Jason: Our intention is to be a community of Christ- followers that releases people to be on mission with God. If the church is His vehicle, then we have to redefine its success. We are trying to be more intentional in reaching others. The brilliance of the Gospel is that it goes everywhere God wants it to go. ■ Scott: I don’t think there’s a specific “way” to do it. You have to learn your community. What will reach them here? And you have to depend on the Lord, not a model. ■ Michael: The “come and see” church plant paradigm has shifted. As we began our church, we adopted a “go and show” perspective and used creative methods, instead of big marketing techniques, to get the word out. Our “marketing” relies on relationships, and little by little the church has grown.