PCN has been growing. Oh, sure, we’ve seen some new members join our church, visitors come on a more regular basis, and additional views on our website and in our worship services online, but even more growth has been happening through God’s movement amongst us in many other ways too. For many of us who do not serve on a leadership board or a committee, we may not know what all has been moving in the background and in the life and ministry of our church. To that end, let’s talk about it.
A New Leadership Structure. For years, PCN has operated the same way it has for decades when it comes to how we exercise leadership. Since late 2022, the Session has been discerning how we can continue to lead and guide the congregation in life and ministry while at the same time refashioning our leadership structure (our Session and diaconate) to be more nimble in ministry and to empower more of you, the congregation, to share in ministry. We have been discussing term limits, decreasing the number of officers we elect each year, working more collaboratively as committees, and leading from vision. In order to follow after the Holy Spirit in today’s context, we are working to adapt our leadership model so that we can best be stewards of our call from God.
New Staff. The time has finally come. We will actively be pursuing a new Director of Community Life. With our Life Groups program preparing to wrap up for the year, we have learned a lot about what it takes to build community, develop relationships, and grow together in Christ. Our new director will partner alongside us to help foster growth in the Life Group program, to connect members together, and to connect us with the community.
Exploring a New Worship Service. If we look around our church, what do we notice is missing? Where are the young families? Where are the young singles? Where are the college-age young adults? Many churches work to tweak their programs or to add small components to their current worship services in an attempt to ‘draw in the crowds of young people,’ but most of these initiatives, at best, see few results. But what if we began a new service from the ground up, with a core group of young people who, in conversation with other young families, consider what they are looking for in worship and what would bring them back time and again? What if we stopped trying to make other people fit into the box that we want them to, and instead we left space for a whole new expression of worship to take shape? This concept is early in its development but is one that will be moving full steam ahead in the days, weeks, and months to come.
A Church Property Refresh. Our facilities at PCN are wonderful tools for ministry. In our aging facilities, however, there are many maintenance tasks and refresh opportunities that we can do to help elevate our facilities to become more welcoming, hospitable, and functional for our church and for outside groups. Session is currently working to create a priority list of items that we can do around campus to make our space even better for ministry. These items include new flooring in the lower CE building, new paint on the interior, upgrading our technology for video conferences, Power Point presentations, and video, making our campus safe and secure, and many other endeavors. As the list is created, you will be hearing more about how we will be refreshing our campus soon.
Life Groups. In response to our call, the Community Life Committee started a life groups program that kicked off in the fall. The goals of these groups have been to connect people to God, to each other, and to the community through fellowship, mission/service, food, fun, and sharing our stories together. More than 70 people participated in the initial start of our program, and we hope to grow that number in the fall of 2023. This is a great way to get to know the church, meet new people, ask faith questions, and all the while have some fun in the process!
Perhaps this gives you a glimpse at several of the conversations we are having at PCN and how God is at work in and through us. Your Session is not asleep at the wheel but is steering the ship and navigating the waters of today with faithful dedication and a heart for serving Jesus Christ. I can’t wait to see what God does from here!
With Care,
Pastor Adam
