The story behind, Grace Compass Church is that it is  a place for ‘real’ people on a journey to come, discover, experience, and live out an incredible faith together through Grace. Reproducing radical followers that will leave the mark of Christ wherever they are living, working, and ministering are the ultimate purpose our authentic Biblical Community. Jesus Answered Life’s greatest questions with two simple profound Faith Goals: Love God with all your heart and love others as yourself. It is our relationship with God and our relationship with others that bring identity, meaning and purpose to our life.

CLICK BOX TO WATCH WHY?

Why A New Church?

Church planting is the single most effective form of evangelism today, and a necessary method for reaching all of North America with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. New churches grow faster than established churches because new churches are focused on reaching the un-churched.  People are also more open to change in new churches and thus excited about trying new and innovative ideas which, in turn, attract other people.  New churches also encourage the raising up of new leaders that may otherwise not readily get or seek leadership opportunities in existing churches. This is an important consideration given that a church’s ability to identify, empower, and equip kingdom-minded leaders largely determines the level of its success.

Core Values

Values Form the Way and How We Live Life Our Values influences and guides how we live together at Grace Compass Church as a central part of our life together. Our Values shape our Character which is directly linked to what we believe. Values reflect what we will do at Grace Compass Church as a central part of our life together.

   Grace-wholeness: We will equip people to know who they are in Christ, their new identity In Christ; How to remove their masks of who they think they are outside of Christ and the importance of yielding to the overflowing life of Christ which will overflow from their new lives in to others in their community. Becoming such a whole person is accomplished only through the grace of God.

   Relevance: We will engage today’s culture in its context with significance without selling out or  watering down the Gospel of Grace. We will live our lives out to bring the gospel in visible form to lost people all around us. We will be part of a global network that makes a kingdom impact.

   Authentic Relationships: We will pursue being real and transparent with each other, so that we can encourage, celebrate, grow, hold accountable and mourn as a family

   Compassion: We will love all people like Jesus did and minister to them daily regardless of their social status or spiritual condition. We will grow together in Incarnate Living which is the out  of the  life of Jesus by the power of the Spirit.

    Eternal Truth: We will learn and apply the truth of Scripture to all of our life, avoiding the temptation to replace its truth for the best ideas of people.

Our Mission

Grace Compass Church will be used by God to design, launch, and grow numerous high impact churches through collaboration. Collaboration is the act of united labor to serve our city with the Gospel of Grace.

These churches working in collaboration will be used as a catalyst to launch and reproduce church planters which will impact the entire southeast area of the USA, as well as minister to people groups in many other parts of our world. Grace Compass Church is committed to MULTIPLICATION of disciples and missional servant leaders who will build people who become the church.

Core Beliefs: Church Planting Is

Our Purpose: The nature of God is multiplication and reproduction.

Our Calling: The church as the Body of Christ is called to multiply.

Our Effectiveness: Church planting is the most effective form of Evangelism.

Biblical: Church planting is the biblical strategy for increasing the Kingdom.

Central: The local church is the center from which evangelism and ministry spread.

Right: It’s and investment in the only thing Jesus said He would build – the church.

America needs God and never before has the climate for evangelism and church planting been riper for America! Three generations influenced by secular humanism have created a spiritual vacuum and over 195 million unchurched people – who are searching for hope, meaning, security, and significance. Now is the time to plant more and better churches! Historically, church planting is proven to be the most effective form of evangelism.

Our Strategy

The strategy of “Grace Compass Church” will be accomplished by establishing “environments” that will be implemented through the missional community groups of the church. These missional groups will create numerous ministries and community outreach which will flow from their desires which God will birth uniquely in each individual of every missional group.

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Founding Pastor: Teddy Awad

Spiritual Gifts: Entrepreneurial Spirit, Visionary Leadership, Strategic Thinking, Evangelism, Faith, Communication

Family: Wife Mary and one Child … Tiffany–8

Teddy and Mary Awad have been married for 10 years, and have spent the last 15 years in ministry, the last four years on staff with a Young Adult Crisis Hotline.

Please Watch Our YouTube Video:

What to expect if I Visit Grace Compass Church?

About the Tampa Bay Area

· Spiritually open people who are ready to respond to God when His gospel is presented through an authentic and culturally relevant community of faith. Florida has an average church attendance percentage (15.1%) lower than the national average (18.7%).

· Growing population of over 4 million people with 9% growth in population expected annually. This county has the Youngest demographic in Florida (18-40 years old) nearly 42% of Tampa Bay’s population is in the highly desirable target 18-40 age group.

We believe that we have been called by God to seek and build people who will become the church because it is the single most effective form of evangelism today, and the best method for achieving the common objective of reaching all of North America with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. New churches grow faster than established churches because new churches are formed around impacting entire communities and reaching the un-churched versus an emphasis of taking care of existing members in established churches. To accomplish our vision we have joined with Converge Southeast.

The focus of Converge Southeast is starting new and healthy churches throughout the region.

WHY START CHURCHES IN NORTH AMERICA?

· North America is the only continent where the church is not growing.

· Church planting is the most effective way to reach the un-reached and unchurched.

· In North America New churches grow faster than established churches.

· New churches help keep up with population growth.

· New churches are more likely to enlist people in Kingdom Advancement

Why A New Church?

Church planting is the single most effective form of evangelism today, and a necessary method for reaching all of North America with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. New churches grow faster than established churches because new churches are focused on reaching the un-churched. People are also more open to change in new churches and thus excited about trying new and innovative ideas which, in turn, attract other people. New churches also encourage the raising up of new leaders that may otherwise not readily get or seek leadership opportunities in existing churches. This is an important consideration given that a church’s ability to identify, empower, and equip kingdom-minded leaders largely determines the level of its success.

Grace Compass Church will be a seeker-targeted, church “with an edge” targeting young Gen X families (“20-30 somethings”) and post-moderns who live in the Greater Tampa Bay. It will probably be located in a school, Business Park, or community center and then eventually a building that will have a worship and recreation center containing numerous classrooms for the Bible institute, skate-park, performing arts center that bands can rent, dance groups and other artists can use in the Community. The church will reproduce by year five, and have as its goal the potential to start other churches.

Vision:

Grace Compass Church will be a place for ‘real’ people on a journey together discovering, experiencing, and living out an incredible faith together through Grace.

Mission:

Grace Compass Church will be used by God to design, launch, and grow numerous high impact churches over a five year period through collaboration. These churches will in turn reproduce within this five year period, and be used as a catalyst to launch and reproduce church planters which will impact the entire southeast area of the USA, as well as minister to people groups in many other parts of our world. Grace Compass Church is committed to MULTIPLICATION of disciples and missional servant leaders who will build people who become the church. Church Planting, never before has the climate for evangelism and church planting been riper for America!  People are searching for hope, meaning, security, and significance.  Now is the time to plant more and better churches!  Historically, church planting is proven to be the most effective form of evangelism.

Core Values:

Our Values influences and guides how we live together at Grace Compass Church as a central part of our life together. Our Values shape our Character which is directly linked to what we believe.

G race-wholeness:

We will equip people to know who they are in Christ, their new identity In Christ; How to remove their masks of who they think they are outside of Christ and the importance of yielding to the overflowing life of Christ which will overflow from their new lives in to others in their community. Becoming such a whole person is accomplished only through the grace of God.

R elevance:

We will engage today’s culture in its context with significance without selling out or  watering down the Gospel of Grace. We will live our lives out to bring the gospel in visible form to lost people all around us. We will be part of a global network that makes a kingdom impact.

A uthentic Relationships:

We will pursue being real and transparent with each other, so that we can encourage, celebrate, grow, hold accountable and mourn as a family

C ompassion:

We will love all people like Jesus did and minister to them daily

regardless of their social status or spiritual condition. We will grow together in Incarnate Living which is the out  of the  life of Jesus by the power of the Spirit.

E ternal Truth:

We will learn and apply the truth of Scripture to all of our life, avoiding the temptation to replace its truth for the best ideas of people.

Strategy:

The strategy of “Compass” will be accomplished by establishing “environments” that will be implemented through the missional community groups of the church. These missional groups will create numerous ministries and community outreach which will flow from their desires which God will birth uniquely in each individual of every missional group.

Reproducing disciples and individuals that will leave the mark of the Gospel of Grace wherever they are living, working, and ministering is the ultimate purpose of a Church Launch that is patterned after the Great Commission and the Great Commandment.

We intentionally want to help people transform their city and live a life of significance in Christ. The Church is not only a once WEEK event on Sunday but an everyday learning the Habits of Christ from God’s Word and the working of the Holy Spirit in a organic missional community groups. The Sunday Church service will be a celebration of our King and Master Jesus Christ. When we celebrate our King Jesus, we will sing and celebrate the highest of Worship listening actively to God’s Word of Life. The celebration of Grace will be an opportunity reach the un-churched and non Christ–Follower’s seeking for answers of life’s important questions. The main emphasis of Church on Sunday will be to connect individuals to the life of Christ and encourage the next steps of Discipleship with intentional personal development of a Christly Life.

By These Environments?

· Grace Environment: Jesus is the “Living Water of Grace” that quenches our spiritual thirst and transfigures our life from within. Hearing the Word causes our faith to grow in grace as we are transfigured internally to the image of the one whom we are called to follow Christ. GRACE is not merely “unmerited favor” that causes new birth which it is; Grace also is our living mentor who tutors us all in the character and nature of Who God is, what He has done, and what God is doing now. We want to plant this church to take a Stand for the Gospel of Grace and welcome those who have been wounded and hurt by the universal churches image problem.

· Growth Environment: Holy Spirit spreads the message of Jesus through us to others as we share our individual and collective lives with them through God’s Word’s of Life. Our missional spirit as a church, and our commitment to reach out and to share the message of Christ in concrete contemporary ways to all corners of the world will be our Collective purpose that Glorifies God our Father. This is done through missional community groups that will make learning fun and life transforming. This process of transferring rudimentary head knowledge to spiritual formation is the work of the Holy Spirit not the work of Clergy or other believers.

· Spiritual Formation Environment: It takes time for meaningful progress and a safe place where you can practically process what you are learning in your daily life with God’s people. The environment must be safe from evaluating people on the basis performance and production. Measuring success and failure into spiritual metrics only hinders an individual’s growth. Success in the business world and world system is very different from what God defines as success. The world measures success is by individualism, outward appearance, production, performance, and obvious external results. God works in the invisible and His work is in an individual. The hidden work on the inside will eventually be revealing fruit in God’s timing not by our own effort, production or individual outward works.

· Missional Environment: As God’s creation and we are called to cultivate and reproduce Spiritual life through ministry for God’s glory. At Compass, we believe the church isn’t a place you go to once a week – the church is a people who are a living organism on a glorious mission of proclaiming their King and His Kingdom. We are to be “outward looking” and “others focused” as we live out our living faith in our daily lives. Christ is constantly on mission through our lives to reach out and serve our neighbors, our communities, and our world in relevant ways each and every day with Joy. We serve because of the radical inward work of grace in our lives, and desire that others also experience the revolution of Grace personally.

· Worship Environment: God has placed a passion in our hearts and spirits for worship which is illuminated as we draw closer to Him. Our hearts set ablaze with worship, both corporately and individually, as we continually give ourselves over to Him and draw closer to His glory. To receive all that God is and what His Word teaches radically changes lives and causes internal change that is a result of progressively growing in Grace through worship.

We believe that people matter to God – in fact, they are the pinnacle of His creation. Not only that, but every person was created by God with a need to connect in authentic Missional community with others. We can establish real, encouraging, safe, and honest relationships with one another as we learn to do life together as a redeemed missional community of faith.

Blueprint plan of Vision and Mission Implementation:

This is a flexible blueprint of we will reach out to people, connect with them, and lead them into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ. Blueprint of the Implementation of our vision and mission of “Compass” will be as follows…

1. Building relational bridges into the community through our missional community groups inviting individuals to a celebration of Grace on Sundays or to the numerous missional community Groups events of Celebration (Three keys here: Intentionality, Unconditional Love , Acceptance, and “Telling Our Story”)

2. Living out an authentic living faith for others to see (People don’t just want you to tell them about your faith; they want to see evidence of it in the way you live your life – are you for real or a fraud? People do not care how much you know until you show them how much you really care. Has Jesus REALLY radically changed your life and given you a new set of values and desires to live your life by?)

3. Inviting and Gathering an un-churched friend to an authentic service designed for particularly them to observe the Celebration (The key is to have several relevant services and events for different age groups: adult, teen and children’s service). This also allows for the development of new emerging missional leaders and the mentoring of missional community leaders learning and growing effectively in reproducible authentic maturity. Attend, Invite, tutor and serve others!

4. Encountering the Spirit of God and teaching the Word of God through the worship experience (it needs to be real and relevant) making the complex simple and applicable in daily life for everyone, not just for seekers attending. The worship service become the template for the following weeks teachings and discussions at the missional community Groups. Making the content reproducible in daily life and practical application.

5. Making a decision to follow Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord (You shouldn’t have to force or manipulate this – Jesus didn’t! – Just gave them an opportunity to respond to the Gospel when they came and saw) We are only a pencil in the hand of God, God will do the writing on individuals heart if we are only faithful to present Him and invite people to a decision as we celebrate our Master in relationship.

6. Connecting into the life of the church community through Christ honoring relationships, friendships, and spiritual discipleship. The organism of the church the missional community groups is where we do life together corporately and discipleship occurs.

7. Learning how to live like Jesus lived and taught from the Word of God we will develop genuine growth together. Spiritual formation and reproduction of life transformation in others (Mentoring / Teaching / Reproduction)

8. Serving others outside the church (Community Service and servant evangelism thru our Missional DNA and Missional community groups)

9. Loving God as a lifestyle (Worship – it’s not just an event you go to on Sunday, it’s a lifestyle! We will teach people what it means to live the Christian life 24/7)

10. Reproducing other believers and churches

Core Beliefs:

Our Purpose: The nature of God is multiplication and reproduction.

Our Calling: The church as the Body of Christ is called to multiply.

Our Effectiveness: Church planting is the most effective form of Evangelism.

Biblical: Church planting is the biblical strategy for increasing the Kingdom.

Central: The local church is the center from which evangelism and ministry spread.

Right: It’s an investment in the only thing Jesus said He would build – the church.

Statement of Faith

God is the creator and the ruler of the universe. He has eternally existed in three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Those three are co-equal with God and are one God.

Jesus Christ is the Son of God. He is co-equal with the Father. He was born of a virgin and lived a perfect, sinless human life. He offered Himself as the perfect sacrifice for the sins of all people by dying on a cross. He arose from the dead after three days, ascended into heaven, and will return again someday to reign as King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

The Holy Spirit is co-equal with the Father and Son. He is present in the world to make men aware of their need for Jesus Christ. He also lives in every Christian from the moment of Salvation. He provides the believer with power for living, understanding spiritual truth, wisdom, and guidance.

The Bible is God’s Word to us. It was written by human authors under the supernatural guidance of the Holy Spirit. It is the supreme source of truth for all Christian beliefs and living. Because it is inspired by God, it is the truth without any mixture of error.

Salvation is God’s free gift to us, but we must accept it. We can never make up for our sins by self-improvement or good works. Only by trusting Jesus Christ as God’s offer for forgiveness can anyone be saved from sin’s penalty. When we turn from our self-willed life and turn to Jesus in faith, we are saved. Eternal life begins the moment one receives Jesus Christ into his life by faith.

Eternity – The soul of every human being was created to live forever. We will either exist eternally separated from God by sin, or eternally with God through salvation and forgiveness. Hell is eternal separation from God. Heaven is eternal union with God. Heaven and Hell are real places of eternal existence.

More detailed Statement of faith can be provided.

Sunday Nights @ 5PM

7868 Causeway Blvd South, St. Petersburg, FL 33707

Come as you are, NO Perfect People Allowed!

Casual and comfortable dress

(All Ages Welcome)

For more information Please call us at:

Website: http://www.gracecompasschurch.org/

Email: info@gracecompasschurch.org

727-399-7159

1-877-702-2GOD

Music…Snacks…Fun…Interaction

Please Watch Our YouTube Video:

What to expect if I Visit Grace Compass Church?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hbFwu3TBA2w

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What does it take to begin a relationship with God? Wait forlightning to strike? Devote yourself to unselfish religious deeds? Become abetter person so that God will accept you? NONE of these. God has made it very clear in the Bible how we can know Him. This will explain how you can personally begin a relationship with God, right now…

Principle One: God loves you and offers a wonderful plan for your life.

God created you. Not only that, he loves you so much that he wants you to know him now and spend eternity with him. Jesus said, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.”1

Jesus came so that each of us could know and understand God in a personal way. Jesus alone can bring meaning and purpose to life.

What keeps us from knowing God? …

Principle Two: All of us sin and our sin has separated us from God.

We sense that separation, that distance from God because of our sin. The Bible tells us that “All of us like sheep have gone astray; each of us has turned to his own way.”2

Deep down, our attitude may be one of active rebellion or passive indifference toward God and his ways, but it’s all evidence of what the Bible calls sin.

The result of sin in our lives is death — spiritual

separation from God.3 Although we may try to get

close to God through our own effort, we inevitably fail.

This diagram shows the great gap that exists between us and God. The arrows illustrate how we might try toreach God through our own efforts. We may try to do good things in life, or earn God’s acceptance through a good life or a moral philosophy. But our good efforts are insufficient to cover up our sin.

How can we bridge this gulf?…

Principle Three: Jesus Christ is  God’s only provision for our sin.

Through him we can know and experience God’s love and plan for our life.

We deserve to pay for our own sin. The problem is, the payment is death. So that we would not have to die separated from God, out of his love for us, Jesus Christ died in our place. On the cross, Jesus took all of our sin on himself and completely, fully paid for it. “For Christ also died for sins…the just for the unjust, so that he might bring us to God.”4 “…he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy.”5

Because of Jesus’ death on the cross, our sin

doesn’t have to separate us from God any longer.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only

Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not

perish but have eternal life.”6

Jesus not only died for our sin, he rose from the

dead.7 When he did, he proved beyond doubt that

he can rightfully promise eternal life — that he is the

Son of God and the only means by which we can

know God. That is why Jesus said, “I am the way,

the truth and the life; no one can come to the

Father except through me.”8

Instead of trying harder to reach God, he tells us how we can begin a relationship with him right now. Jesus says, “Come to me.” “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me… out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.”9 It was Jesus’ love for us that caused him to endure the cross. And he now invites us to come to him, that we might begin a personal relationship with God.

Just knowing what Jesus has done for us and what he is offering us is not enough. To have a relationship with God, we need to welcome him into our life…

Principle Four: We must individually accept Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.

The Bible says, “Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.”10

We accept Jesus by faith. The Bible says, “God saved you by his special favour when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.”11

Accepting Jesus means believing that Jesus is the Son of God, who he claimed to be, then inviting him to guide and direct our lives.12 Jesus said, “I came that you might have life, and have it more abundantly.”13

And here is Jesus’ invitation. He said, “I’m standing at the door and I’m knocking. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in.”14

How will you respond to God’s invitation?

Consider these two circles:

Self-Directed Life

Self is on the throne

Jesus is outside the life

Decisions and actions are solely directed

by self, often resulting in frustration

Christ-Directed Life

Jesus is in the life and on the throne

Self is yielding to Jesus

The person sees Jesus’ influence and

direction in their life

Which circle best represents your life?

Which circle would you like to have represent your life?Begin a relationship with Jesus… You can receive Christ right now. Remember that Jesus says, “I’m standing at the door and I’m knocking. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in.”15 Would you like to respond to his invitation? Here’s how.

The precise words you use to commit yourself to God are not important. He knows the intentions of your heart. If you are unsure of what to pray, this

might help you put it into words:

“Jesus, I want to know you. I want you to come into my life. Thank you for dying on the cross for my sin so that I could be fully accepted by you. Only you can give me the power to change and become the person you created me to be. Thank you for forgiving me and giving me eternal life with God. I give my life to you. Please do with it as you wish. Amen.”

If you sincerely asked Jesus into your life just now, then he has come into your life as he promised. You have begun a personal relationship with God.

What follows is a lifelong journey of change and growth as you get to know God better.

(1) John 3:16(9) John 7:37,38

(2) Isaiah 53:6 (10) John 1:12

(3) Romans 6:23 (11) Ephesians 2:8,9

(4) 1Peter 3:18 (12) John 3:1-8

(5) Titus 3:5 (13) John 10:10

(6) John 3:16 (14) Revelation 3:20

(7) 1 Corinthians 15:3-6 (15) Revelation 3:20

(8) John 14:6

For more information on who God is or what it might be like to know God, please see www.EveryStudent.com. If you want to email a

question, someone will email you back a personal reply.

If you have received Jesus Christ into your life, here is a site to help you grow in your relationship with him, www.StartingwithGod.com. This article is from www.EveryStudent.com

Permission is granted to

photocopy or print.

In April of 2003, National Public Radio aired a story about a standoff between an angry mob of Iraqi Shiites and a heavily armored patrol from the American 101^st Airborne Division. Fearing that the soldiers were preparing to desecrate their most holy shrine, hundreds of unarmed civilians pressed in toward the patrol waving their hands and shouting defiantly. Although the patrol’s intentions were peaceful, the standoff would probably have been disastrous if not for the quick thinking of US Lieutenant Colonel Christopher Hughes. Hughes, who was in command that day, picked up a loud speaker and barked out three simple commands to his men; the first was to take a knee, the second was to point their weapons toward the ground, the third and final order was to look up and give everyone in that hostile crowd a friendly smile. Astoundingly, in few brief moments after they obeyed his order, the troops saw the demeanor of the crowd begin to change. Hostility and defiance melted away as shaking fists and screaming voices were replaced with smiles and friendly pats on the back.

Though it may not be immediately apparent, this hopeful story from the war in Iraq has important implications for spiritual conversations in a world that is becoming increasingly hostile towards the traditional kinds of conversations Christians attempt to have. As Ravi Zacharias says, “We must learn to find the backdoor to people’s hearts because the front door is heavily guarded.” Many not-yet Christians react defensively much like the Shiites in the story above when the topic of conversation turns to spiritual matters. They anticipate and are amply prepared for any direct attack on the holy places and sacred shrines of their hearts. The conversations we have rarely penetrate the armor of their hearts because to them it just sounds like, “my worldview is better that your worldview, so let me tell you why I’m right and you’re wrong.” “And by the way if you don’t surrender to my point of view, I will launch the nuclear bomb called hell to bring you to repentance.” Instead of opening hearts to Jesus, many times we merely perpetuate the “us versus them” standoff. So how do we keep from becoming embroiled in these no-win, never-ending kind of spiritual conversation stalemates?

The Message version of Colossians 4:5,6 puts the answer this way: “Use your heads as you live and work among outsiders. Don’t miss a trick. Make the most of every opportunity. Be gracious in your speech. The goal is to bring out the best in others in a conversation, not put them down, not cut them out.”

The first sentence of this passage perfectly describes the approach Colonel Hughes took when he acted so decisively that day in Najaf. He was wise in the way he related to those who felt and believed differently than him. We need to be equally wise engaging people if we want the quality and quantity of our spiritual conversations to increase. If you truly believe as I do that real wisdom comes from above, could I encourage you to pause and invite the Holy Spirit to grant you this kind of wisdom as you start this book. (A Prayer to Offer) God, open my eyes to the ways I maybe hindering opportunities for spiritual conversations in my daily life.

Having said that, spiritual conversation school is now in session. As previously mentioned, I earned my masters degree at the school of hard knocks. So please make every effort to turn my failures into your successes. It would ease my pain and make all my failures seem worthwhile.

Killer #1 The Heart is the Heart of the Matter

After speaking with countless Christ followers all over the world, I am convinced that the number one killer of spiritual conversation is unbelief. Could I ask you to stop and prayerfully ponder a question that penetrates to the heart of my conviction? Do you really believe the people in your Monday thru Saturday world want to talk about spiritual things? If you don’t, could I urge you to stop reading right now and invite Christ to help you with your unbelieving heart? Nothing else in this book will help you a whole lot until you change your mind about this matter. In Matthew 12:34b, Jesus informs us that our lips reflect what is on our hearts. I have found that we will miss opportunity after opportunity if we’ve pre-determined that the people who cross our path have no interest in talking about spiritual matters. For those of you who are skeptical of my assertion due to the spiritual climate of your geographic location, please give me the benefit of the doubt. I’ve had spiritual conversations with people all over the world including the supposed “tough places”. I think it’s because the Holy Spirit has given me a conviction that if God has put eternity in people’s hearts, which is what Ecclesiastes 3:11 tells us, then people were made for spiritual conversations. As I’ve learned how to naturally create “God Space” in my relational encounters and avoid the nine spiritual conversation killers that you are about to read, spiritual conversations have become the norm, not the exception. Thomas Jefferson once said, “When the heart is right, the feet are swift.” Maybe he picked this idea up from Jesus who said in Matthew 9:23b “Everything is possible for him who believes.” Your heart is the heart of the matter! Unbelief hampers the Holy Spirit’s desire to advance God’s Kingdom through you,one spiritual conversation at a time.

Killer #2 Pre-Conversational History

The second greatest deterrent to having spiritual conversations occurs before most conversations have a chance to happen. Many un-believers have experienced some or all of the following eight spiritual conversation killers,

which are ranked in no particular order after numbers one and two. These experiences help to reinforce the age-old axiom that there are two things you don’t talk about in public, politics and religion. David Kinnaman in his book “UnChristian” quotes one outsider who described Christianity this way: “Most people I meet assume that Christian means very conservative, entrenched in their thinking, antigay, anti-choice, angry, violent, illogical, empire builders; they want to convert everyone, and they generally cannot live peacefully with anyone who doesn’t believe what they believe.” Like it or not our Christian jewelry, t-shirts, TV programs, tracts, and bumper stickers all serve to create a pre-conversational history that colors the perception of everyone you meet. This history greatly inhibits the possibility of having spiritual conversations with others. When you identify with Jesus, you automatically inherit all the perceptions created by His followers. Getting out of this Christian box as quickly as possible is essential if you are going to have real conversations.

This became quite clear to me on one of my speaking trips. I was in Columbus, Ohio speaking at the annual Summer Institute at Xenos, a church that is intentionally trying to live out much of what this book is about. I was having a problem with one of my slides in my Keynote presentation (Mac’s version of Powerpoint). So, I went to the Apple Store nearby to see if they could help me. The young lady assigned to work with me liked the challenging problem I presented to her. As she attempted to fix it, she was exposed to most of the content of my presentation on evangelism. I could not help wondering what was going through her mind. At that moment I realized that I wasn’t just in the box, “I was the box” to her. I sensed the atmosphere tighten up as she asked me to scroll through t
he clips and slides in my presentation. Fortunately, the Holy Spirit helped get me out of the box with the following question. “I was wondering if you would be willing to help me in another way. I’m here in town to speak to a large gathering of Christians who would like to learn how to talk to their friends about spiritual matters. Has anyone ever tried to do that with you?” She immediately went on n impassioned rant about the negative experiences she has had with her born again sister. As I began to reflectively listen to her, she began to calm down a little. I ask her the following question, which she was more than willing to answer. “If your sister were in the audience tomorrow when I speak, what would you like me to tell her so that your future conversations turn out a little better?” I had now climbed out of the box. She began to realize that I was not like her sister. Now that her pre-conversational history was out on the table, I was able to avoid the landmines that might blow up the opportunity to proceed talking about spiritual matters. We spent the rest of the time while she finished up my job doing just that. I walked away wishing there was some way her sister could be flown into the workshop I’d be doing the next day. I knew that was never going to happen, so I decided to share this story in hopes that someday she will read this book and connect the dots. Whether she does or not, this experience sure helped me to see that we can’t ignore ones pre-conversational history if we hope to increase the quality and quantity of our spiritual conversations.

Killer #3 Awkward Transitions

Several years ago, I found myself at home alone on a Sunday afternoon totally immersed in the last two minutes of a pro football game that would decide which team would make the playoff’s. I was annoyingly distracted from the gridiron drama by the sound of my doorbell. Somebody outside my house was obviously not in touch with what was going on inside my house. I prepared myself to quickly “stiff arm” (in Christian love of course) whoever was at the door so I could get back to my “Sunday football fix”. Unfortunately when I opened the door, two Mormons stood ready to greet me. They wanted to engage me in spiritual conversation. I found myself suspended in a spiritual time warp as they fumbled the ball early and often in there struggle to start up a conversation with me. As I listened to their awkward attempts to get a conversation started, pictures of bygone days began to flash through my mind of the times when I was the one attempting to start a spiritual conversation. All of a sudden I was filled with compassion for these two Mormons on their mission because they had reacquainted me with all those awkward feelings I had experienced when I was the one stammering through some awkward transition I had been taught to memorize. Awkward transitions create awkward feelings, which can leave people feeling pretty uptight. Most of the people I know, do not regularly sign up for conversations that leave them feeling “weirded out”. This raises the question I’m asked quite often, “So then, how do you transition into a spiritual conversation?”

As I’ve probed to better understand the nature of this question, I’ve discovered that most Christ followers are hoping for a sure fire transitional statement they can memorize which will produce great spiritual conversations every time they use it. Maybe we should take a cue from Jesus on this one. If He didn’t approach spiritual conversations this way, why should we? I am quite familiar with most of the different transitions Christian workers are taught to use. Even when practiced and delivered flawlessly, these transitions tend to create awkward feelings when the other person realizes you are trying to take the conversation somewhere. If their hearts are not prepared to go there, it might be the last spiritual conversation you will ever have with them. Later on in this book, I will discuss how we can move into spiritual conversations naturally and avoid awkward transitions.

Killer #4 Our Language – Not Theirs

While I’m on the Mormons, I have to share a funny story that I hope will make Killer #4 seem quite obvious. My brother’s job required him to move to the greater Salt Lake City, Utah area a few years ago. After they had settled into the neighborhood, one of their neighbors came over one day to welcome them. As this lady began to engage my sister-in-law in conversation, she asked her the following question; “Are you LDS?” My sister-in-law looked at my brother and replied; “Well, neither one of us our ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder), so we are probably not LDS either.” I still laugh hysterically when I recall this story. However when I realize the implications for having spiritual conversations, I’m quite sobered. When we lead with questions like; “Are you saved?” or “Have you been born again?” we leave outsiders feeling like . . . outsiders. When we speak in “Christianeze” we are unknowingly saying to others; “if you want to have a spiritual conversation with me you will have to do so on my terms.” Jesus modeled something quite to the contrary. He took the language of heaven and injected into the language of the day. In Colossians 4:4, the apostle Paul asked believers to pray that he would proclaim the message clearly. When we use our language and not theirs, we end up killing conversations with confusion and which can leave folks feeling dumb or stupid. Jesus used language that built bridges and opened doors. We can do the same by learning to translate spiritual truth into the every day vernacular of the people we are having conversations with.

Killer #5 Disrespectful Conversations

How many of you know that your spiritual gift is being quick to speak and slow to listen? Unfortunately, I find myself going there real easy. James 1:19 admonishes us to flip-flop the two. We need to be quick to listen and slow to speak. If this is not happening in our conversations, it’s quite easy for the other person to feel disrespected.

There is an overabundance of ways to unknowingly demonstrate disrespect in our conversations besides not listening. Condescending, or being parental in our conversations will do it every time. When we exceed the speed limit, run the stop signs, or hi-jack the conversation (the three most common evangelistic misdemeanors), we are not treating others, the way we would like to be treated. I don’t know about you but I do not regularly show up for conversations where I know I am going to be disrespected in these ways.

Killer #6 Agenda Driven Conversations

In the movie “The Big Kahuna” (A Movie to Watch) Larry (A character played by Kevin Spacey) asks Bob (A character portrayed as an evangelical Christian) how he ended up talking to Dick Fuller (a perspective business client) about religion in the first place? As Larry continues to probe, Bob eventually admits that the conversation got started due to a lead in. Larry astutely observes that Bob was looking for the opportunity to talk about what he believed. He went on to say that, “The conversation was not allowed to have a natural course because somebody was at the helm directing it.” Later in the movie, Phil (the character played by Danny DeVito) pulls Bob aside and shares the following advice with him. “If you want to talk to somebody honestly as a human being, ask him about his kids, find out what his dreams are, just to find out for no other reason because as soon as you lay your hands on a conversation to steer it, it’s not a conversation anymore, it’s a pitch. And you’re not a human being you’re a marketing rep.”’

When I finished this movie I realized that Kevin Spacey and Danny DeVito not only had some advice for Bob, but for me as well. In my early years in the ministry, I had become known as one of the chief marketing reps for Jesus. Unfortunately, I was actually affirmed for steering conversations towards my sales pitch for

Jesus
. (A Quote to Memorize) Spiritual conversations should be our ultimate motive, not our ulterior motive. For the record, if people are ready for the agenda you had in mind for the conversation, you will be warmly embraced. If they are not, you will be assigned a label that will kill most of your opportunities for spiritual conversations in the future. In the words of Forrest Gump “that’s all I have to say about that.”

Killer #7 Controlling Conversations

How long does it usually take for you to takeover a conversation and dominate it with your worldview? This is a question I wish someone had challenged me to think about early on in my spiritual journey. During the 1980’s, I started the ministry of Athletes in Action at the University of Tennessee. If you dropped in on one of my appointments with the athletes back then this is what you would have probably seen. I’d usually start by asking a couple of questions to break the ice. I rarely listened because I did not want their response to derail the direction of where I was planning to take the conversation. After I broke the ice, I usually followed with a transitional question that I had been taught to memorize to turn the conversation towards spiritual things. The rest of the hour long appointment consisted of me sharing something I believed they needed to hear. From beginning to end I was always in control of the conversation. Other ministries I’m acquainted with take this kind of control to the extreme. They teach their workers to treat questions as smoke screens. The question is deflected so the Christian worker can get back to his or her scripted presentation. Is it any wonder why more and more people are saying no thanks to these kinds of conversations? Being in control of the curriculum of a conversation is fine when someone has willingly signed up for your lecture. But when you live in a world with such diversity, it’s essential to give up control.

I’m becoming more and more convinced that many Christ followers are afraid to be in settings where they are not in control of the conversation. This is why churches and ministries die. When we insist on having conversations in settings where only are fans are present, during the times we pick, with the activities we are comfortable with, we’d better start digging a six foot hole and playing taps. It’s only a matter of time before a church or ministry that insists on playing home games begins to fade into oblivion. Jesus told his disciples in Matthew 10:19-20 not to worry about what to say or how to say it because the Holy Spirit would give them what they needed when they needed it. Nothing pre-packaged or scripted about that, just an admonition to go and be in the moment under the Holy Spirit’s guidance.

Recently, I overheard a pastor as they were leaving a social setting consisting of very few church goers say this, “If you’d like to talk again some time you know where to find me on Sunday mornings”. I’m not sure what the pastor intended by this parting comment, but I thought to myself how different the outcome might be if the pastor had a go-to-them (road games) versus a come-to-me (home games) kind of a mindset.

Killer #8 Reactive Conversations

To many people in our culture, Christians have become known as the “disagreement people”. We’ve worked hard to earn this label one reaction at a time. Most of the time our body language, tone of voice, and verbal responses are a dead give away to the reality that we disagree with much of what people in culture are saying and doing. When we become self-designated spiritual umpires calling balls and strikes on the culture by writing letters to the editor, calling in on talk radio shows, and staging boycotts of one kind or another, our reactions speak for themselves. Essentially we are sending the culture this message: not only do we not endorse your point of view, we don’t accept you for where you are in your spiritual journey. This lack of acceptance crushes opportunities for spiritual conversations to happen. Acceptance does not mean endorsement. When we confuse these two words we destroy the very space God wants to work in. Many times not-yet Christians will say or do something just to see if we will react. This is many times a test to determine whether or not we are safe enough to have real conversations with. Reacting to things we hear or see comes naturally for most of us. We need supernatural responses that communicate a radical acceptance if we hope to create space for spiritual conversations to naturally happen.

Killer #9 Combative Conversations

It’s exhilarating to watch two good tennis players volley back and forth. Each tries to gain an advantage by causing the other to get out of position so they can hit a decisive shot called a “winner” which scores the point. Unfortunately, I use to view spiritual conversations in the same way. I viewed the person I was talking with as my opponent who must be won to my Christian point of view. I interned with Josh McDowell. I was trained by the best when it came to apologetics. On many occasions, I started my conversations with an overpowering serve. I then prepared myself to pepper “winners” at my opponent who in many cases had walked away from the conversation the moment the contest began. Even if my opponent was up for it, most of the time these worldview challenges led to heated debates, heated debates eventually gave way to arguments, and arguments always brought about conversions to Christ. Quite to the contrary, I never argued anyone into the Kingdom of God. As Dallas Williard says “It’s very difficult to be right about something without hurting someone with it.” When a conversation starts or turns combative, very rarely does anything of redemptive value occur. Even if we win the argument, we often lose the greater war when it turns into an us versus them show down. We need to remember that not-yet Christians are not the enemy, but victims of the enemy. This truth compels me to move out into culture with compassion and check my “onward Christian soldier” mindset at the door.

Killer #10 “It’s All About Me” Conversations

Have you ever been in a conversation where you felt like you couldn’t get a word in edge wise or the spot light never seems to shift off the person who is talking. If you have, I’m betting you just can’t wait for the next conversation with that person. I’ve come to believe that Christians fall into these “it’s all about me” kinds of conversations naturally. I believe . . . or I think . . . become over used introductions to the truth we dominate our conversations with. We are convinced that we have the absolute truth, which naturally leads us to believe that what we think is all that really matters. This kind of thinking quickly turns conversations into monologues where we eventually end up talking to ourselves. We need to realize that if people are not asking us what we believe, we might be wiser to keep the spotlight on what they believe and think. The secret to being interesting in a conversation is to be interested. This seems to be a great application of Philippians 2:4 which encourages us to not only look to our own interests but to the interests of others. At the end of the day, I’m not so sure what I believe really matters all that much any way. I want people to follow Jesus. I want to keep the spotlight on Him and what he said, not on what I think or believe. This requires us to bring the bible into our conversations. I will share more on how to do this later on in the book. Just one of these ten killers has the potential to close down your opportunities for spiritual conversation in a relationship for a lifetime. If you’re saying to your self “been there, and done that”. The good news is failure is usually never fatal or final, it’s just an opportunity to begin again more intelligently. Numerous people have applied the following assignment to help rebuild the bridges they have burnt along the way with great success.
If no previous conversation has come to mind as you read through this chapter, tuck this assignment away for another day. At some point I think you’ll find it helpful.

Grace Compass Church …a place for ‘real’ people on a journey
Come…Discover…Experience…Live

Grace Compass Church is a place for ‘real’ people on a journey to come, discover, experience, and live out an incredible faith together through Grace. Reproducing radical followers that will leave the mark of Christ wherever they are living, working, and ministering are the ultimate purpose our authentic Biblical Community. Jesus Answered Life’s greatest questions with two simple profound Faith Goals: Love God with all your heart and love others as yourself. It is our relationship with God and our relationship with others that bring identity, meaning and purpose to our life.

• God is the creator and the ruler of the universe. He has eternally existed in three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Those three are co-equal with God and are one God.
• Jesus Christ is the Son of God. He is co-equal with the Father. He was born of a virgin and lived a perfect, sinless human life. He offered Himself as the perfect sacrifice for the sins of all people by dying on a cross. He arose from the dead after three days, ascended into heaven, and will return again someday to reign as King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
• The Holy Spirit is co-equal with the Father and Son. He is present in the world to make men aware of their need for Jesus Christ. He also lives in every Christian from the moment of Salvation. He provides the believer with power for living, understanding spiritual truth, wisdom, and guidance.
• The Bible is God’s Word to us. It was written by human authors under the supernatural guidance of the Holy Spirit. It is the supreme source of truth for all Christian beliefs and living. Because it is inspired by God, it is the truth without any mixture of error.
• Salvation is God’s free gift to us, but we must accept it. We can never make up for our sins by self-improvement or good works. Only by trusting Jesus Christ as God’s offer for forgiveness can anyone be saved from sin’s penalty. When we turn directions in our minds about our self-willed life and turn to Jesus in faith, we are saved. Eternal life begins the moment one receives Jesus Christ into his life by faith.
• Eternity – The soul of every human being was created to live forever on a Spiritual Journey. We will either exist eternally separated from God by sin, or eternally with God through salvation and forgiveness. Hell is eternal separation from God. Heaven is eternal union with God. Heaven and Hell are real places of eternal existence.
  _____________________________________________
  Teddy and Mary Awad have been married for 10 years and both have spent the last 15 years in ministry. They have a daughter, Tiffany who is 8 years old and speaks three languages already.

  Spiritual Gifts: Entrepreneurial Spirit, Visionary Leadership, Strategic Thinking, Mercy Evangelism, Faith, Communication

  For more information Please call us at:
  410-808-6483 1-877-702-2GOD
  7868 Causeway Blvd South, St. Petersburg, FL 33707
  gracecompasschurch@gmail.com
  http://gracecompasschurch.blogspot.com/

St. Petersburg, FL 33707

Come as you are!

Music…Snacks…Fun…Interaction

Casual and comfortable dress

All Ages Welcome

For more information Please call us at:

410-808-6483

1-877-702-2GOD

gracecompasschurch@gmail.com
http://gracecompasschurch.blogspot.com/

Grace Compass Church will be a place for real people on a journey to come, discover, experience, and live out an incredible faith together through Grace. Reproducing disciples and individuals that will leave the mark of the Gospel of Grace wherever they are living, working, and ministering is the ultimate purpose of a Church that is patterned after the Great Commission and the Great Commandment.

We intentionally want to help people transform their city and live a life of significance in Christ through Grace of God. The Church is not only a once WEEK EVENT on Sunday but an everyday learning the Habits of Christ from Gods Word and the working of the Holy Spirit in a organic missional groups. The celebration of Grace on Sunday at 5 PM will be an opportunity to reach the un-churched and provide a safe place for those seeking the answers of life’s important questions. The main emphasis of Church on Sunday will be to connect individuals to the life of Christ and encourage the next steps of Discovery with intentional personal development of a Christly Life.

Three generations influenced by secular humanism have created a spiritual vacuum and over 195 million unreached people – people who are searching for hope, meaning, security, and significance.

We believe that people matter to God in fact, they are the pinnacle of His creation. Not only that, but every person was created by God with a need to connect in authentic organic Missional community with others. We can establish real, encouraging, safe, and honest relationships with one another as we learn to do life together as a redeemed missional community of faith.

Why Tampa Bay?

Over the past year God has given me a burden for lost people in the Southeast and a passion to reach them with the message of Jesus Christ. My goal is to be used by God to impact the Southeast for His kingdom by changing the spiritual landscape of this entire area from one that worships and idolizes nature, leisure, and individualism to a community of fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ that worship the one true God.

About the Tampa Bay Area

· Spiritually open people who are ready to respond to God when His gospel is presented through an authentic and culturally relevant community of faith. Florida has an average church attendance percentage (15.1%) lower than the national average (18.7%).

· Growing population of over 4 million people with 9% growth in population expected annually. This county has the Youngest demographic in Florida (18-40 years old) nearly 42% of Tampa Bay’s population is in the highly desirable target 18-40 age group.

· We believe that we have been called by God to seek and build people who will become the church because it is the single most effective form of evangelism today, and the best method for achieving the common objective of reaching all of North America with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

WHY START CHURCHES IN NORTH AMERICA?

· North America is the only continent where the church is not growing.

· Church planting is the most effective way to reach the un-reached and unchurched.

· New churches grow faster than established churches.

· New churches help keep up with population growth.

· New churches are more likely to enlist people in Kingdom Advancement

Why A New Church?

Church planting is the single most effective form of evangelism today, and a necessary method for reaching all of North America with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. New churches grow faster than established churches because new churches are focused on reaching the un-churched. People are also more open to change in new churches and thus excited about trying new and innovative ideas which, in turn, attract other people. New churches also encourage the raising up of new leaders that may otherwise not readily get or seek leadership opportunities in existing churches. This is an important consideration given that a church’s ability to identify, empower, and equip kingdom-minded leaders largely determines the level of its success.

Vision:

Grace Compass Church will be a place for ‘real’ people on a journey together discovering, experiencing, and living out an incredible faith together through Grace. Reproducing disciples and individuals that will leave the mark of the Gospel of Grace wherever they are living, working, and ministering is the ultimate purpose of a Church that is patterned after the Great Commission and the Great Commandment.

Mission:

Compass will be used by God to design, launch, and grow numerous churches through collaboration. These churches will in turn reproduce, and be used as a catalyst to launch and reproduce which will impact the entire southeast, as well as minister to people groups in many other parts of our world. Compass is committed to MULTIPLICATION of disciples and emerging missional servant leaders who will build people who become the church.

Church Planting Is

Our Purpose: The nature of God is multiplication and reproduction.

Our Calling: The church as the Body of Christ is called to multiply.

Our Effectiveness: Church planting is the most effective form of Evangelism.

Biblical: Church planting is the biblical strategy for increasing the Kingdom.

Central: The local church is the center from which evangelism and ministry spread.

Right: It’s an investment in the only thing Jesus said He would build – the church.

Core Values:

Values reflect what we will do at Grace Compass Church as a central part of our life together.

Authentic Relationships: We will pursue being real and transparent with each other, so that we can encourage, celebrate, grow, hold accountable and mourn as a family.

Incarnate Living: We will grow in living out of the life of Jesus by the power of the Spirit.

Biblical Truth: We will learn and apply the truth of Scripture to all of our life, avoiding the temptation to replace its truth for the best ideas of people.

Compassion: We will love all people like Jesus did and minister to them daily regardless of their social status or spiritual condition.

Missional Living: We will live our lives out to bring the gospel in visible form to lost people all around us.

Grace-wholeness: We will equip people to know who they are in Christ, their new identity in Christ; how to remove their masks of who they think they are outside of Christ and the importance of yielding to the overflowing life of Christ which will overflow from their new lives in to others in their community. Becoming such a whole person is accomplished only through the grace of God.

Relevance: We will engage today’s culture in its context with significance without selling out or watering down the Gospel of Grace.

Global Impact: We will be part of a global network that makes a kingdom impact.

Freedom to Question: We will welcome the freedom that comes with questioning things so we can seek God’s answers together without arrogance

Strategy:

The strategy of “Grace Compass Church” will be accomplished by establishing “environments” that will be implemented through the missional community groups of the church. These missional groups will create numerous ministries and community outreach which will flow from their desires which God will birth uniquely in each individual of every missional group.

Grace Environment: Jesus is the “Living Water of Grace” that quenches our spiritual thirst and transfigures our life from within. Hearing the Word causes our faith to grow in grace as we are transfigured internally to the image of the one whom we are called to follow Christ. Grace also is our living mentor who tutors us all in the character and nature of Who God Is, what He has done, and what God is doing now. We want to plant this church to take a Stand for the Gospel of Grace and welcome those who have been wounded and hurt by the universal churches image problem.

Growth Environment: Holy Spirit spreads the message of Jesus through us to others as we share our individual and collective lives with them through God’s Word’s of Life. Our missional spirit as a church, and our commitment to reach out and to share the message of Christ in concrete contemporary ways to all corners of the world will be our Collective purpose that Glorifies God our Father. This is done through missional community groups that will make learning fun and life transforming. This process of transferring rudimentary head knowledge to spiritual formation is the work of the Holy Spirit not the work of Clergy or other believers.

Spiritual Formation Environment: It takes time for meaningful progress and a safe place where you can practically process what you are learning in your daily life with God’s people. The environment must be safe from evaluating people on the basis performance and production. Measuring success and failure into spiritual metrics only hinders an individual’s growth. Success in the business world and world system is very different from what God defines as success. The world measures success is by individualism, outward appearance, production, performance, and obvious external results. God works in the invisible and His work is in an individual. The hidden work on the inside will eventually be revealing fruit in God’s timing not by our own effort, production or individual outward works.

Missional Environment: As God’s creation and we are called to cultivate and reproduce Spiritual life through ministry for God’s glory. The church isn’t a place you go to once a week – the church is a people who are a living organism on a glorious mission of proclaiming their King and His Kingdom. We are “outward looking” and “others focused” as we live out our living faith in our daily lives. Christ is constantly on mission through our lives to reach out and serve our neighbors, our communities, and our world in relevant ways each and every day with Joy. We serve because of the radical inward work of grace in our lives, and desire that others also experience the revolution of Grace personally.

Worship Environment: God has placed a passion in our hearts and spirits for worship which is illuminated as we draw closer to Him. Our hearts set ablaze with worship, both corporately and individually, as we continually give ourselves over to Him and draw closer to His glory. To receive all that God is and what His Word teaches radically changes lives and causes internal change that is a result of progressively growing in Grace through worship.

Implementation of Our Vision and Mission

This is a flexible blueprint of we will use to reach out to people, connect with them, and lead them into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ.

Building relational bridges into the community through our missional community groups inviting individuals to a celebration of Grace on Sundays or to the numerous missional community Groups events of Celebration (Three keys here: Intentionality, Unconditional Love , Acceptance, and “Telling Our Story”)

Living out an authentic living faith for others to see (People don’t just want you to tell them about your faith; they want to see evidence of it in the way you live your life – are you for real or a fraud? People do not care how much you know until you show them how much you really care. Has Jesus REALLY radically changed your life and given you a new set of values and desires to live your life by?)

Inviting and Gathering an un-churched friend to an authentic service designed for particularly them to observe the Celebration This also allows for the development of new emerging missional leaders and the mentoring of missional community leaders learning and growing effectively in reproducible authentic maturity. Attend, Invite, tutor and serve others!

Encountering the Spirit of God and teaching the Word of God through the worship experience (it needs to be real and relevant) making the complex simple and applicable in daily life for everyone, not just for seekers attending.

Making a decision to follow Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord (You shouldn’t have to force or manipulate this – Jesus didn’t! – Just gave them an opportunity to respond to the Gospel when they came and saw) We are only a pencil in the hand of God, God will do the writing on individuals heart if we are only faithful to present Him and invite people to a decision as we celebrate our Master in relationship.

Connecting organically with the Body of Christ. Christ honoring relationships, friendships, and spiritual discovery. The organism of the church the missional community groups is where we do life together corporately and discovery occurs.

Learning how to live like Jesus lived and taught from the Word of God we will develop genuine growth together. Spiritual formation and reproduction of life transformation in others (Mentoring / Teaching / Reproduction)

Serving others outside the church (Community Service and servant evangelism thru our Missional DNA and Missional community groups)

Loving God as a lifestyle (Worship – it’s not just an event you go to on Sunday, it’s a lifestyle! We will teach people what it means to live the Christian life 24/7)

Reproducing other believers and churches

WHAT WE BELIEVE

ABOUT THE BIBLE

The Bible is God’s word to all men. It was written by human authors, under the supernatural guidance of the Holy Spirit. It is the supreme source of truth for Christian beliefs and living. Because it is inspired by God, it is truth without any mixture of error.

ABOUT GOD

God is the creator and ruler of the universe. He has eternally existed in three persons – the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. These three are co-equal and are one God.

ABOUT MAN

Man is made in the spiritual image of God, to be like him in character. He is the supreme object of God’s creation. Although man has tremendous potential for good, he is marred by an attitude of disobedience toward what God called “sin.” This attitude separates man from God.

ABOUT ETERNITY

Man was created to exist forever. He will either exist eternally separated from God by sin or in union with God through forgiveness and salvation. To be eternally separated from God is hell. To be eternally in union with him is eternal life. Heaven and hell are places of eternal existence.

ABOUT JESUS CHRIST

Jesus Christ is the Son of God. He is co-equal with the Father. Jesus lived a sinless human life and offered himself as the perfect sacrifice for the sins of all men by dying on a cross. He arose from the dead after three days to demonstrate His power over sin and death. He ascended to heaven’s glory and will return again to earth to reign as King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

ABOUT SALVATION

Salvation is a gift from God to man by grace through faith. Man can never make up for his sin by self-improvement or good works – only by trusting in Jesus Christ as God’s offer of forgiveness can man be saved from sin’s penalty. Eternal life begins the moment one receives Jesus Christ into his life by faith.

ABOUT ETERNAL SECURITY

Because God gives man eternal life through Jesus Christ, the believer is secure in salvation for eternity. Salvation is maintained by the grace and power of God, not by the self-effort of the Christian.

ABOUT THE HOLY SPIRIT

The Holy Spirit is equal with the Father and the Son as God. He is present in the world to make men aware of their need for Jesus Christ. He also lives in every Christian from the moment of salvation. He provides the Christian with power for living, understanding of spiritual truth, and guidance.

____________________________

Compass Church … a fresh perspective on God’s timeless truth and amazing Grace which will reproduce the next generation of missionaries that will impact everyone, everywhere they are!

Founding Pastor: Teddy Awad

Spiritual Gifts: Entrepreneurial Spirit, Visionary Leadership, Strategic Thinking, Evangelism, Faith, Communication

Family: Wife Mary and one Child … Tiffany–8

Teddy and Mary Awad have been married for 10 years, and have spent the last 15 years in ministry, the last four years on staff with a Young Adult Crisis Hotline.

To accomplish our vision we have joined with Converge Southeast. The focus of Converge Southeast is staring new and healthy churches throughout the region. For more information about Converge south east please visit their website at:

http://convergesoutheast.net/

The focus of Converge Southeast is staring new and healthy churches throughout the region.

THE NEED:

.

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Movemental Christianity

Ed Stetzer offers a great list of the key elements of a Movemental Christianity.

Prayer

Prayer will need to be more than a habit, or a discipline. It must be a conviction that establishes its priority. Before we see movemental Christianity, we will have to be praying, asking God to change us.

Intentionality

We will also need to show the intention of being movemental (see the next 8 elements). As of now, I believe our focus is primarily defensive and incremental, not intentional and exponential.

Sacrifice

Change will not come without giving something up. No movement will happen until pressure is applied to move the church from the place of being static to a body of believers in action. This sacrifice will be paid by denominations, individual churches, and believers.

Reproducibility

Movements do not occur through large things (big budgets, big plans, big teams). They occur through small units that are readily reproducible. Those who want to see movements need to see reproducibility at every level. This is a challenge is to resist the grandiose in favor of the reproducible.

Theological Integrity

Churches wanting to be involved in transformative, movemental Christianity hold firm and passionate positions on biblical views. The Baptists and Methodists won the Western Frontier (1795-1810) because they were passionate about their beliefs. The Pentecostals are not de-emphasizing what they believe to win Central America. Movements are found among people with robust beliefs, not generic belief systems.

Incarnation

Movemental Christianity recognizes that the gospel is unchanging, but the expressions and results of the gospel will vary from culture to culture. It also recognizes that as the sent people of God we are called to appropriately identify with those to whom we have been sent. All of this means that we must understand both the gospel and culture in order to be the biblically faithful, culturally relevant, counter-cultural movement of God. Movements will look like, and be owned by, ordinary people in their setting.

Empowerment

Movements only occur when the disempowered are given the freedom, and then take up the responsibility, to lead. In our case, the clergification of the church has marginalized those God has called – all people. The disempowerment of church members simultaneously satisfies and disturbs many pastors. Frustration results from not being able to get others to do the work of ministry, but satisfaction comes from being affirmed in doing the work others should be doing. Such co-dependency is the death-knell of movemental Christianity.

Charitability

Movemental Christianity is messy. Those involved in it make mistakes, over-emphasize certain things, and even believe things different than I do. Nobody gives her or his life for a bland belief system. A movement of God cannot be contained in a single movement or theological tradition. Therefore, movemental Christianity requires charity to maintain our firmly held convictions while rejoicing for and speaking well about those with whom we differ but are being greatly blessed by God.

Scalability

Movements often are stifled within smaller communities because of the small mindedness of local believers. When God begins to move, and believers allow movement Christianity to begin to grow, structures must be able to rapidly re-size to not stifle such movements.

In many cases, movements will break out of structures. More frequently, non-scalable structures (like some training programs or denomination structures), will actually hinder the movement. These structures become bottlenecks rather than catalysts.

Wholism

The modern evangelical separation of gospel proclamation and societal transformation is an historical oddity. Movemental Christianity will practice wholistic ministry much in the way of Jesus. Current movements and historical awakenings are and were accompanied by societal transformation. (Cities of God: How Christianity Become an Urban Movement and Conquered Rome provides a helpful look at this subject.)

I am sure a true movement will involve more than this…but these would be a start.

          Clergification

I have no problem with paid pastors (it is biblical). My concern is the bias against the unpaid and the clergification of ministry. All believers have a ministry, mine is just to the office of pastor. God calls us to different ministries, some are paid and some are not, but all are essential.

The monetary support of pastoral leadership is a biblical model. Paul wrote to the church in Corinth that, “the Lord commanded that those who proclaim the gospel should get their living by the gospel.” (1 Cor. 9:14) He presses the point again in 1 Tim. 5:17-18 when he told the young pastor, “Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching. For the Scripture says, ‘You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain,’ and, ‘The laborer deserves his wages.’” There are other passages that also support this practice (Gal. 6:6; 3 Jn. 1:8) as a good model for sustaining the leadership and direction of the church.

While many understand the biblical merit of this argument, many have also bought into the clergification of Christian ministry. This is the belief that the professionals carry out the real work of the church, and everyone else simply lends a hand here and there. And “professionals” are of course those who make their living from the gospel. Therefore, bi-vocational pastors or church planters are often held in much less esteem, and the rest of the church is seen as practically unnecessary. Such a perspective misses the example of Paul, and more importantly the nature of gospel ministry and church health.

While clearly articulating the idea that pastoral leadership should be supported by their local church, Paul himself often worked outside of the church to support his church planting endeavors. More importantly, Paul clearly teaches that the church’s health is built upon the interdependent ministries that arise from the church body, and not solely from the teaching ministry of paid leaders (1 Cor. 12; Eph. 4; Rom 12:3-8). We have to guard against the tendency to depend more on man and less on Christ among his people.

In the email conversation Neil Cole added some helpful words to this discussion, and I wanted to share them here (with his permission).

1. Paul does say it is the apostles "right" to be supported, but that he and Barnabas have forgone that right for the furtherance of the gospel. I believe the idea is that in pioneering works, he doesn’t want to offer the gospel at a charge. That is my own conviction, so I never receive support from the church I am starting at the time, but will gladly receive it once I move on.

2. Jesus sent the disciples (both the 12 and the 70) off without any financial support. He said "do not take a purse." No reserves, no credit cards, no plans for sustenance. They were to believe God to provide for them and solely focus on obedience to the kingdom principles taught in Matt 10 and Luke 10. I often wonder what Christianity would look like if we all started this way. After their faith and obedience are demonstrated (tested?), Jesus later says, "Now, take a purse." (Luke 22?) The idea is that you do not know how to handle money until you know how to go forward without it. Once you prove that your heart is right and your faith is sound, then financial support is fine…as long as it is releasing you to do more of what you do already. The idea of employment is foreign to the NT. You are owned by Jesus, not any other. Job descriptions, office hours, performance reviews, raises, lay-offs, bonuses, etc…have no place in God’s kingdom. This is not a business enterprise but a Kingdom and each are agents under Christ’s command and none other. He will not place the order and then not pay the bill.

3. There were many times Paul made tents, but also times when he served "full time" while others worked to support him. He never took money from his new churches, but accepted it when he moved on (i.e. Philippians). There is not one model for how this works in the NT and not even one only for Paul himself.

We have many who are moving this direction with radical faith and God is honoring. The last chapter of my next book (Organic Leadership) is story after story of church planters who ventured off away from secure salaries to live by faith and using their entrepreneurial gifts. Each story is unique and powerful. Often additional "side-effects" occur that no one expected…like greater respect in the community and fruitfulness in transforming a city. Often they end up having much greater financial support then they would have had in "professional ministry".

Alan Hirsch had limited time to write but added,

The only thing I would add to Chris is that given that you are in an established church, it has its ‘givens’ and professionalization of ministry is one of them. But I think we do need to be very careful about being domesticated by being paid full-time. We easily get co-opted to becoming chaplains of the status quo.

Neil’s and Alan’s advice and cautions should give us all pause as we consider what are the pitfalls and pressures we face in the local church. The health of the church depends on the presence of Christ working through the whole body as his missionary activity, and not on select personalities or professionals.

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EdStetzer.com

]]> https://youngadultcrisishotline.wordpress.com/2008/11/18/edstetzercom/feed/ 0 37 youngadultcrisishotline https://youngadultcrisishotline.wordpress.com/2008/11/15/join-our-catalytic-team-and-family/ https://youngadultcrisishotline.wordpress.com/2008/11/15/join-our-catalytic-team-and-family/#respond Sun, 16 Nov 2008 06:08:00 +0000 http://youngadultcrisishotline.wordpress.com/2008/11/16/join-our-catalytic-team-and-family/ Continue reading →]]>

Join Our Catalytic Team and Family

God has really been deeply touching us with a vision to gather missionaries in the Tampa bay area from all over the United States. We together as a missionary community with various gifting and unique God given abilities will be able plant numerous churches together as a catalyst family. A Catalyst family stimulates movement that precipitates a response, development, and lasting change. As a Catalyst family we are more effective than on our own as just Church planters. Together we can make an impact, working alongside one another, instead of apart building our very own kingdom. Let’s work together to plant a healthy church that loves people and really cares about one another. Then we can help one another to plant other churches from a base of operations and develop a network of churches planting churches as a Catalyst family. This takes sacrifice and a life that does not belong to you anymore. It honestly takes a poured our life that is sent out by God. We are not looking for the religious. We are looking for a few Good men and women who are really ordinary people who do not think much of themselves, however think much about our extraordinary God who builds churches through the ordinary. This is the march of the unqualified.

Over the past year God has given us a burden for lost people in the Southeast and a passion to reach them with the message of Jesus Christ by planting a network of healthy churches. Our goal is to be used by God to impact the Southeast for His kingdom by changing the spiritual landscape of this entire area from one that worships and idolizes nature, leisure, and individualism to a community of fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ that worship the one true God. We believe this is only possible through movement formation and development of Catalyst Family of church planters, launch team members, and various missionaries who through collaboration with the Gospel of Grace cross the culture and cause response, development, and lasting change.

We believe that we have been called by God to church planting because is the single most effective form of evangelism today, and the best method for achieving the common objective of reaching all of North America with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. New churches grow faster than established churches because new churches are formed around impacting entire communities and reaching the un-churched versus an emphasis of taking care of existing members in established churches. People are also more open to change in new churches and thus excited about trying new and innovative ideas which, in turn, attract other people. New churches also encourage the raising up of new leaders that may otherwise not readily get or seek leadership opportunities in existing churches. This is an important consideration given that a church’s ability to identify, empower, and equip kingdom-minded leaders largely determines the level of its success. To accomplish our vision we have joined with Converge Southeast.

The focus of Converge Southeast is staring new and healthy churches throughout the region. For more information about Converge south east please visit their website at:

http://convergesoutheast.net/

The focus of Converge Southeast is staring new and healthy churches throughout the region.

Converge World Wide Affirmation of Faith

http://www.convergesoutheast.net/content/view/61/89/

Watch this Video Slideshow:

http://www.goodmanson.com/wp-content/Post-Christian-ChurchPlanting.html

At the time of this writing there are approximately 300 million people in North America. It is estimated that at least 200 million of them are lost without Christ as their personal Savior. The easiest solution to this lostness problem is to train and require the 100 million saved people to lead two people to Christ this year. Then all of North America will be saved. Sounds too good to be true, but the math works. God desires the church to be salt and light among the nations. We all pretty much agree that healthy church plants are the most effective method of evangelism and discipleship. So how do we start enough churches to reach 200 million people?

American Missionaries Wanted

We are looking for various types of people from all races and cultural backgrounds to form a team that have first given themselves to the Lord and them to one another as a Catalyst family to form a movement with Converge Southeast. This is an opportunity to get involved with a church planting team with other church planters, launch team members, and other American missionaries who are going to be testing various methodologies, processes, ideas, and using this fallen world as a laboratory. Do you want to come to a place where the sky is the limit? Every idea is cared about and we together create movement. We are looking to put together the most amazing team of missionaries and church planters from all over the United States. We together by working to collaborate through the numerous levels and stages of church planting can make a greater impact by planting not just one church, but many. Individually available help each other fulfill each others God given hopes, dreams, vision, and destines through the Body of Christ. We can Start a Movement together and change the landscape of our culture and the very culture of church planting by making it collaborative, instead of focusing all the pressure upon just the individual church planter and his family. We believe this is only possible through movement formation and development of Catalyst Family of church planters, launch team members, and various missionaries who through collaboration with the Gospel of Grace cross the culture and cause response, development, and lasting change.

Launch Team member Qualifications:

Has A “Visionizing” Capacity. Is One who

Persuasively sells the Vision to the people and Believes in God’s capacity to accomplish great things.

Intrinsically motivated is one who Has stick-to-itiveness and is persistent. Is a self starter and is willing to build from nothing.

Ability to create ownership of ministry. Is one who

Helps others to feel responsible for the growth and success of the ministry. Wins the commitment of the people to the Vision.

Ability to relate to the unchurched people. Is one who:

Communicates in a style easily understood by the unchurched. Understands the “psychology” or mentality of the unchurched.

Manages family well. Is one who:

Has a spouse who is a partner in the ministry according to her gifts. Models wholesome family life before the church and the community.

Effectively Builds Relationships. Is one who:

Makes others feel secure and comfortable in his presence. Does not respond in a judgmental or prejudicial fashion to new people.

Committed to Church Growth. Is one who:

Appreciates steady and consistent growth without looking for “quick success.” Is committed to numerical growth within the context of spiritual and relational growth.

Responsive to the Community. Is one who:

Understands the culture of the community and collaboration. Adapts the philosophy of ministry to the character of the community.
Utilizes the giftedness of others. He is one who:

Releases and equips people to do the task of ministry. Matches people with ministry needs and opportunities according to giftedness.

Flexibility and adaptability. He is one who:

Can cope effectively with ambiguity.

Copes effectively with constant and abrupt change.

Building a cohesive church body. He is one who:

Quickly includes newcomers into a network of relationships or meaningful church activities. Monitors the morale of the people.

Resilience and Determination. He is one who:

Can ride the ups and downs. Can rebound from loss, disappointments and failures.

Exercises faith. He is one who:

Believes in the power of God.
His life is marked by expectation and hope.

If this sounds like you, maybe it is time for a formal assessment.
To request information about an Assessment Interview contact:

Teddy Awad
gracecompasschurch@gmail.com
http://gracecompasschurch.blogspot.com/

410-808-6483
Or call toll free 1-877-702-2GOD
Please review our Church plant proposal and ideas at our Blog for more detailed information and vision before contacting us:

http://gracecompasschurch.blogspot.com/

Collaboration Is The Act Of Working Together With The Gospel Of Grace In United Labor With Others To Serve Our City.

These Communities Will Be “Communitas” (Community With A Cause); A Coming Together Of Christ Followers Who Are Willing To Trade Their Life To Accomplish The Dream Of God By Following Jesus!

We are not a Funding Agency we are a Collaborative Network of Missionaries who are working for one another to expand the Kingdom of God in our City with the Gospel of Grace. We do not fund or give grants to church plants or church planters looking for funding. We are churches that collaborate with one another in our city for the sake of Christ. Together we can do more than we could alone.

We do give our Friendship, Love, Care and Prayers through partnership.

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