Kingdom-Minded at Netcast

The more I have studied the Kingdom, the less I wanted to teach on it. It is so massive of a topic that I think we could spend our entire lives learning about it and still not come close to fully grasp it's magnitude. The series has really challenged my thinking of mission, unity and the local church. Today I read John 1:1-18 and again was reminded of our responsibility of Kingdom-Mindedness.

John 1:1-18 
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. 6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. 8 He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light. 

Our job as a local church is to always bear witness about Jesus. John the Baptist was a perfect model of this. He lived his life in an effort to decrease so that Jesus would increase. As people would look at him, he would point them back to Jesus, saying "Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world." May we model the same thing. May Netcast be a place that fights the temptation of trying to put butts in seats in order to build an empire, but rather utilize the influence that God gives to advance the Kingdom by point people to our King.

Being a Missionary at Work.

Since the day I realized the that Jesus calls me a missionary in the context in which I work, I have seen ministry completely different. No longer is missions something I have to do overseas or along side of my church, but rather it is who I am in Christ all day everyday. The problem is that for years I was attempting to climb the corporate ladder and the thought of reaching my co-workers was terrifying. Today, I want to encourage us that this is possible. We can actually love our co-workers and reach them with the gospel, if we are intentional. Here are some ways that we can pursue it.....

1. Don't eat alone, intentionally eat with other co-workers and learn their story.

2. Get to work early so you can pray for your co-workers and the day.

3. Make it a daily priority to speak or write encouragement to one person.

4. Bring extra snacks when you make your lunch to give away to others.

5. Bring breakfast once a month for everyone in your department.

6. Organize a running/walking group in the before or after work.

7. Have your community group provide lunch for your workplace once a month.

8. Create a regular time to invite coworkers over or out for drinks.

9. Make a list of birthdays and find a way to bless everyone on their birthday.

10. Organize office parties as appropriate to your job.

11. Avoid gossip in the office. Be a voice of thanksgiving not complaining.

12. Car pool if there is someone who lives close to you.

13. Throw a shower for a co-worker who is having a baby.

14. Cover for a co-worker who needs off for something.

15. Start a lunch out with co-workers (don’t be selective on the invites).

16. Organize a weekly/monthly pot luck to make lunch a bit more exciting.

17. Ask someone if you can grab them a soda/coffee while you’re out.

18. Be the first person to greet and welcome new people.

19. Make every effort to know the names of people and their families.

20. Visit coworkers when they are in the hospital.

21. Have your community group fill a break room for coworkers to enjoy.

22. Go out of your way to talk to people who typically are overlook.

23. Double-Date with other couples after work for happy hour.

24. Invite your co-workers in to the service projects you are already involved in.

25. Keep small candy, gum, or little snacks around to offer to others during a long day.

26. Finds ways to get your co-workers to mingle with friends from church?

27. Remember, 90% of the people you are friends with would visit your church if you invited them.

Thanks Josh Reeves for some of the ideas.

Netcast and Guatemala Mission Trip

On July 3rd through the 8th, we will be taking our first mission trip as a church, and WE WANT YOU TO COME!

Netcast will be going down to Guatemala City to serve at Potter’s House. In short, this ministry provides basic needs for the people who live surrounding the dump (the largest in Latin America) and make their living out of whatever they can find in the trash (which is usually under $3 a day for a family of 4).

Potter´s house feeds and educates the children, trains leaders, equips women for work, has discipleship groups, among many other projects. Netcast partnered with them in December, sending financial support, and now we will go down to be the hands and feet of Jesus. We will be serving them by doing manual labor, relational ministry, loving the children and whatever else they need. You can expect the days to be hard emotionally and physically, to be surrounded by very bad smells, to eat a lot of beans, to make children smile, and as you are working to make other people´s lives better, you can also expect your own live to be transformed.

The total cost of the trip is $1,350, which will cover airfare, all taxes, lodging, meals (from the moment you step foot at Logan airport until we get back), transportation and donations. YES, YOU READ THAT RIGHT! ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING WILL BE COVERED.

We will help you fundraise individually and we will be hosting big fundraising events for the whole group. Visit Netcastchurch.org to read more about the trip and fill out the application due February 3rd.

If you have any specific questions, comments or concerns, you can email Erica Sturgeon at erica@citygatels.com.

Netcast Mission and Vision

Series: Netcast Identity
Title: Netcast Mission and Vision
Text: 1 Corinthians 3:5-11; John 4:21-24; Romans 15:1-7

It is clear in scripture that God is about making his name great on the earth. Isaiah 42 says, "we have been created for God's glory." In the New Testament, Christians are commissioned to glorify God by making disciples of Jesus Christ. So, the obvious mission of every local church is to glorify God by making disciples.

But how? How does a local church go about making disciples of Jesus Christ? There are thousands of ways that the church historically has gone about making disciples. Whether it be through classes, programs, special ministries or services; the strategies are endless. However, each church has it's own identity and unique strategy in seeing disciples made.

Our mission at Netcast is to bring glory to God through cultivating gospel-centered, worshipful communities. We believe that if a person continues to grow in their knowledge and understanding of the gospel, grow in their worship of Jesus Christ and live out their faith in biblical authentic community; that person is a devout disciple of Jesus. Therefore, at Netcast we will continue to cultivate these types of atmospheres where people can thrive in their walk with Christ and love of their neighbor.

Netcast Identity: The Mission of God and His Church

The mission of God is the demonstration of His own glory. God creates, calls, rescues, redeems, saves, and restores so that that He might be glorified in those things. His desire, which He will surely fulfill, is that the understanding and knowledge of His glory would be known throughout the world. In other words, God’s underlying mission on the earth is to make known His magnificence. Therefore, the church is called to be the means of making his glory known. But how? If God can be glorified in an infinite amount of ways, than what is the primary mission of the church? How are we, as the church, to pursue the glorification of God?

After Jesus fulfills the gospel by living the perfect life that we are called to live, dying the horrific death that we deserve and then raises from the grave; He proves that he is the Messiah, the glorious one. The writer of Hebrews tells us that Jesus is the exact imprint of God's nature and He is to be exalted high above all things. In Matthew 28; the glorious Jesus, give us the commission on how we (His church) will glorify Him. We are told to go and make disciples throughout all the nations. God is most glorified by His church as the church preaches and lives out the gospel, while making disciples within the earth.