October 4-10



Into the Future


Acts 10:1-6, 9-23, 27-36


Studies teach us and statistics back it up that the church, as we know it today, is appealing to an ever decreasing segment of our population in the United States.  The prevailing form of Christian ministry at the present time is what is called the attractional model.  The attractional model is based on developing a ministry that has attractive options and compelling worship services that will attract people to come to us.  The attractional model tries to develop an above average ministry then open the doors and hope that people come.  The truth is that if churches only offer that model of ministry then they will be appealing to an increasingly dwindling slice of the population.

The passage of scripture that will be investigating this week is a story of the first century church and how their ministry had to be re-developed very soon after the church came into existence.  This teaches us that the church has always and will always need to change and re-develop its methods to reach the world around us.  The Gospel of Jesus Christ will never change but the Methods that we use and the way the church is formulated must change in order to maintain a relevant connection with the culture.

This week we will discover how change in the church is necessary and how the power of the Holy Spirit can work through that change.