Connecting and Equipping

My wife Lorene (director of Women's Ministries at FBCG) recently received a beautiful email from a woman who is in the process of
connecting to FBCG as a new church home. She describes first visiting our Moms Together ministry and then taking the step of visiting FBCG for worship. She describes "the difference I feel when I walk into your church - the joy in the building, the people that are truly welcoming and happy to be there and accepting people from all walks of life and the simplicity of the worship service..." She goes on to describe how she and her daughters "already don't want to miss a Sunday and this is what I've always wanted - to be truly committed and to be strong enough in my faith that it is natural to sing His songs, talk about Him, pray and love Him with all of our hearts." In short, she describes her desire not just to connect to a church family, but also a longing to be equipped in her faith.

We find ourselves using these words - CONNECTING and EQUIPPING a great deal these days in FBCG
leadership circles - not just because they emerged from the church-wide survey we conducted back in the fall - but because we believe they lie at the very heart of what it means to be the Church of Jesus Christ. As we seek to strengthen FBCG we looked into God's word for guidance:

Connecting:

"They devoted themselves to the apostles teaching and to the fellowship..." (Acts 2:42-47)

By connecting we mean intentionally welcoming people into the mission and fellowship of FBCG.

Equipping:

"...and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service so that the body of Christ may be
built up." (Ephesians 4:11-13)

By equipping we mean preparing believers for maturity/service through an intentional process of spiritual growth.

While are excited at what we are learning together as leaders of FBCG - we recognize that we have much yet to learn about becoming a connecting and equipping church. Again, we thank you for your participation in the survey and ask for your continued prayers as we continue to seek God's will for FBCG!

Next @ FBCG

So What's Happening with the Survey?

Why did we do the survey?

After being on two campuses for four years, and recently revisiting the Phase 2 project for the West Campus, it became evident we needed to make sure
we understand the needs and hearts of our congregation before moving forward with a building project of significant magnitude. Our congregation now
totals over 3,500 - with weekend worship attendance of 1,600-1,800.

What did the surveys say?

The feedback from the Transforming Church Index survey was extremely encouraging - with our congregation identifying many
strengths within FBCG! The
survey results are helping us understand both who we are as a church family, and where we must focus our attention as we look toward the future.
Along
with the many strengths identified, our congregation also identified areas of our church life needing to be strengthened including feeling
connected
to FBCG and others, and intentional spiritual growth.

In response, our leadership believes God is calling FBCG to be a church that:

• Reaches people and families in our local community


• Connects people and families to FBCG and to each other


• Equips people and families for service, both locally and globally, through a process of intentional spiritual growth


• Glorifies Christ

What are we going to do next?

As we move forward, we want to retain the unique characteristics that God used to build this church family. We will continue to value multiple worship styles, multiple generations, ministry to all ages, and serving the world. We will focus new attention and energy to find and implement ways to deepen the connectivity of our church family and equip our congregation to reach and serve our church, our community and the world!

A few small steps:

Since receiving the survey results, the Executive Council and staff leadership have met to understand the results and discuss the implications for
FBCG. We have already launched several ministry initiatives designed to address issues we identified through the survey:

1. Seven couple's small groups involving 42 couples were formed following the Couple's Event in late February.


2. "Built to Last," a new class designed to help young married couples strengthen their marriages and build connections with each other, was
   launched in February at the West Campus.


3. Our recent sermon series, "Everything You Need: The Pathway of Spiritual Growth," was accompanied by a "Spiritual Growth Tool" on our fbcg.com
   website. The tool was designed to help people take intentional steps toward spiritual growth.

What can we expect?

We are planning several more events over the next couple of months, which will expand on the number of people involved in this process and
will allow us to begin developing specific action steps and ministry initiatives to help us move in the above outlined directions. We expect to define specific areas of work to preserve our strengths as well as address these new opportunities. We know representatives across the church will need to be dynamically involved in these efforts to move FBCG to the next step God intends us to take. We encourage you to continue praying for this process and to begin prayerfully considering your participation as we move forward.