Vision Night and Letter

The following post contains a recent letter the Leadership Team of NCC sent out to all our financial and prayer partners in 2010. We remain extremely grateful to God for allowing so many people to be involved in what He is doing in Northwest Arkansas. And remember that this Sunday night, December 5th we are hosting our Vision Night at 5:00pm at the BGC to share with the church the vision, strategy, and direction for 2011. Plus we will have subs from Jimmy John's so bring an appetite.

Dear Northwest Community Church Partner:

The Leadership Team of Northwest Community Church would like to thank you for your continued prayer support as well as the financial contributions you made to the launch of Northwest Community Church. We are grateful for the opportunity to plant an Acts 2 church focused on leading people to experience a new life in Christ.

Since our official launch in February we have averaged 50 people in our Sunday morning worship services at the Bella Vista Boys and Girls Club. The exciting fact about that number is that many of the people worshiping with us on Sundays were totally unchurched prior to attending Northwest Community Church for the first time. In addition, we started four community groups this year that serve as our primary vehicle for ministry and discipleship. In order to attract new people we remain committed to a lifestyle of evangelism that is focused on developing friendships with people who may be far from God by intentionally looking for ways to serve our friends and neighbors. Whether we are helping kids at the Boys and Girls Club decorate pumpkins or providing logistical support for a local mountain biking festival, our church is committed to getting out into the community to serve and build relationships with new people. It is our love for God and his love for people that compel us to step out of our comfort zones, follow the Holy Spirit’s promptings, and connect with people who may have never encountered the love of their heavenly father.

As we approach the end of the first year, we ask that you do three things:

1. Continue to pray for the church’s effectiveness, health, and sustainability.

2. Come join us for a worship service and witness firsthand what God is doing at NCC.

3. Consider making a year-end financial contribution in the life of a new church.

Thank you for your involvement in Northwest Community Church. Upon receiving your contributions receipts in January 2011, please feel free to contact us if you have any questions.

In Christ,

Will, Greg, Rob, and Kevin

Casting the Vision of Church Planting

Beginning tomorrow Sarah and I are going on a 10 day trip across parts of TN and GA casting the vision for church planting. We will be speaking in and/or meeting with three churches and one parachurch organization who have decided to invest in the life of Northwest Community Church as we lead people to experience a new life in Christ. It is always a privilege to talk with anyone who understands the value of the local church. Like others, we believe that healthy local churches are the hope of the world and we are honored to partner with likeminded people who want to see healthy churches planted that will one day help plant other local churches. In fact, there are very few things in life that get me more excited than to talk about healthy, life-changing, gospel-centered, Acts 2 style churches.

We will conclude our trip by leading a fall retreat for Northway Student Ministry (NSM) from Macon, GA November 19-22. As always, I am excited to speak to a group of high school students who desire to live out a radical faith. My talks to NSM will focus around David Platt's book "Radical" which has proven to be a very convicting read for me over the past several weeks. In fact, Northwest Community Church better get ready because we are definitely going to read this book together in 2011. The funny thing is that the group of students I will be speaking to from NSM will be larger than our entire church!

Please pray for us as we travel. Pray that God will use us to pour into others and cause people to see the Kingdom benefits of church planting. Pray too for Northwest Community Church as they continue to lead Bella Vista to experience a new life in Christ.