Climbing Down to Climb Up
By Ryan Dawson
When mountain climbers climb Mount Everest, they spend more time climbing down the mountain than up the mountain. That may seem counterintuitive, but to acclimatize at each new stage the climbers must regularly retrace their steps on the way down, so they can gain the strength to push for the Summit at a later date.
In this season at Sequoia, we need to “climb down” from two in-person worship services to one, so that we can get spiritually stronger as a church, growing in our devotion to Jesus, seeing healthier leaders, more volunteers willing to serve, and having a greater heart for the not-yet-Christians. We originally intended to resume two in-person worship services on Sunday Sept. 8, but after much discussion and prayer we have decided to stay at one worship service (@ 10am) for the Fall season. We will continue with our on-line service at 10:10am and on demand afterwards.
This was a hard decision, but we feel it is the best decision at this time for our leaders and church family. We will continue to hold this loosely and evaluate things as we grow to see what is required in the months ahead. With significant growth it is quite likely we will need to go to two services in the future. Here is some rationale for our decision:
•Our leaders and key volunteers are spread quite thin & we want to ensure they are ministering & serving with joy out of an overflow and not out of a sense of duty or obligation. We need to care for our leaders and having only one in-person Sunday service relieves some strain on them.
•In this season we feel it is important that we seek Jesus together as a whole Church and having only one in-person service enables us to do this more effectively.
•We feel that a key priority for us a church is to grow in our love and devotion to Jesus. As pastoral leaders, we need to prioritize our spiritual formation currently over adding more Sunday worship programming.
•Our hope is that in lightening the Sunday worship programming it will enable our leaders and congregants to invest more time and energy in spiritual formation and missional engagement beyond Sunday morning so we can fulfill our mission to make multiplying disciples of Jesus as we truly live out our vision… "We long to see thousands of people live out the Kingdom of Jesus together, wherever we live, work, play, and go."
What can you do to help us implement this new direction?
•Pray for Sequoia that we would grow in our love for God, become a “house of prayer for all nations”, and be “a symbol and source of blessing” that honours Christ.
•Volunteer to serve on Sunday in some capacity and / or mentor someone in a serving role so we can expand our serving teams.
•Sit closer together and closer to the front of the gym so we can leave more room for newcomers and guests at the sides and back of the gym.
•Reserve the main OCS parking lot for newcomers, guests, and those needing extra assistance. If you are serving and leading on Sunday, we ask that you park at the back of OCS or in the adjacent parking lots surrounding Clarke Fields.
•Invite others to join you at our Sunday Services so they can encounter Jesus Christ!
Thank you for helping us move forward as a church family. I am so thankful for you, and I pray the Lord fills you to overflowing with His love, grace, and power so you shine for Jesus as you live, serve, and lead.
With much love and appreciation, Ryan
When mountain climbers climb Mount Everest, they spend more time climbing down the mountain than up the mountain. That may seem counterintuitive, but to acclimatize at each new stage the climbers must regularly retrace their steps on the way down, so they can gain the strength to push for the Summit at a later date.
In this season at Sequoia, we need to “climb down” from two in-person worship services to one, so that we can get spiritually stronger as a church, growing in our devotion to Jesus, seeing healthier leaders, more volunteers willing to serve, and having a greater heart for the not-yet-Christians. We originally intended to resume two in-person worship services on Sunday Sept. 8, but after much discussion and prayer we have decided to stay at one worship service (@ 10am) for the Fall season. We will continue with our on-line service at 10:10am and on demand afterwards.
This was a hard decision, but we feel it is the best decision at this time for our leaders and church family. We will continue to hold this loosely and evaluate things as we grow to see what is required in the months ahead. With significant growth it is quite likely we will need to go to two services in the future. Here is some rationale for our decision:
•Our leaders and key volunteers are spread quite thin & we want to ensure they are ministering & serving with joy out of an overflow and not out of a sense of duty or obligation. We need to care for our leaders and having only one in-person Sunday service relieves some strain on them.
•In this season we feel it is important that we seek Jesus together as a whole Church and having only one in-person service enables us to do this more effectively.
•We feel that a key priority for us a church is to grow in our love and devotion to Jesus. As pastoral leaders, we need to prioritize our spiritual formation currently over adding more Sunday worship programming.
•Our hope is that in lightening the Sunday worship programming it will enable our leaders and congregants to invest more time and energy in spiritual formation and missional engagement beyond Sunday morning so we can fulfill our mission to make multiplying disciples of Jesus as we truly live out our vision… "We long to see thousands of people live out the Kingdom of Jesus together, wherever we live, work, play, and go."
What can you do to help us implement this new direction?
•Pray for Sequoia that we would grow in our love for God, become a “house of prayer for all nations”, and be “a symbol and source of blessing” that honours Christ.
•Volunteer to serve on Sunday in some capacity and / or mentor someone in a serving role so we can expand our serving teams.
•Sit closer together and closer to the front of the gym so we can leave more room for newcomers and guests at the sides and back of the gym.
•Reserve the main OCS parking lot for newcomers, guests, and those needing extra assistance. If you are serving and leading on Sunday, we ask that you park at the back of OCS or in the adjacent parking lots surrounding Clarke Fields.
•Invite others to join you at our Sunday Services so they can encounter Jesus Christ!
Thank you for helping us move forward as a church family. I am so thankful for you, and I pray the Lord fills you to overflowing with His love, grace, and power so you shine for Jesus as you live, serve, and lead.
With much love and appreciation, Ryan