| | | | | | A Reason to Rise Who is God? What is he like? How can I have a relationship with him? People have been asking these questions for thousands of years. While some prefer to explore these questions privately, others long for a group discussion. New Vertical seeks to foster both kinds of opportunities.
The group pictured below is gathering for a 6-part series based on the book "Reason for God". The discussion includes a biblical perspective on the mysteries of faith.
Some of the morning topics have been. - Is the bible a myth?
- Is there only one way to God?
- Legalism vs Holiness.
- Why does God allow suffering?
- Who is responsible for evil?
- How can God be loving and wrathful at the same time?
| | A Two-Way Bridge One of our strategic initiatives is to build a "two-way bridge" between the Church and the Marketplace. The bridge is built with three distinct people groups in mind. - "SBNR" (the spiritual but not religious)
- By the time Gen Z assimilates into the Marketplace fewer than 30% of Americans will perceive themselves as Christian. While a large portion of the remaining 70% are often interested in exploring faith, they are opposed to organized religion (Sunday morning, etc.)
- Select economies such as: Hospitality, Youth Travel Sports, and Entertainment.
- A functional rift between particular Churches and these industries is growing. Those associating with these industries struggle to find biblical paths for faith questions.
- Those who self-distance themselves from the Church.
- People who remove themselves from organized Church often maintain a strong interest in spiritual matters. Their numbers are growing and reasons unique.
Imagine a two-way bridge connecting Christian community to these three groups. It is not reasonable to expect these groups to initiate construction of the bridge. The work must begin with the Church.
Additionally, just building the bridge is not enough, the first travelers must be from the Church. Practically this means: if you want to minister to these groups you have to go where they are. That is the first step. When and how to travel back across is another conversation. But that conversation will never happen without the Church building and crossing the bridge first. The Bridge must: - Be accessible, inviting, and contextual with a zero barrier for entry
- Provide a contextual path for spiritual growth and discovering Christian community.
| | NV Refresher As a stateside missionary, New Vertical extends the local Church's reach into the buffer zones listed above.
Through the PRCC (The multi-denominational chaplaincy arm of the PCA), our Board of Directors, and the many friends who support us, New Vertical seeks to build a sustainable discipleship pipeline by shepherding those outside the local Church.
Compare it to: RUF, CRU, FCA, YoungLife. These are examples of "going to" a campus. Succesfully engaging a campus requires missional engagement. New Vertical believes our cities have become campuses. | | Chaplaincy is Pastoring The data on the expanding gap between culture and the local Church helps explain why some confuse mentoring, coaching and pastoring. While there is fluidity among these roles, they are very different. Here is a short article on the nuances of each.
We are dependent on external funding. 100% of our finances come from support. Which means pastoring in the unreached portions of the marketplace (the groups listed above) can't happen without your gifts. Thank you. You can give here. | | Please Pray for: Awareness and Funding. If we can reach our four strategic goals (listed below) then we can successfully bridge this GAP from a blind spot to a known opportunity.
Please Pray for: - Those in our ministry who are making decisions for Christ. They face significant internal and external challenges.
- Please pray for wisdom as we seek our top four Strategic Goals:
- Board Integration (aka longterm planning)
- Increased Monthly Giving ($50-$300)
- Church Partnerships
- Developed Discipleship Pathway
- Please continue to pray for our family and the New Vertical Board.
| | Grateful We know support comes in many forms. We cannot pioneer marketplace ministry without you. Thank you for your support. You are loved and we are grateful.
His Grace is enough. | | | | | | | |
