Bill Ellis

Way back in 1988, Bill Ellis started with a church plant. The church started running 20-25 people a week. The way they got the church to grow was to knock on people’s doors and invited them to church. According to him, that did not work really well, and he does not recommend that method. The first year that they were there, they averaged 30 people a week. The second year, they averaged 31 people per week, and that was discouraging to him. The church started growing a bit more when they moved from a Masonic lodge to an actual church building that they shared with another congregation.  During his talk, Pr. Bill asked some interesting questions that made me think quite a bit. Some of those questions are: 

-        - To take a Christian from another church is not the worst thing out there – but it is not really growing the kingdom, is it?

-       Can a person be a Christ follower and not be a Christian?

-       Is building the kingdom really all about attracting people to our churches?

Pastor Bill continued to talk about views that people have of the church. He discussed the functionalist view and the incarnational view. The functional view of church says that the church is God’s place in the world where you go to do God things. The incarnational views says that the church is not only a place that performs functions, but it is a place where God dwells. It is a people in whom God lives. He then linked these two views by saying that “our challenge is to help people who merely “go to church” to see themselves “as the church” and help them find the part they are to play putting God on display to the world”

This statement is so powerful because if people had the idea to take God with them wherever they go, instead of just expecting people to come to church. If we bring God to people instead of the other way around, I think that many more people would come to know Him as a friend, rather than a intimidating divine being.

Compassion By Design Survey  

Valley Forge Christian College celebrates the leadership and services that make our community  

great and also identifies the areas where we need to work together to continue to build a strong  

and vibrant place to live, work and play. This survey is being conducted in the Phoenixville area,  

and is a Valley Forge Christian College class project.  

1. Please enter your zip code: 

19460 

2. Nominate one organization in each of  the f ollowing categories:  

(Nominate those that represent the BEST of our community during the last year)  

Education Provider  

(School, college, day care, after school, educational service or business): 

Renaissance Charter School 

 

Health Care Provider  

(Hospital, clinic, doctor’s office, medical service or business): 

Paoli Hospital 

 

Recreation  

(Park, fields, facility, organization, league):  

Valley Forge National Park 

Business That Gives Back  

(Contributes to the community with funds or other support): 

Petrucci's Water Ice 

Restaurant or Coffee Shop:  

Artisan's Cafe 

Nonprofit & Charitable  

(Local foundations, nonprof its, charities and benefit drives):  

5K Run for Dana Marie

Public Service  

(Any local service operated by government—library, police, fire department):  

Police Department 

Culture,  Arts and Historic Enrichment  

(Museums, etc):

Steel City Cafe 

3. The greatest thing about our community is:  

It is clean, and in most cases family friendly. It does not have a country feel, but it is not quite city either, so there is good balance. 

4. If  there is one area in which our community needs to improve it is:  

There are too many bars in this area. 

5. In our community, I think the following areas pose the greatest challenge:  

(Pick up to 5 of the following):  

___ Financial Pressure  ___ Marriage & Relationships  

___ Substance Abuse  ___ Job Security  

___ Affordable Housing  ___ Time Pressure  

___ Crime/Violence  ___ Single Parent Resources  

___ Sense of  Permanence  ___ Childcare  

  X   Stress  ___ Loneliness  

___ Education    X   Public Transportation  

___ Cultural Tolerance  ___ Gangs  

  X  Jobs  ___ Resources for low­income families  

___ Traffic    X   Cost of Living  

  X   Discrimination  ___ Negative Media  

___ Professional Development  ___ Health Care  

___ Teen Resources  ___ Sense of  Community  

___ Immigration  ___ Support for Charity  

___ Lack of  Public Services  ___ Other:__________________  

6. The one thing that would make family life better in our community is:  

To have more activities for families. Better play areas, picnic areas, etc. 

7. I am concerned about what is going to happen in the future with: 

Racism in the area. It is becoming increasingly diverse, and not everyone is accepting of that. 

8. A new affordable service that would really help us is:  

n/a 

9. A service that really needs to be improved is:  

Public Transportation - it is available, but very limited. 

10. Comments on any of the above:  

Developed by David Mills, Compassion by Design, dmills@compassionbydesign.org

New Believer #1 

Tell me about your journey to faith in Christ? 

            I had a hard time growing up. I always felt alone, my family was all messed up, and I just really wished things would be better. I never really let people see how depressed I really was though – I used to pretend to be this really perfect person, but on the inside, I felt so empty and angry and desperate for happiness. I started thinking about suicide and how much better the world would be without me. I spent six months like this. I met a girl who invited me to this concert at a church. i decided to go and that was my first introduction to what God could give me.

ß  What helped you the most to step over the line and make the commitment? 

            When I went to the concert, it was a little weird – but the people there seemed really kind. The main thing I remember feeling was peace… and I wanted that peace because I didn’t have any peace at all in my life.

ß  What has been the best part of becoming a Christ follower for you? 

            Being accepted into this family – my church members have surrounded me, loved me, and encourage me. I feel as though I am a part of this huge family that I never knew I had.

ß  What has been the most challenging part of  following Christ? 

            Giving up my old way of thinking, feeling, talking, relating to people. Every day, I catch myself going down that road, and I have to stop myself and ask God for help. He has been so present – like in Psalm 46 – God is our refuge and strength, an ever present help in trouble. How true that is in my life!

ß  What do you think is helping you grow the most in your faith? 

            Knowing that people care. I feel like a baby in “the faith” but people at my church and in my friends from church constantly let me know they care about me and think about me. It has also helped talking to God on my own and for myself…learning to pray and learning when God is speaking to me. I really do feel like a baby learning to crawl or walk.

ß  What advice do you have f or me in helping others like you to grow in their f aith? 

            Give God a chance, just one chance to prove Himself to you! Also, find good friends – ones that care about you growing. Find a supportive church that will teach you the Bible and what you need to know to be strong in God.  

I loved reading her answers! This person is a friend of a friend, so it was really cool to see what she went through and where she is now. For her, one of the biggest things that affect her new relationship with God are the relationships that she has formed with her Christian friends, her church members, and her pastor. She is involved in a new believers class and a small group. The church that she attends really shows love to her.

I think that the relationship side of things was huge to her because all her life, she never had that love that she wanted. Now, for her, learning about Christ and the unconditional love He has for her is so alluring! This makes me so happy – it is as if someone who was starved now has a feast before him or her.

I am amazed at the way God takes someone who had no hope and restores life back into her. She now wants to work with teenagers that don’t know Jesus and tell her story back to the younger generation, especially girls. She has been a Christian now for about 20 months, and she continues to learn and grow and keep going after Him! 

Unchurched Friend #2

- Are you actively attending any church?

Once in a while

- What are a few issues or topics that impact/interest you?

The environment and the state of the economy 

- Why do you think most people don't attend church?

It's not really that fun...I have more fun hanging out with my friends. I pray when I need to but I don't need to go to church regularly because I'm not really THAT bad anyways. 

- If you were looking for a church to attend, what kinds of things would you look for?

Something that is not weird where I have to do weird things to join. Somewhere I can actually relate to, instead of just all these rituals and stuff.  

- What advice can you give to pastors who really want to be helpful to people?

Try to be more relatable to people. I have this idea of church where it is all crazy people who hate everyone else. I know that's not always true but that is what I think of when I think about church stuff. Try to be "normal" and not so out there. 

I asked these questions to a friend from high school. Her answers were a little surprising, because I don't think I'm that "out there" for her to say that. Then again, maybe the "idea" she has of church is different. If I were a non-Christian, I would probably feel the same way - we see Christians on street shouting that God hates homosexuals and things like that. This particular girl is a nice girl - like she said, she's not "THAT BAD." I think it's a shame that those that are not "that bad" don't see the need for Jesus Christ in their lives. From her answers, I feel like her experience w. Christians has been kind of rough. There are "crazy" people out there, and I feel like that has been her exposure to Christians. I hope that we can build up our friendship so she'll know that not every Christian is so out there, that we actually CAN and DO relate to people. 

Sam Masteller

-Sam Masteller was first hired as youth pastor. At the time, he labeled himself "hyper-charismatic." For him, this meant that the church he was involved in was all about the emotional side of things - there was all these people falling out and waving flags, etc. The people wanted this, because this was all around the same time as the Brownsville Revival, so people were all about the "revival" stuff. Soon enough, Sam realized that this particular church was not a place that the lost can come and experience God! Something very striking that he said was that he loves the power of the Spirit and he loves experiencing God, but if people are not coming to Christ, then what's the point?! I totally agree w/ this. If people are not coming to Christ, then what is happening in churches? I believe that church people want the emotional side of everything – they want the shivers and goose bumps, but when it comes to actually reaching the lost and discipling people, but like he said, people become fixated on the form of the power of the Spirit, but not actually the power of the Spirit!

Towards the end of class, we watched a video recorded by an atheist. Something he said caught my attention and held it – he said something along the lines of, "how much do you have to hate someone so that you don't tell him or her that everlasting life is possible?"

This quote is hugely profound and I am still thinking about it. I wonder what effect Christians would have on this world if we took this mindset on – we KNOW that people can have a chance at life w. Jesus but we don’t tell them. I am constantly guilty of this myself, so I was convicted when I heard an atheist say this! 

Pastor Dan Miller 

On Tuesday evening, Pastor Dan Miller from Back Mountain Harvest in Trucksville, Pa came into our class to speak with us. He is not your typical pastor - instead of pastoring a church, he pastors a COMMUNITY. In their community, because of the ministry of the church and Pr. Dan, there are more people being ministered to outside of the church than in the church. Pr. Dan said some really interesting things that spoke volumes about his passion for the Lord. 

Their ministry tries to "engage the culture." He makes sure that he is engaging the culture everywhere that he goes. 

Something very unique in his ministry is that he does not try to grow the church - he does not aim to get the church more members, he cares about bringing people to Christ. As he said, "Jesus never asked me to build a church, he asked me to expand the kingdom." I think this reflects his heart - he is not concerned about getting people inside a church, he wants them to know their Savior. On the same note, he said, "Church is not about us, it's about those who are not 'us' yet."

Through the church, they have plans to establish a school, as well as purchasing a gym to use as a community center. Pr. Dan and his team have already opened a NIGHT CLUB! It's technically not Christian, but there are different genres of music, which is mostly Christian. No alcohol is served so it is safe for parents to bring their children. They also have a center called the Hope Center. At the Hope Center, there is free medical and legal advice offered to everyone who wants it or needs it. They also offer pastoral counseling. 

There have been huge amounts donated to the church. When asked about how and where this money came from, Pr. Dan responded, God provided. When asked in detail, Pr. Dan encouraged us to be sure that we are called to what we are doing. He explained to us the difference between God's love and God's favor. We all have God's love, but His favor is a different story. When we have God's favor, He opens door for us. 

Jerry Stoltzfus 

Jerry has the amazing opportunity to plant churches for people who gave up on church. His ministry came up in an interesting way. He grew up Amish and went to the church. He would invite his friends to come to church with him. One day, someone asked him, Why do you keep inviting your friends here? He responded, so they could experience the love of Christ. The man told him to take his friends where they were loved! Because of this, he took his friends to the Pentecostal church across town. 

When Jerry left the church, 15 young people people came with him. When they came to the church, he didn't particularly love the church, but he loved the idea of being loved!! The music was loud, people spoke in tongues, the service was long...but the people there loved him! They talked to him in ways that no one else ever had.

There was a hefty price he had to pay for his salvation - his family and the Amish community had unofficially kicked him out.  His family never came outright and told him he was not welcome, but he was excluded from invitations to family events, etc. When he was 16, he got his call into ministry. He came to VFCC as a commuter while working at the church. He and his wife Julie have been married since the time he started college here. Before that, his introduction to ministry included helping the pastor at the church by mowing lawns, etc. 

Jerry had a long winding road ahead of him after Bible college. By the time he was 29, he was prepared to lead a church, but that was taken from him quickly - instead of being offered the position of senior pastor, he was actually fired from the church. About 5 years after this, he began seriously exploring the idea of planting a church. His first church plant was in the Gettysburg Area, where God spoke to him about where they would live and that they should plant the church in this area. 

A really important concept that we discussed was the way churches have become - churches put up walls to keep people out. Churches have these rules and regulations to keep people out, instead of being "user friendly." I totally agree with what he said. I think it is true that churches have come so far from the way Christ was when he came. It is cool to know that there are people out there who have a desire and passion to show people the love of Christ, regardless of who, where, and what they are!