a time of prayer

We are deeply longing for the vision that we have been sharing as a church to be so much more than ideas or concepts, but for them to become the cries of our heart and the shape of our experience.

There is nothing more powerful to pull something from our minds into our hearts than prayer and action. We want to pray and we want to make plans for action. To begin we want to pray together.

Presence / Pray that we might experience and enjoy the Presence of God as much as we ever have. Ask that God would reveal Himself in our midst. Pour out your heart to God in asking for His presence.

Formation / Pray that we would be formed in the way of Jesus. Ask God for the grace to help us apprentice under Jesus as individuals and as a church family. May we grow as those who practice the way of Jesus on a daily basis.

Love / Pray that God would lead us out to our neighbors and city in love. Pray that God would spark our imaginations with ways to serve and love the poor, to work for justice in our city, to truly care for our neighbors in practical ways. Ask God to lead us in vision and action to be a people of love.

church life assessment

We are very thankful to everyone for participating in our church life assessment. We learned a lot, but also were confirmed in much of what we understood to be the challenges we are facing.

The elders combed through and drew out themes and the staff has been working through those themes for action steps for how we might address them.

Major Themes / We asked everyone to make a note if they have a question or observation or prophetic sense or encouragement so they could be shared in the discussion time.

• There is a deep longing to feel known.

• There are challenges to building deep and meaningful community but the struggle is worth it.

• We have to face the idol of radical individualism.

• We have to match our schedules and actions to our deepest values, which informs our ten year vision of presence, formation, and love.

Following Jesus Together

We have been working on developing a three year ministry plan that would weave together various aspects of discipleship through our teaching, group life, equipping courses and other activities. The outer ring on this image shows examples for the next three seasons (Fall 2019, Advent 2019, and Epiphany 2020).

Each season has a teaching focus, equipping opportunities, and ‘inhale/exhale’ spiritual practices. For a more complete explanation of the practices, visit tgcparkslope.com/practices.

asks for member participation

Colossians Groups / As we begin this new series through Colossians, our hope is not only to study this letter but to allow it to shape our thoughts, practices, and habits together as a church this fall. If you do not already have one, this is the perfect time to find a smaller community with whom you can practice the way of Jesus. More details »

Alpha / The expression of love in action we are focusing on as a community this fall is sharing our faith. There is no more accessible step than inviting a friend to Alpha. We start Tuesday, October 22. If you are interested in serving as a host, talk to Josh or Caleb. More details »

Membership Course / Existing members are welcome to attend the upcoming course along with new member candidates. It has been updated and is designed to be a relational and empowering experience that releases you to make a significant contribution as a part of this church family. We are also looking for member hosts to pray for and encourage the new member candidates along the way. If you are interested in serving as a host, talk to Josh or Caleb. More details »

Mercy and Justice Working Group / Between now and Advent, we will be assembling a working group to pray, research, assess, and discern how we can continue to deepen our engagement with our neighbors for the sake of joining God in his mission of love. We will have a couple of our leaders heading up this effort but if you have a heart to be involved, talk to Josh or Caleb.

Prayer Ministry / We want to be a people that are longing to encounter God and that respond when He speaks to us. One of our best opportunities to practice this corporately is on Sunday mornings. So we invite you all as members to participate in the ministry time at the end of the worship gathering each week, either by receiving prayer or praying for others or both! More details »