Love One Another in the Church

One of the defining characteristics of a Christian is their love. There are many commands to love others. These include a call to love our neighbor (see Matthew 22:37-39 and the story of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10) and to love those who persecute us (see Matthew 5:44-45).

But the reality is that many (if not most) of the declarations to love others found in the New Testament seem to refer most specifically to the love between believers.

In John 13 Jesus demonstrates servant-leadership by washing the dirty feet of his closest followers. He goes on to command them to demonstrate love to each other, both to emulate Christ but to also demonstrate their faith to the world around them.

A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.
~John 13:34-35

In Paul's letter to the Romans, Paul makes a similar plea. He begins chapter 12 by challenging believers to transform the way they live and to sacrifice themselves for the Gospel. He moves on to challenge the believers to participate with the local church and to use their gifts for the sake of that church. It is in this context that he tells them to be devoted to love one another and to share with other followers of Jesus who are in need.

Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.
~Romans 12:9-13

No doubt we are commanded to love everyone and to give to the needy who live in our communities and around the world. But we also have very specific commands to love other believers and to demonstrate the love of Christ by caring for the needy in our own church.

So what does this look like? Here are some simple ideas:

• Serve in the local church. If you don't serve regularly on Sunday mornings, consider jumping in to be a part of what God is doing through Northridge. Your service helps us create an environment for believers to be encouraged and challenged. 
• Serve someone in your community group. Identify a person or a couple in your group who might need some additional love and encouragement. If someone is having a busy season at work, just had a baby, or is going through a tough situations, consider stepping in to demonstrate love -- bring them a meal, send them an anonymous gift, rally your group together to have a "cleaning day" and clean their home or do some yardwork, or offer to babysit their kids so they can have a date night or get some projects done.

Let's be the church as Jesus commanded it to be, where the outside world knows we follow Him because of the way we love one another!

Which List Do You Choose?

Every one of us is extremely adept at rationalizing or making excuses for not doing something that we know in our hearts we should do.  Serving within or outside of church is no exception.  Here’s a quick list of eight excuses for not serving:

1.   I don’t have time.

2.   I don’t have any special skills to contribute.

3.   I am not really needed.

4.   I will volunteer when I have some extra time and when life eases up.

5.   I won’t know anybody, and I’m just not a people person.

6.   I may be asked to do something I’ve never tried before.

7.   I am one person; I can’t make a difference

8.   I don’t know what cause to get involved with; there are so many causes and organizations.

They all begin with “I”, and there are many more where those come from.

Rick Warren said: “To all excuses God will respond, “Sorry, wrong answer. I created, saved, and called you and commanded you to live a life of service. What part did you not understand?”

Know that God has equipped all of us to serve others. And the only way to find out how you are best equipped is to take that first step, and say “Yes.”  Moses sad Yes.  David said Yes.  Paul said Yes.  All reluctantly.

Saying Yes to serving others will lead to blessings. Here’s a quick list of eight blessings that await you (and you’ll find in reality it’s a much longer list):

1.   Serving allows us to discover and develop our spiritual gifts.

2.   Serving allows us to experience miracles.

3.   Serving allows us to experience the joy and peace that comes from obedience.

4.   Serving helps us to be more like Jesus.

5.   Serving surrounds us with other Christians who can help us follow Jesus.

6.   Serving increases our faith.

7.   Serving allows us to experience God’s presence in new ways.

8.   Serving is good for your soul.

You can say yes with a simple email to info@northridgeserves.com, and we will help you take that step.

Attend One - Serve One

Bill Hybels always said that the local church was the "hope of the world." It serves as a Gospel-carrying beacon for a community. And Jesus promised to build His church.

That's something that should get us all excited.

I think that if someone is a follower of Christ, their life should be that of a servant. And as we walk with Him and grow to love Him more, the selfless attitude that puts the needs, desires, and preferences of others first grows.

And one natural outlet for that service is through the mission of the local church. All believers, no matter how immature, have a role to play in supporting the local church to make more and better followers of Jesus. Every gift, every talent, every level of training, and every personality has something to bring to the table.

At Northridge, we love to encourage our people to have an "Attend One - Serve One" mentality. Because all of our campuses offer two services, we have the opportunity to attend one service and serve others during the other.

What happens when our people are serving in this way?

It allows us to create incredible kids ministry environments that engage young hearts and give parents peace of mind. It allows us to fully staff security teams to make sure attending church doesn't put people or their property at risk. It means we can create welcoming first impressions environments that remove distractions so people can engage with community and the Gospel. It equips us to create excellent services that honor God and inspire people.

But to achieve all of this for people who are skeptical, new to faith, or struggling with significant doubts -- it requires the rest of us who love Jesus and love His people to step out and make the sacrifice and serve during a service.

Check out this video highlighting Attend One - Serve One (and watch the entire message to see David's passionate plea last summer to see people live an Attend One - Serve One lifestyle):

Celebrate and Serve with your Group

While most community groups are taking a break for the summer, the Northridge Serves partners are never on break from reaching and serving the neediest in our community. When you schedule an event with your group this summer, consider planning your backyard cookout around a time when one of our partners could use some extra volunteers.

Try trip to Mission: Share to help in the garden or soft clothing, or to Youth for Christ to help with a with facilities maintenance, or even a trip to our Irondequoit Campus to scrub out the trailers, and cap it off with a good meal together.

Summer is for projects!

Summer at Northridge Church is a time for repairs and clean-up! It's a natural time to pull out the trusty multi-site trailers for Greece and Webster and give them a wash. We also tackle landscaping projects all over our Irondequoit campus.

And if you are looking for a natural way for your community group to spend some time together, or if you want to invest some time to help Northridge prepare for the fall growth we experience each year, consider giving some of your extra time (and even vacation days) this summer!

Here are just a sampling of projects we could use some help with:

• Trailer and vehicle cleaning. Bring your family or group and give our trusty trailers a scrubbing!
• Road case repair. Our equipment for hauling all the equipment for portable church could always use some love. Wheels can be greased and hinges can be tightened!
• Landscaping, cleanup, painting, and gardening. After the long, harsh Rochester winters, the Irondequoit campus could always use some beautification (both inside AND out).
• Set design and building. Our creative teams are always innovating in the design of new stage backdrops at all campuses and YOU could be a part of the design and construction process.

If any of these sound interesting or you've got your own ideas, please let us know at Serving@NothridgeRochester.com

Serving in light of Easter

Two of the highest attended days of the year in churches across America are coming in the next two months.

The first is Easter. The second is Mother's Day.

As we approach Easter, we should be constantly reminded of the incredible sacrifice God made for each of us. And as we approach two of the most highly attended days of the church calendar, we should be reminded that every single one of those first-time guests has a story. They have a past full of hurts, sorrows, victories, losses, disappointments, and joys. And we have the unique opportunity through the local church to give them the hope for their future found only in Christ. It was for each of those people that Jesus gave his life and it is for each of those people that we serve!

With those two realities in mind, now is a great time to step up your serving in the local church. The local church serves as the foundation for the work that God is doing in the world, as it is the body, hands, and feet of Christ. And lending an extra hand in this busy season helps move the ministry of Northridge further faster!

So whether you already serve regularly, or you've never served before, there is always a next step to take to look and act more like Jesus by serving with all your heart.

Here are a few things you might consider (not all apply to everyone):

• Try out a new area of serving. If you've never served before, reach out to a ministry and see how you can serve one time to see if it's a good fit. Those of you who already serve, you might find an additional area where you can lend a hand.
• Encourage your leaders. Wherever you serve, remember that the leaders you serve with have been tasked with equipping you for ministry (Ephesians 4). Take a moment to send them a text or an email and let them know you appreciate their hard work. You might even offer to help shoulder some of the load for them by accepting more responsibility in the areas you serve!
• Upgrade your serving. If you serve once a month or every two weeks, ask to increase your serving regularity. Would you consider serving weekly? Many at Northridge already serve with an "Attend One, Serve" one mentality, where you attend a service and serve during a service every single week.
• Look for projects for your group. Serving together with your community group gives you ways to serve beyond Sunday morning. Northridge is always looking for help with projects (stuffing envelopes, cleaning out closets, washing trailers, tabulating surveys, etc).

Christ's service to us was infinite and for eternity. So as we approach Easter, lets try to mirror the ultimate servant by serving more ourselves!

Thank You Northridge - From CompassCare

Thank You Northridge - From CompassCare from Northridge Media on Vimeo.

Are you refreshing to the Church?

Many people see involvement in the local church as an opportunity to be fed. We ask how the church might serve us, rather than asking how we might serve the church. A few years ago, Jason Helopoulos posted an article about how we might be refreshing to the local church. In this way, we might live up to the encouragement that Paul gave to Philemon in the letter bearing his name.

"For I have derived much joy and comfort from your love, my brother, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you." (Philemon 7)

Wouldn't be incredible if we were known by our love and by the way that we bring joy, comfort, and refreshment to our brothers and sisters in Christ?

Here is a sample of the variety of ways Jason highlighted that we can be refreshing to the church:

• Visit the widows and shut-ins of your church. Take an afternoon and visit three or four. Sit, talk, listen, and be willing to look at their photo albums—all of them (1 Timothy 5:3)!
• Show up each Sunday morning with a mental list of three or four people that you are going to find and minister to (Philippians 2:4). Many of us walk into church with an attitude of, “I wonder who will minister to me today.” Nothing can be as drastically encouraging to a local church’s membership than a people united in the understanding that they are there to serve and love one another.
• Be a Monday morning encourager instead of a Monday morning critic by sending your pastor an email detailing what you appreciated about his Sunday sermon.
• Don’t rush out of church on Sunday mornings. Be one of the last to leave because you are taking the time to talk with everyone you can (this will be hard for the introvert—but some of the most engaging and refreshing people I have served with are introverts. They wear themselves out on Sunday morning). The football games and lunch will be there fifteen or thirty minutes later.
• Seek out those visiting the church, get to know them, and introduce them to others. Find connections and be a networker to the glory of God.
• Write thank you notes to volunteers in the church. Write and mail anonymous encouragement notes to members of the congregation. Why are we so hesitant to pass out encouragement? We can never encourage others too much (1 Thessalonians 5:11).

You can find the original article and the complete list of suggestions HERE.

Serving Like Jesus in the Local Church

One of the best ways to identify a mature follower of Jesus is by taking a look at their serving (or lack thereof). In fact, Jesus set the standard for serving and even said that the greatest among His followers would be those that serve (among many examples, see Luke 22 and John 13).

And one of the most obvious places for each of us to serve is through the local church.

It takes lots of hands to make Sunday morning happen at Northridge Church. To name just a few:

• Greeters and ushers to provide a welcoming environment
• Kids ministry volunteers to teach and care for your children
• A band and vocalists to lead the auditorium in singing
• Pastors to challenge us from scripture
• Security team to keep our environments safe
• A tech team to make the sermons available online and to stream at our portable campuses

And there are many more volunteers throughout the week who make Northridge even possible. These include those who:

• Clean and organize our facilities and trailers
• Prepare guest packs for our new attendees
• Write and review questions for weekly Community Groups
• Provide office support, answer phone calls, and organize mailings

If you've been blessed by the ministry of Northridge, then you can imagine the army of volunteers it took to make that happen. And if you are a follower of Christ, you might consider becoming a blessing to others through this ministry. This movement from consumer to servant is a defining step in the walk to be more like Jesus, the ultimate servant.

You might consider serving individually, finding the role at Northridge that matches your talents and passions. Or you might encourage your friends or Community Group to join you in serving in one of the ways listed above.

If you are interested in serving, please email us at Serving@NorthridgeRochester.com and someone will respond to help you take that step!

Helping with Landscaping

The Falzone group got together to serve the Holmes Rd School by helping them with landscaping.

If you don't remember, Holmes Rd. is the school our Greece Campus partnered with for Advent Conspiracy. What a great and easy way to extend our partnership beyond December.

As always, Community Groups, thanks for serving!

Getting Ready for the Fall

Fall in Rochester is a beautiful season, with the orchards open for apple-picking, pumpkins lined up outside grocery stores, and the leaves vibrant with colors. People return from their summer vacations to the rhythm of the school year -- and many of them also give church a try for the first time (or second, or third, etc).

At Northridge Church, summer is a great opportunity to update old equipment, clean-up our facilities, and spruce up the "first impressions" at all of our campuses before the big fall push. And there are really two ways you can be involved as we head into fall in the mission of making more and better followers of Jesus!

First, you could consider helping us with some of these projects. We are always looking for people and groups willing to roll up their sleeves to clean, paint, and repair. We have seasonal needs (like a new coat of paint in a room or a thorough cleaning of a trailer) and more regular needs (like helping to build a new stage design for an upcoming sermon series).

Second, you could jump into one of our many serving areas to be a part of the excitement on Sunday morning. Last month, we heard a powerful message from David Whiting, the lead pastor of Northridge, about upcoming changes at Northridge and how you can play a part in what God is doing. Serving areas include working behind-the-scenes, in a technical role, with kids, as a greeter, or in the cafe! (And many other areas!)

Below is a short clip from that message:

If you are interested in either of these opportunities (service projects or regular serving on Sunday morning), please let us know at serving@northridgerochester.com and someone will follow-up with you to help you get connected!

Our Portable Campuses Need a Bath

The long Rochester winters can take their toll on Northridge’s portable church equipment. We are looking for people willing to help us increase the longevity of this equipment with some repairs and cleaning.

Are you handy? We could use your expertise to:

• Oil and lube the equipment trailers for the Greece and Webster campuses
• Fix broken wheels on the roadcases

Even if you aren’t very handy, you could still help us:

• Wash the truck used to haul trailers for the Webster campus
• Wash the campus trailers
• Clean out and scrub down the roadcases

If you are interested in serving in this way, please send an email to Serving@NorthridgeRochester.com. Consider inviting your community group and any others who might be interested to tackle this project together!

Thank You!

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