The HOME TEAM
INTRODUCTION
If worship does not move us to meet real, practical needs in people’s lives, then we are missing the heart of why we gather. Worship is not meant to be symbolic or transactional. It is meant to shape how we live, love, and serve. If we come, sing, and leave unchanged—never engaging people’s needs—then we are wasting the opportunity God has given us.
Generosity is part of our DNA. Through our Christmas benevolence offering, more than $10,000 was given to families in need. That is significant. But generosity is not only financial. It is taking time, stopping for people, asking questions, listening, and being present. This church does that well, and we will continue to lean into it because this is who God has called us to be.
WHO WE ARE AS A CHURCH
We intentionally take time to look in the mirror as a church. Scripture reminds us that wisdom is not simply seeing clearly, but responding faithfully. We want to make sure we are aligned with God’s calling, not drifting or operating on autopilot.
Two guiding questions help us evaluate our lives and our church:
What does God want in your life?
What would it actually look like if He got what He wanted?
These questions force honesty. They move us beyond intention and into obedience. They help us assess where we are and where God is leading us.
WHAT IS CHURCH?
Church is not a building, a service, or a weekly event. Church happens wherever God’s people gather in His name. Jesus said that where two or three are gathered, He is present among them.
What we do on Sundays is a celebration of church. It is a time to worship, connect, and be encouraged. But church truly happens when we walk out these doors and live out our faith in our homes, neighborhoods, workplaces, and relationships throughout the week.
OUR MISSION AND VALUES
Our mission is simple and demanding: to learn to love and live like Jesus day in and day out.
We live this out through three core values:
Up – cultivating intimacy with God through prayer, Scripture, and worship
In – building meaningful, Christ-centered relationships with one another
Out – living and sharing the gospel through both action and words
Often, people do not need a sermon first. They need love, presence, and compassion. When we love well, God opens the door for truth to be spoken.
LOOKING BACK: WHAT GOD HAS DONE
Over the past year, God has clearly called us deeper into prayer, worship, and discipleship. We have seen tangible fruit: salvations, baptisms, restored marriages, strengthened families, and spiritual growth across the church.
Growth is not linear. It is not about perfection or having everything together. Growth is about progress. It is about closing the gap between who we were and who God is shaping us to become.
Success is not measured by the absence of struggle or failure, but by how quickly we return to God when we stumble.
LOOKING FORWARD: THE HOME TEAM
As we look ahead, God is calling us to focus on what we are calling the “home team.”
The home team includes:
Marriages
Families
Children and grandchildren
Singleness
Extended family
Neighbors
Our church community
The home team is where faith is formed. It is where love is practiced daily. It is where truth is modeled, not just taught. And it is where hope is passed from one generation to the next.
WHY THE HOME TEAM MATTERS
The world around us is unstable. There is political division, cultural confusion, economic pressure, global conflict, and a growing mental health crisis. Many young people are walking away from their faith.
We cannot control everything happening in the world. But we are responsible for what God has entrusted to us. Faith begins at home before it ever moves outward.
Too often, we focus our energy on things we cannot control while neglecting the places where God has given us real influence.
KEY SCRIPTURES FOR THE YEAR
2 Timothy 4:2
“Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching.”
This verse frames the responsibility of spiritual leadership in the home and in the church. Truth is to be spoken faithfully, not angrily. It requires patience, wisdom, and readiness in every season. In unstable times, God calls His people to be grounded, clear, and steady.
Joshua 24:15
“And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
This is a declarative statement of spiritual leadership and commitment. It is a clear decision to take a stand for God regardless of cultural pressure or surrounding influence. This applies to families, singles, roommates, and every kind of household. Faith begins with a choice.
Psalm 127:1–3
“Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain. It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for He gives to His beloved sleep. Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward.”
This passage reframes the home as something God builds, not something we manufacture through effort alone. When God is the foundation, there is security, rest, and legacy. Without Him, striving leads only to exhaustion.
Colossians 3:12–15
“Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body.
WHAT THE HOME TEAM LOOKS LIKE
The home team is not about perfection. It is about faithfulness. It is a place where mistakes are met with grace, truth is spoken in love, and growth is encouraged.
It is where character is shaped, where forgiveness is practiced, and where Christ is made central. Winning on the home team looks like choosing Christ daily, even when it is difficult.
WHAT’S COMING NEXT
This year, we will intentionally invest in our home teams through focused discipleship and formation. This includes quarterly labs designed to help us slow down, learn, and grow together.
Areas of focus will include:
Parenting and raising children in a confusing culture
Strengthening marriages through intentional support and teaching
Singles and dating with biblical clarity and healthy boundaries
Men’s discipleship and biblical masculinity
Missions locally and globally
Ongoing discipleship, life groups, worship, and biblical teaching
We will stay grounded in Scripture, prayer, worship, and community, trusting God to produce the fruit.
CALL TO RESPONSE
God is calling each of us to take a stand. This begins with a personal declaration: “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
This is not about titles or roles. It is about choosing Christ daily and surrendering every area of life to Him. Communion is a moment to reset, reflect, and realign our hearts with God’s calling.
As we lay last year at the foot of the cross and look ahead to what God is building, we choose to dedicate our homes, our relationships, and our lives to Him.
The home team matters. And God is faithful to build what we entrust to Him.