{"id":9898,"date":"2023-05-18T12:00:19","date_gmt":"2023-05-18T17:00:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/?p=9898"},"modified":"2023-05-31T09:30:23","modified_gmt":"2023-05-31T14:30:23","slug":"engaging-in-community","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/2023\/05\/18\/engaging-in-community\/","title":{"rendered":"Engaging In Community"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Community. Group. Crew. Whatever you call it, it\u2019s something that we all need.\u00a0 But it\u2019s something that we often have a hard time building.\u00a0 Community is a word that is used to create a specific culture in a church and ministry that is sometimes difficult to accomplish.\u00a0 After all, it takes time to build a community.\u00a0 It takes effort to foster relationships.\u00a0 But that\u2019s exactly what God has called us to do. 1 Thessalonians 5 points to a world that lies in darkness unaware of the coming Christ. But Paul urges Christians to stay sharp waiting for Christ\u2019s return.\u00a0 He goes further urging us to build each other up.\u00a0 You see, God knew that this life would be hard, and temptation would be great, and He knew that we would need one another.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

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Creating this community culture starts with us as leaders. I know, I know. Life is busy, especially if you are a pastor or ministry leader.\u00a0 And let\u2019s be honest, sometimes we just want to take a break from people. But we have been instructed to build one another up and to be part of a community of believers. That means <\/span>you<\/span><\/i> need to be built up.\u00a0 <\/span>You<\/span><\/i> need to be a part of a community of believers.\u00a0 <\/span>You<\/span><\/i> need a group you can call on and a crew you can do life with.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

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The key, I found, is not making it a big deal.\u00a0 I like to throw parties and make a production out of everything (just ask my husband).\u00a0 But I have learned that\u2019s unnecessary, and honestly, it\u2019s not even what\u2019s best. When Jesus walked on earth and spent time with His disciples and followers, Jesus didn\u2019t search for the perfect date on His calendar.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t curate the perfect menu. (Well, except for that time He turned the water into the best wine.) Jesus invited Himself to dinner at people\u2019s homes. He stayed the night with strangers.\u00a0 Now, I\u2019m not saying you invite yourself over, but don\u2019t wait for the perfect circumstances to spend time and fellowship with other believers.\u00a0 And don\u2019t wait for your schedule to clear, because that may never happen. (I\u2019m talking to myself here.) Here are just a few ways that we can foster relationships and build community.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

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Invite people into your home.<\/b>\u00a0 Don\u2019t worry if the living room is a mess or the kids\u2019 rooms are a disaster.\u00a0 You don\u2019t need to plan a 5-course meal, or even a 3-course meal for that matter.\u00a0 Provide the meat and ask others to bring the sides and desserts.\u00a0 Your leaders and volunteers, families, and neighbors don\u2019t crave a perfect leader with a perfect home.\u00a0 They crave community.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

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Connect with other leaders at your conference.<\/b>\u00a0 This is invaluable!!! I cannot stress this enough. Connecting with fellow pastors and leaders in your conference will probably be your biggest win in 2023.\u00a0 This is a safe place to learn, share, encourage, be encouraged, bounce crazy ideas around, etc.\u00a0 There\u2019s no place like this. IPHC Kids Ministry is in the process of establishing such groups for Kids Ministry leaders in our conferences for this very reason. So, be on the lookout, but don\u2019t wait to start building those relationships.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

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Ask about others. Celebrate others.<\/b> This one\u2019s simple and probably the hardest one for us to follow through on.\u00a0 Remember people\u2019s birthdays and anniversaries.\u00a0 It wasn\u2019t that long ago that my husband and I had an anniversary.\u00a0 I hesitate to say (but in the spirit community, I want to be transparent) that our lives were so crazy at that time that it completely slipped both of our minds.\u00a0 That morning our Bishop, Danny Nelson, sent us a \u201cHappy Anniversary\u201d text.\u00a0 It was short and simple, but it made all the difference in the world to us that day.\u00a0 Of course, if you had given us a beat, we would have remembered what day it was.\u00a0 But the text from our Bishop showed me several things.\u00a0 It showed me that our lives were way too busy and complicated (which is a whole different article to be written). And it showed me that my Bishop cared about my family and home.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

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Sometimes community is for you, and sometimes it\u2019s for others.\u00a0 But that\u2019s the beautiful thing, we all need it and that\u2019s why God encouraged us to build it. So today, invite a family over for dinner, connect with fellow conference leaders, reach out to your volunteers and leaders, and wish them a happy birthday or congratulate them on a job well done.\u00a0 And know that I am thankful that you are a part of my community. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Tiffany considers herself to be an integrator dedicated to carrying out the vision of the Church.\u00a0 <\/span>As a 4th generation IPHC minister, she appreciates our history while pushing toward the future.\u00a0 <\/span>After graduating from Emmanuel College, she felt God calling her into full-time ministry.\u00a0 <\/span>She has served as the children and youth pastor in the local church. Tiffany currently serves as the Conference Children\u2019s Pastor on the NC Conference DM Council and on the Leadership Council at her local church in Garner, NC.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0Tiffany loves to travel with her sweetheart, Christopher, and their two beautiful girls, Sadie Grace and Nina Kate.\u00a0 <\/span>Lately, if she\u2019s not taking a trip or hosting an event, she\u2019s planning a trip or event.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"excerpt","protected":false},"author":35,"featured_media":9899,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","filesize_raw":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20,4,1],"tags":[1518,1404,16,1031,22,112,1465,1471,1513],"class_list":{"0":"post-9898","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-childrens-ministries","8":"category-discipleship-ministries","9":"category-general","10":"tag-1518","11":"tag-article","12":"tag-discipleship","13":"tag-discipleship-ministries","14":"tag-kids-ministries","15":"tag-kid-min","16":"tag-kids","17":"tag-q2","18":"tag-tiffany-trainor","19":"entry"},"title_es":"","content_es":"","author_name":"Tiffany Trainor","jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2023\/04\/Kids.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4T9u2-2zE","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9898","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/35"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9898"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9898\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9899"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9898"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9898"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9898"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}