Our Church Discussion from 11/30/14

Hello Castle friends,

On Sunday, November 23, Vangie and I announced that we will be leaving Castle to move to the Boise, Idaho area.  As a church, we decided to spend the following week in prayer, and have a brief discussion about possible options for the future of the church.  That discussion was held on November 30, but not everyone was there. Those who were present decided that it would be best to share the bullet-points from that discussion and continue it in some fashion (after prayer this week) next Sunday, December 7.

Basically, the church discussed two options, with alternatives.  The first one I'll list here was not the one which was the most popular, but it is listed first here so that more time can be devoted to the other options.

1. One option discussed was the possibility of disbanding:
1. Strengths
1. This would give the church the opportunity to take what we've learned as a church out into the other churches in our community
2. This could be done in such a way that the church sticks together in some fashion
2. Weaknesses
1. Might be more difficult to "stick together" within another church than it seems
2. Most of us really enjoy the classroom-style church model we are currently using
3. This has been given serious consideration and will probably continue to be given consideration, but was not the most popular option.
2. The more popular option was to continue on as a church.  What form this takes, however, is still in the air.
1. One option is to try searching for another minister--someone part-time who could continue on in the teaching ministry at Castle.
1. The concern shared was that the person hired not be a traditional "preacher" but more of a teaching minister
2. Another option which had some merit, was to rotate members of the church to take turns teaching.
1. There was some concern about people feeling "qualified" to teach
3. Another option was for me (Jason) to continue on in some manner from a distance using technology
1. I, personally, am not highly in favor of this option.  I think it would be a poor substitute for personal teaching and am hesitant to rely on technology for this.  I do not think the church or myself would thrive this way.
4. Another option was for me to continue providing a kind of "outline" for a while which could be shared with the congregation.
1. This could fit really well with a church member teaching rotation.

These are all things which the church has considered.  There also may be other options which present themselves in the next week or so.  The good news is that no decision has to be made immediately.  And no decision which is made must be final.  The church has plenty of time to work through this!

SO...please be in prayer this week and be prepared to come to church this coming Sunday prepared to discuss a little further.  If you were not there this week (the 30th), it would be really great if you could be there on the 7th.  Also, it will be very important for people who WERE at church on the 30th to ALSO be there on the 7th.  These discussions won't be very helpful if there is a different group discussing options from week to week!

Thanks everyone, and please be in prayer!

Jason