Vision: Heartbeat of Authentic Community

Everyone desires community. Whether an extrovert or an introvert, everyone wants good relationships. Authentic Church Community is one of our core values at Fellowship. We believe God is leading Fellowship Raleigh to serve from 410 Lord Berkley as a BEATING HEART of authentic church community…. but how does that even happen?

1. How does the human heart work?

I spoke with a Doctor friend of mine to get all this correct!  
-The heart is in the center of the human body.
-Deoxygenated blood (blue blood) circulates back to the heart through the upper and lower Vena Cava arteries.
-This deoxygenated blood then goes to the Lungs through the Pulmonary Arteries to get refreshed by oxygen (take a deep breath!).
-From the Lungs, this refreshed and re-oxygenated blood (red blood) comes back to the heart.
-The HEARTBEAT propels the blood, through the big Aorta Artery, to the muscles of the body (hands, head, feet, brain).
-The very first muscle that gets a delivery of re-oxygenated blood from the Aorta is the heart itself because the heartbeat must be strong or all else fails (heart attack).
-Summary Principle: When the heart gets strong oxygen rich blood first, then there will be a strong heart beat, which means the whole body will be strong and healthy.
-A healthy heart has blood flowing in to be refreshed and then out back to the muscles of the body (i.e. Circulation).

Proverbs 4:23- “Above all else guard your heart for it is the wellspring of life!”

2. Where is the heart of Raleigh?

-In seven years Raleigh metro will grow from 1.3 to 1.6 million (30% increase).
-In seven years the 540 loop will be complete making a large and diverse community-city of which downtown Raleigh will be the heartbeat.
-New Bern Avenue (0.1 miles from Fellowship Raleigh) is the busiest artery in and out of downtown Raleigh.
-Also… being the Capitol City, Raleigh is the heart of RDU and the state of North Carolina.
-There are 6 college campuses within a 3 mile radius of downtown Raleigh (this is not including Duke and UNC).

3. What is the heart of authentic community in Raleigh?

-Most Raleigh-ites view the local church as a mere building, a weekly activity, and/or a place one must pretend and perform for acceptance.
-To many the local church is the tonsils, appendix, or wisdom teeth of community not the beating heart.
-Many people would think of a pub, a hobby meet-up group, or the LGBT for authentic community before they would think of the local church.

4. How will Fellowship Raleigh be a Beating Heart of Authentic Church Community within Raleigh?

We believe God is leading Fellowship Raleigh to serve from 410 Lord Berkley as a BEATING HEART of authentic church community. We desire to make the Gospel visible through the local church to the urban families, on the college campuses, and to the communities in and around Raleigh wherever our people are present and on mission through Fellowship Groups. How will we see some of this happen?

Fellowship Groups (circulation // pumping out // taking back in for equipping and vision)
-We will multiply our Fellowship Groups to have 30+ Fellowship Groups spread all over Raleigh metro within the 540 belt line.
-These FGs will be places of grace and truth, of discipleship concern, of mission mindset to the community around them, and a strong culture of invitation to Sundays at FR (vena cava back to the heart).
-We envision dozens of young couples, young families, singles, and empty nesters, from North Raleigh, Cary, Garner, and all the communities in and around Raleigh finding authentic church community at Fellowship and being on mission in their community.

Equipping (giving the oxygen of truth and vision)
-We will have an EQUIPPING CENTER at 410 Lord Berkley offering classes for new Christians to become grounded and growing Christians, and for growing Christians to become solid and skilled spiritual leaders.
-We envision plumbers, software engineers, and stay at home moms taking classes on how to rightly study books of the Bible and teach others.

College & Urban Family Outreach (critical muscles to strengthen in our context)
-We will build, establish, grow, and staff our outreach ministries to urban families through public school mentor programs and to college students through a college ministry.
-We are dreaming of 100+ kids being mentored in multiple public schools by caring and relational mentors from Fellowship Raleigh.
-We see a college ministry, led by staff, interns, and members, filled with 100+ students from NC State, Shaw, Peace, Meredith, Wake Tech, and St. Augustine. We envision these students also being connected and serving in other vital ways within the body of believers.

Just wanted to share my heart (pun intended). Hope this helps and is fun to think about.

Stay tuned for 12 month and 90 day plans.