Announcement of Shift in Sunday Structure (Text)

Today, we announced the shift from two 10:30AM & 1PM Sunday worship gatherings to an 11AM gathering.  The text of the announcement and our vision for 2010 and beyond is below.  I am excited for all God has in store for us this New Year; may his kingdom come!

Where We Have Been

Since the public launch of our church last fall, we have enjoyed God’s grace as we have tripled in size.  God promised when we launched that we would “gather quickly,” and he is fulfilling that promise.  Every day we are making progress in fulfilling our vision of transforming the Fenway neighborhood through preaching the gospel, serving our community, and forming Jesus worshipping communities in the Fenway.  We have built strong relationships with many residents and organizations like Operation Peace,  CHURCH, and other neighborhood associations.   In 2009 many members of our church community represented Jesus at block parties, service days, and after school programs.  For these demonstrations of grace we rejoice.  God has been faithful.  With thanksgiving, we now look to our future.

Where We Are Going

We started this church because God called us here to the Fenway; a neighborhood where less than 3% of residents attend church (that’s less than mainland China at 5%!) and where many residents come to study from other nations (21% of residents are international!).  We are here to reach the people of this neighborhood with the transforming message of the gospel and send church planting teams to the nations.   It has and always will be our desire for every member of Fenway Church to live out this calling to see both the Fenway and the nations saturated with the worship of Jesus.

The Immediate Future

As our leadership team looked to the future, we became convinced through the guidance of the Holy Spirit that our church would benefit from uniting together for a series of Sunday gatherings.  Our desire is that the WHOLE church would gather in ONE PLACE to worship Jesus, pray for His Kingdom to come, and mobilize for the mission God has given us.  As we have been preaching through the book of Acts, we see the power of the whole church gathering to pray, worship, and hear preaching.  We believe we are entering a season where this corporate expression of unity will propel us forward into what God wants to accomplish through our church in the Fenway.

For the next eight months our Sunday gathering will be at 11AM.  We want everyone who attends Fenway Church on Sunday to gather together as ONE corporate body at this time.  We are expecting the Holy Spirit to meet us powerfully and for the club to quickly fill with worshippers of Jesus.

We will continue to utilize the 1PM time slot to host a series of training and evangelistic gatherings over the next eight months that will focus on equipping members for mission, hosting conversational events like ALPHA, and gathering to seek God for missional ideas.  Our desire is to actively engage those in the Fenway and our city who are interested in learning about Jesus and do not want to attend a “church” service.  The 1PM gatherings should serve to share the gospel with those that would otherwise not be reached by our 11AM gathering.

The Fall and Beyond

As we look to the fall we expect our growth will result in the “re-launch” of a cutting edge 1PM service.  Throughout this year, we will work to train and form a strong launch team of thirty made up of current members and those who will be getting to know Jesus over the coming months. 

In the next 3-5 years, we will start new services, launch new meeting sites, and begin forming new churches.  We know this because God has promised us that he will “build his church,” “we will gather quickly,” and “we will impact cities and nations.”  We know that this church will welcome in many people who will meet Jesus, be transformed by his Spirit, and catch a vision for loving their neighbors, transforming this neighborhood, and going out to serve nations.  We will seek to partner with everyone who calls Fenway Church ‘home’ and with God’s global purposes as we start new works, go to the nations, and build a strong community in the Fenway that will serve to strengthen “home base” making all of this possible.

In Conclusion

We are making this shift to one corporate gathering at 11AM because we envision our Sunday gatherings as a catalyst for mission, service and evangelism.  We appreciate your flexibility, willingness to embrace change, and partnership in the mission of Fenway Church.  We invite you to actively participate in prayer, community groups, and sharing the gospel of Jesus with your friends.  

Thank you for your commitment to Jesus being known in the Fenway, in the city of Boston, and beyond.

David W., Jayan Koshy, Chris Bressoud, & Jesse Sudirgo

Fenway Leadership Team