Connections in This Season at Fellowship
One of the great things about Connections in this season is a clear purpose and a shared language for our entire church. However, some of it will be expressed differently in Franklin and eventually in Green Hills. Here, I’ll focus primarily on the Brentwood Campus, but you’ll notice at Franklin and eventually in Green Hills a shared language for connecting.

Our purpose is to help people follow Jesus by helping them find their place to mature in the faith (Grow) and to give their lives away (Serve).

So, what does that look like?

Fellowship is Big
In the video below, the Coleys say, “Fellowship is a big church, you know. So, there not like this big banner that says, `WELCOME!’ … It’s no surprise that this church is big… You know there’s just so many buildings and you sometimes don’t know even where to go or how to meet people.”  Yet, by finding a place to serve and give their lives away with Fellowship Kids they found community. That’s what connecting looks like in this season at Fellowship Bible Church.

Brentwood Connect – Coleys – V1 from Fellowship Nashville on Vimeo.

One Place to Grow, One Place to Serve
Connecting at Fellowship Bible Church is about helping people follow Jesus by helping them find their place to grow and serve.  Soon we’ll be providing all the information you need to connect with the right staff person at Fellowship for these opportunities, but if you have a question always feel free to contact me. My info is below.

Developing Relationships
In addition to providing ways to grow and serve, we are also creating environments for developing relationships with one another.  We are borrowing two ideas from Eric Hoffman that have been effective connecting tools at the Franklin Campus and using them church wide – Community Breakfast and Dinner for 8.  

Community Breakfast will make its debut at the Brentwood Campus on Sunday, October 5th at 9:35am in the Barn.  There is more information and registration for the event on the website here.  Also, Dinner for 8 will launch later this Fall. The details about Dinner for 8 are still in process, but we’ll let you know about it before it’s launched.

So, what does that mean for Fellowship Bible Church staff and lay leaders?  
First, connection is a team thing. Together we can create a connecting culture at Fellowship. Working together, I am confident that God will use us to help people find their place to grow and serve.

Here’s how you can help people connect at Fellowship Bible Church:

1)     Introduce, Welcome and Invite:  Be sure to introduce yourself as a church staff member or leader, when you meet people.  Welcome them and thank them for being a part of Fellowship Bible Church. Invite them to join you in your ministry as a way to connect!

2)     Show Them What Connecting Looks Like – Finding their place to grow and serve:  Remember the Coley video. Connecting at Fellowship in this season is about finding a place to grow and a place to serve. If they are new to Fellowship (or don’t know how to start) encourage them to check out Community Breakfast, Dinner for 8 or Brentwood or Franklin Connect.

3)     Equip them to find their place. Practice Ephesians 4 and equip people to connect. Introduce them to the tools we provide, or remind them of these tools: The Weekend Program, First & Third email, our Website. Encourage them to initiate and take a step and to keep taking steps – volunteer for a ministry, join a Fellowship Women’s or Fellowship Men’s study or sign up for an Equipping Class just to name a few.

4)     Celebrate Connections: When someone serves or volunteers for the first time –thank them. When someone joins a study or a class – thank them. Take time to stop and celebrate their initiative to make a connection at Fellowship.  Share stories of people volunteering, growing and connecting with others. What we celebrate helps people catch what connecting at Fellowship looks like in this season. Together we will create a culture of connection.

When in doubt be sure to send people to me for questions or to help them find their place at Fellowship. It’s my pleasure to help people connect!

Thanking God for each of you,

Mark Holeman,
Connections Pastor
Fellowship Bible Church
(615) 277-9532