Connect Well - Live Well
In order to accomplish our five-year vision, we set one-year milestones. This year, the milestone is Connect Well - Live Well.
If you were to describe the quality and depth of your relationships, what terms would you use? Today, when asked about their relationships, a growing number of people describe themselves as lonely and isolated. The U.S. Surgeon General has stated that we are experiencing an “epidemic of loneliness.” For many, this isolation has contributed to mental health issues and a decline in well-being.
In contrast to these trends, as followers of Christ, the Bible gives us a different vision of the nature and importance of relationships. Jesus stated that a defining quality of his followers would be the character and vitality of their relationships. We have been designed to be “for one another,” and our relationships are an important dimension of human flourishing. In this series, we will explore this vision, as we learn what it means to connect well and live well.
Over the next year, we will create environments geared towards building relationships. We will encourage each other to learn what it looks like to offer hospitality in our spheres of influence. We will lead by example on Sundays to have an atmosphere of connectedness.
Opportunities
“Take Five”
If people are experiencing an “epidemic of loneliness,” we want to be a place that offers hope and healing from those feelings of isolation. However, this cannot be accomplished simply through programs and classes. It takes each of us to recognize our role in building community. Collectively, we create the atmosphere. As a church, we want to equip and encourage you to get to know each other more deeply. We will build these “Take Five” moments into Sunday services and give suggestions on how to create an atmosphere of connectedness. Check out the Feature Wall for a few ideas on how to do this but we would love to hear from you! What are ways you have connected with others? Let’s add to this suggestion wall and put a few into practice in the coming weeks. Help us make Hershey Free Church a place where people feel known, have a sense of belonging, and get connected.
Sunday Connect Groups
An easy first step might be for you to check out one of our Sunday Connect Groups. These groups meet on Sundays at either 9 or 10:30 AM and are formed around life stages. Check out the list below. And stay tuned in October for our Sunday Connect Group Fair when we will highlight these group options.
Live/Love/Lead Groups
The invitation of Jesus is to become his disciple and follow his way of life. At Hershey Free Church, we define it this way: A disciple is someone who lives with Jesus, loves like Jesus, and leads others to do the same. One way we live out our value of living, loving, and leading is to encourage you to be intentional with your personal relationship with God. Because we value doing life together, we encourage you to participate in a Live/Love/Lead Group. These groups are designed so that you get to know a small group of people well. As you learn about each other and do life together, you begin to see God at work in your lives. If you are interested in more information about Live/Love/Lead groups, email Deb Hinkel at dhinkel@hersheyfree.com.
Made to Belong/Resources
Author and pastor David Kim wrote a book entitled, Made to Belong. In his survey of more than 1,300 Christians, Kim discovered that the number-one common struggle is loneliness. We crave life-giving relationships and community yet realize they are difficult to find and cultivate. We want to belong, we just don't know how. When we are left to ourselves, Kim says, we naturally drift away from God and others, and we begin to believe the lies of the enemy such as, You are all alone. No one else feels this way. No one cares about you. Kim combats those lies with the incredible hope found in the Five Practices for Cultivating Community. These 5 practices will be discussed during the upcoming sermon series and you can also buy a copy of his book. We have created a list of additional books and podcasts based on the topic, Connect Well - Live Well.