Alpha Course: An Evangelism Strategy?

     By now you have seen our announcements regarding the Alpha course training that we will offer here at Calvary on May 23rd.  Perhaps you don't have questions about life but you do have questions about the training! You might be asking:

1. What is Alpha? (read below)
2. If it has to do with evangelism, how is it like or different from other evangelism strategies?
3. Why bring Alpha to CBC now?
4. Who is this training for?  Should I go?
5. Why is there a cost for the training?
6. If this is an all-day training, can I just go part of the day?
7. How does this fit into the overall strategy of CBC ministry?
8. What is the difference between this training and the "Groups Matter" training on May 30?

     I will address these eight questions in a series of brief blog posts with the hope that you will register for the training and use this new tool we are offering.  So let's get you some answers:

What is Alpha?

     Alpha is a "course" that explores Christianity in a non-threatening, relational environment.  It consists of a series of about 10 weekly meetings over a meal and a weekend getaway at some point.  The topics that are discussed are the person and work of Jesus, personal faith, the Bible, the Holy Spirit and the church.

     This course began at the Holy Trinity Brampton (Anglican) Church in London over 20 years ago to introduce people to Christianity.  (Those of you familiar with Evangelism Explosion might know that EE was started by Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church, Fort Lauderdale).  Today 27 million people in 169 countries have gone through Alpha in one of 112 languages.  Alpha courses are hosted/sponsored by 127 denominations in all 50 states of the U.S.  

    As the amount of people in the world who are unchurched and unfamiliar with the Christian faith is growing at a fast pace, it is encouraging to know that 28% of Alpha participants are under 35 years old; 40% of Alpha participants are from outside the church (unchurched); 50% of Alpha participants establish a personal relationship with Jesus.  In other words, this course is really reaching the "lost" with the gospel in a very effective way.

     Although I will address this in another post, I will simply mention here that the Alpha course is relevant today because it is a strategy that works for populations that are unfamiliar with Christianity and/or the church.  It is a strategy that is cross-cultural and relevant in a post-modern world.

   If you are wondering how "unchurched" the McAllen area is, see this article from Barna where the McAllen area ranks fourth in the List of churchless cities of the U.S.

  Click here or go to our church website to register for the training at Calvary.  (The discount code for Calvary leaders is cbcalpha).  I encourage you to register today!  (I've already registered!)

     To see the answer to my second question click here.

Chad Mason Considered for Ordination

       As Lead Pastor, I am thankful for the opportunity to work alongside Chad Mason.  It is time to consider him for ordination and I am happy to be a part of this process and time in his life.

     Pastor Chad Mason is being considered for ordination to the pastoral ministry.  This Sunday, April 19th, an ordination council will examine him in order to present a recommendation to the Church in Conference on April 26th.  Chad will be preaching in the English services this Sunday and will share his testimony in the Spanish service.

     Ordination is a local church's affirmation of one who has given sufficient evidence of a call to ministry, gifting for ministry, preparation for ministry (spiritually, morally, biblically, academically and in practice), and doctrinal soundness).  The ordination council, made up of ordained deacons, pastors and other mature leaders, examines the candidate as to these things and makes a recommendation to the church.  The church votes on said recommendation.  If the vote is affirmative, an ordination service is held for the laying-on of hands over the candidate.

     Calvary called Pastor Chad in January 2013 to join our pastoral staff.  For two years Chad has served as Pastor for Mobilization and Global Impact, in addition to serving as pastor for ABFs.  This year he was assigned the responsibility of pastor for worship and he no longer serves as pastor for ABFs.  

     Chad is married to Jordan Alise (Hargraves) and they have two precious daughters: Makaila and Aly.  Chad obtained his BA in education from Northwest University, Kirkland Washington and his Masters of Leadership from Bakke Graduate University.  Previous to his role here at CBC, Chad served as the Pastor for Rose City Baptist Church and Perspectives Regional Director for Texas.  He and Alise also served for two years as directors of Vida Nueva Children's Home in Parras de la Fuente, Coahuila, Mexico.

     In addition to his passion for the nations and for worship, Chad also enjoys hanging out with his family, playing guitar, fishing, playing basketball, mountain climbing, wake boarding and motorcycles.

     Please pray that this process is God-honoring and affirming of the life and ministry of a brother Chad Mason.

     Should you have any questions about this process, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Joshua Guarneri to Media Associate Role

     About a month ago I communicated with you the need to fill our Media Associate (Production Director) vacancy.  Click here to see my February 7 post or simply scroll down to the previous post.

     I am happy to notify you that we have hired Josh Guarneri as Media Associate (Production Director).  Josh will begin his employment here at Calvary on Sunday, March 15.  He will report to Chad Mason as Pastor for Mobilization and Worship.

     Josh has been Production Director for Fielder Church (Arlington, Texas) East Campus since 2012 until now.  He served as Production Coordinator for Dallas Baptist University from 2010 to 2012.  He also served as media director for High Pointe Baptist Church, Cedar Hill (2011-2012) and Cockrell Hill Baptist Church, Dallas (2007-2011).  He began his ministry in this area at Getsemani Baptist Church, Fort Worth as a sound engineer from a very young age.  Josh holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Biblical Studies with a Philosophy Minor from Dallas Baptist University.

     As you know, the Media Associate position has been vacant since November 15, when Jared Solis stepped down from this role.  I asked Lorena Lozano to help us carry this ministry in the interim and she has done a phenomenal job for these four months.  I am so grateful to Lorena for all she has done and for the spirit in which she has done it.  Lorena has agreed to stay in her interim role through March 29 in order to ensure a smooth transition in this important ministry.  The previous post has a link for the positions' job description.

     As we have shifted to multiple worship leaders in each service, according to style and language, and as the supervision for the worship ministry is the responsibility of a pastor that has a dual assignment, the role of the Media Associate will be vital to the implementation of our worship ministry.  This person will be a key central point of communication and execution of worship plans for Sundays and special events.  This position became vacant after we had made significant reductions in our personnel so it is very important that it is filled so that the new reduced team structure can function adequately.

     I am convinced that Josh is highly qualified for this position and is an excellent fit for our context and needs.  Although I have the authority to hire support staff and associates, which I have done on more than one occasion, in this case I felt it was important to involve others in the decision.  Recognizing that Josh is my son, I felt it was important to have input from key leaders in our church.  I have sought the support of the pastoral staff that relates to worship, the personnel committee, and the coordinating council (chairpeople of all the administrative committees and deacons).  They each have provided me with the support to make this hire and with wise counsel in this regard.  (The Coordinating Council discussed it in my absence and communicated a unanimous general consent to move forward).
     
     Please pray for Josh as he will be moving to the Valley the weekend of March 15 and as he begins this new ministry.  May he be a blessing to our church and may our church be a blessing to him.

Full-Time Media Associate Position

     We have had a full-time Media Associate position for some time now at Calvary.  This last fall, we reduced our staff size in order to reduce our annual budget.  Shortly after we had eliminated some positions and reduced a couple of staff roles from full-time to part-time status, our Media Associate position became vacant.  Click here to see the October 22 post related to this.

     Because of the importance of this position, which is responsible for the production of Sunday morning services, along with coordination, planning, and developing volunteers teams, I asked Lorena Lozano to help us fill it in the interim on a part-time basis.  Lorena has done a phenomenal job with the time she has been given.  We are very grateful to her as she has gone above and beyond expecations.

     However, as we move forward with the new combined assignments given to each pastor, it is very important that we fill this vacancy full-time soon so that adequate attention can given to the entire media ministry.  Click here to view or download a job description of this position.

 

     For an overview of the reduced staff organization chart and where how the media associate position relates to the rest of the staff, click here (to view or download).

     Please pray for the pastoral staff team leaders as they look to fill this important position with the support of the personnel committee.

 

Paulo Gatan: Interim Pastor for Administration and ABFs

 

     Paulo Gatan joined our pastoral staff on a full-time basis at the beginning of this year.  His initial title and role was Interim Pastor for Administration and Worship.  As such he was to provide pastoral and administrative leadership to finances, facilities and worship staff/leaders.  However, his new title and role is now Interim Pastor for Administration and ABFs.  Chad Mason has been assigned the worship ministry oversight.  (Click here to read about Chad's assignment).

     Paulo has been one of the leaders of The Pearl ABF.  The Pearl is a growing group that has recently multiplied providing a 9:30 AM and an 11:00 AM group.  This is an exciting Bible Fellowship where both deep community and an openness to new comers is experienced week by week.  Additionally, the Pearl has been financially contributing to church planting work and relief work in the Philippines.  This summer Calvary is sending a group on a short-term mission trip to the Philippines, which The Pearl is helping to lead.  As Paulo provides oversight and support to the entire CBC ABF ministry, he comes with proven leadership.  We desire ABFs to demonstrate these three dynamics: sound Bible study (up); rich community (in); and missional outlook (out).

     Paulo is gifted as a teacher and has a desire to see groups multiply and churches planted.  For more information about Paulo you can click here to see a post I wrote a couple of months ago.

     Paulo will rely on the able leadership and cooperation of Pastor Benjamin Aguirre as we continue to bring alignment between our English-language ABFs and our Spanish-Language ABFs (Grupos de Conexión).

     Please pray for Paulo as he continues to oversee our church's administration ministry while giving direction to our ABF ministry.  Pray for our church as we implement these changes and move forward with the great opportunities and resources God has put before us.

     Below are some organizational chart images that show how Paulo's role relates to the rest of the staff:

Chad Mason: Pastor for Mobilization, Global Impact and Worship

 

     Chad Mason has been assigned the responsibility of overseeing Calvary's worship ministry in addition to mobilization and global impact.  For the past two years Pastor Chad had been tasked with Calvary's mobilization and global impact as well as giving pastoral leadership to our ABF ministry.  Effective immediately his oversight of ABFs will be passed on to Paulo Gatan while Chad takes on the worship responsibilities.  (Click here to read about Paulo's assignment).

     Chad has been leading the 11 o'clock worship service on an interim basis for approximately three months.  He will continue to do so while he develops the band, a team of other worship leaders, and oversees the media ministry.  In addition, he will bring support and encouragement to the worship leaders in the other services: Dan Cather, Chuck Olson (choir), and Benjamin Aguirre.

     We are thankful for the excellent musicians, choir, vocalists and worship leaders we have in each of our Sunday worship services.  Chad will bring enthusiastic, pastoral leadership to this area, as well as the development of volunteers and leaders for worship.  His heart and his passion for worship is what we need at this time in the life of our church.

     Mobilization and Global Impact will continue to be a priority for our church and for Chad's ministry.  It will be key for him to develop good teams in each area.  Also, given his broad area of responsibility, it will be important to fill the currently-vacant full-time position of media associate.  The individual who fills this post will bring coordination and help in executing weekly worship plans.  Click here to read a post related to this position.

     It has been said that missions exist because worship doesn't.  In other words, the ultimate objective of the mission is worship.  As the church joins God in His mission, we are bringing worshipers from all nations to the throne of God.  Pastor's Chad's new assignment joins these two closely related areas of ministry.

     Please pray for Pastor Chad, this ministry transition, his family and our church. 

      Below are organizational charts that show how Chad's role relates to the rest of the staff:

Historical/Denominational Resource for You

     As I was preparing for the class that I will be teaching on Wednesday nights this term, I came across a resource that I obtained in print a few years ago.  I discovered that this book is now available free of cost in an electronic (PDF) format.  (It is even available in Spanish).  This book is a collection of papers on Baptist history, beliefs, and ways in which Baptists have worked together for the cause of the kingdom.  I thought about sharing this resource with you, one of our CBC leaders, because it offers interesting and helpful information for our heritage as a Texas Baptist congregation.  Below are the links to access this book and download it.  I also explain the rationale for offering this book (and for the class that I will offer this term) below.

Baptists: History, Distinctives, Relationships 

Los Bautistas: Historia, Distintivos, Relaciones 

     I have observed during the 4 1/2 years that God has allowed me to serve as Lead Pastor here at Calvary about how blessed we are to have such a diverse congregation.  We have addressed the ethnic and language diversity before.  But we are also very diverse in terms of religious and denominational background.  In our congregation we have folks that come from Roman Catholic, Methodist, Evangelical Free, Baptist, Assemblies of God, Interdenominational, Church of Christ, Mennonite, Seventh Day Adventist, Lutheran, Presbyterian, Church of God of Prophecy, independent churches or no church background at all, to name a few.  (Even some of our staff comes from diverse denominational background).  Additionally, even within the Baptist rank, we have folks who have been long-time Southern Baptists, others who come from Independent-Fundamentalist Baptist churches/institutions, some who serve in the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, and some who come from Hispanic Baptist churches.  In addition to church sub-cultures, methods for doing church, worship styles, manners for supporting missionaries/missions, you can imagine the theological diversity that exists within our ranks; from ultra-conservative to moderate.  It is a gift of God that people from such diverse backgrounds find in Calvary a place to belong, to worship, to grow and to serve!

     Perhaps one of the reasons people join the CBC ranks is because we believe that we are first and foremost Christ-followers and we have a commitment to the authority of the Scriptures.  Our most visible identity is that of Bible-believing followers of the Lord Jesus Christ.  And rightly so!  The challenge comes when our members, volunteers and leaders are not sure what we believe, or when people don't understand why we do what we do they way we do it, not to mention when they know little about our denominational relationships.  These things matter!

     Why do we have deacons?  What is their role?  What is the role of the pastor(s)?  Why do we have committees?  Why do we have Church in Conference?  What is the BGCT?  Are we Southern Baptists?  What's the CFB, the RGVBA, the IMB, NAMB, SBC, SBTC, BSM, Buckner?  (So many acronyms!) Why do we give so much money to some of these entities?  Why and how do we relate to non-Baptist entities such as Campus Crusade, Intervarsity Fellowship, the Navigators, BSF, RGBI, etc., etc.?  Why is the Perspectives course so cross-denominational?  Why and how do we ever cooperate with Methodists, Lutherans, Presbyterians, and even Roman Catholics?

     You can quickly see how it is important that we understand our identity and the implications of that identity, heritage and ethos for the mission God has given us.  We do happen to be Baptist!  While some people may feel that is not important, I disagree.  (If it isn't, then we should get rid of the name and of our Baptist relationships and decide what we want to be instead).  I abhor denominational arrogance, exclusivity, and narrow-mindedness.  However, I do think that we should own our heritage and identity.  (I haven't always been Baptist.  I don't think Baptists are the only ones going to heaven and I don't think that Baptists are perfect.  But I am thankful to be Baptist!).  In order to own our identity and hertiage we need to understand them.  I believe that when you are confident in your identity you can build more significant relationships, whether they are with those who are like you or those who are different from you.  Furthermore, I believe that meaningful innovation for the future requires thoughtful information from the past.

     That is the reason I have designed the 8-week course "CBC Heritage and Ethos."  While this may not address all the important issues, I believe it is a good place to begin this process of information and reflection.  As one of our Calvary leaders, you are invited to participate in this class on Wednesday nights from 6:30 PM to 8:00 PM in the parlor (January 21 thru March 11).  I realize many of you are either teaching children, working with students, teaching another EQUIP course or rehearsing in the choir at this time, and I am deeply grateful for your service there.  But perhaps you know of someone who might benefit from the class, feel free to send them our way.

     I also don't want to imply that my class is the most important class for adults on Wednesday night.  There are some fine classes led by fine people taking place and I encourage you to consider them.  Below is a link to the brochure that lists all the classes, their descriptions, leaders, and meeting places.  I have also placed a link below with the syllabus for my class, should it be of interest to you and a link to register for any of the EQUIP courses online.

CBC Heritage & Ethos Syllabus

EQUIP Spring 2015 Session 1 Brochure

Online Registration for EQUIP courses