We’re reviving the Thursday night discussion format! We have loved moving to a “Fellowship Night” format over the past several weeks where whole families can come together to practice worshiping God, studying His Word, and fellowshipping together. However, one of the limitations of this format is deeper shared discussions.

The smaller format of our Thursday night discussions fosters better in-depth discussion of key topics that our Fellowship nights aren’t quite able to provide. While Fellowship Nights on Sunday evenings include all family members and are a wonderful time for us to practice worship liturgy in it’s various forms of praise, prayer, confession, etc., Thursday night RRT meetings are geared more toward adults and older children and are filled with more interactive discussions.

We’ll plan to pursue these meetings (alongside our fellowship nights) to encourage theological unity and understanding as we get closer to our official start date.

Which Families are Ready?

  • After having a quick phone call with Pastor Hatcher today, his advice was that our goal should be to seek at least 10 families who are willing to become founding members before our inaugural Lord’s Day worship. His reasoning stems from seeing church plants “launch” with too few members and struggle to mature beyond those members. His counsel is that a 10 family minimum seems to give the “critical mass” needed for growth and protects against stagnation.
  • Right now there are 7 families that have confirmed they are ready to become members. There are another 3 or 4 who are considering it but are still seeking the Lord’s direction.
  • If I haven’t talked with you about this one-on-one yet, it’s only because I haven’t had the opportunity. Please let me know if you would like to be included in the list of confirmed founding members and I will joyfully add you to the growing numbers.
  • Please be praying about this decision as a family as we walk by faith and not by sight. We all desire the Holy Spirit to convict our hearts and inform our orthodoxy and orthopraxy.

Read the DRAFT form of Trinity Church Bylaws

  • Get a copy of the DRAFT here.
  • NOTE: This form was modified by Pastor Hatcher for our Lewis County church plant and has not been voted on or approved yet by the Trinity Church session (elders).
  • Discuss any issues or questions that might come up, after having read it.
  • I particularly like this part of the bylaws “… In submission to Scripture, we confess the purpose of our church is to glorify God through reverent worship, building up our members through preaching the whole counsel of God, observing Christ’s sacraments, and proclaiming Christ to the world.”

Discuss Memorials E & F from the Book of Memorials (attached)

  • These two memorials surround Terrorism and Homosexuality. We tabled this discussion from our Fellowship night format as it seemed more appropriate to have the discussion during a Thursday night.

Baptism and the Lord’s Supper

  • This discussion will be surrounding the definition of who in the church are “communicant members.” The definition as defined by the bylaws can be found under Article II, Section A.4.

This is a tremendously exciting time as we seek after the glory of God by doing the good works He has set out for us to do.

To get to be a part of the story He is telling as it unfolds brings unspeakable joy.

As we face a world hostile to Christ and His followers, and we seek to plant a church amidst this hostility, I am reminded of the first question and answer in the Heidelberg Catechism for Lord’s Day 1:

Q. What is your only comfort in life and death?

A. That I am not my own,
but belong with body and soul,
both in life and in death,
to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ.
He has fully paid for all my sins
with his precious blood,
and has set me free
from all the power of the devil.
He also preserves me in such a way
that without the will of my heavenly Father
not a hair can fall from my head;
indeed, all things must work together
for my salvation.
Therefore, by his Holy Spirit
he also assures me
of eternal life
and makes me heartily willing and ready
from now on to live for him.

May we be comforted and strengthened by Christ’s victory to live for Him!

Joe Stout