Guide

20th Anniversary Resource Guide

As we celebrate our 20th year as a local church, we want to both look back and look forward. We did that together in the gatherings on Sunday April 2, 2023. And now, we have this opportunity to take time individually to consider how we will participate. We hope you’ll find this exercise helpful and that this space for reflection and dreaming will bring you to a place of greater gratitude for all that our Great God has invited us into.

Regardless of when you began your journey with Mosaic, we trust that He has worked in your life for His glory and your good in your time with this community of believers. He has been both faithful to us and faithful through us in innumerable ways, many that we aren’t even aware of. To remember how He made a way when there was no way – for us as a gathered church and for us as individuals, is so good for our hearts as our view of His work and our gratitude for His goodness in that work grow together. We would love to celebrate how you’ve experienced and witnessed God’s faithfulness through Mosaic! 

As we look forward and consider the invitation to partner in the gospel, it can be helpful to take time and evaluate how we’re participating and where we may be holding back. Some of us may be contributing to the extent of our ability and some may be brand new to deciding if they want to step in at all. We hope this simple guide will equip you to look deeply at how God has prepared and invited you into the story He is writing wherever you are in your current participation. And if Mosaic isn’t your church home, we invite you to use this tool wherever you are, and we encourage you to connect to a local church in your community where you can thrive in abiding and living on mission with other believers!

When God calls us to follow Him, we are invited to participate with Him on mission to bring His kingdom of light, life, and freedom to bear on this affectionately called Planet Death that is our temporary home. We, at Mosaic, want to be a part of God’s saving work here on Earth – becoming family for the lonely, sharing the saving gospel of Jesus to the dying, freeing the captive, caring for the poor, and joining in on whatever God has for us! 

The way we participate in that as individuals as a part of this local body is to get involved. As individuals, we are called and invited to give all that we are to Jesus to use as He pleases for His good work. One way to evaluate how we are and how we can participate is to consider our Time, Talent, and Treasure. Before we get started, let’s stop and pray.

Prayer

Father God, I am here, submitted to You as your child, to seek your will for my life. I want to honor You with all that I have. I want to participate in the life-changing work that You are up to in my church and city and world. I want to have a part in the celebration of what You’ve done as I look forward to the future anniversaries of this local church. Lord, show me what you have for me today. Help me to be open to hear You, to be patient to process through questions that may be hard for me, and to experience joy as I consider the opportunity to grow in my participation. I ask this in your name, Jesus, amen.

Time

We all have 24 hours in a day, 7 days in a week, 365 days a year. Each of us has different ways in which we spend those hours, days, and years. Let’s take a minute to ask some questions about how we spend our time.

Read and Meditate: 1 Corinthians 10:31, John 15:4-5, Ephesians 5:15, Luke 10:38-4

Self Reflection

  • Are the responsibilities and commitments that I’ve taken on glorifying God?
  • Do I need to reevaluate my current load to have more time to give to more worthwhile endeavors for the sake of the gospel?
  • Am I living for Jesus in the time that I am spending on the good responsibilities and commitments I have in my life?
  • Am I wasting time?
  • Am I sabbathing as I remember that I am not in control and that I can rest and trust God to provide?
  • Am I participating as a family member in this church family; inviting guests in, caring for the children, preparing the meals, cleaning the home, and serving the other family members?

Group Discussion: 

  • In what ways do you believe you can make “the best use of the time” better than you currently are? 
  • In reading the story about Mary and Martha, in what ways do you feel like Martha? 
  • What does it look like for you to rest and recharge? Do you currently feel you have adequate, rhythmed rest in your life? If not, how might God be calling you to make rest a priority in your life? 
  • In what ways is God calling you to function as family in the church rather than a guest of the church? 

If you see that you have room to better steward your time and you desire to give that time to the Lord’s work as a member of this family at Mosaic, we’d encourage you to consider serving on one of our ministry teams. 

Talent

The Lord gives each of us unique spiritual gifts that are good for the whole community of believers. He also created us uniquely with different personalities and interests and as we mature, we grow in our abilities and can also share those with the body of believers for everyone’s good.

Read and Meditate: 1 Corinthians 12:4-13, Romans 12:3-11

Self Reflection

  • Do I know how God has gifted me?
  • Do I need to seek to figure that out through wise counsel and learning more about spiritual gifts?
  • Am I using my gifts, personality, interests, and ability to honor God and bless my community of believers?
  • Am I struggling with pride or feeling selfish with these because I’m finding my identity in these ways the Lord has created me instead of in Him alone?

Group Discussion

  • What spiritual gifts has God given you to benefit the church? Do you feel any of your gifts are not currently being used to bless and build up the church? 
  • What would the church be like if everyone decided not to use their spiritual gifts? (Imagine if pastors stopped using their teaching and shepherding gifts. Imagine if the parking team stopped using their hospitality gifts. Imagine if those who coordinated Kid’s Ministry stopped using their administration gifts. Imagine if those who clean the bathrooms stopped using their gifts of service. Imagine if those who care for the needy in our church stopped using their gifts of mercy. What would the church be like?) 
  • Why is it vital that everyone use their spiritual gifts to bless and build up the church? 
  • In what ways have the variety of spiritual gifts represented at Mosaic been a blessing to you? 
  • Do you know what areas in our church are struggling to keep up right now and could use more help?

If you want help discerning how God has uniquely created and gifted you to serve Him, please email joelc@thisismosaic.org 

Treasure

God is our provider and we are simply stewards, called to live faithfully and generously with the resources He has entrusted to us. Some of us have a lot and some of us have a little, but God calls every believer to participate financially to a degree that is both faithful and generous.

Read and Meditate: 1 Chronicles 29:11-13, Matthew 25:14-30, Mark 12:41-44

Self Reflection

  • Am I responsible with what God has provided for me?
  • Do I know how much comes in and how much goes out?
  • Am I saving and spending with the motivation to give in mind?
  • Am I faithful in my giving or am I haphazard?
  • Do I need to manage my finances better in order to be able to give?
  • Do I have room to give more but struggle with fear, control, selfishness, or greed?
  • Do I judge others’ provision and generosity instead of paying attention to my own?

Group Discussion

  • How is greed and hoarding our resources dangerous for our souls? 
  • How is generosity good for our souls? 
  • We learn from the story of the widow’s offering in Mark 12 that generosity isn’t just about how much money we give. What’s it really about? What kind of generosity is honoring to God? 
  • Jesus in the Gospels has more to say about the danger of money than the danger of Hell. Why do you think this is the case? 
  • The invitation to be generous isn’t just some random command, it’s an extension of God’s character. Generosity is one of the many ways we reflect God’s image in the world. How is this so? 

If you want to grow in your understanding of why believers give to the local church, if you want to begin participating in giving or give more, you can find everything you need to know here. If you want to speak with someone about your finances or desire to participate differently, please email joelc@thisismosaic.org 

Prayer

Lord God, I am grateful for your goodness and faithfulness to me. You have seen me and cared for me in ways and times that I’ve been unaware of and in ways and times that I’ve been so keenly aware that I’m brought to simple awe in response to how specifically you love me. I ask that you would solidify in my heart what you’ve shown me today, that you keep me from forgetting about or putting off the invitation I’ve received from You to participate in what You’re doing here. Here I am, Lord, surrendering all that I have – the time, talent, and treasure you’ve entrusted to me – as my spiritual act of worship to You. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.