The Beacon of Hope
Newsletter

A Ministry of Martin Street Church of God Committed to shining God’s light and sharing God’s love.

Volume 4 , Issue 2
Martin St. Church of God, 148 Glenwood Ave. SE, Atlanta GA 30312. Phone: (404) 688-8545 Fax: (404) 524-4371 e-mail:
pastor@martinstcog.org website:www.martinstcog.org

Pastor:
Manuel Holston
Sctry:
Yolanda Tatum
Editor:
Sonya Johnson

 

Schedule of services

SUNDAY:
8:30 am
& 11:15 am—
Worship Services
10:00 am Sunday School
TUESDAY
7:00 pm
Recovery Program
Choir Rehearsal
WEDNESDAY
7:00 pm
Bible Study
Youth Ministry
SATURDAY
12:00-2:00 PM Boy/Cub W/Girl Scouts

Upcoming Events
Vacation Bible School
July 18-22, 2000, 9:00 am -
1:00 PM

Pastor’s List Celebration
T.B.A

For details on upcoming events, please contact the
Church Office.

Special announcement
Min. Phil Elvitt is looking for men to partner with him in the Prison Ministry If interested, please contact him via the church office

Services 4th & 5th Sundays at 2:00 pm
Bible Study Mondays at 7 00 PM
Words of Inspiration From The Heart of Pastor Holston
“ The Purpose Driven Church”
Our current Bible Study series is based on Rick Warren’s book, The Purpose Driven Church.
In it, Mr. Warren examines the various driving forces in local churches. These are summarized 8. below:

1. Churches driven by tradition.
The favorite phrase heard here is, We’ve always done it this way.” Change is viewed as negative.

2. Churches driven by personality.
The agenda here is driven by the needs of the leader, rather than by the leading of the Holy Spirit.


3. Churches driven by finances.
The biggest debate is always over the church budget. The bottom line seems to be, how much did we save? As opposed to who got saved?

4. Churches driven by programs.
All the energy is focused on sustaining programs and filling positions. The nominating committee is the most important one in this church.

5. Churches driven by buildings.
Paying for and maintaining the building becomes the biggest budget item.

 
6. Churches driven by events.
The goal here is to keep people busy.

7. Churches driven by seekers. This church is interested almost exclusively in getting the people in and giving them what they want so they will stay

8.A Biblical Paradigm: Purpose driven churches.

There are two essential elements: (a)
the prospective i.e.., The planning and (b) the process i.e.., The carrying out of those plans.

These three principles should guide churches in their decision making process.
A. The church should be seeker- sensitive, but not seeker-driven.
B. Plans, programs and personali- ties don’t last, but God’s purposes do.
C. Absolutely nothing revitalizes
a discouraged church faster than rediscovering its purpose.


Below are the God-given purposes of churches and how they are fulfilled. (See Acts 4: 31-37)

The Five Purposes of The Church Churches grow warmer through fellowship.

Churches grow deeper through discipleship.

Churches grow stronger through worship.

Churches grow broader through ministry.

Churches grow larger through evangelism.
What is the Purpose of Martin Street Church of God?
 
In light of the current study, we thought that it would be appropriate for us here at Martin Street to re-examine our own purpose. We took another look at our mission statement and were pleased to see that it expressed many of the principles Rick Warren mentioned in his book, The Purpose Driven Church . However, we do not want to look good only on paper, we are committed to being a church that practices these godly principles. Our Mission Statement reads: We the people of the Martin Street Church of God Ministry hereby resolve to,
Lift up Jesus and to serve him in Sincerity and in truth, by precept, example and under the direction of the Holy Spirit,
Yield ourselves fully and completely to the Lord as sacrifices.
Obey and measure up to the word as it illumines our path.
Reach out to humanity with Christ’s love, forgiveness and salvation.
To this end, we endeavor earnestly to be disciples train disciples and send disciples.