Joining God s story of redemption in our neighborhoods.

The Mill Church Joining God s story of redemption in our neighborhoods. OUR STORY STARTS HERE

ON THIS TRUTH WE STAND 18 And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Matthew 16:18-19 IN PARTNERSHIP WITH Our partners include the V3 Movement, a church planting network that trains planters to start disciple-making churches in the foundational practices of tight-knit community, lifeforming discipleship, locally-rooted presence, and boundary-crossing mission; the Assemblies of God s Church Multiplication Network; and our local parent church, Life Christian Fellowship (Springfield, PA), who will provide oversight, relational covering, accountability, and support.

A History of Havertown THE PLACE WE CALL HOME

Welcome to the neighborhood Havertown is called home to 48,000 people and is located 20 minutes west of Philadelphia. Because of the affordable housing and a great school district, Havertown has many families. These families form a close knit community that help out neighbors and come together for those in need. The families of Havertown are also generational where one can see children, parents, and grandparents living in the same neighborhood. The town hosts many community events that are family friendly. There are many opportunities for people to be involved in the community with different initiatives and non-profits that exist within Havertown. Though this town is family friendly, has a great school district, and large community involvement, a hidden drug epidemic withers away at its beautiful fabric. As a suburban town, one would not recognize from the outside that the opioid crisis is right under the surface. Many hide their anxiety, fears, anger, relational issues, and other problems by putting on a mask of perfection. To avoid the pain of real-life, many medicate and become addicted to drugs. The opioid epidemic is not the only issue that plagues Havertown. There is a 70 percent of people are not actively engaged in a faith community. lack of ethnic diversity in the community with a 90 percent Caucasian population. Havertown is a town of traditions and good morals, however this tends to overshadow the Gospel of grace. Though good morals and faithful traditions are not necessarily bad, they cannot replace the saving grace of the Gospel. While our community values religious tradition, 70 percent of people are not actively engaged in a faith community. The Mill Church wants to come alongside and honor the existing congregations in the community. There is such a rich history of faith in Havertown that it cannot be ignored. We believe that starting new churches and partnering with those already in existence will bring a new wave of God s Spirit in the community. God is not yet done with Havertown. There may be many things that plague Havertown s community but there s hope. The hope for Havertown outshines any negative influence in the town. The Mill Church will walk beside those in Havertown and shine hope in the dark places. Havertown is a great community and together we will see great things happen.

BEHIND THE NAME, THE MILL CHURCH Really, it all comes down to processing life, together. Mills were an important part of the early development and flourishing of many Philadelphia area communities, including Havertown. Through the use of water power, they provided processing of raw materials used for many necessities in life - flour, lumber, cotton, paper, and so on. Havertown mills even had a profound impact beyond our borders, providing materials to the nation and world. These materials were processed from their messy, raw forms to a more refined product, such as cotton into yarn, or wheat into flour. Mills also became the earliest town centers contributing to the life and culture of the community. It was in the mill, amongst the life of the neighborhood, that one of the first Havertown churches was started. When we encounter Jesus, we open our messy/raw lives to be processed by His living water. In Jesus process we find the necessities for renewal in all areas of life. We are healed from unhealthy patterns, freed from addiction; given hope in place of pain; and lives, marriages, families, and neighborhoods are made whole. When we come to The Mill, Jesus workshop of sorts, we join His family as Jesus processes our life together. We are then sent on a new mission, empowered by Jesus to do good works in the neighborhood, where we join His restoration process of our world and invite others to be processed by Jesus as well.

OUR MISSION The Mill Church exists to join God s story of redemption in our neighborhoods. OUR VISION All of Havertown transformed by the gospel story. Our mission and vision are simple. We envision all of Havertown transformed by the gospel story. Every life processed by Jesus. Where pain becomes hope. Where the loneliness becomes family. Where emptiness becomes purpose and mission. How do we do that? We join His story of redemption in our neighborhoods. We learn to surrender our lives to the processing of Jesus, allow His story to define everything about us, find a family to belong to, and live on Jesus mission to transform our neighborhoods.

OUR VALUES The story of our world begins and ends with the presence of God. We were created for God s presence, to experience and enjoy Him, and are sent to live faithfully present amongst the neighborhood. God is working to put all broken things back together in Christ. Through the Holy Spirit, God continues to communicate and empower the Church to join His plan of renewal in the world. We are a church where people can find a safe place to be known and be real as the gospel brings wholeness to every area of our lives. We are a family where all can find a place of belonging - where we gather around tables, enjoy one another, and learn to live selflessly for the good of the whole. We practice reconciliation and place a high value on healthy relationships - family, marriages, and singles. We are passionate about God and our mission in the neighborhood. The passion of Christ motivates us to love boldly, live courageously, and take faith risks for the glory of Jesus. Every person is made in the image of God and is valuable and powerful, regardless of our differences. We are all equal in the family of God. The work of ministry is not left to a few super saints, but is the responsibility of every follower of Jesus. We equip and empower each follower of Jesus to live out their God-given roles and personality. Because God is the original creator and the most beautiful one of all, we reflect God s beauty in all we do. We leverage creative mediums as a church with excellence and participate in acts of beauty and justice in our neighborhoods.

Missional Strategy/Pillars Biblical discipleship is a lifelong process of following Jesus into this new way of living. We walk with Jesus 1) by learning to live a life surrendered to His gospel story; 2) find a place to belong amongst His family; and 3) join Him on mission to make disciples and seek the transformation of our neighborhoods, cities, and the world. STORY FAMILY We are a story-formed people. Stories shape us, form us, and speak into our identities and purpose, they cut right to the core of who we are. We are all born into a story and continue to live our lives under a certain script. Regardless of the existing script of our lives, Jesus invites us to imagine a new, more truer, way of looking at the narrative of life and the world around us. The gospel invites us to let go of our striving and works driven pursuit of right living and find rest in the life, death, resurrection, and future return of Christ. Resting in the work of Christ, we learn to worship and submit to Jesus in all of life, creating space for our lives to be transformed by the love of Father, Son, and Spirit. We are a family-formed people. This process of allowing the story of Christ to change us can only be accomplished within the family of God. Here we find that despite our differences, every possible boundary is crossed as we share in fellowship, or common life together. To be human is to recognize our need for community. God wired us from the very start to belong to others. Christian formation does not occur alone, but in the context of God s family. We are adopted in, and belong to a new family. Here we love, care, and nurture one another and find we are valuable to God and others. It is in the context of family that we most learn to live out Jesus redemption story. MISSION We are a mission-formed people. The family of God does not just exist for itself. We have a God-given mission to extend God s story and family into our neighborhoods and world. Empowered by God s Spirit, we are sent out to extend these blessings we ve experienced to our neighborhoods and relational networks. We become carriers of God s presence into the world around us. We are called to be peacemakers, reconcilers, and stewards. We listen to our neighbors, seek the renewal of our community, and discern where God is opening up opportunities for Kingdom transformation today.

Our Practices MISSIONAL COMMUNITIES Just as Jesus moved into the neighborhood, missional communities act as the primary vehicle by which the church, outside of our worship gatherings, brings the story of redemption to the everyday life of the neighborhood. These small communities, of around twelve people, join Jesus mission together. Instead of separating the work of the church into different events and programs (bible studies, evangelism, family event, serve day, etc), the missional community takes up the cause to move into these areas together. Like a family, the MC gathers regularly around a family meal and identifies social spaces to gather regularly amongst the people of our networks and neighborhoods, where we create opportunities for people who do not yet know Jesus to belong to the family of God. We also seek to be a blessing to the neighborhoods through works of beauty and justice. Our dream is to see every person in our church family connected to a missional community, and to see one missional community for every 1,000 people in Havertown. LIFE TRANSFORMATION GROUPS Life transformation groups, or LTGs for short, are groups of 2-4 people of the same gender who meet regularly to 1) hear and obey the Scripture, 2) repent of sin and believe the gospel together, 3) consider opportunities to share the gospel story and pray for lost people. These spaces allow the deepest penetration of the truths of Jesus to occur and bring the greatest freedom to our lives. Our dream is to see every person at The Mill Church growing through regular involvement in a Life Transformation Group. WORSHIP GATHERINGS Here we are reminded that the story of redemption is public and made available to all. These corporate celebrations shape and form us. They call us to remember who we are and reorient our lives around the story of redemption. We ll encounter God in passionate corporate singing, receive gospel-centered preching, gather around the communion table, and hear stories of renewal taking place throughout the neighborhood. Our dream is to see every person at The Mill Church faithfully participating in collective worship gatherings. As a church we want to follow Jesus discipleship strategy. In addition to abiding personally with the Father Jesus confided in the three (intimate space), trained the twelve (personal space), mobilized the seventy (social space), and taught the multitudes (public space).

Our Timeline PHASE 1 APRIL 2018 - SEPTEMBER 2018 - CORE DEVELOPMENT How will The Mill Church begin? We will start with a missional community. This initial missional community is what we are calling our core team. How we start is what will establish the culture of the church as we multiply and grow. The Core team will commit together for a 9-12 month season to do the following: Meet weekly around a meal Form LTGs Training on Core Values Listen and learn what God is already doing in our neighborhood and networks (spending time in the neighborhood) Seek local and global missional and social justice partners (examples: Haverford Alliance of Drug Awareness, other churches) Communicate and partner with broader prayer team for special prayer events and initiatives PHASE 2 SEPTEMBER 2018 - APRIL 2019 - SOCIAL SPACE & MULTIPLICATION After an initial training and development season, the core team will: Continue the discipleship and training of the core (core meetings will likely move to bi-weekly to enable space for this other work to take place) Invite neighbors, co-workers, friends into a broader social space Grow that larger community with regular social events (bbq s, parties, park gatherings, brunch, etc) and community service initiatives Work toward the multiplication of the original missional community into two communities that meet in different neighborhoods Develop a co-pastor team and plan for future church plants Continue to host prayer initiatives/events and communicate with prayer team Develop a web and social media presence and strategy Establish monthly collective worship gatherings and begin to lay groundwork for public launch by forming a launch team PHASE 3 APRIL 2019 - APRIL 2020 PUBLIC LAUNCH & DEVELOPMENT Launch public worship gathering! Continue to multiply missional communities - goal to have 3-4 missional communities by the public launch. Create coaching structure for missional community leaders to stay connected to church leadership team and the continued development of missional community leaders Further develop missional community leaders to handle pastoral care needs that arise Identify ministry leaders (family ministry, worship, etc) Discern a strategy to reach teenagers in the community through youth events and intentional discipleship opportunities (their own version of missional communities and LTGs) Establish at least one additional social justice partnership in the neighborhood Move toward self-governance and establishment of partners, church board, etc. Identify a Delaware county neighborhood for next church plant Start a missional community / core team in that neighborhood PHASE 4 APRIL 2020 - FUTURE CHURCH PLANT & ESTABLISHMENT OF SOVEREIGNTY Repeat above phases for second congregation in a different Delaware County community The Mill Church becomes self-governing and fully established - board, by-laws, governance, staffing, etc. Move toward financial sustainability Add second part-time pastoral staff salary See 15 missional communities started and thriving in Havertown neighborhoods

Let s Talk Finances STARTUP EXPENSES Development, Fundraising, and Community Outreach - $25,000 Facility (12 months rental, atmosphere, maintenance) - $30,000 Technology (AV, computer equipment, etc) - $20,000 Marketing (promotions, banners, signs, etc) - $5,000 Equipment trailer/storage - $5,000 Collective Gathering Materials - $10,000 Administrative, Insurance, Supplies $5,000 STARTUP FUNDING SOURCES Denomination Grant - $20,000 V3 Movement Grant - $20,000 US Missions Grant - $10,000 GPA Grant - $10,000 TOTAL STARTUP FUNDING: $60,000 FIRST YEAR GIVING GOALS (50 PARTNERS IN THE NEXT YEAR) 30 Partners (1.25%) - $750 15 Partners (2.5%) - $1,500 5 Partners (10%) - $6,000 TOTAL GIVING: $75,000 TOTAL STARTUP COSTS: $100,000 MONTHLY EXPENSE PERCENTAGES BENCHMARKS: Giving, Missions, and Community Projects - 30% Personnel & Facilities - 35% Operations - 15% Ministry & Future Vision -20% 20% 30% 35% 15%

Pray With Us Prayer is first of all listening to God. It s openness. God is always speaking; He s always doing something. Prayer is to enter into that activity. - Henri Nouwen We believe prayer is not just rattling off our most recent needs but rather about developing a listening posture that aligns our hearts with the Kingdom of Heaven. Prayer, both personal and corporate, calls us into submission to God and a partnership with Him in order to see his will done in our lives and the community. Here are some ways that you can partner with us throgh the power of prayer: In the personal lives of the Pastors and the Core Team: Relational, Spiritual, Emotional, Physical, Financial Health Wisdom as we prepare for the next phases in this church planting journey Favor in the community with neighbors, organizations, the school district, and the Haverford Township government Awakening of the people of Havertown to the redemption-story of Jesus and life transforming power of the gospel in each individual That God will bring freedom for those addicted to drugs and give us wisdom on how to walk along side of those with addiction Courage to step out in faith when there seems to be no way or an obstacle in the way Won t God provide justice to his chosen people who cry out to him day and night? luke 18:7 THEMILLPA.CHURCH