Sparta Focus Groups Master List
1. Greatest Gifts:
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Property/location
Committed, humble pastors
Loving, biblically grounded leaders
Biblical fidelity
Wonderful place for families to grow in relationship with the Lord
Church family ministering to children/youth
Community outreach
Senior pastor and leaders
sound doctrine coming from strong leadership
kids ministries/family group ministries
feel like a family- we care for one another
generosity
interaction among generations
love/concern for the unsaved
Land, resources; location
Dedicated, devoted leaders
Spiritually gifted, willing to step out and start new things (Upward,
4REAL, Brooklyn)
Heart for missions & evangelism
Youth programs, kids love it, bring parents along
- - the congregation, warm welcoming feeling, help when sick,
family atmosphere, people really care
- - diversity in gifts present in the church, new faces showing up to
serve, difficulty to find someone with a gift, trustees, 4real teenagers,
- - leaders/staff, pastor bob really took initiative, pastors and leaders
(small group) looking after their sheep
- - community focus, teen years look inward and building programs,
now we are starting to look outward, growth by stealing from other
church's. 4real, re-doing Sunday school program, breakaway day
camp. Reach those on the fringe of church
- - when in missions trips we engage other churches, we need to
identify what our gifts are so those gifts can be used for the body
- - being a Biblical church,
- - property is an unbelievable gift
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Leadership including pastors
Loving and caring pastoral staff that's been here a while and sticks to
the Word
Preaching from the heart to the heart (hits on all the learning styles)
Leadership that seeks the face of God not their own agendas
Heart for missions-that includes children in their own back yard
Property with potential/physical plant that looks like this
Multi-generational
Pastors
The body of believers-genuine, loving, caring, diverse
godly leadership
Teaching and preaching biblical truth
Youth ministry-teaching, missions trips,
Large variety of ministries
Location
Equipped church body with people who are passionate in their
ministries
Property
Ability to exercise personal gifts
Xian community dedicated to sharing God's word locally and globally
Pastoral staff comes alongside
Church with vision
- A great shepherd in pastor Doug and other pastoral staff
- pastors and elders dedication to the Gospel
- pastors loving genuine compassionate
- church family that is welcoming and loves people
- vision for outreach
- location and property to reach the community - God provided
- ability to give to to others through ministries - a lot to offer
children and families
- outreach through music and choir
- amazing Sunday school program
- pastoral staff Pastors Doug's heart for people
- fun loving pastor with a heart for the truth
- fellowship, families, small groups, caring to each other
- leadership - elders, trustees, Sunday school teachers - grounded in
the word
- church is full of families and youth - thriving
- facility and the property and the resources available - leadership
willing to use it
Loving friendly congregation
Strong Biblical teaching from pastors, Sunday school teachers, etc
Facility/property
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Multi-generational families
Willingness to serve
Willingness to take care of facilities
Desire for community within (reach out to each other, enjoy each other)
Reaching out to community-relationships gospel
Supportive and focused on right perspective for staff all the way down –
honoring the Lord first then others
Passion for youth in church and community
Passion for the Gospel to be the hands and feet of Jesus
Diversity of people
Loving Pastors
Resources, location, property, money
Godly leadership with Bible as authority
Youth ministry
Children’s ministry (volunteers)
Family generations, families making other families welcome
Congregation desire to know God and make Him known and to serve
Talent put in right positions
Small/journey groups
- Biblical leadership - trust the word that is being given out - from the
Bible
- Strong Biblical Pastoral leadership - actively seeking the Lord - you
can have all the knowledge but if it is without seeking the Lord it is
worthless
- location - prime area with unreached families
- cradle to the grave ministries - something for everyone
- people genuinely love and care
- people who love people
-location...central to so many towns and communities
-ability to equip disciples through teaching
-Pastor Doug and his family
-warmth and embracing and acceptance of different people who come
-a fellowship that has a passion to reach the lost
-music/worship
-partnering with other ministries
-strong leadership/sound doctrine/solid men-no concern with
decisions, going to them with issues/unified
-judgment free/ welcoming/meet needs
-passion for community
-youth programs/youth leaders
-commitment to the gospel in all that's done/Bible based
-don't do things just to get people in the door
-discipling-we see youth growing into leaders
- - God blessed the church with the location, property and facilities
- - leadership that connects with people individually - pastoral and
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elders are involved in life groups, and one on one - trickle down
discipleship
- welcoming church - hard to sneak in in noticed - like a family
- lot of good ministries and people who volunteer
- missions minded
- facility that we have is available throughout the week - open door
policy
- coming from a big church, we use our space well - small church
in a big building
- generous church - see a need in the community and the church
meets that need
Leadership (well equipped Biblical knowledge), caring, committed
Land
Facility
Ministries that are offered
To serve in
To benefit from
Loving genuine body of people
2. Greatest Opportunities:
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Minister to community, show them Christ love by meeting physical needs
Reaching lost through concerted, targeted prayer
Good stewards with what God has provided
Love one another as Christ loves us
Go deeper with each other, serve with one another, healthy relationships
Expand/reach out out to local community
Sharing gospel with unsaved
Joining with other churches, should not be in competition
More corporate prayer
Making disciples and equipping the saints
Christian education, supporting local Christian schools
Reach into the Hispanic community; develop strong leaders, church plant
Cultural diversity; be more inclusive; build relationships through
common interest
Be family to divorced/singles
Reaching out into the community; short term mission trips in area
Meeting needs of community; in addition to supplying money, actually
engage with people, build relationships, be able to share gospel at some
point
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Prophetic ministry of Jesus return, place of refuge for our community
Fellowship/relationship building
Sports ministry, outreach connected with 4REAL and other adult
ministries; develop relationships in community, provide opportunity to
share Gospel
Prayer focus for ministries/events
Become the “town center for near development coming nearby
- - continue to grow children's programs, Upward, maintain links
between existing programs and new ones, no silos, discipleship
from adults to teens to younger children
- - every group that does out needs to have a discipleship focus,
- - discipleship is about people and relationships more than
materials, program, and curriculum
- - expand on teens as well as younger kids, testimony of gay
marriage debate at Sparta High School English class - 3 out of 17
kids stood up for traditional marriage and all 3 attend our church
- - reaching out to our surrounding communities
- - missions in your own back yard
- - opportunity to be flexible in meeting needs, voter booth training
request declined and that has a negative reaction in the community,
these opportunities break down barrier to entry
- - program to reach those new to the community, new in Christ as
well as physically new to the area
- - grow and change our identity in town
- Minister to needs in our immediate area
- Evangelism and then discipleship
- Adoption
- Discipleship of the kids that were just saved at Camp
- Use property for outreach and growth of our young
- Reach families through children
- Reach community by using the property God has given us
- Outreach to the community through community organizations and other
churches
- Small group development
- Given us a lot-much is expected
- SEFC offers a variety of ministries for people to serve God
- Small groups that would step out to share the gospel/go out and be
hands and feet (should be going out...not waiting for them to be coming to
us)
- Youth are encouraged to participate in the body/ministries
- offer a wide range of people access to the Gospel - different age,
socio-economic status
- opportunity for out reach to the community, not in reach
- numerous ways of spreading the Gospel
- a grief share program for widows and parents who have lost children
- opportunity to be genuine and real
- opportunity to have a paid worship leader
- catching Dougs excitement for outreach and ministry and following him
- expand and encourage AWE ministry for families with special needs
children
- use many talented people on our church for worship
- at the brink of God ready to use us, community influence, birthed out of
hurricane Sandy, mud runs, 4REAL - come as you are, we just want to help
you
- preaching, teaching, living the full gospel to a world that does not know
him, to a culture that has not grown up in the church
- life on life - passion for personal evangelism - one on one sharing of the
Gospel
- youth group - potential of the group and involvement with 4REAL
- potential to reach the county, not just Sparta
- community outreach - CityServe - working with other churches - day
camp, project self sufficiency - people from the community coming to the
property and feeling loved - serve people
Outreach to community (kids) Missions trips
All ages to be involved
Changing our perception by the community (not elitist, build relationships)
To be witness or demonstrating Christ love for others (individuals first then greater
scope)
Inward reach-discipleship and accountability
Land (potential)
Discipleship youth especially (4 Real, Summer camp, etc)
Focus groups to see where we are going
Growth opportunities we haven’t tapped into yet
Missions (foreign and domestic)
More than just Sunday morning to touch base but a life style
More service to the community with a set structure to make it easier to do service
Embracing diversity
Growing believers through detailed Bible studies
Break down walls by going deeper with each other as a body—get people to be
more vulnerable –be more real with each other
Young people spiritual hunger in our community
Worship different worship services better understanding of worship a class on
worship
How to keep people involved though different stages of life
Get people to serve who don’t serve
- community outreach partnership
- fine tune the community outreach that we currently participate - shoe box
program - do it better than we have
- meet tangible needs - families who cannot afford school supplies - organized
opportunities to participate
- mission and purpose statement for each ministry making sure that the church
ministries have the same focus - be known to do a few things very well instead of
many things not so well
- engaging the community through children's ministry - children's ministry pastor
- the Lord is pointing us towards children's ministry
-living in trying times and all are struggling so we have golden opportunity to share
Christ
-expanding hispanic ministry/potential service
-reaching out to our youth (Upward/4 Real)
-discipleship amongst believers-so they're more equipped when sharing the gospel
-small home studies in your home as most don't feel comfortable coming to a large
church
-property-bring youth to our grounds through camps, etc. on the grounds
-property development
-grow the staff/stability in staff-acquiring the right people so they stay
-staffing-church is growing and staff has decreased (don't want staff to get burnt
out)
-grow as a church in coming together and praying for our pastors
-support more missionaries (have opportunity to support more than we can)
-train and raise up leaders to share Christ/know their faith
-wide range of outreach opportunities because of all the different
interests/peoples (from sports to shardz of clay, etc.) We have the facility to
accommodate.
- outreach into the community
- land that the church sits on - room for expansion without having to relocate youth center, divorce center, soup kitchen, growth potential
- use our church to reach the under valued - homosexual, divorce, families with
children's with disabilities
- sports and camp outreach - community outreach - missions/service/outreach - process we are going though now - corporate prayer, come together to seek
Gods will
- world is changing - judgement begins with the house of God - what does it
mean to be a true follower - we have gotten away from the standard - there is a
lot of work to be done in us
- multimedia department to reach people through TV or radio
- social media outreach
- discipleship - we have ministries to create disciples, but it seems that true
discipleship is happening outside those ministries
To be more involved to take a stand against evil in the world. Sermons on what is
going on and how we can affect change. Challenging people to take a stand.
Decision on land use. More opportunities to use the land.
To change some things. To look at change as an opportunity rather than fear
change.
To examine different styles of worship.
To think outside the box, get away from traditional thinking e.g. shooting as part
of our ministry.
Youth-boys brigade, camping
To minister to different groups, people with disabilities
3. God-given dreams:
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Others see Christ face through us
Function as a real family; do hard work together/celebrate
together/missional/play together
People genuinely living out faith wherever they are
Bring anyone, regardless of social status, to hear who God is
Train up/disciple others; place where you can use your gifts in service to
the Lord
Every heart focused on “what would Jesus do”; genuine Christ followers
Develop relationships through the events so it is not a one touch
Ministry for divorced people
Church environment where people are sharpened; develop/use gifts
Develop relationships/share Gospel with those around us
Spirit filled, spirit led
Provide opportunity where people can be transparent, safe
Deep fellowship; love for people
People have an awakening; create an environment where people think
they can share
Appealing for people outside the church, see there is something different
among the people
Create an environment where new believers can grow
Environment where spirit is moving in hearts of people
- - to take our mission statement seriously and in the order that it is
written
- - God first, family second, business third
- - revival starting in the hearts of every person, starts inside and
flows out to those on the community
- - pillar of light in the community
- - maximize the resources that God has given us, people, staff,
building, property for His glory
- - youth - give them love - they are hurting, show them love no
matter what is going on in their lives
- - church need to find an identity of true worship, not just singing
and dancing, walking in the Light, encouraging and igniting that in
every individual, this is evident in our youth and children,
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Child or adult would come to know The Lord through something she
says/teaches
Growth, but not to the point where it loses its life.
Grow ethnically.
This to be a refuge for the lost. Hold to God's Word to feed the
"hungry".
SEFC to be a hub of the community-opportunity to share gospel/share
God's truth
Where love is shown
to all (the lost)
Accept them into our flock.
Continue to stand on the Word of God.
Raise up foster parents/adoptive parents
Allow pastors to equip the saints
Create a culture to foster people to follow their passions and use their
gifts
"Clean slate" program-you're a new creation in Christ
Presence of HS would be palpable for all who walk into this place
Guests who walk into this place feel like they have come home-no
longer wandering
Church be a beacon of hope to all who are lost
Spiritual awakening in this community-not to be silent/darkness is so
loud-rise up against it to make God's Word known
Reach this community
Total reliance on God-we can do nothing without Him. HS needs to be
taught, called upon, we need His presence.
Pray more together as a church body...corporately
Understand ourselves as the family of Christ-brothers and sisters who
know each other, pray for each other
Excitement, energy, commitment to serve God with joy for his glory.
Use media more to reach the lost
Have our own radio station-local
Don't lose the small church feel-even with growth in numbers
Being one in Christ
Be a lighthouse in this community and that all visitors would
feel/experience the love of Christ when they enter our doors
- - love, that we are a channel of His peace, river analogy - many
doors
- - each of us can share the gifts that God has given us to benefit
people inside and outside of the church
- - that God would raise up the leaders to make the programs that we
have work
- - continuing to remain firmly rooted in God's word and going out
in the community
- - brining people back to the Light, so much darkness out there, our
culture focuses on the temporary
- - phenomenal piece of property - future of the church is getting a
lot more people to attend - Hawthorne Gospel had a lot of
programs and they did a lot more outreach than we do - more
outreach
- - unity amongst people who attend - Veritas uses the building
- - dynamics of our worship has changed - equipping is going to
happen in Sunday school and home groups - Sunday is should be
for worship and presentation of the Gospel - do not be afraid of
offending people - - three legged stool, belief as a parent, belief taught at school,
belief taught at church
- - 2 Peter 1:3-15 - each individual would be empowered to be all
that we can be - knowledge of Him, we can be changed personally,
then be able to make a difference in the world
- - life on life - church with 85% in Life Groups - 10-12 people more mature leading those less mature - discipline those who
attend - what a Christian marriage looks like - What a Christian
parent looks like - biblical financial teaching - with the goal of
discipleship
- - that people will see us differently - see us as Jesus followers Andy Stanley "Christian: It's Not What You Think"
- - not about of the numbers but the depth of us - starts with
leadership - consistency of leadership tenure - one pastor - unity children grow up with that one pastor
- - renewed spiritual enthusiasm by each individual in worship uninhibited worship
- - people would know that we are different - not just a church
- - discipleship and witness - we as a church have grown in our
ability to grow programmatically - we need to grow by reaching
out to our neighbors and co-workers - witness wherever we are -
need to be able to do this individually
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Need to reach out to people with the Gospel or continue to reach people
with the Gospel (my words set our souls on fire)
Serve on another; sharpening each other
Be more real to the people we interact with
The Church to be more genuine
More building opportunities (sanctuary, class rooms etc)
Training and preparing our children to lead—need more staff (e.g.
Children’s pastor) need more people to serve
Have people (adults) see the importance of going to Bible studies, Sunday
School, etc to set an example for children
More free in worship—be more drawn into God’s presence
For unbelievers to come and feel safe and observe and see the light—
either us going out or people coming in—beacon to the community
A church that loves people where lives are changed that starts with us
To connect with the outside world with the Gospel (relationships)
To be a place that is loving and accepting for those who are hard to love
and accept
A place where people would love to be
A ministry for single parents and working moms
To meet the needs (spiritual, financial, etc) of people in and outside the
church
A place where I am excited to be so others will see that and want to come
What can I do to reach others—that the Lord will use me—that more
people will come to the Lord
Invite them in
Many more churches
For everyone to know where they belong in the church-who you are in
God and Him in you so you know where you belong
We have open doors so as you spend time here you will know where you
belong. To be real to get people engaged to develop relationships
A culture of discipleship. Intentionally disciplining one or two people
See the church as a bee hive going in and out thriving working for the
common good
That the people could taste just a little to see how good it is to serve
Unity—in terms of do ministries support the mission and vision of the
church
Passion to know God deeper and to glorify Him
Have the right staff and leadership to support our vision
- difference makers - that we change the are in which we live - Sussex
county is changed because we are here
- a place where even though people have been here for 20 years, we
can be unified in reaching people who walk in our door - not so
focused on walking in the door and being concerned about what needs
to be done, but how to meet the needs of those walking in the door
- being passionate about ministering to those that walk through our
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door - overcome apathy that comes from doing ministry for so long
- that the church will grow by impacting our community - that people
who walk through our door will see that we are a people loving with the
hands and feet of Christ - not just written on the bulletin
- not complacent in doing ministries just because 'this is how is always
has been done' - that we are an active part of Sparta and Sussex
County, not just a church that happens to be here
-"What is that in your hand" quote from Exodus. Dream-seeing God do
what he will with what we have.
-be unashamed of the gospel to disciple those who are in the body-be in
the word, stand up for what we believe (gay marriage, other topics-need
to hear it from the pulpit)
-when the world looks at us that they see that we're Xians-know that
we're Xians by our love
-each ministry serve each other-work together as a body
-each person exercise their own gifts in growing the church/body
-that we wouldn't have to chase after people in the eleventh hour to get
something done/get people involved. passion for all our people to be
willing/wanting to serve-not to be begged to get involved
-discipleship would grow that passion for service and getting involved
-would like to see more joy/rejoicing
-ignite a passion in the body to come to church and worship
-first row filled with hispanic people worshipping God
-everyone have opportunity to go on one short term missions trip
-stay a healthy church (have come from a church that had a split and
wasn't healthy)
-be better stewards of using this property for God's kingdom
-more of what we've been doing/remaining healthy/everyone who
walks through these doors would see it and would want to come/have
staff to be able to handle that
-we are raising up the "modern day night". Model for our youth what
they should see/know/do.
-see this church be recognized as Christ to this community/for SEFC
to make a difference/part of the community the community couldn't do
without/our people are living it to the point where others would see it
and want it
-stay focused on the gospel
-everyone be a part of a life group/small group
- from the beginning we had big plans for the church - would really like
to see the property expanded - Veritas is not affiliated, but why not
have a school that is affiliated?
- people that are part of this church will have a heart and hunger for the
Word of God
- with the facilities that we have here, dream that we grow as a church
with new believers, not people switching churches - discipling people draw the people so we have to expand
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- that I would bring my friends here without fear that they would be
judged that they could walk in an be themselves
- a church where we can be real - true fellowship - congregation
praying with each other
- revival in our country - why can't it start here?
- there are so many people that love the Lord but do not want to step
foot in church - we need a place separate (youth center?) that is a safe
people for people who are messed up and can be discipled
Housing for people in need, missionaries, seniors, poor.
Explosion of worship-to draw people in
Kids and families drawn, like a magnet, bring in kids then the parents
follow.
Welcoming all so that they feel connected
Create atmosphere (my word) so that people not only want to attend but
want to serve
Concerts
Sports
Non sporting events
Vibrant growing active church drawing all walks of life-so people would
come and worship-avoid clicks (guard against)
Genuinely welcoming to all walks of life. Being loving to all walks of life.