Antioch Community Church Minneapolis

Finally, the countdown is over.  We've officially launched as a new church!  This past Sunday, October 19th, was our first public worship service as Antioch Community Church.  It was a great time of celebration together as we marveled at God's faithfulness.  Our first worship service is the culmination of a two year personal journey, and it's also the beginning of an exciting journey into the months and years ahead.  Thank you to everyone who has been praying for this new church in NE Minneapolis.  We are very grateful for your partnership in Jesus' kingdom work.  Keep praying!  There is much work to be done for the gospel.

—Andy O'Rourke

I recently attended a lecture at Northwestern College given by Mark Driscoll on the topic, "Christ and the Media."  Driscoll pastors Mars Hill Church (www.marshillchurch.org) in Seattle, Washington and is the co-founder of the Acts 29 church planting network (www.acts29network.org).  Mars Hill Church is currently blazing a path among evangelical, missional churches who desire to engage people with the gospel by utilizing technology in creative ways.  In his lecture, Driscoll ironically pointed out that every church today uses the media in some fashion.  He said it's not a question of "will we use the media?," but rather, "what year will we be implementing?"  Cultural relevancy is never an end in itself.  Media should always serve the purpose of creatively and effectively expanding the gospel to as many people as possible (cf. 1 Corinthians 9:19-23). 

One of our core values at Antioch Community is "creativity."  By God's grace, we work to creatively engage young adults in our ever-changing cultural context with the unchanging message of the gospel of Jesus Christ.  How can we at Antioch Community Church better utilize technology and media in order to have a greater impact for the kingdom?  I don't exactly know the answer, but I'm excited to embark on a journey toward finding it.  In our tech-savy culture the massive God-shaped hole in the human heart remains the same as it ever has.  We've been created to worship our Creator, and in the words of the ancient church father Augustine, "our hearts are restless until they find their rest in Thee."  If technological relevancy can lead to a great impact for the gospel, then bring it on.  If you resonate with this, then join us on the journey.

—Andy O'Rourke

Our mission at Antioch Community Church is to "ignite a movement of the gospel."  Recently, our Core Team from ACC had the privilege to interact with Aby Kallimel.  Aby is a leader with IET, the largest church planting movement in South Asia (www.ietmissions.org).  Since 1972, IET has seen nearly 7,000 churches planted in one of the most unreached areas of the globe.  Here are some of Aby's insights on the subject of church planting movements... 

Common Elements of Church Planting Movements

1) Presence of committed and visionary leadership

2) Abundant and intelligent preaching of the gospel

3) Strong presence of prayer

4) High level of trust in God

5) Intense commitment to suffer for the gospel

6) Continuous and intentional training of leaders (apprentice model)

7) Focused on planting reproducing churches

8) Contextualization of the gospel

9) Utilizes indigenous people to reach their own people groups

10) Intense focus on Scripture

11) Presence of signs and wonders

Elements that KILL Church Planting Movements

1) Perception of foreign (non-native or outside) control

2) Extra-biblical requirements placed on followers of Christ

3) Loss of cultural identity

4) Loss of moral standards

5) Too much administration...or a lack of administration

6) Lack of resources

7) Lack of stabilizing elements

—Andy O'Rourke

We've finalized our "core values" for Antioch Community Church!  These are the things we are deeply passionate about and unswervingly committed to.  Check 'em out!...

Truth

We believe Jesus Christ is the supreme embodiment of Truth.  He is the way, the truth, and the life.  All things find their ultimate meaning and purpose in Him.  We also believe the Bible is God’s written, authoritative, and completely true revelation to His creation.  We are passionate about being transformed by God as we grow in love, zeal, knowledge, and obedience to the truth He has revealed. (John 14:6; Acts 4:12; Hebrews 4:12; 1 Timothy 3:15; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21)

Pursuing God

God is the center of everything we do.  We seek to glorify Him as we live out our lives as an expression of worship.  We acknowledge our complete dependence upon God and strive to be people of faith and prayer.  We pursue an active, growing, obedient, and abiding relationship with Jesus Christ. (1 Corinthians 10:31; Romans 12:1-2; Colossians 4:2; Ephesians 6:18-20; John 15:1-8)

Organic Community

God exists as a community of three in one, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  God’s people are called to live as a relational community expressing diversity within unity.  We strive to cultivate loving, authentic relationships that are centered in Jesus Christ.  Our goal is to be an active, healthy, growing, and life-giving organic community that reflects the reality of who Jesus is to the world around us. (John 13:34-35; John 17:20-23; Acts 2:42-47; Ephesians 4:1-3)

Creativity

We have been created in the image of God.  As followers of Jesus, we are part of God’s cosmic work of redemption and new creation.  We desire that our community be an expression of the creative work of redemption God is doing within and among us.  Our goal is to utilize the diverse gifts and abilities God has given us to creatively engage people and culture with the gospel. (Genesis 1:26-27; 1 Corinthians 12; 2 Corinthians 5:17; Acts 17:16-34; 1 Corinthians 9:19-23)

Holistic Mission

God is a missional, sending God.  As the Father sent the Son, we have been sent out into the world by Jesus in the power of the Holy Spirit.  Acknowledging we are hopeless apart from Christ, we desire to become “friends of sinners” as we guide lost and broken people to Jesus.  We believe in the power of the gospel to transform people, our city, and our world.  Therefore, we believe the gospel must be both tangibly demonstrated and courageously declared in our culture.(John 20:21; Luke 24:45-49; Acts 1:8; Matthew 9:9-13; Jeremiah 29:7; Matthew 5:13-16)

Intentional Multiplication

In obedience to Jesus’ mandate, we intentionally strive to make disciples of all people.   We are committed to developing and multiplying leaders.  We also desire to start new churches that start new churches.  Our goal is to help ignite a movement of the gospel in the Twin Cities and beyond that will contribute to the advancement of God’s Kingdom upon the earth. (Matthew 28:18-20; 2 Timothy 2:2; Ephesians 4:11-16; Acts 11:19-30; 13:1-3)

—Andy O'Rourke

Thanks for your prayers during our search for a Sunday morning meeting space.  As of yesterday, we now have a location for public worship!  We're praising God for his provision.  The facility is called the Ukrainian Event Center (www.ukrainianeventcenter.com), right in the heart of where we want to be in NE Minneapolis.  Our public launch service is on Sunday, October 19...DON'T MISS IT! 

—Andy O'Rourke

Our plan is to begin public worship services for Antioch Community Church early this fall. This means we need a place to meet! Please join us in praying for the facility God has in mind. Here’s how you can pray...

1. Pray that our new meeting place would be used for ministry that exalts God and advances the gospel.
2. Pray that we would trust God to provide and also be wise stewards with our finances as a church.
3. Pray that our future location would be able to provide adequate space for corporate worship, nursery, and potential children’s ministry needs.
4. Pray that we’ll remember the church is a people, not a place.

I’m comforted by the reality that God already knows where Antioch Community Church will gather.

—Andy O'Rourke

There actually are a few reasons we settled on the name Antioch Community Church for our plant.  So, here’s a brief “theology” of our new name...  

1)  First, our new church is an expression of the Antioch Initiative, which is the strategy that Jamie and I oversee at the North Central District (EFCA).  Like the Antioch Initiative, we want our new church to be involved in making disciples of Jesus, training and developing leaders, and starting new churches.  It seemed natural to connect the name of our church plant with the strategy and vision which it expresses, hence, Antioch Community Church.

2)  Second, the name term “Antioch” also reflects our desire to follow in the pattern of the early church at Antioch; which you can read about in the book of Acts (Acts 11:19-30; 13:1-3).  This was a church that God used in a strategic way to advance the message of the gospel to all people.  The church at Antioch was intentional about engaging all types of lost people (Jew and Gentile) with the gospel.  They intentionally trained and equipped new believers toward maturity in Christ and toward leadership.  They also were the first church to send out leaders (Paul and Barnabas) to plant new churches.  In a similar way, we want Antioch Community Church in NE Minneapolis to engage lost people with the gospel, establish and equip believers for service, and empower people for mission and ministry. 

3)  Third, we feel so strongly about the importance of authentic and loving relationships within a Christ-centered community that we wanted the word “Community” to be part of our church name.  We desire Antioch Community Church to be known for its highly-relational atmosphere and culture.  We believe deep and meaningful relationships with others are desperately needed in our day and age. 

—Andy O'Rourke