General

Engedi Church is a younger congregation with appx. 330 regular attendees / partners aged 50 and under. Pastor Brian keeps the messages real and funny, and the music is contemporary. His church is made up of “flaming liberals, political right wingers, and others who are apolitical – and they are all friends” What attracts newcomers to Engedi? He replied “It’s the people. We are warm and friendly, not glitzy” Brian and I further...

Engedi Church ( www.engedichurch.com ) began meeting in a school cafe on Oct 5, 2005. A daughter of large and successful Central Wesleyan Church (CWC) in Holland Mi., Engedi was birthed by Pastor Brian Aulick and a small group of congregants who wanted to be less anchored in tradition and more freely focused on areas of living in a discipling community and engaging social outreach. This is not to say that Central Wesleyan was not...

I became a member at Trinity Church shortly after they moved from a campus in East Lansing to a larger location on the city’s south side. The congregation had outgrown their prior facility, and with no available undeveloped land at their suburban setting, the congregation purchased land, built a new building, and relocated. Church growth and relocation is not in itself noteworthy. What makes Trinity’s move unique is that they...

Trinity church has borrowed a ministry model from Rick Warren’s Church in Saddleback CA. The diagram below illustrates how Trinity leadership views their place in their community. The diagram also creates a model the church applies in order to create disciple building movement within the congregation. The five concentric circles represent the spiritual condition of every person whom Trinity church contacts. 1. The outer circle...

By the numbers, Trinity Church in Lansing, Mi would be considered a ‘Mega-church.’ With 3 services each weekend, an average 2700 adults attend pulling behind them 500 to 700 children.  However, if you were standing on the balcony between services, you would experience a unique culture within the congregation.  A large atrium stretches across the back of the auditorium, with light flooding in from a three story window wall. Before,...

Beyond Me: Living You-First in a Me-First World By: Kathi Macias Published by: New Hope Publishers, Birmingham, Al 2008 Ever had mornings you don’t want to get out of bed, days you don’t feel like going to work? What do you do when the issue is obeying God? You love him; you are his child. Yet you still don’t want to obey, to allow yourself to transformed into his image through your obedience. The heart of Kathi Macias’ new book...

  My husband Jeff and I just recently left behind church ministry positions in California to relocate to North Carolina. Our plan–to start a coffee shop ministry. One of our goals is to reach unchurched people for Christ. A small group community will, we hope, be a key feature of this coffee shop fellowship. I’m already growing impatient as we put preliminary pieces in place to make this dream happen. But, as is often the...