CORE Church of Troy

What are your goals in life? What about for the next year?

We have experienced the first week of 2009. Many of us have set resolutions for the new year in an attempt to improve our lives. Some of us have pledged to take up a new, healthy habit such as dieting and exercise, or to give up unhealthy ones; smoking, cursing, etc. Many Christians resolve to do better at reading their Bibles, going to church more regularly and being more actively involved. Some set more lofty goals such as continuing education or running for public office. Some of us are making progress, while others are not doing so great.

As we search for significance in this life, many of us set goals and strive to meet them. However, the ultimate goal in life, as the Apostle Paul discovered, is to know Jesus Christ, to grow in an intimate relationship with Him, and to make Him known to others.

In Philippians chapter 3, Paul expresses what he has discovered to be the number one aim in his life; to draw closer to God through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and to experience the benefits of this relationship in his daily life.

After many years of life and ministry, Paul’s goal in life had changed; from one of confidence in the flesh, driven by personal achievement and self-righteousness, to a much more humble, simpler, single minded goal; to seek after a life that is found in Christ alone, and to live this life in the fulness that Christ promises to those who follow Him.

How can each of us realize this same goal in our daily lives?

Here in God’s word we are exhorted to not put confidence in what we have done or can do to make our lives better; to somehow improve our human experience on this earth and in this life, but to seek after and put confidence in a personal, powerful, often painful, practical and purposeful relationship with the Living God, so that we may truly experience life the way God intended from the beginning of creation. This experience is for now and for eternity, as we come to know and experience Christ in our daily lives

Over the next several weeks we will take a look at five facets of the greatest experience any of us can know, in this life and beyond. Using Philippians 3:10-11 as our backdrop and outline, we will search the Scriptures together and either discover this experience for the first time, or rediscover it anew.

Personal Experience…”I want know Christ…” Phil.3:10a
Powerful Experience…”And the power of His resurrection…” 3:10b
Painful Experience…”and the fellowship of sharing in His suffering…” 3:10c
Practical Experience…”becoming like Him in His death…” 3:10d
Purposeful Experience…”if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.” 3:11

Follow along as we experience God’s truth together!

Several people have asked me recently about our relationship and partnership with the Rev. Willie Bacote and the Missing Link Street Ministry.

I am seeing The CORE Church doing more and more (as God opens new doors) with Rev. Willie Bacote and his Missing Link Street Ministry. He and I have common vision and passion for reaching out to Troy’s urban poor. We have developed a relationship that is continuing to be shaped by the hand of God. He and I have spiritual gifting that compliments each other, while at the same time there are differences that God is working out in his time. Some would call such differences “barriers.” Barriers are nothing more than challenges that can be met and overcome through Christ, in the power of the Holy Spirit. For one, there is a racial barrier. As much as I’d like to think that this is not an issue, there are thoughts and feelings on both sides that have been shaped by society, culture, life experiences and upbringing. Whenever people of different backgrounds and upbringings come together there will be challenges that must be addressed. By the grace of God these barriers will continue to erode, as he transforms us by the renewing of our minds and the glory of God is revealed.

What a powerful testimony we will have as this ministry partnership continues to develop, as people of different races and cultures come together, in the name of Jesus Christ, and He is lifted up. Together we are planning some much needed community ministries, in addition to our ongoing, three-nights-per week feed-a-kid ministry, that will meet real needs and minister to people. Our common desire is to see people’s lives transformed by the powerful hand of God. That includes the lives of those called by God to lead such a vision. Even as ministry leaders God continues to transform and shape our hearts and minds individually, so that we can come together and serve Christ. He increases our capacity to love others, regardless of their skin color, cultural heritage, language, social status, etc. This demonstrates to those we are serving and leading that God is at work in us, and that we are not just talking the talk, but walking the walk.

Will you continue to pray for the CORE Church of Troy and the Missing Link Street Ministry as we serve the living, triune God?

This past Monday the CORE Church of Troy joined forces with the Missing Link Street Ministry to begin a new Feed a Kid ministry. CORE Church lead pastor Dave Lewis and Missing Link pastor Willie D. Bacote are working together to reach out to the kids and families in our community and to make the streets of Troy a safer place to live and raise a family. Also working with us is Troy Look Inc., led by Kevin Pryor, which is also a ministry reaching out to the youth of Troy.

 Planting an inner-city church has brought unique challenges our way, along with great opportunities to network and partner with other ministries who are serving in the same neighborhood. We are all realizing that we are not alone in this field of harvest. We have all prayed for more laborers to join us, and we have since discovered one another and are enjoying this new found relationship as we seek a common goal of reaching out to these great kids and bearing fruit for the kingdom of God.

Feed-a-kid, a free community hot meal for neighborhood children, 5-15, will continue every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 6:00pm at the CORE Church ministry lot. Would you like to join us? Stop on by and help us serve. If you would like to donate food or give towards the cost of preparing these free community meals you may contact Pastor WillieD. Bacote at (518) 421-5222 or Pastor Dave Lewis at (518) 526-6079

Gas prices are skyrocketing, the stock market is plummeting, the economy is falling apart. Taxes are going up, violent crime is on an upswing, the government is running out of answers.

 What is a family to do in such trying times?

How will we get by; pay the bills, raise our families, keep gas  in our cars?

As all of these real life issues swarm around us, how can we keep from getting caught up in the grip of fear and anxiety?

Who will come to our aid? Is there any true, lasting relief?

Join us as we tackle these issues and together we will discover the answers that only God can provide.

(Click on the poster graphic for a larger image. Copy and post, distribute, etc.)

August 23rd is slowly crawling up on us. Before we know it, Reach the Streets 2008 will be here. Last year was our first annual block party/community outreach event which we entitled “Taking it to the Streets 2007. Coordinated and hosted by 4ever1 Music Ministries, the CORE Church of Troy and Victorious Life Christian Church, we were able to provide many needy families with back to school supplies. We also had a free community cook-out, serving more than 500 meals, as well as all-day games and activities for kids. Four local Christian artists came and shared their gift of music and this inner-city community heard the gospel through both word and deed.

 Once again, 4ever1 Music Ministries (fronted by CORE Church worship leader Donna Walsh), the CORE Church of Troy and Victorious Life Christian Church will join together as we lift up the name of Jesus and “Reach the Streets” with His good news of peace, hope and love.

Joining us this year, in addition to 4ever1, will be Howie Campbell and Free Union, Jim and Laura Bird and Friends and Driven Worship, along with Pockets the clown and some extra special surprises

 Saturday, August 23rd is the date. 1:00pm - 8:00pm is the time. CORE Church Ministry Park, located at the intersection of 5th Avenue and 101st Street is the place. Please mark this date on your calendar and plan on joining us. If you would like to donate school supplies and/or help with the financial cost of this community outreach event, please contact Pastor Dave Lewis at 518-526-6079 or via e-mail corechurch@gmail.com

 What would happen if a local church made a committment to live their lives as God desires and directs. Join with us over the next several weeks as we consider the cause and effect of a community of Christ followers, committed to Loving God with all of their being and loving others, as Jesus commanded and demonstrated.

At Exponential 2008 Andy Stanley challenged us to make the vision stick. One of the many things he shared with us is the reality that people have a short retention span; that is, they will forget the vision if it is not shared and repeated often. At Northpointe he makes it a priority to communicate Northpointe’s vision at least once a month with his staff and his congregation.

At the same time, while attending Exponential 2008 I was asked by at least a dozen people to share the CORE vision. So, to the CORE Church family and to those at Exponential 2008 who have inquired, here is the CORE Vision.

The CORE Church of Troy

Mission and Purpose: To know God and to make Him known in the hearts of people living in the heart of the city.

Vision: How will we make Christ known? As a community of faith united in the bond of the Holy Spirit.

A Connecting community - connecting with God and with other people for the purpose of connecting other people with God

An Offering community - Offering our lives to God as living sacrifices so that we may know His plan and purpose for our lives ;our entire lives, our entire being–heart, mind, soul and strength.

A Reaching community - Reaching up to God. Reaching out to our neighbors. Reaching into the community, with His love, mercy, compassion, grace, peace, hope, strength, etc. thereby making Christ known in both word and in deed.

An Empowering community - in the unity and power of the Holy Spirit, as we make Christ known in the hearts and lives of His creation; His people, we will be empowered from on high to make a difference in our communities and our world

Our shared dream…to see His kingdom come and his will be done…in our community, our city, our state, our country, our world…as it is in heaven…as Christ lives and dwells in the hearts of His people and changes their lives, from the inside out.

Our core truth and guiding principle: What is the one thing we will live for and even die for?

Jesus Christ is the core of everything we are and do. He is the reason for our existence, the essential meaning and truth that we can build our lives upon. When Jesus Christ lives in the hearts of His people they will have His strength in their inner being. They will begin to know the full measure of His love and will reach out to their neighbors with His love (Eph. 3:14-19).

In a recent interview I was asked, “What would you say have been the bench marks if success for the CORE Church of Troy?”

My Response:

I would have to say one area of success is that we have developed a good working knowledge of Troy’s North Central/South Lansingburgh neighborhood, which has allowed us to form a strategy for planting seed on fertile ground. This neighborhood has been shrouded in darkness for many years. It is the toughest, most economically depressed section of Troy. It is also very much a transitional community. People who live here do so, for the most part, because they can’t afford to live anywhere else. There are many single mothers which means there are many young children who live in this neighborhood as well. Additionally, there are many senior citizens, mostly widows, who can’t afford to sell their homes and move. Therefore, we have seen the need to embrace what James refers to as “True religion.” That is, to “Take care of the widows and the fatherless, and keep yourselves unspotted by the world.”

 On any given Sunday we typically see more kids than adults in our weekly gatherings. We are happy to have them with us and we have seen the importance of reaching them before the street element reaches them. Therefore, we have sought ways to develop a missional/incarnational strategy that will inlude these great kids as we seek to make Christ known in the heart of the city.

A church planting friend recently asked, out of curiosity, “Who are you affiliated with and what is your strategy and/or approach to planting the CORE Church of Troy?”

My response to this question, I thought, would be a great topic for posting on our church website

We are officially working with the Conservative Baptists and their urban church planting arm known as Missions Door, formerly Mission to the Americas. Our approach is more of an indigenous church plant–that is, self-supporting, self-governing and self-reproducing. We are receiving some support from our regional association, CB Mission Northeast, so we are not truly self-supporting. We took over an old Baptist church that had closed and re-started it as an inner-city/mission church with a focus on being a neighborhood church that is intentionally reaching out to the people who live here. Being an indigenous, mission church has resulted in slower numerical growth than a typical church plant because our strategy, the design of which came out of necessity. Our strategy in Troy’s North Central/South Lansingburgh community, then, is to be low structured and highly relational. That means freeing up our ministry leadership so that they can be in the community connecting with people and building relationships, as opposed to spending a lot of time at the church building running and overseeing programs. We do have some programs which have developed as a result of getting out into the community, assessing the needs of our community and seeking, prayerfully, how we can be the catalyst in our community to meet these needs.