A Testimony to God at Work Building Christ's Church and God's Kingdom In Classis Atlantic Northeast (CANE)

Raising CANE can be hard work! But it has sweet results !!

It takes team- work to bring in the harvest We are yoked together as a TEAM

TEAM WORK - be vulnerable - demand debate - go for clarity and closure - confront hard issues - focus on Godly outcomes together

TEAM WORK The CMT discerns and follows the movement of God’s Spirit in the ministries of CANE, so together we are growing in Christ-likeness as we minister to the whole person and their local and global communities.

CMT’s DESIGN The Classical Ministries Team (CMT) consists of four sub- team leaders, the diaconal coordinator, and one Classical Interim Committee liaison person. The CMT designates its own officers and meets as often as necessary to do its work.

CMT’s PURPOSE God’s Spirit enables CANE’s Classical Ministry Team (CMT) to discerningly follow God’s intent and work in the ministries of Classis Atlantic Northeast. In the path of this obedience people and their communities broken by sin are healed through the power of God, who in Christ is reconciling the world to himself. And in this path God forms us in the likeness of Christ who gave himself for the redemption of the world.

CMT’s VALUES VITALITY DIVERSITY DISCOVERY

with VITALITY As God sovereignly builds his kingdom, the Holy Spirit assigns specific leadership roles to a wide variety of people in CANE as his life-giving agents to equip them for ministry. When these assignments are eagerly welcomed and diligently worked at in a Christ- like, servant manner as the Spirit provides direction, God uses them to bring LIFE.

in DIVERSITY These leadership ministry assignments are diverse in nature, requiring the use of all the variety of gifts God has given all his diverse people to accomplish God’s work.

at DISCOVERY Leading God’s people is a constant adventure of discovering what God is sovereignly doing, and obediently responding to the new assignments the Holy Spirit gives.

TEAM WORK Each of CMT’s 4 sub-teams works together in the spirit of interdependence in the spirit of these 3 values – VITALITY-DIVERSITY-DISCOVERY

TEAM WORK Each sub-team’s focus is unique, yet all are intimately interrelated, demanding clear, frequent communication and creative synergy between the four team leaders.

TEAM WORK Each of CMT’s 4 sub-teams has a corporate responsibility for all the work of the CMT.

TEAM WORK Each of the CMT’s four sub-team’s incorporates in its work a deaconal component so that the ministries of CANE intentionally and effectively integrate God’s Word with their godly deeds.

TEAM WORK Each of the four sub-teams leads in discerning and following the direction and work of God’s Spirit among us, so that the disciple-making mandate of the Great Commission and the multiplication which results from our obeying it may flourish.

Mission – Focused Churches Church Planting & Development THE FOUR TEAMS

Did you notice the FIFTH OX? More important than you may think!

Mission Focused Churches Church Planting & Development

Mission Focused Churches Church Planting & Development

The Four Ministry Teams To redevelop Mission-Focused Churches by: Churches by: - Helping churches see & accept their God-given opportunities. their God-given opportunities. - Providing focus-sharpening training. - Facilitating the sharing of resources & ideas. - Challenging, training, & assisting churhes to parent new ones. MFC

The Four Ministry Teams To empower Church Planting & Development by: - Equipping, enlisting, & supporting our leaders & churches in understanding, celebrating, & creating new healthy, relevant, and holistic congregations. - Planting at least one new church each year. - Assisting churches which desire affiliation with the CRCNA toward a possible life together. CPDMFC

The Four Ministry Teams To cultivate a Leadership Culture by: - I dentifying, recruiting, and resourcing persons with the spiritual gift of leadership. - Promoting training conferences for all God’s people – local and regional. - Providing training conferences for elders, deacons, & pastors at classis in such a way that recipients may pass it on in their local churches. - Providing “student fund” assistance creatively. LC CPDMFC

The Four Ministry Teams To engender Communication and Prayer by: - Facilitating communication by creatively “getting the word out” what God is doing in & through his churches. - Eliciting petitions & praise for classis-wide prayer. - Providing training & encouragement in developing a deep life of prayer in the churches. - Assisting the flow of information from CRC institutions & agencies, hi-lighting pivotal items. C/P CPDMFC LC

The Four Ministry Teams Bathed in DIACONIA Word and Deed ministry Elders, Deacons, Pastors, all people WORKING TOGETHER LC CPDMFC C/P

TEAM WORK Last, but far from least, are those essential to keep the wheels turning, so that the HARVEST is delivered where the rubber hits the road: our Classical Interim Committee, Classical Treasurer, and our Stated Clerk.

Mission – Focused Churches Mission – Focused Churches Church Planting & Development C I C CT SC

is something But we are called to cultivate & harvest! can do

is part of Classical Renewal and a Testimony to God at Work Testimony to God at Work not only In Classis Atlantic Northeast (CANE)

But it is spreading throughout The Christian Reformed Church

Classical Renewal was a vehicle GOD used to bring us where we are