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 Purpose Driven Church
by Pastor Dan Hanny
Eugene Peterson wrote a book
entitled A Long Obedience in the Same Direction, published some twenty years ago. I own a copy. It’s dog-eared in places and marked with red ink on just about every page. In my mind anyway, it’s a classic. The title itself intrigues me. It captures the essence of what discipleship is all about: a long obedience in the same direction. I felt the same about Rick Warren’s book,
The Purpose Driven Church.
Pastor Rick has literally helped thousands of local churches and their pastors mobilize their people into becoming faithful and fruit-bearing disciples. I have personally been involved in a
purpose driven church in south Florida. It was an exciting place to be. However, at first, I held back from buying into the purpose driven church model thinking, “ This is just another one of those programs some church growth guru dreamed up.” I was skeptical and I was wrong. Dead wrong. I saw changed lives. Mike Beath, a dear friend, became so “on purpose” he began
Celebrate Recovery, a ministry to help people with hurts, habits, and hang-ups. They have about 75 people involved weekly, most who have never been involved in a local church. That’s fantastic.
How did the purpose driven church model begin in south Florida? It began with the pastoral staff and leadership. They bought into the purposes and later attended the classes. Second the pastoral leadership scheduled on going life development classes for the church body.
Below are the four basic classes we helped people move through.
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Class 101
Knowing Christ-Helping People - Commit to Membership
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Class 201
Growing in Christ-Helping People - Commit to Maturity
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Class 301
Serving Christ-Helping People - Commit to Ministry
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Class 401
Sharing Christ-Helping People - Commit to Mission
I loved teaching Class 201 because it gave me the opportunity to help our people catch the vision for disciple-making.
Do you know the difference between a start in life and a new beginning? It’s a good question considering all of what we have been through these past few months. William Bridges wrote, “Starts involve new situations. Beginnings involve new understandings, new values, new attitudes, and most of all new identities.” Here at the Chapel, God has put before us a new beginning, in learning how we can become better at being a purpose driven church. As we move forward in this area, I would like to close with this prayer.
“God help me (us) to recognize that great
opportunity isn’t always something distant and out there– it may be right in front of
me (us). Then, gracious Father, equip me (us) with the
courage and obedient spirit to act on those opportunities. Amen”.
Chapel Ministries Fair
Sunday, September 12th and 19th at 9:00 & 10:30 a.m.
Come and join the fun!
 “Fall Forward”
by Pastor Mike McCartney
This title may have you wondering if I made a typo, if you are thinking it is a play on the book title, “Failing Forward.”
Actually it is not, and I did not. This title is really a play on the time change formula, “Spring Forward-Fall Back .”
In spring we move our clocks forward for daylight saving time, then in fall we move them back to regular time. However, for the ministries here
at the Chapel, this fall represents a great move forward for the work of the Kingdom. With Pastor Dan Hanny joining our staff, we
are expanding the horizons of Adult Ministries greatly, as he will be beginning several new ministries in the next several weeks.
The existing Adult Ministries will be expecting to grow by at least 20% this fall and winter, with our ABFs getting closer and closer
to filling up their spaces. Men’s Ministries and Women’s Ministries have very exciting opportunities this season with Bible studies,
conferences and retreats centered around such issues as men’s and women’s roles in the home and church, prayer and our nation’s
future, where God fits into our new society, and studies on whether the Gospel is changing. The goal of all these ministries is to
have every Chapel person ministering to another Chapel person, as the Scripture teaches.
If you seek, you shall find exactly where
God would have you fit into one of these ministries.
Upcoming Life Development
Classes
Class 101: Connecting
September 19, 2004
3:00-5:00 PM
One Day Class
Room: Adult 3
Facilitator: Pastor Larry Bennett |
Class 201: Maturing
October 3-31, 2004
10:30 AM
Five one-hour Sunday sessions
Room: Adult 3
Facilitator: Pastor Dan Hanny |
| Sign-up in The Chapel Lobby |
 Chapel
Ministry
Opportunities
Make sure to check all the ministry display tables in the church lobby for more
information on upcoming Bible studies, ABFs, home groups, conferences,
retreats and other exciting events. Also see our page of
ministry opportunities here at The Chapel!
Click
here to go to the Ministry Opportunities page
 Women's
Ministries
See
our Women's
Ministries page for a complete listing of fall Ladies
Bible Study offerings.
Click
here to go to the Women's Ministries page
 Chapel
Music Ministries
As school resumes for our children, so does Choir and Orchestra resume for
adults at The Chapel.
The Chapel Adult Choir~
Just a reminder, choir rehearsals begin on August 25th at 7:15 PM in the sanctuary. We especially want to welcome many new
faces. If you can’t make it on the “opening night,” please come whenever you can between now and October 20th.
The Orchestra~
On September 8th at 6:00 PM there will be a Praise and Worship session for all orchestra members, light and sound technicians,
power point creators, and praise singers. If you are interested in joining the orchestra for the first time, this meeting is for You! We
always welcome new people who are interested in becoming part of the music ministry at The Chapel. We do ask that you have had
experience playing in a high school band and that you are no longer in high school. If you qualify and have been thinking about
joining, we encourage you to come to this session.
New people make us happy and excited. If God is leading you towards music ministry, please come to a choir rehearsal or the
orchestra meeting. If you need more encouragement or have any questions, call Linda Snyder at (330) 494-9022.
 Children's Ministry
Children’s Ministry would like to announce our new name. When you drop your children off in the children’s wing you will now
be leaving them in, “Crosstown”! The Children’s Ministry staff feels that it is important for the kids to have a place to learn and
grow that is all their own. Our town will feature murals of buildings with Bible verses that pertain to that building. Our goal is to
make children feel welcome and comfortable the minute they walk into “Crosstown”. We are very excited about the changes in
Children’s Ministry and hope if you have any suggestions or ideas that you will let us know.
With Questions Call:
Kelly Hansen at (330) 854-5738
 AWANA is a children’s ministry for children ages 4through grade 6,whose goal is to reach boys and girls, and their families, with
the gospel of Christ and train them to serve Him. On Wednesday nights from 6:30 to 8:00, children are provided with an
opportunity to learn about God through Bible verse memorization, Bible lessons and games. AWANA Kicks off
Wednesday, September 29, 2004 From 6:30-8:00 PM.
Got Questions or Want to Help? Call
Co-Commanders:
Mike Stone (330) 830-0146
or
Eric Bartlam (330) 854-2831
Help Wanted
Children’s Ministry needs your help in filling our teaching needs. If you have ever considered volunteering in Children’s Ministry, now is the time to join our team! There is no greater reward than teaching our children about Christ.
To sign-up or to ask questions call:
Kelly Hansen at (330) 854-5738
Mandatory Training for All
CM Teachers, Helpers, and Youth (2 year old class to Grade
5)
If you wish to help in Children’s Ministry this fall, you must attend one of the training sessions listed below. The meeting will last
about one hour and the 2004 fall curriculum will be distributed at that time. Child care will be provided. Please call Kelly Hansen
if you must be excused from attendance. (This meeting is NOT for nursery workers.)
Training Session
#1: Sunday August 29th, at 6:00pm, Rm. 115-116
Training Session #2: Tuesday, August 31st, at 7:00pm, Rm. 115-116
Nursery Workers Meeting~
September 12th, at 6:00 p.m. in Rooms 115 - 116.
For those who work in infant to next step nurseries
Welcome!
 We praise God for leading Pastor Dan Hanny to The Chapel to fill our newly-created position of Pastor of Assimilation and
Discipleship. Dan and his wife, Jean, have three girls and here’s a little background about each of them.
Dan and Jeanie met in a youth Bible study when she was 17 and he was 19. Jean graduated from Marlington High School in 1975.
Dan graduated from Alliance High School in 1973. They were married August 12, 1979, and just celebrated 25 years
together. They both graduated from Malone College. Dan graduated from Asbury Theological Seminary in 1985 and has been in
pastoral ministry for 24 years.
Kara is 17 and was born in Stuart, Florida. She loves basketball, drawing, singing, Spanish food, and has a call to serve the Lord in
missions overseas, preferably in Latin America.
Kate is 14 and was born in Wadsworth, Ohio. She is great with sculpture, loves reading, she enjoys music and loves the electric
guitar and Reliant K. Kate has a heart for homeless-disenfranchised people. She would perhaps like to be a teacher someday.
Kindsey is 9 and was born in Wadsworth, Ohio. Kindsey wants to be a missionary doctor. She loves school, plays the violin, and
goes on hikes with her dad. Kindsey’s nickname is Lollypop.
Kara and Kate are attending North Canton Hoover High and Kindsey is attending Greentown Elementary this fall.
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