RCC's Vision for Fall 2024

Our church is pursuing an exciting direction this Fall, a vision that I articulated this past Sunday. I don’t want to leave anyone in the dark as to what we’re doing and so I thought I’d offer a quick snapshot here.

The Landscape

Local churches are facing unique challenges today. Our mobile, distracted society (especially in New England) cuts against the basics of the life of the church: Teaching, Fellowship, Breaking of Bread, Worship/Prayer (see Acts 2:42-47). We must remain committed to these essentials, but we also must pivot and innovate to overcome the challenges facing us.

Our Identity

At bottom, RCC is a local gathering of the Body of Christ. We are not a social club – we are a supernatural community forged in Jesus Christ. We are truly local and so we are primarily committed to reaching people in Scituate and the surrounding areas. We are small and while we want to grow we are also committed to the unique opportunities that small congregations offer for deep and meaningful relationships among believers. Instead of becoming a megachurch, we would love to plant more small congregations. This is in keeping with our identity as a Church Family. RCC offers something more than mere teaching and we are certainly not here to entertain anyone. RCC is a place to find God and to find real human connection formed in Jesus Christ. Like the best of families, we seek to include old and young alike and want to encourage intergenerational relationships.

Our Response to this Moment

In light of the preceding, we are emphasizing the following commitments:

We will be Dogmatically Relational by...

-       Introducing a time of fellowship and refreshments after every service.

-       Gathering for a common meal one Sunday a month.

-       Introducing more relational components to our Small Groups and Teaching.

We will practice Christian Hospitality by...

-       Offering helpful print material about our church to better orient newcomers.

-       Making fellowship accessible to those with mobility challenges by offering refreshments at the back of the sanctuary.

-       Being thoughtful of young families by taking practical steps to make little ones comfortable in our services.

-       Becoming intergenerationally inclusive in Sermon Circle (kids 7+ are now encouraged to join the adults).

-       Offering a Children’s Circle group (ages 2-6) in the adjacent Family Room, so young ones will be near their parents participating in Sermon Circle.

We will become Adaptive and Innovative by...

-       Offering small groups that will meet people where they’re at (an evening Zoom group for women) and invest time to build relationships (service/recreational component for men).

-       Leaning into asynchronous learning offered via our church text-line.

-       Offering teaching through our YouTube channel, Truth Rooted, featuring video series on topics relevant to our congregation.

-       Using these digital tools as catalysts for outreach and face-to-face connection at supper discussions.

Finally...

I should mention that we will be considering various proposals to renovate our property at a congregational meeting on September 15th. I won’t get into the details here, but they will be made available at our worship services and those who are official members will have an opportunity to vote on these proposals. My encouragement is that we consider how these projects might align with the above and that we remain committed to the spirit of unity whatever we decide to pursue.

None of the above will succeed without abundant prayer. Please pray! All of us need to show up and rise to meet the challenges facing us. You can live out the basics at our church by (1) supporting fellowship (stick around, help prepare, be friendly!). (2) Join a small group (this is a conduit for your and others’ growth). (3) Engage in the studies we offer and share with others. Together, we can grow by God’s grace and reach those around us with the life Jesus has to offer.

Scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright © 2001, 2007, 2011, 2016 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Rev. Tom Loghry

Tom Loghry is the senior pastor of Rockland Community Church in North, Scituate, RI. He is a graduate of the Berkshire Institute for Christian Studies, Toccoa Falls College (B.S. Pastoral Ministry), and Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary (M.A. Theology). He is continuing his graduate studies in the area of “Ethics & Society” at GCTS.