Gateway Church

The Five C’s of Covenant Community Life

COMMITTED

Having discussed Called and Connected, the next word in our discussion of the 5 C’s of Covenant Community Life is Committed.

Commitment is a covenant word. It is a word of agreement. It is an action word. It defines the irreducible minimum upon which relationships and churches can be built. In covenant commitment is swearing to one’s own hurt. In agreement it is recognition of a common purpose and faith.

Commitment holds us steady for change. We have discovered that people only change when they feel secure in their relationships. Finally commitment is the bridge over which we transport truth. People seldom speak the truth in love, in the absence of commitment.

Psalms 37:5 – 6 NASB (updated)

Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He will do it. He will bring forth your righteousness as the light and your judgment as the noonday.

The Five C’s of Covenant Community Life

CONNECTED

Here at Gateway Church we are seeking to process our faith in ways that facilitate our obedience to the Great Commission given by Jesus in Matthew 28:16-20:

“But the eleven disciples proceeded to Galilee, to the mountain, which Jesus had designated. When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some were doubtful. And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

To aid us in the process we use the Five C’s of Covenant Community Life. They are CALLED, CONNECTED, COMMITTED, COVERED, and COMISSIONED.

I previously shared some of my thoughts on the power of being CALLED. Now I would like to talk with you about the opportunity of being CONNECTED.

Paul tells us in Ephesians 4:11-16 that properly joined believers enjoy the opportunity to grow up. What a novel idea that in communities of faith, people would actually mature and attain the unity of the faith — that we could measure up to the implications of our relationship to Jesus as Lord of our lives.

Scripture informs us that the whole Body (the Church) is fitted and held together by what every joint supplies. This truth teaches me at least two things:

1) I have needs that God intends to supply by my being properly related to other members of His Body, the Church,

2) I have the opportunity and the capacity to supply what others who are connected to me need.

The balance between receiving and supplying is the path to maturity. Maturity is when you produce more than you consume. It isn’t that we do not or should not consume resources, we have legitimate needs and lacks; but, if we only consume, we become parasites. Conversely, we cannot sustain a relationship in which we only give and never receive. Those kinds of relationships cause burn-out. It is the balance between receiving and supplying that produces a maturing Body that grows in true love.

For this reason, Gateway Church values and nurtures good connections. Let me ask you, Are you properly connected to Jesus as your Lord and His Church as your spiritual Body? If you are not properly connected, perhaps you would allow the family called Gateway Church to help you find a good connection.

Pastor Sanford

The Five C’s of Covenant Community Life

CALLED
The church is the “EKKLESIA”. EKKLESIA the Greek word for church means a gathering of citizens called out of their homes to gather for the purpose of conducting city/state business. In Matthew 16:18 Jesus says – “…I will build my church (EKKLESIA) and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it.” From this we understand that the church is Kingdom citizens called out of ordinary lives to gather around Jesus and His throne to conduct Kingdom business.

Called is an important word. It is one of the 5 ‘C’ words that God has given us at Gateway Church to describe the process of making disciples.

The first ‘C’ word is CALLED. We are a called people. We are called by His name, we are called to hope, called to be holy, called to be free, called to peace, called out of darkness, called to glory and called His children. These are all common callings that we need to acknowledge and respond to as believers.

Paul made it more personal when he declared with boldness that he was called to be an apostle by the will of God. You have a specific calling as a member of the church. You can be called to be a part of Gateway Church, called to be a worshipper, an usher or greeter, a teacher, a nursery worker, an alter worker, a member of the dance team, a counselor, an intercessor or any of a dozen of the functions and anointings that make up Christ’s body the church.

I like the list of things that the prophet Isaiah says that the people of God will be called. He says we will be called:

1. The repairer of the breach

2. The restorer of the streets in which to dwell

3. Oakes of righteousness

4. The priests of the Lord

5. God’s delight

6. Sought out, a city not forsaken.

The prophet sums all of our calling us by saying in Isaiah 43:1 “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; YOU ARE MINE!”

At Gateway Church we are committed to His call on our lives and to helping you discover and fulfill your calling.

Pastor Sanford