DNA – The Core of the Local Church – Part 1
(Isaiah 54:2-4 NKJV) “Enlarge the place of your tent, And let them stretch out the curtains of your dwellings; Do not spare; Lengthen your cords, And strengthen your stakes. (3) For you shall expand to the right and to the left, And your descendants will inherit the nations, And make the desolate cities inhabited. (4) “Do not fear, for you will not be ashamed; Neither be disgraced, for you will not be put to shame; For you will forget the shame of your youth, And will not remember the reproach of your widowhood anymore.
Phrase that the Lord dealt with me to focus on this year: (v2) “Enlarge the place of your tent, And let them stretch out the curtains of your dwellings; Do not spare; Lengthen your cords, And strengthen your stakes.”
The stakes are what holds up the tent by providing the tension on the tent material to keep it strong and erect.
We want to talk about the DNA of SpringHill Church.
What is DNA? Is it just the stuff that we see on CSI or in the news where law enforcement uses it to solve cases?
DNA – deoxyribonucleic acid, the carrier of genetic information; the fundamental and distinctive characteristics or qualities of someone or something, especially when regarded as unchangeable.
Physically speaking, your DNA is what determines your physical characteristics: how tall you are, the color of your eyes, color of your hair, how big your feet are, etc.
Spiritually speaking, when you were Born Again, you received a new spiritual DNA. The old, dead spiritual DNA was taken away and you were given new DNA infused with the life and nature of God.
(2 Corinthians 5:21 NKJV) (21) For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
In the church world and especially at SpringHill Church, it is the fundamental and distinctive characteristics that are unchangeable that make us who we are.
There are three things that make up the DNA of SpringHill Church:
- Purpose – Why something is done or the reason something exists.
“The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.” Mark Twain
This starts out with why we exist. Why did God call us and create a SpringHill Church?
SpringHill Church exists to reach everyday people with God’s grace, His unconditional love, and the life-changing power of His Word.
- Mission – How you plan to arrive at your destination.
At SpringHill Church, we organize ourselves around these four guiding principles to fulfill our purpose. We lead people to:
- Know Jesus – (Salvation) – To introduce people to a meaningful, life-changing relationship with Jesus.
(John 14:6 NKJV) Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
- Encounter God – (Worship and Prayer) – We believe all of us need to have an encounter with the presence of God because it is impossible to stay the same after coming face to face with Him.
(John 4:23-24 NLT) But the time is coming–indeed it’s here now–when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for those who will worship Him that way. (24) For God is Spirit, so those who worship Him must worship in spirit and in truth.”
(2 Corinthians 3:17-18 NKJV) (17) Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. (18) But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.
- Experience Life-Change – (Discipleship) – Real life-change happens as we grow in God’s Word and in the context of relationships with others.
(Matthew 28:19-20 NIV) Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, (20) and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
- Make A Difference – (Service) – We believe your life will never make sense until you discover, develop and fulfill your purpose and you use that purpose to serve and meet the needs of other people.
(Matthew 10:8 NKJV) Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.
- Vision – What the end results look like. (Objective)
The bigger picture for us as a church is to have a growing, healthy, and thriving church that is seeing all of these things fulfilled in every members’ life.
(1 Corinthians 1:10 NKJV) (10) Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.
(1 Corinthians 1:10 NLT) I appeal to you, dear brothers and sisters, by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, to live in harmony with each other. Let there be no divisions in the church. Rather, be of one mind, united in thought and purpose.
(Ephesians 4:11-13 NIV) So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, (12) to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up (13) until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
(Ephesians 4:13 MSG) …until we’re all moving rhythmically and easily with each other, efficient and graceful in response to God’s Son, fully mature adults, fully developed within and without, fully alive like Christ.
As we continue to work towards unity in what we think, say and do, there is nothing that we can’t accomplish.
(Genesis 11:6 NIV) The LORD said, “If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them.
(Genesis 11:6 NLT) “Look!” He said. “The people are united, and they all speak the same language. After this, nothing they set out to do will be impossible for them!