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Phoenix Church Uses Acts 2 As Model
PHOENIX, AZ (January 15, 2004) - Since finding its new ministry home, Genesis
Church has been blessing both its local community and the underserved in
Phoenix.
A church plant started with the help of Paradise Valley Community Covenant
Church (PVCC) in Phoenix, Genesis has made the most of its first year of
ministry, growing into a congregation of 260 under pastor Pat Stark. Stark
had been an associate pastor at PVCC for nine years and helped start
Crosspoint, a seeker-oriented "church within a church" that met in PVCC's
building and has been in existence since January 1997. Genesis currently is
a "church within a school," meeting for Sunday worship at Boulder Creek
Elementary School in the northeast side of the city.
"I was hopeful that we would be a healthy community of people, but as far
as the number who've shown up and the number of others we've been able to
connect with, it's been a miracle," said Stark. "The more we've done, the
more it seems like God has blessed us."
To be sure, Stark feels blessed by his previous church, the local school
and his congregation. PVCC parishioners helped provide the core group for
Genesis, which officially began ministry in December 2002 with 42 people
and celebrated its official "launch" in February 2003 with 60 adults and 30
children. Others on staff include David Greco and Zanne Dailey.
Stark also gives kudos to his wife, Karen, who did a lot of phone calling
as Genesis sought to find a place to worship. Stark said the search
encompassed four school districts (40 schools) and 25 other venues
including movie theaters, restaurants and nightclubs. It ended after Karen
Stark called Boulder Creek Elementary, which had housed a church
congregation that had vacated the previous week.
Genesis' first service at Boulder Creek occurred on March 2 and both
entities have blessed each other ever since. While the school has provided
a dedicated custodian and a sensitive administration, the church has tried
to be good neighbors as well.
The church hosted a concert last August at the school and donated funds to
Boulder Creek Elementary. Genesis donated additional funds so the school
could buy a washing machine and physical education equipment in December.
After the congregation learned that certain local families who attend the
elementary school needed assistance, they provided Thanksgiving meals for
eight families. During the Christmas season, Genesis provided 10
neighborhood families with food and gifts and some of them were among the
400 in attendance at the church's Christmas Eve candlelight service.
Stark said the church is striving to be like the early Christian church in
Acts 2, with everybody being willing to be one in heart and mind and
sharing with one another. He is amazed by the giving nature of the
congregation that has included:
- A family giving a parishioner their car after they discovered he had
been hitchhiking to worship services.
- Genesis parishioners packing hundreds of bedrolls and toiletry kits for
the homeless during the Christmas season. Sixty people served 275 homeless
in the downtown area and another 35 served 85 in the Sunnyslope area. (The
accompanying photo shows one of the residents attracted to the church being
hugged by one of the congregation's youth.)
- Members of church's Justice and Compassion Team organizing a Christmas
party for the women at Hope House, a faith-based transitional home for
homeless women. The church also donated $2,000 from its Christmas Eve
service offering to the organization
"Out of the gate, we wanted to have core values of what God wanted the
church to be about and one of those values was to be a generous church,"
said Stark of the Acts 2 model he envisioned for Genesis. "We felt that
we've been blessed by PVCC and the school district. And I wanted us to be
generous, outward-focused and missional in community.
"Susan Luffey and Kathy Lapose lead the Justice and Compassion ministry for
Genesis and Kathy's daughters, Jane Crandell and Lisa Dulara, have also
been a big help," Stark continued. "Once we get done with something,
they're ready to get going on the next project."
Stark has always been attuned to the needs of the unchurched. He grew up in
Shelton, Washington, and was brought to faith through one parachurch
organization (Fellowship of Christian Athletes) and eventually served with
another (Young Life) in college. He said that neighborhood families and
friends of the Genesis core group seem to appreciate the more informal
setting, creative worship and hands-on ministry opportunities Genesis has
provided.
"I grew up in a very traditional church and either slept through every
sermon or the Gospel was never presented," said Stark, a youth pastor for
six years at Seattle's First Covenant Church before arriving in Arizona.
"In college, I saw that there were a lot of students that weren't connected
to any church. I think that's why I enjoy thinking (evangelistically) like
a non-Christian and asking, 'What can the Christian community be in order
to connect with those who might not ever darken the door of a church?' And
a lot of people who first heard the Gospel at Crosspoint are part of our
core and they're our hugest inviters."
More about Genesis can be found by calling Stark at 602-413-0586 or by
visiting the church's website at www.genesis-church.com.
Copyright © 2008 The Evangelical Covenant Church. |
