The Zone Gathering

I know nobody missed this morning’s Summer Leadership Summit, so in case you wanted an online version of some of the info….here you go!

Important Dates

• Fall Semester Dates: September 10 - December 16
• Group Registration Deadline: Monday, July 17 at 5pm. Email your group information to and . For a template, click here.
• If you would like to request NCC space for your group, please email immediately.
• The Fall Edition of National Community Geographic will be released on the weekend of August 26-27.
• The Fall Leadership Summit will be on November 11.
• The Annual Leadership Retreat will be January 19-20.

ZoneGathering.com Update- We have dropped the “blogspot” from the web address, so if you have linked to the site from a webpage of your own, please make the change to simple, ZoneGathering.com

Discipleship Map Update

We are gathering teams of people to brainstorm the next version of the NCC Discipleship Map. If you are interested in being a part of a team for one of the islands (see below), email

• Seeker Island- the “spiritual” dimension of disicpleship. Related to prayer, fasting, and other spiritual disciplines that provide avenues for connecting with God.
• Learner Island- the “intellectual” dimension of discipleship. Related to Bible reading, meditation, and study, which are catalysts for developing the mind of Christ.
• Influencer Island- the “relational” dimension of discipleship. Related to community, discipleship, and sharing our faith with others so that we can become the Body of Christ on mission.
• Investor Island- the “stewardship” dimension of discipleship. Related to the giving of our time, talents, finances, and resources so that our hearts are properly aligned with God’s priorities.

Upcoming Sermon Series

• Neorology of Fath (continued)
• Missions series (including Pastor Josh preaching the last week before their church plant)
• Volunteer Series (August 20, 27, & September 3)
• God @ the Billboards

Staff Announcements

• Mary is moving into a full-time roll as Administrative Assistant.
• Amanda is making the jump from summer intern to Office Administrator.
• Juliet is full-time, balancing the Buzz Conference and Ebenezers, including coordinating events for the lower level.
• Also, in mid-August, Jeremy Steffens and his family will be moving from Lafayette, Indiana to become our new church-planters-in-residence. Jeremy is the now a youth pastor, and grew up in Orlando, Florida before attending and graduating from Southeastern College with a Bachelor’s Degree in Pastoral Ministry. He pastored in Vero Beach and Jacksonville, Florida before moving to Indiana. Pastor Jeremy is married to Melody Steffens, who he met at Southeastern College. Melody also graduated from Southeastern College and has a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology and Counseling.

Walkie-Talkies: Communicating Clearly

By Heather Zempel, Pastor of Discipleship

• The Power of Words: “Gentle words bring life and health; a deceitful tongue crushes the spirit.” (Proverbs 15:4)
• The Value of Words: “Wise speech is rarer andmore valuable than gold and rubies.” (Proverbs 20:15)
• The Source of Words: “For whatever is in your heart determines whay you say.” (Matthew 12:34b)
• “I learned that if you are a leader, and you are not tired of communicating, you probably aren’t doing a good enough job,” Max DePree, Leadership Jazz.

Bibilical Communication

“My dear brothers and sisters, be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry.” (James 1:19)

• Be Quick to Listen

Listening helps you understand the people around you better.

• Be Slow to Speak

“Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt,” Abraham Lincoln.

Slow down to avoid gossip (anything that paints someone else in a negative light). “A gossip tells secrets, so don’t hang around with someone who talks too much.” (Proverbs 20:19)

Slow down to avoid unguarded talk. “Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them” (Ephesians 4:29). Careless words affect people and we will ultimately be held accountable for every careless word.

• Be Slow to Anger

“Do all things without complaining and disputing” (Proverbs 2:14). We need to propose a plan for every problem we may see. Find a solution instead of just a fault. We need to talk to God about things of concern before we talk to other people.

“Though you probe my heart and examine me at night, though you test me, you will find nothing; I have resolved that my mouth will not sin” (Psalms 17:3).

360-Degree Communication

• Communicating with God: 1) Establish margin to communicate with God. 2) Communicate with God through prayer. 3) Communicate with God through Scripture.
• Communicating Up to Authority: 1) Give feedback. 2) Connect often. 3) Share vision.
• Communicating Across to Other Leaders: 1) Share Ideas. 2) Share Wins. 3) Share failures. 4) Share Prayers.
• Communicating Down to Team Members: 1) Communicate vision. 2) Communicate what you know. 3) Communicate Wins. 4) Communicate outside the normal group or ministry time.

This entry was posted on Saturday, July 8th, 2006 at 5:38 pm and is filed under Communication, Discipleship, Discipleship Map, News and Updates, SG Leader Events, Upcoming Events. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.