Discover where you fit in the whole Northland puzzle

Lately my 4-year-old has been really into puzzles. He hasn’t quite figured out that you can see a picture of the finished art beforehand, so he tackles the puzzle without any idea what the final product will look like. As the puzzle starts to come together and he gets an idea of what he’s putting together, he shouts out the pieces that he’s missing. “Daddy, help me find the eye!” “Where’s the nose?”

Even without knowing exactly what the puzzle will look like in the end, he understands how puzzles work and realizes that if the picture is missing a part, there’s a piece just waiting to be found.

It’s the same way with the church. In 1 Corinthians 12, Paul describes the church as a body, with different people differently gifted by God for different roles. When we all come together, our complementary gifts and roles help us form a picture of wholeness we could never achieve on our own.

At Northland, we’re always pursuing that more complete picture of who we are, as we follow Jesus as a church family. A big part of our discovery and pursuit happens in Belong & Grow, Northland’s partnership class, where you can find out where in the Northland puzzle you fit. 

Over the four-week class, we cover lots of things. We talk about Jesus and His church, both here and around the world. We also dive more deeply into 1 Corinthians and explore how and why God made you and what gifts He’s put in your life.

The biggest purpose of Belong & Grow is to help people begin their partnership journey at Northland. Like a puzzle still in process, Northland is still very much missing key pieces, and those pieces are people uniquely gifted by God for “good things he planned for us long ago” (Ephesians 2:10, NLT).

Partnering at Northland is about two things. First, we want to help people discover those “good things” God is planning. That means discovering the gifts and talents He has given each of us, which are always best discovered in the context of community. It also means we need to explore the relationships God is calling us into, whether those are at home or at work or even within the church.

Secondly, we want to see how God has created us to be a church family together. The future that God is calling us to isn’t a future we’re fully ready for without those people yet to be included in the Northland family. As new partners step into this community, their unique gifts will more fully equip and prepare all of Northland for the things God has ahead of us.

“It’s easy, especially in a church as big as Northland, to lurk in the shadows, but Belong & Grow was a chance to step into the light by connecting and engaging,” said Lucie Rincher, who, along with her husband, Tim, and their two young children, was part of the Belong & Grow session in June. “In this more intimate setting, we got an opportunity to feel the pulse of the whole church by experiencing the people and ministries that make up this body. It was so meaningful to us to see and be seen in a world that is often so blinded by distraction. Belong & Grow has been a beautiful introduction to Northland.”

Are you looking for your own beautiful introduction to Northland? Whether you’ve been part of this church for 10 years or for 10 minutes, we’d love to help you discover what it means to belong and grow as a partner at Northland.

February 9 marks the start of the second Belong & Grow of 2020. We’ll gather at 12:30 p.m. Sundays in The Hub to connect and learn from pastors and leaders at Northland. We’ll serve a light breakfast each week, along with a healthy helping of connection and community.