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Fusion Church, Cape Coral - Core Values

Every church or organization has beliefs that they hold true to their heart and are the most important. At Fusion Church these are things that we dearly believe and hold firm. There are the things that we value. 1, Community We value community. Life is all about relationships. We believe that the life of the church needs to be lived out as the people in that church do life together. We place a high value on relationships, accountability, and friendships. These friendships don't just get together on Sunday's to talk about the weather and sports. These relationships are nurtured and grown every day. 2. Journey We value journey. Life is not about destination. It's a journey of going from one place to another. We believe for the Christian that it's a story of where we have come from and where we are going. In this journey we will encounter many milestones and places of growth. It is through God's grace and power that we continue to be the kinds of people who He originally created us to be. We believe that God changes us through the power of his word. 3. Gospel We value the Gospel. Gospel means Good News. The Gospel is accomplished through the finished work of Christ on the cross. It is the good news that death has been defeated and our sins have been forgiven. It is the Good News that the tomb is empty. We believe that it is Good News that God has not given up on the world. It is the good news that through this sacrifice that God is putting it all back together again. We believe in the Restoration and Renewal of all things. We want to join God in this phenomenal task. 4. Kingdom Living We value Kingdom living. Jesus proclaimed as he taught that the "Kingdom of God/Heaven" is at hand. We believe that Jesus was teaching that His ways offer the best way to live on earth. Jesus who lived during the times of Roman occupation knew what it meant to live in the "Kingdom of Rome". His teachings of love, forgiveness, sacrifice, and focus on seeking justice was contrary to the ways of the kingdom he lived in. The "Kingdom of God" is much, much different. The teachings of Jesus offers a new hope and way to live that is far superior to any other. We want to live this life. 5. Simplicity We value simplicity. We believe that there is beauty in simplicity. We believe that the church is a living, breathing organism and not a stale, dead organization. We believe that even as a child can understand God's salvation that it can also understand how Fusion Church operates. 6. People We love and value people. We believe that people are created in the "Image of God" and how we treat others is a reflection of how we treat God. We strive to show a "Love Wins." attitude toward everybody we come in contact with. We believe that since "God is Love" that whenever we show love that we are showing God to others. 7. Justice We value Justice. Knowing there are a lot of wrongs in our world we strive to provide justice to every human being. We believe justice is ensuring that every human being does not go without things that humans should go without. From scripture we know that God's heart breaks and beats for justice. The God that we serve is not just the God of the middle class and the rich. He is the God of all. He is the God of the oppressed.

February 2010 Prayer Letter

 

The letter below is our updated prayer letter for this month.  If you are not our our prayer list (you didn't get this email....let me know)  Email me dansardinas@gmail.com and i will get you on the list.  Thanks.

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Hello Friends! (Please forward this message on to others...let us know if any want to be added to our prayer list.) 

It has been awhile since I've written.  Please forgive this absence as I'm sure it's harder to pray without being updated more often.  It is now approaching 2 years since we left Venango Woods Church to pursue what God has called to do down here in Cape Coral.  As many of you know we spent the first 7 months after VWC  in New Jersey.  We moved down here in November of 08; and it's been an interesting journey!  We are doing well although we have some urgent prayer requests that I'll share later on in this email.  The kids are doing great!  Tyler & Brianna are in 4th & 2nd grade respectively.  They both are consistently getting A's and B's.  We are very proud of them. Brandon will turn 5 in March and is currently in Pre-K.  Lori is working part-time doing BPO's for Avalon Real Estate.  She also has landed a couple of piano lesson students.  I am working still for Avalon Real Estate as the Contract Administrator. We are both blessed to have these jobs!   

 

One year ago, we began meetings in our home for Fusion Church.   This has been made possible by the Florida Baptist Convention who has helped us tremendously.  I have also received some mentoring by some great leaders.  Todd Milby from Summit Church in Estero & Mike Lowery of Gate Church of Lehigh have provided great encouragement.  Keith Lancaster (FBC) & Greg Kappas (GGN) who both have a huge vision for church planting, gave us a great start as well!  To tell you that, planting a church bi-vocationally as the economy collapsed around us was a challenge, would be a huge understatement.  We have had to trust God like never before.  This has not been easy.  It never is...is it?  

 

The first year of starting the church has been all about laying a good foundation for what we are doing.  We meet weekly for worship in our home (since Feb '09) and have really laid a good foundation.  We have been building good relationships with many people in our neighborhood and community that we hope lead to making the Gospel real in their life.  Just recently we started meeting in Panera Bread in Cape Coral.  We feel that this is vitally important for a public presence.  The one thing we have learned is that it is entirely difficult to start a church in your living room and expect people to come! LOL :).   Last week we met a woman who God brought across our path.  Her name is LouAnn and she is need to know that God loves her.  She poured her heart out to us last week and we shared the Gospel with her.  She happened to notice the sign we hung up on the Panera Bulletin Board and came out to see us.   This proved to us.....that we need to do something different.  At the beginning of this church plant...keeping things simple &  organic were very important to us.  I have learned that can still happen in a public place as well.  Please pray as we continue to search this out.  I'm not sure where the Lord will take us next with going "public".  

 

Are we connected through soical media?  Please make sure to read my blog www.dansardinas.net.  It is now once again being updated a lot more often.  

 

Prayer Requests

Family - Pray that the kids will continue to do well in school.  Tyler has his FCAT test tomorrow and he is nervous.  Also pray that we will continue to make inroads to our neighbors.  We recently moved to a new neighborhood that has tons of children.  The one thing I have learned since our move is that my children are great missionaries!  

 

Financial (Personal) - Work has been very, very slow lately and I'm not getting the hours I once was.  We are no longer allowed to work overtime which has put a big blow to our family budget.  Our company is going through a hard time and we understand this move.  Also the Florida Baptist support has been cut in half from $1,000 to $500/ month as planned.   So all in all....starting this January we have lost $1,000 /month  of income.  This is devastating as we were already paycheck to paycheck.  Please pray for work to pick back up or God to provide some extra income.  It would be great if some churches would help support us in 2010.  

 

Financial (Church) - We are praying about how to make our meetings more public..but still simple & organic.  We may have an opportunity to rent some public space for $350/ month.  If we were to do this we would start worship services on a weekly basis.  We also are in desperate need for some resources to do some outreach & ministry.  Again we are praying for churches to take us on with monthly support.  

 

Russ & Nancy - (Russ and Nancy are the couple who has joined Fusion Church).  Pray for Russ as he hasn't been feeling well lately.   Nancy is starting to substitute for Lee County Schools.  Pray for her that she may get the hours needed.  

 

Panera Bread Meetings....pray that God will use us to build more relationships with those who need Christ.  

 

LouAnn - lady we met at Panera last week..pray that we will reach her with the Gospel.

 

Thank you so much for your prayers for us.  I will share these updates more often...I promise!  

 

In Christ,

 

Dan Sardinas,

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Can you do that?

Many times, as I tell people I'm starting a new church in Cape Coral, I get the same question. How do you start a church? Can you do that? I often get weird looks. The looks get weirder as I tell people that it's in my living room or at Panera Bread. The most basic question for me isn't... "How do i start?"....it's "What is a church?" What are the elements needed to be....well...a church?

It takes more than calling a crowd together to hear somebody wax eloquent about God to be a church. It takes more than having a cool band who can really jam to be a church. Here is a question for you. Can you still have church without a sermon or music? If you had nothing else outside of other believers and the Holy Spirit would you still have church? Many of you, would of course agree, that we can still have church without these things. However poll the people in our churches and you would find the answer to be much different. We have made "church" to be so professional and structured that there is little room for the Spirit to move.

As I've mentioned more than once on this blog..church is not about
smoke, mirrors and creative ideas. Those are things that can aid or help but not an end all. Corporate worship is very necessary. The problem is that it has become the only necessity. How many people today in our churches are truly connected to a church? We have made our people to be so dependant upon a "service" rather than the Savior. It is amazing to me, then, why we wonder why "discipleship" is not a strength of our churches.

If our churches are ever going to be effective in fulfilling the great commission; than we need to teach people what church really is. This question is not just for church planters. This question should be asked of every church, every pastor, and every member.

A church is a called out people who been transformed by the Gospel. These people have not only committed themselves to God, but to each other in relationships. They love, serve, give and provide for each other, spiritually, physically and emotionally. They also have a common purpose of joining God in community for the restoration of the world through the Gospel. Together, they learn how to live like Jesus in our world today and serve it. The people are the church.

A Revolution of Hope in Cape Coral

 

 

A Revolution of Hope is ready to bust wide open in Cape Coral, Florida.  Fusion Church is a new church in Cape Coral.  It is being led by my wife and I in our home.  We are a simple gathering of believers that seek to make an impact.  We don't have a building, programs, or ministries.  Our mission is to "join God in community for the restoration of the world".   We believe we can change the world...and we believe it starts in Cape Coral.   We believe that change happens through the Gospel of Jesus.  The Gospel gives us hope, peace, and a future.  It is through this Gospel that the lost are found, the brokenhearted are comforted, and the hopeless are given hope. Right now the mission starts with one group...in one house.  The vision sees these groups multiplying all across Southwest Florida.  Many small groups.....one church.....fused together.  We believe that there is explosive power when people gather and live like Jesus in our world.  

It is our belief that....we the people.... are the church.  Our only program is to love God and to love each other.  We meet in my home in Cape Coral, Florida every Sunday morning at 10 AM.   We would be thrilled for you to join us.  We are very informal....very relaxed, and our focus is clear.

We are looking for those who would join us in this incredible revolution of Church.  We are looking for those who need hope.  We are looking for those who have questions about God.  We are looking for those who don't have it altogether.  We are looking for those who may not believe in God.  We are looking for those who believe in God but have become burnt by "organized religion".  We want you to bring your doubts.  We don't at all claim to have all the answers to every doubt and every question.  However we know where to begin to find those answers.  

Will you join us?  Will you help us make a difference?  If you are reading this and are already a Christian and or Pastor....we would love for you to pray for us.  If you would be willing to help us in anyway please let us know!  

Also join me every Thursday Night at the Panera Bread in Cape Coral on Pine Island RD at 7 PM.   Here you can connect with me and have some questions answered about Fusion Church, faith or life.

For more information you can leave a comment or email me at dansardinas@gmail.com or give me a call 239-322-0463.

 

Danicure

Tonight we went to our local mall to browse around and kill some time. As I was walking around with Tyler and Brandon...I was approached by a lady who works at a kiosk. She asked me if I had a moment. Before I could say no she proceeded to insist like a typical sales person. Her approach was shocking to say the least. After I said no...she then asked if I believed in magic. Before I could respond she grabbed my hand and took out a file/sponge and started working on my thumbnail. I was in such disbelief all I could do was just stand there and laugh! During her passionate sales pitch she assured me that this 30 seconds would save me tons of money and bring much happiness. When she was done she showed me her so called magic....my thumbnail was very shiny. I felt demasculinated...if that's even a word. Lol.

As I drove home I began to connect this experience with the way some approach evangelism. Some think the most effective way is through a cold sales approach that is forceful and blunt. Although some may have been won to Christ this way...many more have been turned away. Is the good news something to coerce people to accept? What do you think is the most effective way? Please leave a comment with your thoughts. Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Fusion Church Website/1st Meeting

The Fusion Church website is finally live!  It's about 92% finished but we'll keep adding to the site as we go along.  You can visit the site to learn more about Fusion at this site Fusion Church.  Make sure you add it to your bookmarks/favorites.  

 

Lori and I would also like to announce that on February 15th we will officially open the first meeting of Fusion Church.  We would really covet your prayers as we begin this exciting new adventure of our lives.  Continue to pray for us as we continue to develop relationships within the community and hope to bring many to Christ and strengthened in discipleship.  Fusion will meet in our home on February 15th at 11 AM.   We will gather together to have a Bible Study and to talk about where do we go from here.  Fusion church seeks to be a simple gathering of believers who "Join God in Community for the Restoration of the World".  

 

Please pray for the launch of this new church.

 

Also I'd like to give a big thank you to Venango Woods Church who has promised to partner with Fusion in 2009 with monthly support.  Fusion still is in need of more support both prayer and financial.  If you'd like to partner with Fusion either as an individual or as a church please send me an email dan@fusion-church.net.  You can also email Lori at lori@fusion-church.net.  

Brand New Logo for Fusion

There was some format issues with the logo that was posted previously but this logo here is the official version for sure.  We got a little to prematurely happy with the other one and it didn't wind up happening.  Anyway...enjoy.

Fusion Core Values

Every church or organization has beliefs that they hold true to their heart and are the most important.  At Fusion Church these are things that we dearly believe and hold firm.  There are the things that we value.

 

1,  Community

We value community.  Life is all about relationships.  We believe that the life of the church needs to be lived out as the people in that church do life together.  We place a high value on relationships, accountability, and friendships.  These friendships don't just get together on Sunday's to talk about the weather and sports.  These relationships are nurtured and grown every day.

 

2.  Journey

 

We value journey.  Life is not about destination.  It's a journey of going from one place to another.  We believe for the Christian that it's a story of where we have come from and where we are going.  In this journey we will encounter many milestones and places of growth.  It is through God's grace and power that we continue to be the kinds of people who He originally created us to be.  We believe that God changes us through the power of his word.

 

3.  Gospel

 

We value the Gospel.  Gospel means Good News.  The Gospel is accomplished through the finished work of Christ on the cross.  It is the good news that death has been defeated and our sins have been forgiven.  It is the Good News that the tomb is empty.  We believe that it is Good News that God has not given up on the world.  It is the good news that through this sacrifice that God is putting it all back together again.  We believe in the Restoration and Renewal of all things.  We want to join God in this phenomenal task.

 

4.  Kingdom Living

 

We value Kingdom living.  Jesus proclaimed as he taught that the "Kingdom of God/Heaven" is at hand.  We believe that Jesus was teaching that His ways offer the best way to live on earth.  Jesus who lived during the times of Roman occupation knew what it meant to live in the "Kingdom of Rome".  His teachings of love, forgiveness, sacrifice, and focus on seeking justice was contrary to the ways of the kingdom he lived in.  The "Kingdom of God" is much, much different.  The teachings of Jesus offers a new hope and way to live that is far superior to any other.  We want to live this life.

 

5.  Simplicity

 

We value simplicity.  We believe that there is beauty in simplicity.  We believe that the church is a living, breathing organism and not a stale, dead organization.  We believe that even as a child can understand God's salvation that it can also understand how Fusion Church operates.

 

6.  People

We love and value people.  We believe that people are created in the "Image of God" and how we treat others is a reflection of how we treat God.  We strive to show a "Love Wins." attitude toward everybody we come in contact with.  We believe that since "God is Love" that whenever we show love that we are showing God to others.

 

7.  Justice

We value Justice.  Knowing there are a lot of wrongs in our world we strive to provide justice to every human being.  We believe justice is ensuring that every human being does not go without things that humans should go without.  From scripture we know that God's heart breaks and beats for justice.  The God that we serve is not just the God of the middle class and the rich.  He is the God of all.  He is the God of the oppressed.  

Fusion Church FAQ's part 1

Today I'd like to set out what our "motto/slogan" is.  Although I hate it when church go to extreme measures ot have cheap motto's and slogans.  I believe that the 'mission" of the church should be conveyed in the motto. We have decided that our mission/ motto will be....

 

"Joining God in community for the restoration of the world."  

The word "joining" was chosen to convey the word "Fusion".  Fusion is a joining/junction/merger point.  All of the houses in the network will be "joining" or fused together for one common purpose.  We also chose the phrase "in community" because we believe that is how the life of the church is to be lived out.  Living in community with each other and for each other will be a common bond and goal.  The last phrase "for the restoration of the world" conveys for us what the Gospel is all about.  We believe that new life and restoration is possible through the death and resurrection of Jesus.  The ways of Jesus also teach us how to live life to the fullest in a loving way to the world.  It is our belief that because the tomb is empty that God has not given up on the world and the he is putting it all back together again.  We want to "Join God" in this phenomenal task.

 

I often get questions regarding the "house church network" we are starting in the Cape Coral, FL area.  Just recently I received 3 questions via email from a friend of mine and decided to include it here on the blog for others to see.  Here are the questions I received.

 

Will this new gathering be during the week?        
The exact times of meeting are not determined yet.  But the first gatherings will begin at our house in Cape Coral.  Most likely these meetings will take place on Sunday's.  We will also leave it up to each individual house church as to when they meet.    

 

Will each group be gathered to a local church?

No.  It is our belief that each gathering will be an expression of the church.  Fusion will be a local Church that all these groups will be tied to.  Jesus said that where 2 or 3 are gathered there He is in the midst.  In essence even though "Fusion Church" will have many gathering points throughout the area all of the gatherings will be called "Fusion Church".  We will be one church spread out throughout the entire community connected together..

 

Will each group still gather at a local church for Sunday gatherings?

No.  We will have our own gatherings at our own times.  In time it is our desire to 1-2 times per month to gather all of the houses together for a corporate worship Service.  It is also our belief that church is something we are and not something we attend.

Fusion Church

Lori and I would like to announce today the name of the new church we are planting!  The name of the church will be called Fusion Church!!  The reason we have settled on this name is because we feel that it best conveys our vison for the house church network.

 

Fusion is the process by which multiple like-charged atomic nuclei join together to form a heavier nucleus. It is accompanied by the release or absorption of energy.   

In relation to the house church, it is when individual believers come together and live the ways of Jesus in the world.  The power of the Gospel is sent out and the impact is seen everywhere!  Not only does that happen but also another nuclei is released to form another church.  

More details to come!