Harambee Church is now an Expression of Soma Communities

For the past two years, the Elders of Harambee have been working through how we can more strategically and effectively fulfill the Great Commission to make disciples of Jesus (who make disciples of Jesus) and plant new churches in our region. Soma is made of Missional Communities--small groups of people being the church in their neighborhoods. Several Missional Communities under the oversight of local elders are called an Expression of Soma. Recently, through the Spirit's leading, the Elders of Harambee Church decided to join with Soma as an Expression of Soma Communities, uniquely expressing what it means to be the church in and around Renton. We are continuing to bring the message and the ministry of reconciliation in the gospel to the cities in the Renton area.

The Harambee building will continue to be used as a Center for Community Development, and our Sunday morning Corporate Gathering will now include both the Renton Expression and the Southcenter Expression. Soma also has another Sunday morning Corporate Gathering in Tacoma where several other Expressions come together in one place to celebrate God's grace and be equipped for the mission.

To help us better understand all this, for the next several weeks, we'll be going through a teaching series at the Corporate Gathering(s) called Soma Basics, and then discussing in our Missional Communities. You can also learn more about who we are and how live because of the gospel on the Soma website

All Sermon Audio now on Soma website

As Harambee is now part of Soma Communities, all Sermon Audio will now be located on the Soma website (including podcasts).

Pakistani Brothers and Sisters Attacked

We are told in scripture to “Weep with those that weep,” (Romans 12:15) and to “Bear one another’s burdens” (Galatians 6:1), which includes our brothers and sisters all over the globe. Being a Christian means being a family, and Romans is a book that reminds us that our family includes those from all nations, ethnicity, and race. Recently there have been three different attacks in Punjab, a state where many believers live by radical Muslims (Taliban).

Online Contributions

Harambee and Soma Communities now offers a way to help fund the mission securely and electronically straight from your bank. It's called an eCheck.

* All you need is some info printed on your paper checks.
* You can give once or set up a recurring giving schedule.
* For each eCheck, Harambee/Soma is charged less than the price of a stamp.
* It's even better than your bank's online bill pay. Since it's all electronic, no one has to receive, process and deposit the paper check your bank mails for you.

To give to the Harambee Expression of Soma Communities, be sure to select Harambee in the Expression drop-down box.

Give Now via E-Check

If you must use a debit card, you also have that option but know that the church is charged much higher fees for these transactions, so less of what you give is available for the mission of making disciples. We don't believe accruing debt in order to give to the church is faithful to biblical principles of giving, so we are not providing the option of giving with a credit card. Give now with a debit card...

Sharing the Story

As a body of believers we are all learning God’s story and how our lives intersect with it. My name is Sandy Smith and I’d like to share today about how God’s story has been intersecting mine. I’ve been a believer and follower of Jesus Christ for over 30 years and when I first believed, my life was changed forever. Since then there have been many milestone times of learning and healing and I’ve recently experienced another one.

Missional living – The basics

As mentioned in several excellent previous posts on the Pastor Rant site, Harambee has joined with Soma Communities and adopted the Missional model of living out church every day. For many of us, this is a dramatic shift from traditional church structure, where we as consumers go on Sunday to get charged up, and continue to think of church as a place where we gather to worship, study, learn, receive, etc. We (the Elders) keep hitting on this topic because we know that some people are really struggling to make this change.

The Line Video Update

In January, Harambee sent Pastor Aaron Youngren and his family to plant The Line in Chicago. Here's a video update from them. To learn more about Harambee's church planting endeavors, check out the Church Plants section of our website.

What is a Missional Community?

Over the past several months, Harambee has been making a transition to the Missional Community model/structure and joining forces with Soma Communities. I will post a section soon that outlines why the Elders believe God is leading us in this direction, but we’ll begin with trying to answer the question of “what is a missional community?” first

Harambee Body Meeting

On Monday, February 9th, Harambee gathered as a family to share a meal and discuss where Jesus is leading us in this next season. You can listen to the audio recording (MP3) of our time in case you weren't able to attend. Please contact Pastor Bryan Nelson (bryan@harambeechurch.com) if you have any comments/questions.

5th Quarter Party

Harambee hosted a party for Renton High students because that's what Jesus would do.

Answering the New Village Atheists: From the host of the Bible Answer Man broadcast—

Whether or not you support Barack Obama as a politician,
it is hard not to be impressed by his forthrightness with
respect to religious convictions. Indeed, according to
Obama, “to say that men and women should not inject their
personal morality into public policy debates is a practical
absurdity.” What Obama gives with one hand, however,
he takes with the other. On one hand, he voices respect for
religious convictions and personal morality. On the other,
he substantially undermines the foundation on which they
are grounded. In his “Call to Renewal” keynote address
to religious leaders, Obama asks, “Which passages of
Scripture should guide our public policy? Should we go
with Leviticus, which suggests slavery is okay and that
eating shellfi sh is an abomination? Or we could go with
Deuteronomy which suggests stoning your child if he strays
from the faith.”1

Missional Communities - Winter 09

Together, we're loving Jesus, each other, and our neighborhoods. Find a Missional Community near you.

Project Update - Fall 08

We've made tremendous progress on the Harambee building over the past few years and many of the major visible renovations are done (check out the photos by clicking on the photo above), but there's still work to be done.

A Community Place

Harambee was featured on the cover of the May 7th issue of the Renton Reporter: