Reach Others For Him!

The Bible says,

"Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect…” 1 Peter 3:15b-16

and,

“Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.” Colossians 4:5-6

Last Sunday we talked about building bridges to reach people who don’t know Christ. To help us think through how we can do a better job of reaching others we used the following acrostic.

B – Be friendly, not preachy!
R – Respectfully listen to others before you share your own opinions!
I – Intercession: Pray for your lost friend!
D – Demonstrate genuine interest in your friend as a person! Don’t treat them like a “project”!
G – Give God time to work! Don’t try to “microwave” the process!
E – Equip yourself to tell your story well!
S – Share as much as is appropriate depending on the person and the situation!

Since that time many of you have taken it upon yourselves to write out your testimony – the story of how you came to Christ – in a hundred words or less. The key to writing out your testimony is to answer three questions: What was your life like before you met Christ? When and how did you begin to follow Christ? How is your life different because of following Christ?

Below is my story.

As a young man in high school I was deeply insecure, lonely, angry, and afraid.

Then some friends invited me to a conference for high school students. While I was there, I loved being around people who really wanted to follow Christ. They seemed to have a joy and purpose in life that I wanted for myself, but lacked. And so I asked Christ to be the Lord of my life.

I didn’t instantly become perfect. Sometimes I still struggle with old insecurities. But it gave me a new hope, joy, meaning, and purpose in life!

I hope this helps you!


Warmly in Christ,


Pastor Gary
Acts 20:24

Full Engagement Step 1 - Prayer

Last week we started a new series called Full Engagement! God wants us to be fully engaged in making disciples who worship Him, grow in Him, serve Him, and reach others for Him!

For the last eight months I have been praying with many of you in our church and asking God the question, “What will it take for us to go to the next level as a disciple-making church?”

The first and most important step is prayer. The Bible says, “Continue steadfastly in prayer…” Colossians 4:2

Why is prayer so important?

Unless God is at work in us, all of our labor is vain. Our very best efforts are meaningless without His blessing.

But the kind of prayer that God blesses, isn’t just an occasional plea to Him to “bless our church.” The Scripture says that we are to “continue steadfastly in prayer.”

What does it mean to “continue steadfastly?”

It means to be fully engaged! We are to be diligent. We are to never give up. If prayer falls off our radar or we lose focus, we must recommit ourselves to the work at hand.

We need to “continue steadfastly in prayer” because it is a great work that we do when we ask God to do what only He can do!

What would happen in and through the ministries of our church, if we had 150 people praying daily with this kind of full engagement? How might God work? Wouldn’t it be exciting to see!

I would like to encourage you to take ten minutes right now to walk away from your email and pray! Ask God to make you into a man or woman of prayer! Ask God to raise up a company of people in our church who “continue steadfastly in prayer!” Ask God to prepare our hearts to do whatever is necessary to go to the next level as a disciple-making church!

Warmly in Christ,

Pastor Gary
Acts 20:24

Immanuel - God Is With Us!

On Saturday morning we had a special Christmas celebration as a family with my parents and sister who were visiting from Little Rock. As much as we enjoyed giving and receiving gifts, the greatest joy was just being able to be together!

The message of Christmas is a joyful message of togetherness ...

"Immanuel" means "God is with us!"

God the Son - infinite in every way with God the Father and God the Holy Spirit - crossed the threshold of eternity and took on the fullness of our humanity, except without sin.

It is because Christ is fully God, fully man, and without sin, that He is also the perfect sacrifice for our sin. And it is because of His sacrifice that we can have the joy of togetherness with God.

I hope that you will come and join us as we celebrate together the birth of Christ on Sunday, December 21, at 10:00 a.m. and again on Wednesday, December 24, at 6:00 p.m.

Warmly in Christ,


Pastor Gary
Acts 20:24

Reach Others For Him!

God wants us to worship Him, grow in Him, serve Him, and reach others for Him!

On Tuesday night some of the women of our church hosted our annual Ladies Christmas Tea. This year's speaker, Sharon Allen, told her story of how she became a Christian. She then shared with the women present about how they could make the same decision to follow Christ.

Seven women indicated that they made the decision to follow Christ, and one other woman said that she wanted to talk with someone further about committing her life to Christ!

Tomorrow night about 100 people will gather at our church for the Solano Warrior's (my son's football team) end of the year party. We will be giving away about 50 New Testaments published by the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and 33 copies of Facing the Giants - an evangelistic film about football. Pray that God will use the gifts of New Testaments and DVDs to reach at least one of these young men for Christ!

Thanks to all of you who are serving with us to help reach others for Christ!

Warmly in Christ,


Pastor Gary
Acts 20:24

Serve Him!

Do you want to experience God's blessing in your life? Do you want God to pour out His goodness on you in overwhelming measure?

I think most of us would answer both of those questions in the affirmative.

Recently I have written some about where we are going as a church.

I have said that God wants us to...

Worship Him, Grow in Him, Serve Him, and Reach Others for Him!

Serving should be thought of as more than filling a slot in a ministry org-chart or calendar. Serving should be thought of as a powerful way of relating and loving others.

In John 13, Jesus was about to celebrate Passover with His disciples. But there was no one available to wash their feet - a job normally reserved for the most humble of slaves. Certainly it was a job that was too humiliating and unworthy of any of the disciples!

Jesus didn't stop and take a spiritual gift inventory and then evaluate the opportunity based upon His giftedness. He didn't spend days praying over the commitment. Instead He saw the need and rose to or - perhaps better said - humbled Himself for the occasion and washed the feet of His disciples.

True servants see needs and seize opportunities! (Galatians 6:10)

After serving in this very humble manner Jesus says something like this to His disciples, "I have given you an example. You should do for each other as I have done for you. I am the Master and you are My servants. If I as the Master serve you, certainly you should serve each other. Now you understand My concerns. But you will only be blessed if you serve each other as I have served you!" (John 13:1 - 17)

What drives how you and I serve will determine whether or not we are blessed in the serving.

So how can a person get started in serving God through the ministries of our church?
You can be a greeter on Sunday mornings or help with refreshments.
You can help run sound or multi-media if you are tech-savvy.
You can serve as a worker or teacher in the children's ministries or student ministries.
You can host or facilitate a 2:42 Group or small group.
You can serve on the worship team as a musician or vocalist.
You can feed, shelter, and give the homeless a message of hope through Nomadic Sheltering.
But there is one thing you can't do and expect to experience God's blessing. You cannot simply sit back and do little or nothing.

Jesus has given us an example to follow! We will only be blessed if we do it!

Warmly in Christ,


Pastor Gary
Acts 20:24

VOTE!

Today we will elect a new president and vote on some very important propositions.

The mission of the church is not to elect the “right president.” It is to make disciples (Matthew 28:19-20).

As followers of Christ, God wants us to be good citizens. But ultimately our citizenship is in heaven (Philippians 3:20-21). Our greatest loyalty must not be to a political party or ideal. Our greatest loyalty must be to Christ (Matthew 16:24-26)!

Last night I was in the middle of a lot of people talking politics where my political views were definitely in the minority. I tried to listen well and hold my tongue.

I have very strong political opinions, but I reserve most political discussion for my family and closest friends. With everyone else I try to point out that all change without a change of heart is superficial. Our principle concern shouldn’t be over who occupies the White House, but who reigns in our hearts!

Most of us, if not all, want an honorable peace in the Middle East and we want to bring our young men and women home safely. But the ultimate reason for all war is that there is violence in our hearts. And only Christ can change the heart!

Most of us, if not all, want a stronger economy. But a lot of the mess in our economy is due to greed in our hearts. And only Christ can change the heart!

Most of us, if not all, want cleaner, less expensive, and renewable sources of energy. But only Christ, through the ministry of the Holy Spirit, can release God’s power in abundant measure that cleans our hearts from the inside out!

Today, I hope you will vote. But more importantly, I hope you will invest your life in following Christ and being a change-agent for Him in our world (Acts 1:8)! This should be the mission of every person who calls Jesus Christ their Lord and Savior.

Next week I hope to share more with you about where God is leading us as a church.

Warmly in Christ,

Pastor Gary

Grow In Him!

Wouldn't it be great if you could grow into a "Spiritual Champion" simply by showing up for church and listening to inspiring sermons? Wouldn't it be great if you were automatically patient with your children, kind to your spouse, and never tempted to watch too much TV, eat too much dinner, or visit a compromising website?

How many Olympic champions have become the best in the world in what they do, by doing little more than listening to motivational talks by inspiring speakers?

Over the last couple of weeks I have been saying God hasn't called us to make church-people busy with church activity. He has called us to make disciples! (Matthew 28:19-20)

God wants us to worship Him, grow in Him, serve Him, and reach others for Him! Growing in Christ isn't the result of simply attending inspiring services.

Growth isn't a work we do. It is a work that God does in us (Philippians 1:6). But it is a work of God that we must cooperate with and be fully engaged in (Philippians 2:12-13).

Paul reminds us that a passive approach to anything "Christian" destines us to failure.

"Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore, I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize." 1 Corinthians 9:25-27 (NIV)

If we are to grow, we need healthy and holy connection with God's people where we build friendships for spiritual encouragement and accountability to train like champions for the purpose of godliness and growth in Christ-like character. (1 Timothy 4:7-8; 1 Thessalonians 5:11)

One of the things that I want to see happen in our church is the emergence of dozens of 2:42 Groups (Acts 2:42) that encourage life-changing spiritual growth! I want to see groups shift from a focus on being "small" to being "2:42 Communities" where people continually devote themselves to the word of God and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer! I want to see groups where people experience God's grace, love, and power for spiritual transformation!

Warmly in Christ,

Pastor Gary
Acts 20:24

Worship Him!

Last week I wrote to you that God hasn't called us to make church-people busy with church activity. He has called us to make disciples! (Matthew 28:19-20)

I also told you about how we have been praying and asking God about the steps He wants us to take to go to the next level as a disciple-making church.

God wants us to worship Him, to grow in Him, to serve Him, and to reach others for Him!

Some people think of worship as a service they attend once a week on Sunday mornings. But there is more to worship than just giving God a one-hour slice of our week.

Worship is not a service that the church provides for people to watch and listen to, like they might go to a concert, movie, or sporting event. Worship is a service that we individually and collectively give to God.

Romans 12:1 says, "Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship."

When we think of and practice worship as the full surrender of our lives to a merciful God, then we take the first step toward becoming a more effective disciple-making church!

Warmly in Christ,

Pastor Gary
Acts 20:24

Making Disciples

God hasn't called us to make church-people busy with church activity. He has called us to make disciples! (Matthew 28:19-20)

A disciple isn't a religious nut who wears a long robe, sports a long beard, and carries a 20-pound King James Bible. He is a person who embraces self-denial, sacrifice, and even death to follow Christ, but discovers hope, meaning, joy, and abundance in the journey and in the end, eternal life. (Matthew 16:24-26; Mark 10:28-31)

So how do we go to the next level as a disciple-making church?

In July of this year I asked three people to lead three teams to prayerfully consider what it will take for us to become a more effective, disciple-making church and to draft a plan that would answer the question above.

At the end of August, these three teams came together to present their proposals and interact with one another.

Since that time, I have met repeatedly with Steve Acord, Joy Rounsavall, Matt Skinner, Tessa Valle, and Johnny Wilson to glean some of the best ideas from the team proposals and prayerfully put them together in a unified ministry plan that we believe can help guide us to the next level as a disciple-making church.

Over the next few weeks I would like to share with you some of the ideas that have come out of this process.

Warmly in Christ,

Pastor Gary

Acts 20:24

In recent months I have felt like God has wanted me to rethink several aspects of ministry in our church. I want to have three teams of people to ask and answer the question, "How do we take our church to the next level as a disciple-making church?"

I want to have three groups to encourage greater participation and diversity of thought.

There are several things I want them to keep in mind as they try to answer this question.

1. I want them to think like missionaries and not like “club-members.” Matthew 9:9-13

We want to engage the lost of our community on their turf where they are comfortable, rather than waiting for them to come on ours where we are comfortable. This means serving our community in a way that builds trust and opportunities to proclaim the gospel.

2. I want them to focus on disciple-making over crowd-gathering. Matthew 28:19-20

Our challenge is to change lives and not just attract numbers. This means that we want our people to understand and practice things like whole-life stewardship. We want our people to follow Christ – to surrender their time, talent, treasure, thinking, and testimony to Him. We want people to follow Christ and use every resource that He has entrusted them to bring others to Him.

3. I want them to think relationship-building over event-planning and programming. John 13:34-35

This doesn’t mean that events and programs are bad. But relationships are key for true disciple-making. “You can impress people from a distance, but you can only impact them up close.” Howard Hendricks

We must not confuse busy-ness in church activities with spiritual growth and discipleship. (Our aim is to make disciples and not just make church-people busy with church-activity. This may mean some – perhaps even many – programs must go.)

4. I want them to think multiplication over simple addition. 2 Timothy 2:1-2

How do we multiply ministry by reproducing leaders? “He who does the work is not so profitably employeed as he who multiplies the doers.”