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Discipleship/Confirmation
classes are at 6:30 on Thursday nights.
Sunday School starts at 9:30
a.m. (Fall thru Spring)
A Moment with
the Pastor of Evangelism,
Richard Johnson
A
Moment with the
Pastor of Evangelism
Do We Really Care?
By Pastor Richard Johnson
he
King will reply, 'Truly I tell you, whatever you did for the least
of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me."
[Matthew 25:40 NIV].
Do we
really care that there are people all around us who do not know
Jesus in a personal way?
Are we as
individuals and as a church doing all that we can to demonstrate
compassion for people for their physical and spiritual needs?
It is true
that we are doing more now, but are we doing enough?
Are we intentional about sharing the good news of God’s
grace and love outside of the church building?
People do
not care what we know until they know that we care! A Covenant
Church in Kansas that is about the same size as ours is working
on a goal of being intentional about sharing the gospel with
their friends, neighbors and associates with the expectation of
seeing at least ten new people become followers of Jesus in
2010. They recognize that they have to go out to reach
these people because they are
just not going to show up at the church on their own. This is
especially true of people of other cultural and language
backgrounds.
According
to surveys, over 80 percent of people who have come to faith in
Jesus have done so through the influence of a friend. Also, the
majority of people who do not attend a church said that they
would go if they were invited by a personal friend. Well, it
looks like it is mainly up to us as individual believers to get
going. In the words of Paul: “Be wise in the way you act
toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity”.
[Colossians 4:5 (NIV)].
A new
opportunity will be the Greg Laurie Chicago Harvest at the
Allstate Arena on September 24th – 26th.
You will be seeing and hearing a lot about this event in the
days ahead.
Thank
you.
May God
bless your efforts to reach out.
Pastor Richard
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October
16th – 18th, 2009
During the weekend of
October 16th - 18th, almost everyone
of our church was impacted by our Lay Renewal Celebration of Faith
(October 16th – 18th). Now, we want to keep
the enthusiasm high as we look to the future life and growth of our
church.
A very
important part of the weekend was the use of small groups. Many
people have commented that their times in the small groups were very
meaningful and inspiring as they were drawn closer to God and to the
other people in their groups. Closer relationships with the others
were initiated and developed.
In Hebrews
10:24-25 we read: “And let us consider how we may spur one
another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting
together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one
another . . . .”
There are
basically three options for being in a small group:
1.
Join an existing group
(we now have five).
2. Get
involved in the plans for more
groups.
3.
Start your own group.
Remember – a
holistic small group is more than a place to share your concerns and
joys. It is more than a study group. It is more than a prayer
group. It is more than a fun and fellowship group. It is all of
these so that we can grow in all aspects of our Christian lifestyle
and our commitment to God. Please contact
me soon at (815) 355-4566 for more information.
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