Praying for Pasadena Corridors
September 21, 2009
As was indicated in our e-newsletter last week, Pasadena Corridors made a call for prayer for all interested on Sunday. Citing a need to intercede before the Lord for the ministry site and rededicate the place for His purposes.
If you still desire to send a word of prayer or encouragement to Kevin Robertson, you can e-mail him at: pastorkevin@marinachristian.org
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Minor Prophets Rap
September 20, 2009
We all know that Bryan Langdoc and the rest of the Escondido ministry team are a few fries short of a happy meal but... maybe this video confirms it?...
Watch this hilarious video that Escondido put together.
Writes Bryan:
"There's one musical genre that unites our congregation - Rap. Okay, maybe not, but please enjoy this informative video, which seeks to promote our new sermon series on the minor prophets."
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The Mission of Light and Life Goleta, parts 1 and 2
September 19, 2009
January’s theme for LLG KIDZ CLUB is “Orderliness”. I thought it would be a great opportunity to preach on the Mission Statement of our church. The Mission Statement of Light and Life Goleta is “Compelling people to Jesus Christ, maturing them through discipleship, and assisting the world through acts of love”. Week 1 was explaining and detailing the first component of the Mission: “Compelling them to Jesus Christ”. This last week I shared on what it means to “mature them through discipleship”. I want to give a little description of both today [in this article].
In describing what it means to compel people to Jesus Christ, I used a little formula. The formula is C=CU and it means “compelling equals (or means) creative urging”. In my preparation, I read a famous sermon by Charles Spurgeon titled “Compelling Them to Come” where he admitted to “changing his note” when the message did not elicit the proper response. By this, he didn’t mean he would change the content of his message, he just meant he would change the tone, wording, etc - to rephrase the message for a more effective result: that of changed lives. That is what we are doing with LLG KIDZ CLUB. The eternal message of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ doesn’t change, but we certainly are packaging it differently! Let’s hope and pray and continue to work diligently that the desired results come about.
Part II of the mission is “maturing them through discipleship”. As Wesleyans, we are aware of our history of small group ministry. It is through sharing life with fellow followers of Christ that we grow spiritually in the most effective ways. No Christians can be mavericks or “lone rangers”. If the very TRINITY is a God in relationship (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit), how important are relationships to our spiritual welfare!
Referring to the primary importance of our relationships, I used the analogy of my wireless internet card. I have found that there are places in town (coffee shops, restaurant, etc.) that I cannot link to the wireless internet they offer. Perhaps it is too many competing signals or faulty/virus-laced ones, but my wireless receiver cannot handle it and will shut down (blue screen) under duress. My only option is to disable my wireless internet card from receiving any signals at all.
This is a picture of what is absolutely necessary for new Christians. Some old relationships will not nurture the spiritual life in us at all. They are poisonous. Others are just fine… Usually it's the difference between true friends and false or co-dependent ones. While it might make us unpopular for a short time, discerning who we need to “SHUT OFF” is vitally important.
Relationships that nurture the spiritual growth are so important. I pray that we will discern our relational “connections” and move toward those which edify.
MAY GOD SWAMP YOU!
-Dave
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San Diego Spanish Sanctuary Development
September 18, 2009
About the photos
Thanks to a recent matching grant by the FMCSC and the faithful financial contributions of the San Diego Spanish congregation, their church's sanctuary was recently renovated.
In the first four photos (above) you can see the old sanctuary arrangement that this church had, comfortably seating about 80 people.
The 5th and 6th photos (also above) show the new sanctuary layout with the pews removed and replaced with the blue chairs. Because of this, they can now minister to about 160 people.
How servant hearts were used
The men in the congregation came through big time and provided free labor and greatly discounted materials. This experience has shown itself to be a real work of spiritual unity expressed through a physical plant makeover! Truly, the church building makeover is a physical expression of what God has done at the church spiritually.
Worth noting
Pastor Anibal Lopez has made significant and exciting strides during his ministry tenure, nearly doubling his church size by reaching out to newcomers and new converts. Additionally, he successfully navigated a difficult transition period when he first came on staff.
Initially, Anibal went through some really tough times for the first few years with some of the normal adjustment issues that come with an increase in congregation size, leadership style clashes and pragmatic/programatic issues (such as "parking"). With all of these challenges the San Diego Spanish church has demonstrated that the Spirit of the Lord is able to work through godly leadership and overcome incredible odds.
To God:
For this we praise GOD'S name and thank the Lopez family for their wonderful leadership.
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Open Mic Night taking on life of it's own
September 17, 2009
We began opening the cafe on the 1st and 3rd Friday of the month for Open Mic. After about 3 months of this it has taken on a life of it's own. This one wasn't one of our biggest but still enjoyed a full set and about 65 to 70 people (artists & fans). The majority of the people are from Pasadena City College (2 blocks away) and don't know the Lord.
HE does some pretty sweet things through people's expression. Give me an example, you may say... The girl who's been working at the local strip club has now been valued for her thoughts and words through poetry and not just her body (she is a regular at our other functions now.) The young lady, who's brother passed away recently, received encouragement and ovation for her acapella vocals. Not to mention, there's a lot of talent and it allows us to facilitate community that people can belong to before believing in Jesus.
Though I never plan it, the gospel is always shared. Whether through somebody's song or a poem. Doug and I just pray and don't stress, then we look at each other and laugh when some new person we don't know stands up and says "this is a poem called 'hurt.' Thank you Jesus for dying on the cross and taking my sins and..."
[The photos in this article] were taken this last Friday. I thought I'd [share these to remind you to] pray for our ministry. THANKS!
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