Yep, it was a good weekend... I had to work Saturday, but I talked to a couple of good friends, too. First, I talked to my friend and a former missionary with us in West Virginia, Malcolm. Malcolm lives in Ohio now... If you'd like to pray for something, you can pray for his part-time job situation and also pray for his wife Emily to find a new job. She and "my Emily" are good friends!
Later, I talked to my friend Andy Hughes, another Acts29 church planting buddy. Andy is the pastor of Journey Church of the Highlands in Boone, NC. The Ridge supports Andy, his family, and his church financially with 5% of our tithes and offerings... This is part of our commitment to one of our six core values: New Churches! Many of you got to meet Andy when he drove here one Sunday this spring to share about his family and their church plant in Western North Carolina. His church has a new website in the works... Check it out!
Today was a good day, too! I attended the second "preview service" of One Life Church with Emily, Chloe, and Becca Thiele, our children's ministry intern. Becca just got back for the fall semester at Johnson Bible College and is excited about being back and working with our kids! She'll be back in action on Sunday, August 30th at 10 a.m. at our next Ridge Church Worship Gathering at Panache Hair and Body in Fountain City. We'll again be having child care for kids age 0-5... Make sure to say "hey" to her!
Later on, Emily and I met some new friends for coffee at Starbuck's in Powell. It was cool... They just moved back to Knox Vegas from North Carolina (alot like us) and we have alot of things in common. That's cool... New friends are great! Chloe got tired on us at Starbuck's, but all in all, she did pretty good! She's such a "big girl."
If you'd like to pray for us this week, feel free to! Emily, Chlo Chlo and I are heading to Indianapolis, Indiana for a denominational church planter assessment Monday morning. We have been invited for some free training by a leader in that denomination... We'll be back on Saturday and look forward to seeing you Sunday!
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Prayer and Pakistan
I had a great time Sunday at our monthly Ridge Church Prayer Gathering. I always enjoy getting together with you all, and Sunday was cool because we got together to pray!
Last month, we prayed through the ACTS process. For those of you who aren't familiar with it, ACTS is a "recipe" to follow in prayer so that your prayers make sure to honor God and "cover all the bases" that you want to pray about. This is way better than the random "beef stew" prayer that we often send up to God, full of all kinds of stuff that just gets added into our prayers willy-nilly. (Maybe this isn't a good analogy, but it's what I got right now.)
Anyhow, A stands for adoration; it's the time for adoring God for who He is. C stands for confession; it's the time for admitting our sins to God and requesting His strength to obey Him in our lives. T stands for thanksgiving; it's the time to thank God for all kinds of stuff. Finally, S stands for supplication; it's the time for praying for others and ourselves, and is at the end on purpose!
Anyway, this week we decided to pray through the Ridge Church values. In an hour, we got through the first 3: Truth, Grace & Faith, and Community. I had a great time, and I hope you all did, too. The Krispy Kremes that Sue Irving brought were a nice treat! At our next prayer gathering in September, we'll "pray through" our other 3 values.
On Sunday we also took up a special offering for our Pakistani brothers and sisters in Christ. You all shared more than $50 that will go directly to Pakistan to provide clothes and lodging for Christ-followers who have had their homes burned by angry Muslims. Thank you for sharing what God has trusted to you so that we can be an encouragement to others in Jesus' name!
This Sunday, we'll meet at One Life Church for worship. At our Prayer Gathering, I said we'd meet at 9:45 at Powell High School. The time for their worship gathering is 11 a.m., not 10 a.m. as I thought. So, we'll gather at 10:45 at Powell High School this Sunday the 23rd. Childcare is provided by OneLife, so kids are welcome! After worship, everyone is welcome to eat lunch with us as always!
See you at small group and on Sunday!
Last month, we prayed through the ACTS process. For those of you who aren't familiar with it, ACTS is a "recipe" to follow in prayer so that your prayers make sure to honor God and "cover all the bases" that you want to pray about. This is way better than the random "beef stew" prayer that we often send up to God, full of all kinds of stuff that just gets added into our prayers willy-nilly. (Maybe this isn't a good analogy, but it's what I got right now.)
Anyhow, A stands for adoration; it's the time for adoring God for who He is. C stands for confession; it's the time for admitting our sins to God and requesting His strength to obey Him in our lives. T stands for thanksgiving; it's the time to thank God for all kinds of stuff. Finally, S stands for supplication; it's the time for praying for others and ourselves, and is at the end on purpose!
Anyway, this week we decided to pray through the Ridge Church values. In an hour, we got through the first 3: Truth, Grace & Faith, and Community. I had a great time, and I hope you all did, too. The Krispy Kremes that Sue Irving brought were a nice treat! At our next prayer gathering in September, we'll "pray through" our other 3 values.
On Sunday we also took up a special offering for our Pakistani brothers and sisters in Christ. You all shared more than $50 that will go directly to Pakistan to provide clothes and lodging for Christ-followers who have had their homes burned by angry Muslims. Thank you for sharing what God has trusted to you so that we can be an encouragement to others in Jesus' name!
This Sunday, we'll meet at One Life Church for worship. At our Prayer Gathering, I said we'd meet at 9:45 at Powell High School. The time for their worship gathering is 11 a.m., not 10 a.m. as I thought. So, we'll gather at 10:45 at Powell High School this Sunday the 23rd. Childcare is provided by OneLife, so kids are welcome! After worship, everyone is welcome to eat lunch with us as always!
See you at small group and on Sunday!
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
An Important Cause for The Ridge to Get Behind...
This Sunday is our monthly large group prayer gathering at Panache at 10 a.m. This is an important time for us to gather as Christ's community. We praise God, get right with God, thank God, and ask God to intervene in others' lives and also in our own lives.
It is a great time to get together. It's informal and anyone interested in praying with us is welcome. After we pray, we'll eat lunch together afterward! Child care is not provided, but kids are welcome and parents can always step out with them if they need to!
This week, we are going to pray especially for the Pakistani Christ-followers who have recently been viciously attacked by their Muslim neighbors. You can read a Washington Post article about the Muslim arson and murders here.
The Christians in Punjab are showing Christlike hearts by not retaliating and by publicly praying that those who perpetrated these attacks are changed by God. I pray that we would offer so much grace in the same situation!
The truth is that there are Christ-followers in many nations who, even in the 21st century, find themselves persecuted or killed for their faith. Voice of the Maryrs is a great organization that has much information and serving opportunities regarding persecuted Christ-followers.
Our friends and sister churches in the Acts29 Network have committed to provide food, clothing and shelter for 315 Pakistani Christ-followers whose homes have been burned. The cost is $47,250; American dollars go a long way in Pakistan. An Acts29 pastor friend of mine in Raleigh, North Carolina, Elliot Grudem, has put up a webpage on his church website with more information about this tragedy and some pictures here.
Because the need to help our brothers and sisters in Christ is urgent, we are going to have a special offering time at our Ridge Church prayer gathering on Sunday. All the funds that we collect in the offering will go directly to an Acts29 church in Washington State with direct wire capabilities to Pakistan. 100% of your offering will go to Pakistani believers to provide for their basic needs at this difficult time. We will pray for these families on Sunday as well.
If you'd like more information, please email me.
Have a great week, and thank God for the blessings you have... See you at small group this Wednesday at our home, or have fun at small group on Thursday at the Irving home!
It is a great time to get together. It's informal and anyone interested in praying with us is welcome. After we pray, we'll eat lunch together afterward! Child care is not provided, but kids are welcome and parents can always step out with them if they need to!
This week, we are going to pray especially for the Pakistani Christ-followers who have recently been viciously attacked by their Muslim neighbors. You can read a Washington Post article about the Muslim arson and murders here.
The Christians in Punjab are showing Christlike hearts by not retaliating and by publicly praying that those who perpetrated these attacks are changed by God. I pray that we would offer so much grace in the same situation!
The truth is that there are Christ-followers in many nations who, even in the 21st century, find themselves persecuted or killed for their faith. Voice of the Maryrs is a great organization that has much information and serving opportunities regarding persecuted Christ-followers.
Our friends and sister churches in the Acts29 Network have committed to provide food, clothing and shelter for 315 Pakistani Christ-followers whose homes have been burned. The cost is $47,250; American dollars go a long way in Pakistan. An Acts29 pastor friend of mine in Raleigh, North Carolina, Elliot Grudem, has put up a webpage on his church website with more information about this tragedy and some pictures here.
Because the need to help our brothers and sisters in Christ is urgent, we are going to have a special offering time at our Ridge Church prayer gathering on Sunday. All the funds that we collect in the offering will go directly to an Acts29 church in Washington State with direct wire capabilities to Pakistan. 100% of your offering will go to Pakistani believers to provide for their basic needs at this difficult time. We will pray for these families on Sunday as well.
If you'd like more information, please email me.
Have a great week, and thank God for the blessings you have... See you at small group this Wednesday at our home, or have fun at small group on Thursday at the Irving home!
Saturday, August 8, 2009
KidFest Slideshow
Here is the slideshow from Ridge Church's two day KidFest. Thanks to everyone who made it possible. Enjoy the pictures!
Thursday, August 6, 2009
SkateTown was Awesome... Info Meeting this Sunday!
I had a great time with you all and our community at KidFest! I also really enjoyed our first-ever worship gathering and skating party at SkateTown in Fountain City. The worship and skating time is something that we hope to do again sometime!
Thanks to all the Ridge Church folks who worship God by giving financially. Your obedience to God and financial giving makes events for our community like KidFest possible. Also thanks to the churches who support us!
It was good to be able to celebrate the results our first KidFest at SkateTown on Sunday. Emily made a PowerPoint presentation of pictures of kids and their parents, as well as our awesome Ridge Church volunteers who made the event happen. (Also Trey and Kitten McClain and Keith Zenker, the Discovery Church folks who came down from Evansville, Indiana to help us out!) We hope to be able to put a version of the pictures Emily presented up on the blog for you soon.
This Sunday, we're having a Ridge Church Info Meeting at Panache at 6 p.m. We haven't had one of these for a long while... Basically, this meeting is an opportunity for new people at The Ridge or people who are investigating Ridge Church to come and learn more about us. We'll talk about our Vision and Values, get to know each other better, and answer any questions folks may have. It's gonna be a good time!
We are not gathering as a fellowship on Sunday for worship. My encouragement to you is to get out and worship at a good, Bible-believing church near you. Emily and I will be investigating a church we haven't been to before, in anticipation of bringing all of you there with us in the near future. As long as Chloe cooperates... She has her first "real" virus right now. Feel free to pray for her to feel better! It's so sad to see babies sick, especially your own!
Have a great weekend!
Thanks to all the Ridge Church folks who worship God by giving financially. Your obedience to God and financial giving makes events for our community like KidFest possible. Also thanks to the churches who support us!
It was good to be able to celebrate the results our first KidFest at SkateTown on Sunday. Emily made a PowerPoint presentation of pictures of kids and their parents, as well as our awesome Ridge Church volunteers who made the event happen. (Also Trey and Kitten McClain and Keith Zenker, the Discovery Church folks who came down from Evansville, Indiana to help us out!) We hope to be able to put a version of the pictures Emily presented up on the blog for you soon.
This Sunday, we're having a Ridge Church Info Meeting at Panache at 6 p.m. We haven't had one of these for a long while... Basically, this meeting is an opportunity for new people at The Ridge or people who are investigating Ridge Church to come and learn more about us. We'll talk about our Vision and Values, get to know each other better, and answer any questions folks may have. It's gonna be a good time!
We are not gathering as a fellowship on Sunday for worship. My encouragement to you is to get out and worship at a good, Bible-believing church near you. Emily and I will be investigating a church we haven't been to before, in anticipation of bringing all of you there with us in the near future. As long as Chloe cooperates... She has her first "real" virus right now. Feel free to pray for her to feel better! It's so sad to see babies sick, especially your own!
Have a great weekend!
Saturday, August 1, 2009
KidFest was Awesome! SkateTown Tomorrow!
Wow! Today was our second and final afternoon doing KidFest in Fountain City Park! It was a blast. It was very cool to be part of it, and as your pastor, I am very proud of you, Ridge Church!
For those of you not aware of KidFest or the reasons behind it, the two day event had a simple purpose. We believe that people are important, because God believes that. We believe we should love people, because God does. So, we asked ourselves how we could show our community they are important and we love them. We came up with doing all kinds of fun stuff in Fountain City Park for kids and families absolutely FREE! It turned out to be awesome and fun for everyone... I have a feeling we may very well do another KidFest again someday!
I am proud (of course that's the good kind of pride) that 23 Ridge people volunteered on Friday and Saturday to love our community and serve as part of KidFest. We had folks painting faces, painting hair, putting on temporary tattoos, playing games, doing crafts, watching babies, and participating in object lessons that were fun and shared Bible truths... I saw people come out of thier shells, I saw people doing things they had never done. I saw, most of all, people realizing that we can ALL be "ambassadors for Christ" and share Jesus' love with others, even strangers!
I am proud of everyone who pitched in with their time, money, and stuff. Great job loving others in our community, with no strings attached or expectations for "payback" of some kind.
I want to especially thank Trey, Kitten, Alyssa, and Morgan McClain and Keith (I can't spell your last name, email me it dude!) for coming down from Evansville, Indiana to help us serve our neighbors this weekend! Trey is the pastor of Discovery Church. Emily and I have been best buds with Trey and Kitten for a decade. His young church supports The Ridge financially and prayerfully. They came to join hands with us in loving our community, and they rock! Thanks!
At The Ridge, two of our six core values are Serving Others and Fun. These last couple days, you did both. Great job!
Tomorrow (Sunday), we will have another big day! We've rented SkateTown in Fountain City so that we can have some fun together. We'll have worship at the usual time of 10 a.m., followed by FREE stating for us and our friends and neighbors from 11:30 until 1 p.m.!
Make sure to bring a chair to sit in for worship! If you have more than enough for your family, please bring the extras for others to use!
This will be another day of fun, worshiping God and rolling in circles together! See you there!
For those of you not aware of KidFest or the reasons behind it, the two day event had a simple purpose. We believe that people are important, because God believes that. We believe we should love people, because God does. So, we asked ourselves how we could show our community they are important and we love them. We came up with doing all kinds of fun stuff in Fountain City Park for kids and families absolutely FREE! It turned out to be awesome and fun for everyone... I have a feeling we may very well do another KidFest again someday!
I am proud (of course that's the good kind of pride) that 23 Ridge people volunteered on Friday and Saturday to love our community and serve as part of KidFest. We had folks painting faces, painting hair, putting on temporary tattoos, playing games, doing crafts, watching babies, and participating in object lessons that were fun and shared Bible truths... I saw people come out of thier shells, I saw people doing things they had never done. I saw, most of all, people realizing that we can ALL be "ambassadors for Christ" and share Jesus' love with others, even strangers!
I am proud of everyone who pitched in with their time, money, and stuff. Great job loving others in our community, with no strings attached or expectations for "payback" of some kind.
I want to especially thank Trey, Kitten, Alyssa, and Morgan McClain and Keith (I can't spell your last name, email me it dude!) for coming down from Evansville, Indiana to help us serve our neighbors this weekend! Trey is the pastor of Discovery Church. Emily and I have been best buds with Trey and Kitten for a decade. His young church supports The Ridge financially and prayerfully. They came to join hands with us in loving our community, and they rock! Thanks!
At The Ridge, two of our six core values are Serving Others and Fun. These last couple days, you did both. Great job!
Tomorrow (Sunday), we will have another big day! We've rented SkateTown in Fountain City so that we can have some fun together. We'll have worship at the usual time of 10 a.m., followed by FREE stating for us and our friends and neighbors from 11:30 until 1 p.m.!
Make sure to bring a chair to sit in for worship! If you have more than enough for your family, please bring the extras for others to use!
This will be another day of fun, worshiping God and rolling in circles together! See you there!
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