Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Desperate and Committed

This past Sunday was the final preview worship service before the official launch of Northwest Community Church. We had a great service as our worship planning system starts to gain some serious momentum. I continue to be amazed at the team God has assembled.
During the teaching time this past Sunday we saw how Moses responded to an impossible task by doing two very simple things. When Moses was fighting against all odds, he got desperate to hear from God and he chose the health and well-being of the community over his own. Moses' example has church planting application written all over it. The launch of a new church from scratch would be an impossible task if it depended solely on human ingenuity and effort. For Northwest Community Church to succeed, we must remain willing to submit to God's vision for the church and be committed to the long-term growth of the entire body. True spiritual health/growth does not happen in isolation, nor does it fully occur in lives that are only half-way committed. Rather God works the most through people who are desperate (for him) and committed (to his local church). Please pray that Northwest Community Church will become the type of church that leads people to become desperate and committed.

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Serve the Teachers

God continues to open up in-roads into the community of Bella Vista. It seems that almost every day I am able to either have breakfast, lunch, or coffee with someone new. Along the way, God has confirmed the fact that Bella Vista is the perfect place to launch Northwest Community Church. I am so grateful for how far we have gotten over the past 4 months. Sometimes I am amazed as I look back on the milestones God has allowed us to achieve in such a short time period: moving to AR, Sarah starting a new job, signing a lease on the BGC, finding a house to rent, hosting our practice services, meeting helpful churches in the area, forming a committed launch team, raising financial support, purchasing portable church equipment, and building key relationships in the community.
As you pray for NCC this week, please pray specifically for this Friday morning. We have been given the opportunity to serve breakfast to the 75 teachers at Cooper Elementary School in Bella Vista. We want to show the teachers our gratitude as we invite them to be apart of our very first official worship service on February 21st. Pray that God will give us favor with the teachers, that He will allow genuine friendships to be established, and that the teachers will be drawn to not only attend our church but to also tell others about us too.
Oh and don't forget that this Sunday (1/17) at 10 a.m. is our last preview service before our launch in February. We're pumped about the service especially since Greg and Cassi Luka will be here for good.