Get to know the Grace Care Team

Grace, these are crazy times we’re living in, aren’t they? We need each other now more than ever!

I’m so glad that we have hope in a God who is in control, and a church family that is full of kind and caring people. Thank you for reaching out to support and care for each other during this difficult time.

You’re being the church in new and creative ways!

During this time, we continue to focus efforts on building up our Grace Care Team in order to meet the needs of those most vulnerable in our church body. Since this is a fairly new ministry team (just about a year old), I conducted an “email interview” with the chair of our Grace Care Team, Jill Moore, so you could learn more about how God is using their ministry.

Here’s what she shared with me:  

Juli Dirks: What is the Grace Care Team? Why did this special team start?

Jill Moore: Galatians 6:2 expresses our purpose, “Bear one another’s burdens and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ."

Grace Care Team was specifically organized to meet needs of the shut-ins and other seniors, people with long-term health issues, and new widows/widowers in our church.

We do this through being a visitor or phone prayer partner, offering transportation, arranging short-term meals, and helping with home repairs. When we “come alongside” a person, we infuse hope and the ability to keep going. They tangibly know someone cares and, most importantly, God cares.

JD: Why is the Grace Care Team an especially important part of Grace's ministry right now, during this pandemic?

JM: Fear and isolation can increase loneliness. Everyone needs connection. Getting a phone call from someone lets them hear that a real person is thinking of them and praying for them. A senior is more likely to tell us a specific need if there is relationship there. They, too, like to be independent and “not bother others." 

JD: Which kinds of needs are you finding to be most prevalent right now?

JM: This week most seniors are telling us they have what they need physically, but we notice in our phone calls that they carry burdens for their family members losing jobs and having surgeries being delayed. They have the same stress and fears all of us are tempted to carry—but they typically live alone.

Actually, the need for physical help with errands or food may escalate in the next 3 weeks depending on how long this continues. Someone to pray with now meets today’s need.  

JD: What can our church do support the Grace Care Team and those in our church who have needs?

JM: There are a number of ways:

  • Make phone calls or send cards. Who do you already have connections with? Who does God bring to mind? Call and tell that person you are acquainted with them from the church and want to know ways you could pray for them. Send someone a note of encouragement or make a new pen pal. Ask if they have other people checking on them. If no one is coming to mind, we can supply you with specific people who are longing for this connection.

  • Be eyes and ears for the Grace Care Team. If you discover a need that we can help with, tell us. Pray and tell them you are praying. I know it is true that all ages of people have special needs during this pandemic. Please strengthen your connections. And express your needs to the church, no matter what your age.  

  • Join our volunteer list. We are compiling a list of volunteers who are standing by to address other needs—transportation to doctor visits or church, food donations for funerals, going to get groceries, advice or help with home repair/improvement projects, help for seniors navigating computer/technology. Contact us to let us know you’re willing to use your gifts and skills to meet these needs.

  • Serve on our council. We are looking for a couple of additional people willing to serve with us in organizing our efforts to meet these needs.

I am praising God for using this pandemic to push us out of our busy, self-focused lifestyles and create in us the desire to care for one another. I, personally, have been strengthened and had my faith increase as I see God provide volunteers who become the hands and feet of Jesus to our church family.

JD: Thank you, Jill and team, for your passionate and compassionate work! Our church is blessed to have you.

So, Grace, this is a wonderful way to be the church during these uncertain times.

Let the Grace Care Team hear from you!

If you have a need or can help meet a need, here’s how you can let us know:

Hang in there, church! Lean into Jesus. I’m praying for God to meet you right where you are and bless you with peace and protection. 

Join us Sunday at 10:30am via Facebook Live as we worship together and start a walk through the comforting truths of Psalm 23.

Juli Dirks
Executive Director of Ministries

March Sadness

With the world of sports largely on hold at this time, brackets aren’t even going to be broken this year, but dreams and lives sure are!

In the middle of an overwhelming and unprecedented COVID-19-related tidal wave of cancellations nation-wide, college basketball fans like I am are wistfully remembering that today was scheduled to be the first official day of “March Madness,” the tournament to determine the NCAA men’s basketball division 1 national champion.   

But there’s no “madness” this year and—based on all the other closings and abrupt endings to athletic careers, school years, proms, church programs, jobs, and a host of dreams—many of us are experiencing “March Sadness,” which is how a friend of mine has tagged the season.

Whether we’re surrounded by kids at home trying to figure out how to survive or living on our own and feeling totally shut out from the world, so many of us are having to give up so many things in such a short amount of time that we’re reeling from our losses and trying to cope with our “new normal.” And we’re getting very familiar with “sad,” the painful emotion that says, “I’ve lost something important to me, and I’ll never get it back! That hurts!”

What an incredibly difficult time this is!  

Obviously we want to do everything we can to flatten the contagion curve of this deadly virus that we’re up against. Still, closing our church facility and cancelling important activities takes a toll on our spirits.

Though we don’t know yet for how long we will need to change our rhythms, as a pastor, I’m sad that we can’t meet together for our Sunday morning worship services. I’m sad that we’ve had to (at this point temporarily) cancel our Restarting Class that just got underway last week. Our men’s and women’s Bible studies, special events, student and children’s ministries have all taken the “not meeting” hit. I’m sad that nursing homes have closed their doors to visits from outsiders and I’m sad that I’m not able to see my mother or my dad-in-law.

However, on the other hand, I’m thankful that sadness is a connecting emotion, and when I pour out my losses to Jesus, I get to experience a special bond with him as he comforts me and shares his perspective on my life and my circumstances.

I’m thankful that Jesus knows what sadness feels like and, as Psalm 34:18 says, is “near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.”

I’m thankful that knowing him is worth the loss of everything else, as the Apostle Paul expresses so eloquently and passionately in Philippians 3:8, “Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.”

I’m thankful that nothing in all creation “will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:39)

I’m thankful for my church family, and that we can stay connected via the internet, email, and phone calls.

I’m thankful that the Holy Spirit, our guide and comforter, is available 24/7 to shepherd us through the challenges of these circumstances.

And I’m thankful that we can pray for each other, our neighbors, our cities, our country and our world, have God hear and respond to our pleas and give us creative ideas of how to serve those around us in need. 

I’m thankful that the Lord specializes in bringing joy and good out of the biggest messes, and I’m thankful for hope even in the face of death, which is simply the doorway into his presence!

Hmmm…funny how I’m feeling better already! 

See you via the internet this Sunday, as Pastor Jack preaches on the timely topic of “fear.”

Pastor Steve

PS: Here’s a letter from one of our members who is serving as an extension of us in a different part of the world. I believe her words will be encouraging to you in this challenging season!

Remember!

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

I know this is a difficult time with COVID-19 being on our minds almost constantly. It has disrupted all our lives, and we can’t seem to get away from it. There is undoubtedly different degrees of confusion, fear, uncertainty, anger and a range of other emotions felt at this time. I want to tell you that you are not alone. Everyone is feeling a vast array of emotions in regards to COVID-19.

Some of you will remember when I shared with you the beginning of last year about how difficult the previous fall had been. I want take a moment to go back to that fall in 2018 with you.
 
People were getting kicked out and being told to leave. At that time I was feeling many of the same emotions that I believe many of you are feeling today. I wasn’t sure who I could see and who I should stay away from. Who was safe? It was on my mind constantly. “Should I risk seeing so and so?” “Is it worth the risk?” It was incredibly isolating. I had no control. It all happened so fast, and it was so unexpected. There were so many unknowns. There still are. At times, I felt angry and defiant and wanted to storm the streets not caring what the outcome would be. The fear was real, tangible, and debilitating. 
 
Does any of this sound familiar? Does it resonate with you in any way? I know they are two vastly different situations, and yet, there are commonalities.
 
It took me some time to hear the Holy Spirit gently convicting me that my fear was displaced, and in the wrong place. I was fearing man, not God. Where was my trust? I can tell you, I was not trusting in God’s sovereignty. I share this so that you know you are not alone. I also want to remind you that God is good and He is faithful! In the midst of losing close friends, He brought me new sweet friendships with unexpected people and deepened previous superficial relationships. In the midst of feeling out of control, He showed me He was in control. In the midst of grief, sorrow, and pain, He gave me healing. In the midst of feeling alone, He was close. In the midst of suffering, He gave me hope. In the midst of fear, He showed me I could rely and trust in His promises. In the midst of chaos and uncertainty, He taught me to trust in His sovereignty. Through it all, He showed me His love. 
 
I am still learning, and He continues to teach me these things every day. My desire is that my story will encourage you and bring you hope in the midst of this current trial we all face from COVID-19. 
 

Sing to Him, sing praises to Him; tell of all His wondrous works!
Psalm 105:2

Call to Prayer

The other day I was wondering what I should be doing during this time. At the same time, I was reminiscing about times of prayer I had with people. I miss those times of coming together with my community to pray! Then I was convicted by my personal prayer life in regards to the current state of the world. So, I'm committing to intentional prayer for the people of our world, and to worship our Lord in the midst of uncertainty, every evening from 7:30-9pm until Easter. Why am I telling you?

  1. To keep me accountable. Feel free to ask how I’m doing at any time. Seriously, ask me.

  2. I’d love for you to join me in any way you can! Let us pray as a community. We are told to practice social distancing, but we can still unite in prayer!

“Save us, O God of our salvation, and gather and deliver us from COVID-19*, that we may give thanks to your holy name and glory in your praise. Blessed be the Lord, the God of this world*, from everlasting to everlasting.” 

(1 Chronicles 16: 35-36)
 

*The original text says: “among the nations” and “Israel”

Would you join me? Are you struggling how to pray? You are not alone. There are times I don’t know what to pray, or I struggle with saying the same thing over and over. In these times, I believe it is fine to just sit with the Lord with whatever it is heavy on your heart. The Holy Spirit intercedes for us during these times.

Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.  And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

(Romans 8:26-27)

If you are needing some guidance, here are some things I do during my time:

  1. I like to start off and finish with praising God and giving thanks. This includes, but is not limited to, declaring who God is.

  2. I sing worship songs whenever they come to mind.

  3. I have a focus. The main focus is COVID-19, but I go more specific. Last night I focused on people who are trying to get back to their homes from different countries. I will be posting on FB what I’ll be focusing on for the evening. Remember, this is a fluid time. Even though there is a focus it is okay to follow the Spirit's leading.

  4. I read/pray scripture.

  5. I end my whole time with praying the Lord’s prayer (Matthew 6: 9-13).


I hope this email finds you well! Again, you are not alone!

Love,
A

Church Planting FAQs

Forgive me for seemingly bringing church plant updates each time I write the Staff Journal… but I’m so excited about this opportunity to multiply our ministry and I want to share that excitement with you!

I also recognize that this is still a new and somewhat unfamiliar idea to many of you, so I wanted to take this opportunity to address some questions I’m hearing often. So, in the spirit of our FAQ sermon series, here are my responses to some church planting FAQs:

Why plant a church?

Research has shown that a new congregation “will bring new people into the life of the body of Christ at six to eight times the rate of an older congregation of the same size,” (Timothy Keller, Center Church, 359).

In other words, starting a new church is one of the best ways to reach new people with the life and hope of the Gospel.

Why Lyons?

Short answer: Lyons (and all of Rice County) desperately needs the gospel.

According to our research, about 85% of people in Rice County are not attending church anywhere. This is an exciting opportunity for a church to step in and bring the hope of the gospel to a community that is broken, yet experiencing some positive momentum.

For the long answer, read my Staff Journal from January 30:

What do we know so far about the church plant in Lyons?

We have a name! The new church in Lyons is called King’s Cross Church. From planter Caleb Barrows:

“As Paul, Ashley and I were considering various names we thought fit the area and the gospel, King’s Cross emerged as the winner. We love that it captures the glory of who Jesus is in his kingship over everything, yet the suffering of Jesus in that this same king was also willing to die on a cross.”

We also have a launch date! King’s Cross Church is aiming to have their launch Sunday on September 20, 2020!

Between now and then, they are hard at work doing foundational tasks like writing a constitution and bylaws, while simultaneously building their launch team (the group of people who will be there from the start to make Sunday morning services happen).

We have planted 3 local churches and 1 international church in the last 8 years. What is different this time around?

We, as a church, are not the ones initiating the church plant this time. We are working with Synergy Kansas to plant this church.

Bonus FAQ: who or what is Synergy Kansas?

Synergy Kansas is a leadership group which gives oversight and direction to a combined effort of FEC church planting in Kansas.

Synergy Kansas is comprised of:

  • the lead pastors from Grace Community Church (that’s us!) and our three local sister churches (Grace Community Fellowship in Hillsboro, Grace Crossing in Moundridge, and New Anthem Community Church in Hillsboro)

  • key leaders from the FEC: Dave Reimer (our founding pastor) and Jay Nickless (former Grace staffer, now the church planting fielder coordinator for the FEC)

So what difference does that make?

We are not the primary sending body; it is a team effort. And what that means is that we are not primarily responsible for providing the resources—time, money, people—necessary to get the church started.

In the past, we have asked members of our church family to commit to changing church families to be part of the launch team. In the past, we hosted “baby showers” where we asked you to contribute to the start up cost of the new church, like you would give gifts to new parents to ease the burden of the transition into parenthood (just like babies need a lot of stuff, new churches need a lot of stuff—chairs, sound equipment, signage, printing, and more!).

Those opportunities are still available to you if you are interested (more on that later), but we do not bear the same burden to provide those resources as we have in the past. Because this is a team effort, that responsibility primarily falls on Synergy Kansas, which means it is spread out across our fellow churches.

Because we value church planting, we have a specific line item in our budget for supporting church planting. We contribute regularly to Synergy Kansas, and in turn Synergy Kansas is providing the primary financial support for this church plant. That means when you give to the Lord at Grace, you are already giving to the launch of King’s Cross Church!

Our role this time is to continue sharing updates with you, to continue giving faithfully to the Lord here at Grace, and to pray for King’s Cross and for planters Caleb & Paul and the impact of the gospel in Lyons.

What can I do if I want to be involved?

You can…

  • sign up to receive prayer updates from King’s Cross Church (write “church plant prayer updates” on the Connect With Us form)

  • sign up to be part of the launch team, meaning you commit to serving on one of the teams (worship, hospitality, children’s ministry, tech, etc) that will make Sunday morning services happen at King’s Cross Church (contact Caleb Barrows at caleb.barrows@gmail.com)

How can I find out more?

First, you can check out the Church Planting page on our website:

If you have more specific questions about information or how to be involved, feel free to reach out to Caleb Barrows at caleb.barrows@gmail.com.

I have seen first-hand how God is preparing the ground for King’s Cross Church and I am so excited to see how he uses it to impact Lyons with the Gospel. I am excited to continue sharing updates as things develop, and I hope you will join me in praying for gospel transformation in Lyons and greater Rice County.

On the home front, I’m looking forward to worshiping with you this Sunday! We will worship through song, we will pray together, we will take the Lord’s Supper, and we will explore how we are to live before we get to heaven.

I love you, church!
Nathan Ehresman

Grieving with Hope

Have you ever logged onto social media and found yourself overwhelmed or broken-hearted by the news you read? This happened to me this week. Let me explain some of the context and background story. 

For almost as many years as I have been taking students to middle school LifeChange Camp and leading worship, Daniel Yoder has been our speaker and teacher. It is always amazing how quickly you can form a deep and lasting friendship bond with those you spend a week with at camp. This rings true for Daniel and I; we look forward to seeing and ministering together each summer. In many ways, for me, it feels like a family reunion, seeing relatives that live some distance away once a year. 

Before Daniel’s kids were old enough to be campers, his wife would bring them over during the week to spend some time with their dad. I got to know Daniel’s oldest son Malachi this way at first, and then as a camper.

A couple years ago, Malachi was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor. Yet, despite the seemingly tragic news, Daniel and Malachi came to camp last summer and openly shared how God was encouraging them, strengthening them, and giving them a living hope.

As the week of camp came to a close we prayed for Malachi to receive a miracle and rather than speak death, we spoke words of life. The testimony of God's presence and comfort and Malachi’s desire to trust Jesus in the fight for his life was simply inspiring and faith-building for so many, myself included. 

Fast forward to this week.

My heart sank when on Monday, March 2nd I saw a Facebook post that said Malachi went to be with Jesus. Daniel posted that Malachi got his miracle, that he had fought the good fight, and now is receiving his reward. Daniel also wrote that because Malachi knew Jesus it was a win win for Malachi.

What a testimony.

I have to say, what happens at a week of LifeChange Camp is so significant in our students’ lives. Relationships are formed that shape our students and impact their walk with Christ.

I know so many of our Igniter students, current and graduated, are deeply feeling the loss of Malachi. Would you join me in praying for the Yoder family and also for our Igniter students? Even though it’s sad, I’m glad we can grieve with hope because of Malachi’s faith in Christ. 

It was a timely and preparatory word this past Sunday as Nathan shared about God’s enduring steadfast love. God has used our “homework” assignment for this week to help me process the sadness and heart-ache I have over Malachi’s home going: 

God is near the broken-hearted,

for his steadfast love endures forever.

God saves the crushed in spirit,

for his steadfast love endures forever.

God is the Father of all mercies,

for his steadfast love endures forever.

He is the God of all comfort,

for his steadfast love endures forever.

He comforts us in our affliction,

for his steadfast love endures forever.

We can put our hope in him,

for his steadfast love endures forever.

Grace and peace,

Pastor Loren 

Why We Sing What We Sing

As a Worship Council, we recently decided to try something new.

On Sunday night, February 16th, we hosted a Night of Worship.

I know many of you love to worship through song, but I didn’t know what kind of turn out to expect. We didn’t talk about it very much, so we didn’t expect a lot of people. So when 150 people showed up and the engagement in singing was incredible we were thrilled! We had LOTS of people requesting that we do more of those evenings and continue to get those requests! We will definitely make it happen again!

[Editor’s note: In the meantime, you can watch the video recording right here!]

We played a wide variety of songs that night and at least a couple that we’ve never sang together on a Sunday morning. I had a few people suggest some songs we could sing for the next time.

As you might guess, from time to time I receive song suggestions from the congregation. While sometimes we end up singing the song that is suggested, other times we don’t. We’re not trying to hurt anyone’s feelings, and I know that most of us have songs we love to use in our own private or family worship that mean a lot to us (I know I do).

We (the Worship Council) put a lot of time into considering new songs that we might add to our repertoire. I thought you might be interested to know how we critique songs that we are considering, as we’ve talked about this quite a bit recently as a staff and as a Worship Council. Here’s a few of the criteria we use when considering adding a new song:

  1. Truth: Based on Grace’s value of Upholding Biblical Integrity, and the Worship Ministry’s value of Theology before Feeling, the most important thing about a song is truth (John 4:23-24, Colossians 3:16). Is there anything the song says that doesn’t line up with Scripture? Or are the lyrics simply too vague and could be misunderstood? What truth does this song help the church to understand and articulate about God? Notice it is Theology before Feeling, not theology as opposed to feeling. Truth deeply affects our feelings. Truth coupled with beautiful music that compliments the lyrics affects us on an even deeper level. Music should reflect the lyrics.

  2. Singability: Based on the worship ministry’s value of Participation not Performance, we seek to sing songs that are “singable”. While some songs beautifully display talent that God has given musicians (which we use for special music), we pick songs with ranges that work well for the largest number of people. We choose songs with memorable melodies that are more simple and easy to catch on to.

  3. Well-Rounded Theology: Does the song we are looking at help round out our theology? Does the song say the same things that many of the other songs in our repertoire say? Does the song help to articulate theology that is missing from our repertoire? We don’t want to add song after song about God’s love, and neglect to sing about his other attributes. We ask, “Why should the church sing this song?”

There are other things we think about when considering adding new songs to our repertoire, like our style of worship as established by the Elders: “blended leaning towards contemporary”. That means we still sing some of the great old hymns but we sing more contemporary songs than old ones, and often sing old songs with a more contemporary feel.

I want to remind you that you can worship at home with the songs we sing on Sunday morning through YouTube or Spotify!

I’m looking forward to Sunday when Nathan Ehresman will be preaching from Psalm 136, and we’ll lift our voices together in praise to our Creator and Redeemer!

Please be praying for the Amigo team as they leave for Reynosa on Saturday.

For His glory,
-Pastor Kyle 

 

Creating Joyful Community

I love our church!

On Sundays I feel so blessed as I walk through the halls because of the kind, warm people I encounter. They smile, pass out hugs, stop to see how I'm doing, or share a laugh with me. I think about how each person is contributing to our church body and see their care for others and it makes me smile.

But I realize this isn't everyone's experience.

Have you ever felt alone or a little lost in the crowd?

In a church our size, it can be easy to blend in and go unnoticed. In fact, some people like the idea of attending a bigger church where they can slip in and out; but I don't think that's the case for the majority of people.

I think most people are looking for a place to connect and belong, and that can be difficult in a bigger gathering.

At Grace we exist to love God, love people, and lead others to do the same. Part of loving people means that we value creating joyful community where people are more than just noticed. Joyful community happens when people are glad to be together. That is why we desire that people feel welcome, cared for, and important.

We have some great strategies in place to help people connect:

  • Hospitality teams of greeters, ushers, coffee brewers and Connection Desk staff to help welcome, direct, and inform you

  • We are intentional about our "meet-and-greet" times during services being an opportunity to actually meet the people around you.

  • The Plan Your Visit button on our website where newcomers can sign up for a tour of the building, get help checking their kids into nursery or Sunday school, and find a seat next to a friendly face

  • Community Life Groups are available to help find a place for deeper relationships and fun fellowship

  • Our Grace Care Team ministers to widows, shut-ins, and those with major illnesses

  • We have many opportunities to serve (serving with others—like during Summer Quest—can create belonging and community)

All of these are strategies are great but, to be honest, they sometimes just aren't enough.

Lately I've heard from some different people that making initial connections at Grace was hard for them. A few have visited services several Sundays in a row and had no one speak to them. I've heard from others who've attended here for a long time but are feeling invisible and unimportant.

I don't know about you, but that hurts my heart… and it's personally convicting! That has been motivation for me to be more brave in approaching new faces each week and being intentional about connecting with others.

How about you?

Do you feel connected?

Can I challenge you personally to help us create a joyful community here at Grace?

Our staff is committed to this value, but we can't do it all by ourselves. We need your help!

  • Welcome and direct new people

  • Look for and warmly engage new faces during "meet-and-greet" (go beyond a "hello"; if you don’t know where to start, ask "How long have you been at Grace?")

  • Invite someone (new or old) out to lunch or over for supper

  • Join the Grace Care Team

  • Reach out if you're feeling alone (talk to the person next to you, come up to a staff member, or let us know through the Connect With Us button)

  • Check in on someone you haven't seen in awhile

  • Connect in a Community Life Group

  • Find a way to serve

Generally, just look for ways to love people right here at Grace.

Together, we can create a warm and welcoming culture where people of all ages and stages, from all walks of life, can find belonging and unity in Christ.

Join us this Sunday for week 4 of our FAQ mini-series exploring the hope we have for the future!

Juli Dirks
Executive Director of Ministries

It's Never Too Late

It began with an unexpected call from my father. He wanted to fly to Kansas and spend almost a week with us... soon. We were glad to host him. God has gifted Courtney with the heart and diligence for hospitality, so we have always kept an open door to our family members (well, most of them, lol).

But you have to understand my relationship with my father. He enlisted in the Marines as a teenager and spent most of my childhood out of the house. He named me after the Tennessee whiskey, Jack Daniel’s, because that was cool. Needless to say, I didn’t grow up in a Christian home.

Then he and my mom split up, and from the age of 9 I never lived with him again. This “complicated” my relationship with him. I didn’t know how to receive love or feel anything when I was around him. It’s like I was emotionally numb on purpose. Can anybody relate?

When I was in my 20’s, I finally confronted him. I shared my heart, and he responded the best he knew how. I didn’t know if the confrontation was worth it, and since I lived far away, I left it in Michigan.

Then something wonderful happened. A few years later, we were driving around in his truck, and he initiated the conversation.

“Jack, I’m sorry. If I had known what kind of Dad I was and wasn’t, I would have never been that way to you. I’m sorry for the kind of father I have been.”

What happened?

My dad started going to church, and God was slowly peeling back the layers of hurt and confusion that surrounded his life. He watched me and my sister with “his grandkids,” and realized that the way we were bringing them up was in stark contrast to his own parenting.

The blindfold was removed, and God was working in his heart.

Then he moved to Oregon. More importantly, he started going to a church that emphasized personal discipleship. He began meeting with a man who walked him through sound doctrine, and he recently hit a growth spurt.

I’m so proud of him. And I’m thankful for God’s grace on our family.

Before the turn of the century, no one could have predicted 2020 for our family. You would have said, “Not a chance.” But God doesn’t rely on chance. 

God is still at work, reconciling people to Himself and each other.

Check out this picture of my dad in the service last Sunday (thanks to Teri Mather):

Picture1.png

It’s never too late.

This Sunday we will continue our study on Heaven and look at Revelation 6. Which brings a question to mind: When’s the last time you brushed up on the seals and trumpets and bowls of wrath? See you on Sunday!

I love you, brothers and sisters.
Pastor Jack

I Was Somebody's "One"

Our Habits of Grace sermon series this past month had me reaching into my childhood memories. I was somebody’s “one.”

Reflecting back on my years growing up, I can clearly see the people that God provided to impact me on my journey to becoming part of God’s family.

I did not grow up in a Christian home. There was mention of God and the Bible at times, but there was no church attendance, prayer, or relationship. For my family, the church had caused a lot of hurt and distrust, and that led to their ultimate removal from it.

My first real exposure to church was through a Vacation Bible School that was held at a rural church in west Wichita. Bill and Jackie were friends of the family and had invited my sister (5) and me (8) to attend. I remember making crafts, learning about Jesus, and some of the sweet people that invested in the event. Those planted seeds are with me today. I even have some of those sweet crafts currently packed away in a memory box. We only attended for 2 years and then moved out of Wichita.

Fast forward through several years of middle and high school, I am a freshman at college. At this point, I have made up my mind that following God just “won’t be my thing.” I get a job working on-campus in the student center. One of my co-workers, Janelle, was a Christian that boldly shared her faith daily. She recognized that I was walking down a path of bad choices and invited me several times to go to some of the Christian events that were held on campus. I never went.

To this day, I think about Janelle often and pray that she is still walking with the Lord. Despite my lack of interest during that time in my life, she also planted seeds. It wasn’t until a few years later that I came to faith in Christ.

God was working on me all those years and Bill, Jackie, and Janelle had a small, but significant part in that.

Don’t underestimate the impact of small, seemingly insignificant conversations as you seek your one. I am so thankful that God relentlessly pursued me and used them for His glory.

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. -Galatians 6:9

Casey Teater
Children’s Ministry Director

So... why Lyons?

Church planting is in our DNA here at Grace.

We started as a church plant.

We have planted three churches in our area (Grace Community Fellowship in Hillsboro, Grace Crossing in Moundridge, and New Anthem Community Church in Park City) and one outside Santa Cruz, Bolivia.

And now, we are partnering with Synergy Kansas (the combined church planting effort between the four FEC churches here in our area) to support Caleb Barrows and Paul & Ashley Brandes as they plant a new church in Lyons, KS.

In case you missed that announcement last Sunday, you get get to know Caleb & Paul and their vision for planting a church in this video:

Because Addie and I had the opportunity to serve on the Target Analysis Process (TAP) Team, I want to pull the curtain back and give you an inside look at how—and why—the TAP team sensed that God was leading us to plant a church in Lyons.

If you have the time, this video is an awesome opportunity to hear about the process and our takeaways directly from each member of the TAP team. It was an amazingly encouraging night as God’s guidance on the whole process was affirmed:

In the meantime, let me outline the highlights for you here:

The Target analysis process

The Target Analysis Process consists of four phases: consideration, research, exploration, and confirmation.

Consideration

During the consideration phase, the simple goal is to construct a list of potential target communities. At our consideration meeting, everyone on the team brought a handful of potential communities that intrigued them and we compared notes. (Our only criteria was being within a 2-hour drive of Sterling, where Paul—one of the church planters—and his family live.)

How we saw God working through the Consideration phase: There were 16 different communities proposed, but six of them were on nearly every list: Great Bend, Hutchinson, Lindsborg, Lyons, McPherson, and Sterling. It was easy, then, to sense God’s leading as we narrowed our focus down to these six.

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Research

The goal of the research phase is to get to know each of the target communities. Each community was assigned to a member of the team and we took our community and did some detailed research: what does the community look like geographically? demographically? culturally? spiritually?

Each team member presented their research and then we prayerfully evaluated the six communities through four lenses: proximity (how feasible is it for Paul & Ashley to drive from Sterling where they own a home?), compatibility (would the community be a good fit for the church planters?), saturation (are there already new churches vying for the attention of people?), and receptivity (are people in the community open to the idea of a new church coming to town?).

Based on the research and these criteria, we narrowed our list to three: Lyons, McPherson, and Sterling.

How we saw God working through the Research phase: The biggest takeaway from the research phase was that in Rice County (where both Sterling and Lyons are), as many as 85–90% of people are not attending church anywhere. That makes Rice County—a rural county which seems pretty “Christian” at face value—one of the most unchurch counties in the whole state. God’s point was obvious: Rice County needs to hear the Gospel.

Exploration

The exploration phase is where the rubber meets the road. On consecutive Saturdays in November, we traveled to McPherson and then to Lyons & Sterling to pray for the community, to talk with people on the street, and to meet with strategic contacts in the community.

During our visit to McPherson we found out that people were open to the idea of a church plant because there are only a few good churches that people seem to cycle through. We also made a critical discovery that informed our decision: there are already two church plants in the process of launching in McPherson.

During our visit to Lyons we had an amazing opportunity to chat with people on the street as they waited for a parade to start. People in Lyons see a lot of church buildings, but they admitted that there are many people who do not go to church. We also got to meet with a couple local business owners who offered unique insights into the community’s needs as well as the efforts to bring revitalization to downtown and renewed pride in the community.

In Sterling, we were able to talk to a number of community members, college students, and a local business owner. While there are a handful of churches in this small town, they are all plateaued or declining and college students were not finding a good fit.

How we saw God working through the Exploration phrase: Most obviously, the two church plants happening already in McPherson could not have been a more clear “not right now” answer. As for Lyons and Sterling, the exploration visits only confirmed what we found in the research face: Rice County needs a gospel-preaching church. In some ways, even though we did not come away from exploring Lyons and Sterling with a clear answer right away, we felt free—no matter which we chose, it was going to be a good decision.

Confirmation

Then it all came down to the confirmation phase, in which we discerned where the Holy Spirit was directing.

In anticipation of our meeting, everyone spent time prayerfully evaluating the research and the visits, and then we fasted together leading up to our final meeting. At that meeting, we went around the circle and everyone shared their initial leaning. And that is where the cool part happened.

In the spirit of transparency, in some ways it felt like a foregone conclusion that the church plant was going to be in Sterling all along. That’s where Paul & Ashley live and where they already have history and an in with the community. It’s a college town, where we can tap into the passion of the college students to build a leadership people to develop more church planters. That’s the safe and comfortable option. But the Spirit doesn’t often lead the safe and comfortable way, does he?

How we saw God working through the Confirmation phase: As we went around the circle, everyone said “I’m leaning toward Lyons. But I came here thinking I was going to be the only one leaning toward Lyons.” But then every single person felt God’s leading toward Lyons. How much more clear could the confirmation have been? We had our answer: the Spirit was leading us to plant a church in Lyons, KS.

Why I’m excited about Lyons

Two things stood out to me from our time in Lyons: there is a lot of social need for the gospel, and the town seems to have some positive momentum building.

First, the social need: although people seemed to love their community, they were also surprisingly open about the community’s struggles with drugs and depression (several people mentioned a number of recent suicides that have rocked the community). Every time I heard that, all I could think about was how much this community could use the hope of the Gospel.

Second, the positive momentum: people are pouring a great deal of effort into reviving downtown and drawing more young families into the community. Additionally, there is a “kindness revolution” spreading throughout the town as local businesses partner together to spread kindness and pride throughout the community. Again, this feels like the perfect opportunity for a church to join in with what God is already doing and be part of the solution.

Ultimately, that’s what it comes down to: I am excited about the church plant in Lyons because I have already seen how God worked to lead us to that conclusion, and how he is already working in the community, preparing the ground for the work of a gospel-preaching church.

How you can be involved

If you are interested in hearing more or learning how you can be involved, email Caleb at caleb.barrows@gmail.com. And then make plans to attend an interest meeting on March 1 at noon in the Fireside Room.

In the meantime, please be praying for Caleb and for Paul, for the community of Lyons, and that God would be preparing the ground for many to bear the fruit of faith as a result of this church plant.

I love you, church!
Nathan Ehresman

PS, you can watch Caleb’s sermon from last Sunday in the video below, starting at around 34:00.

Grace to Weather Transitions and Tests

With my retirement from Grace now only a little over six months away, I’m facing this transition with sober excitement and a fair amount of grateful sadness! These twenty-two wonderful years on the staff team here have been the longest I have ever lived and served anywhere in my life, and I am so thankful to the Lord for his goodness to me through you, my church family!

As I think about it, I’m also realizing that transition has been part of my life since my earliest years.

Allow me to share a few stories from my formative years.

Three days after I was born in Hillsboro, Kansas on September 10, 1950, my dad entrusted my mom, my two-year-old sister, Marilyn, and newly-born me into the care of his in-laws and rushed off to Berkeley, California to begin a semester of Japanese language studies. The rest of us followed by train six weeks later, and we survived several apartment moves until, after finishing the semester, my parents spent the year-end living with relatives and preparing for their departure to Japan as missionaries. They were slated to leave from San Francisco for Yokohama in early March of 1951 on board the freighter, Andrea Luckenbach.

Around a week before they were due to depart, my parents received notification from the shipping company that their reservations on the Andrea Luckenbach had been canceled for some unexplained reason, and that they were being assigned to a sister ship, the William Luckenbach, which was setting sail in a matter of days. Rushing to finish stuffing countless barrels of supplies for a six year term in a new country, my family sailed from San Francisco on what was to be a testy and stormy voyage.

A week or so into the Pacific crossing, our ship received an SOS from the Andrea Luckenbach which had left San Francisco after us. Following an unexpected stop in Honolulu to get emergency medical treatment for her illness-stricken captain, the Andrea had struck a reef off of Kauai and had its hull ripped open from stem to stern. Thankfully, no lives were lost and my parents praised God for his protection and mercy in sparing them this trauma. Though the Lord’s hand was on them, there would be other tests, as life in post-war Japan was no cake-walk.

As they began settling into a home in Osaka and adjusting to the sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and experiences of their new lives, in May my mother became pregnant with their third child. Two months later we received news of her father’s death, something which unsettled my mother’s heart and complicated her pregnancy.

My younger brother, Billy, named after my mother’s diseased father, William Brenner, was born prematurely on December 16. His birth was a traumatic one due to a complication which resulted in a massive amount of blood loss for my mother. Sadly, my brother died two hours after being born. Fighting for her life, and hospitalized for several difficult weeks over our first Christmas in Japan, my mother eventually received God’s gracious healing, but she never saw her son, who is buried in the Ikeda city cemetery near where I grew up. I lost a grandpa whom I never knew and a brother whom I never saw.

Transition, trauma, change, and loss have been family “friends” and part of my story since my earliest years. I am so thankful for my parents’ tested and refined faith in Jesus that helped them weather the trials of their lives and gave them grace to serve for forty-two years on the mission field. I’m grateful that they passed along the gospel through words and deeds to me, and that the Lord gave me a heart of faith to receive Jesus Christ as my Savior at the early age of seven.

There’s much more to tell, but my testimony is this: Jesus Christ shepherded my heart to him and gave me a secure attachment that would help me weather all of the other transitions and tests which would be part of his story in my life.

I know that Jesus will care for his own to the very end and to that most magnificent day when we transition into his presence.

“Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen” (Jude 24)

See you Sunday!
Pastor Steve

And Then God Stepped In

What would it look like if we all shared our faith with one person?

That was a big question I took away from last Sunday.

I can tell you one thing: I’m here today (following Christ and working in a church) because someone from the church shared their faith with me.

Growing up, I was taught to help people and I was taught to have good manners. I think I was a “good kid.” It was all goodness for goodness’ sake—I was taught to be good ‘because that’s the way we treat people.’ It had nothing to do with Jesus. In fact, I never heard about God in my home growing up.

And then, God used some other family members to step in.

At the birthday wish of my Mimi, my aunt and uncle started picking me up and faithfully took me to church every Sunday for years.

Those first years had a few highs and mostly lows as I withdrew rather than leaning into learning the Bible and getting to know God.

And then, God used Ben to step in.

After years of muddling my way through church—not knowing the Bible and being overwhelmed at the task of learning it, going through the motions but not really understanding what was going on—Ben took me under his wing. He showed me how to read and study the Bible. He showed me how live in obedience to Christ. He showed me how to let my love for God overflow into a love for people, in accordance with what I was learning in the Bible.

The spiritual leadership that I did not have in the home came to me in the form of faithful members of the church.

And that’s why I am here today. I feel indebted (in the best way) to the church for the way she brought me into the fold, and I want to be part of that for others.

Remember that story Pastor Kyle shared on Sunday? Of how God passed a lineage of faith from a faithful, no-name Sunday school teacher down through the generations to Billy Graham (who, I might add, directly impacted the faith of a number of members in our own body)?

That is the potential power of sharing your faith with someone who might not otherwise hear an accurate representation of God and his steadfast love.

So, I hope that God has directed you to your ‘one’ this week, and I pray for confidence and boldness as you pray for opportunities to share your faith with that person.

During week 1 the aim was to create a habit of sharing your faith by being prepared to share your faith. Last week, the aim was to create a habit of sharing your faith by identifying someone with whom God is directing you to share your faith. And now, I invite you to join us this Sunday as we aim to create a habit of sharing your faith by recognizing the people God has put closest to you and how you can share your faith with them.

(I also want to remind you to stop by the big piece of blue paper in the foyer and write the name/initials of your ‘one’ when you get here on Sunday! It has been a joy for me to pray over those names every time I have walked by this week.)

May God do a mighty work in our community as we all create a habit of sharing our faith!

I love you, church!
Nathan Ehresman

Tell the Coming Generation

“So, I know bits and pieces of your story, but I don’t think I’ve ever heard your actual testimony.”

Over Christmas break one of the highlights was having my parents share their testimonies with Anne and me. It was so significant to hear how their stories were more about HIS story. We interacted over their testimonies for close to two hours as they shared how God, in his grace and mercy, has been at work in their lives. 

It was revealing. My parents’ testimonies have themes of God bringing them through tragedy and trauma, yet the love and care of Christ their Savior is what kept them going, as well as so many people of faith who helped them through times of trouble and trial. Both my parents were saved young, but God has been taking them back to earlier days and helping them to process and heal from wounds they have carried for a long time.

It was truly a gift. Our time together added a depth of understanding to my own story, and will influence how I share my own testimony in the future. The Church played such a key role in our family’s life. There were times growing up when I loved going, and times I didn’t. The times I didn’t like going were when I didn’t understand the importance of belonging to a body where the life of Christ was taught and experienced. Jesus and the Church played such a comforting, strengthening, and burden-carrying role in my parents’ lives and they wanted that for our family. 

It is something I want to do. It would be wonderful if parents and grandparents got in the habit of sharing their testimonies with their kids and grandkids. It is easy for kids who grow up in the church to not really understand why their parents are so attached to the church or to the Bible or to Jesus. Faith can become religion fairly quickly as church becomes a routine, another thing to do, something to endure, or even something to skip. Ever since my parents shared, Anne and I have been discussing how we can do something similar with each of our kids. (And, if you happen to be an Igniter Parent, you are about to get an opportunity to put that testimony challenge to use! Igniter is hosting a Parent Night on Saturday, January 18 from 6:30-8 p.m. All Igniter parents and students are invited and encouraged to attend. The main focus will be having parents share their testimonies with their students. [There will also be games and food :)]

Our hope is that you can come to the meeting but even if you can’t, I hope you will take the challenge to write out your testimony without using churchy words and share it with your kids. It is such a wonderful opportunity.

Grace and peace,
Pastor Loren

P.S. If you have a minute or two go read Psalm 78. It is a psalm highlighting the importance of one generation telling the next generation about who God is and what he has done. It sheds light on the importance of parents and grandparents sharing their faith with their children and grandchildren. You’ll never know how God will use your testimony to impact the life of another, even generations later.

Introducing Habits of Grace

“Are you playing a joke on me?”

That was the text I got from my sweet wife after, for the fourth day in a row, I left the house without grabbing the goodies she had asked me to deliver.

The best excuse I can come up with?

I’m a creature of habit.

When it’s time to leave for work, I grab my bag, my water bottle, and my keys, then head out the door. It didn’t matter how many times we talked about “Okay, we have those goodies to deliver today!” It didn’t matter that the goodies were physically in my path out the door… when I got into my ‘it’s time to leave’ rhythm, I forgot. Four days in a row.

I know, I know… it’s a bad excuse. But hang with me…

Here’s the point: if it’s not part of a habit in my life, it probably won’t happen.

If I don’t have a habit of exercising, it probably won’t happen.

If I don’t have a habit of brushing my teeth, it probably won’t happen.

If I don’t have a habit of setting aside time to be still to read the Bible and pray, it probably won’t happen.

Anyone else?

That is why we have created this rhythm in our church calendar where, every January, we will devote attention to equipping ourselves to create habits which continually orient our hearts to receive God’s grace in our lives.

We are calling this annual season Habits of Grace.

This year, we will spend the month of January focused on evangelism & discipleship. Our big goal is to create a habit of sharing your faith.

So, what exactly does it mean that we are “doing a month-long emphasis on the habit of evangelism & discipleship?”

What to Expect

  • A sermon each week exploring this topic in Scripture

  • A take-home challenge each week, all designed to help you take your next step in creating this habit of sharing your faith

  • Curated resources we pray will aid you and your family in establishing this habit of sharing your faith

  • A focus on this topic across the scope of ministries at Grace (from GraceKids to Community Life Groups and beyond)

If I don’t have a habit of going out of my way to tell the people around me who God is and what he has done in my life… it probably won’t happen.

Real talk: forming habits takes work. But forming a habit of sharing your faith with the people around you is worth every bit of work and then some.

Remember: you’re not in this alone. We are all walking through this challenge together, climbing the mountain of forming a new habit together. And the potential impact on the kingdom of God is immense!

That is why I am excited for Habits of Grace.

Please join me in praying that God would do a mighty work, establishing deep within each of us a habit of sharing our faith with the people around us. May we be a church marked by our love for God, love for people, and fervor for leading others to do the same!

I can’t wait to get started with you this Sunday!

I love you, church!
Nathan Ehresman

A GraceKids Update

“The God of angel armies is always by my side…”

What a joy it was to hear our GraceKids singing with their whole heart during the Christmas program this past week. This program is such an important piece of our advent season, providing a sweet testament to the work God is doing in our youngest churchgoers.

This Sunday caps off a successful fall for GraceKids in Sunday school and this Wednesday, December 18, is the last night for our Awana clubs. It takes many dedicated volunteers to help things run smoothly. Our volunteers spend hours preparing, teaching, and leading our children and I am so grateful for the time each one invests in this important Kingdom work.

If you are the parent or grandparent of a GraceKid, would you let their teachers know how much you appreciate them?

Our goal in GraceKids is to raise up children to love God, love people, and lead others to do the same. I want to share with you some of the other ways that we are working towards that goal.

Kid’s worship team – This team consists of 4th- 6th graders that lead our younger children during Sunday school in music and motion that is engaging and meaningful. The kids on the worship team commit extra time to learning and practicing music and learning how to lead worship.

Kid’s worship with the congregation – Each month we have kids from 3 years old through 6th grade join us in the worship center to participate in corporate worship through song. We are joyfully committed to intergenerational worship that spans the ages and hope that you are blessed by the kids on these mornings.

Route 56 – Kids in Route 56 have the opportunity to gain leadership skills and put faith into action by exploring service opportunities throughout the church. They work under the direction of a variety of servant leaders in our church. You may see them in their Route 56 t-shirts each Sunday serving coffee, ushering, greeting, or running tech equipment.

Coming soon, there will be an opportunity for our 7th and 8th graders to join in a leadership program like Route 56 called I-78. Would you join us in praying that God will raise up volunteers to help these leaders grow?

5/6 Fellowship – New this year, this is intentional time to help our 5th and 6th graders develop Godly friendships through devotionals and fun, team-building activities.

It has been exciting to see our youngest kids stepping into leadership roles and discovering their God-given gifts.

Please join us in praying that all of our GraceKids will learn who they are in Christ as they grow and then boldly share their faith throughout their lives.

____

Join us this next Sunday for the 3rd week of Advent as Pastor Steve helps us explore the mystery of the Incarnation.

-Casey Teater

Uncomfortable Christmas

I bombed my intro!

Being a new missionary still in language school and trying to be culturally relevant with my first Christmas talk in Japanese at a church Christmas outreach event, I began with a comment about the month of December being an unusually busy one.

I had done some research for my talk and gleaned an expression from my Japanese dictionary that said December was a “Teachers Run” month. Picture an oriental sage, normally composed and dignified, picking up his robes and scurrying about due to the increased social obligations of the season.

Without consulting anyone beforehand, I attempted to use the expression in the introduction of my talk and only got blank stares. Puzzled, I didn’t understand until afterwards, when someone graciously clued me in. I learned that I had botched the pronunciation of “Teachers Run,” and that no one had known what I was referring to!

This humbling moment only added to my stress and reinforced the realization that I was out of my comfort zone!

As I remembered this incident and the emotions of shame that went along with it, it occurs to me now that Christmas and discomfort are actually pretty good friends!

My missionary parents arrived in Japan with my older sister and me in March of 1951. Our family’s first Christmas in our new country that year came with the huge crisis of my younger brother’s death two hours after birth on December 16, followed by a subsequent raging infection that almost cost my mother her life and kept her in the hospital over Christmas.

Fast-forwarding to the present, my father-in-law will be spending his first Christmas away from his familiar and comfortable surroundings, ensconced in his nursing home room, unable to walk and struggling under the humbling process of recovery from an accidental fall.

Christmas can be a hard season for us, depending on what challenges we find swirling around us.

Perhaps you are being pushed outside of your comfort zone this Christmas. Whether it’s financial, physical, relational, or emotional distress, the season seems to specialize in highlighting our inadequacies and humbling us into realizing how desperately we need Jesus!

I am so grateful that He understands the duress of our journey.

For Jesus, Christmas meant an unbelievably lowly entry into our world as a helpless infant, born miles from home to a woman under stress and laid in a feeding trough, surrounded by the smells and sounds of nearby animals. I love that Jesus took on our humanity so that he could bear our sins and griefs and lead us to true life with God our Father.

Willingly stepping way outside his comfort zone, Jesus came to draw us into the comforting embrace of a secure and loving attachment with the God who made us to know and experience his love in the middle of our pain!

Whatever the source of our discomfort this season, Christmas means that Jesus loves and holds us, shares his heart, and makes his home in the messes of our distresses. He’ll do so until the day he calls us home to the true and eternal comfort zone of the universe—his very own house!

“For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.” (2 Corinthians 8:9)

“Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift!” (2 Corinthians 9:15)

I look forward to seeing you this Sunday when Dave Reimer will be pinch-hitting for Pastor Jack (on a tour to Israel), and our Sunday School and nursery children will be blessing us with some special Christmas music.

Pastor Steve

A Prayer of Thanksgiving

O God of gods and Lord of lords,

Thank you for who you are:

for your perfect love which casts out fear;
for your goodness which gives me confidence;
for your never-changing character which gives me peace;
for your justice which gives me hope;
for your holiness which stirs my heart to praise;
for your omnipresence which gives me comfort;
for your unending grace which humbles me.

Thank you for what you have done:

for crafting creation to sing the beauty of your glory;
for opening my eyes to the truth of my need for you;
for making a way for my sinful soul to be reconciled to you;
for giving me victory over the sting of death;
for humbling yourself to dwell with me;
for giving me the local church where I can be motivated, encouraged, united, and equipped;
for sending me out into the world to be salt & light and to make disciples.

May thanksgiving and praise be ever in my heart and on my lips:

when I sit in my house and when I walk by the way;
when I lie down and when I rise;
when I feel near to your heart and when I feel distant;
when peace comes naturally and when peace is a struggle;
when I am walking on the mountaintop and when I am walking in the valley of the shadow of death;
when I am standing on the rock and when I am in the miry bog;
when your love for me is obvious and when I am caught in despair.

You are good and your steadfast love endures forever.

To you be the glory and honor forever and ever,

Amen.

Choosing Gratitude

Thanksgiving is next week! Or maybe it’s more like, Thanksgiving is next week. Either way, the holiday season is upon us.

Can I ask where you are at in your excitement and readiness to celebrate?

Anne and I have felt the waves of stress and the waves of excitement sweep over us as we prepare to enter into times with family, eating delicious food, and giving thanks. 

Our desire has been to be more intentional with the holidays. We have had discussion after discussion on what is really important during this time and how we can slow down and not let the holidays go by in a blur of busyness and chaos.

Historically this time of year has revealed that we often seem like we are just surviving, and when I feel like I’m just trying to survive, I whine. Yet, I know the truth is that these holidays offer a unique opportunity to worship. 

So Thanksgiving is next week, and I’ve been working on choosing gratitude.

Giving thanks doesn’t seem to be encouraged by the pace and cultural focus of the holiday season. I mean, the department stores move straight from Halloween to Christmas. But cultivating gratitude could arguably be one of the most important activities to engage in, not only for physical and emotional health but especially in our walk with God.

Check out what 1 Thessalonians 5:18 says:

Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

As you may have guessed, God’s will is a big deal, and for the Scriptures to tie His will to our gratitude is insightful and inspiring.

It seems like every year when November hits and Thanksgiving celebrations are near I’m reminded that I have much to be thankful for and I also realize I can be one big whiner. While there is much to give thanks for I can get wrapped up in complaining. The grumbling and ungratefulness doesn’t always voice itself audibly but it is very loud in my heart.

All too often giving thanks is short circuited; I don’t spend the time needed in order to really let gratitude refresh my own soul. 

This Thanksgiving I’m choosing to focus on the “in Christ Jesus for you” part of that verse.

What do I have “in Christ Jesus?”

In short, undeserved grace in the face of undeniable guilt.

I’m soaking in that undeserved grace, and then add in the many good gifts which God has given, and I find smiling comes a little quicker, and that my soul is being refreshed. 

So as you celebrate next week may you “give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!” (1 Chronicles 16:34)

Grace and peace,
Pastor Loren


PS. As I’ve been making my own preparations to be grateful this holiday season I’ve ran across some helpful resources.

Nancy Leigh DeMoss’s book “Choosing Gratitude” has given me a greater appreciation for pursuing the choice of giving thanks, and the significance that true gratitude is wrapped up in the heart of God. She does a great job of highlighting the spiritual significance of giving thanks.

I also ran across some online scientific articles that have helped me connect the dots on gratitude and the design of our physical bodies and emotional health. Our ability to cultivate and grow in gratitude plays a key role in our mental health which influences much of our lives.

Here are some links for your own study into the science of gratitude. 

(Disclaimer: Please keep in mind these online posts are written from a scientific perspective; they are not written from a solely biblical perspective. As Christians who hold a high view of Scripture we understand that gratitude has its roots in the heart of God, so the science of gratitude will only take you so far. But it is wonderful to see that God’s heart and design can be seen, studied, and celebrated from a scientific perspective. Ultimate and true gratitude is experienced as we find our deepest expressions of thankfulness directed toward who God is and what Christ has done.)

And could this be the happiest woman on the planet? 

What are we doing with our influence?

I’ve been reading through John’s Gospel the last couple weeks, and I wanted to share something that I absolutely love.

John the Baptist was somewhat of a celebrity. News about him spread, and people traveled to see him. He gained followers and the scripture tells us that he had disciples. But when it came down to it, John used His influence to point people to Jesus.

In John 1:35-37 we get a quick glimpse of what it’s like to use our influence to help people follow Jesus:

The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples, and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus.

I wonder how John felt when his disciples immediately left him to follow Jesus?

If I put myself in his shoes I can feel my flesh react. “Don’t leave me! Don’t you want to follow me?!”

I wonder how long John’s disciples were with him? Did John wrestle with his emotions at how quickly his disciples left him to follow Jesus? Was there any feeling of betrayal or loss or jealousy? These are things my flesh thinks about.

However, when I read these verses my soul rejoices!

I’m inspired at John’s example of humility and His understanding of his own role! He didn’t hold onto his followers, but as soon as he had the chance he pointed his disciples to the one worth following!

I see the role of worship leader in a similar light. I don’t want people to follow me. I don’t want people to praise the worship team. I want people to behold the King of Kings, and Lord of Lords, our glorious Savior Jesus Christ! I rejoice when I see the church beholding Jesus as we worship through song, it’s one of the greatest experiences in life!

All of us have our circles of influence where we can lead others to follow Jesus. So what are we doing with that influence?

Am I trying to get people to follow Kyle, or am I leading others to follow Jesus? Are you trying to get your own followers, or are you leading people to follow Jesus?

Don’t underestimate your influence and how God can use you to lead others to follow Jesus!

My RightNow Media pick of the month is a sermon series from Matt Chandler that can supplement what we’ve been learning on Sunday mornings about the gifts of the Spirit.

 
 

Looking forward to Sunday!

- Pastor Kyle

"All-In"

"All-In"

Have you been noticing those words popping up at church more? We sure hope so!

As a staff we've been working hard toward advanced planning, as well as creating a rhythm of ministry from year to year—a pattern of larger ministry efforts that the church can count on, look forward to, and plan to participate in.

We affectionately call all-ins our "big rocks".

All-ins are designed to be intentional church-wide initiatives that align with our mission to love God, love people and lead others to do the same.

Here’s a look at the rhythm for all-ins as it stands now:

  • January: a focus on spiritual disciplines called “Habits of Grace”

  • Summer: a focus on reaching our neighbors with the Gospel through Summer Quest

  • Fall: a Fall Family Focus, alternating between a marriage emphasis one year and a parenting emphasis the next

As we grow and develop a rhythm that works well we'll also include other events like the Community Thanksgiving, First Responders Appreciation, or church-wide service days.

"All-in" really describes both how we approach these events and how we want you, the church body, to think of them.

Our desire is that these events will help to unify our body as we learn and serve together. We are one body and we need each other to grow well and minister effectively! We hope you will begin to look forward to all-in events with anticipation and a heart to join us in what God is doing here at Grace.

So when you hear "all-in" the next time, perk up your ears! Think about how you can join in, whether that be by attending, participating, or volunteering in some way. Let's look forward to seeking and serving the Lord together.

Our next all-in is coming January 2019! For this year’s Habits of Grace, we'll place a month-long emphasis on evangelism and discipleship. This includes not only a sermon series throughout the month, but also meaningful testimonies, weekly suggested activities to help you grow in your ability to make disciples in the home and beyond, access to valuable resources for all ages, and more.

Be looking for ways you can be a part of this important all-in event, and please be praying that God will equip our church to "be the church" in our homes, neighborhoods, workplaces, and schools.

Juli Dirks
Executive Director of Ministries

Father, Lord, and Friend

About 5 or 6 times I wanted to close my tablet and walk off the stage. I felt as if I were just reading words off a page, emotionally discouraged and wanting to quit.

“God, how can this be real? I know you’ve called me to preach...”

This isn’t a recollection from years ago... I’ve just described what happened a couple of months ago.

The first service went really well, and I was able to preach with an open and clear heart. We had “amens” from the congregation and people walked up to me to share that God had spoken through the passage. What a blessing from God.

But the next service was the opposite. I bounced around in my notes and had a hard time knowing what I was supposed to say next. I lost my place and skipped a page. My countenance had “fallen,” and I was ready to just go home. A lady even came up to me after the second service to say she was worried, and that I seemed off.

I’m not sharing this for pity, or to scare you, or to turn preaching into a man-centered task for attention. I’m sharing this to be open and honest. I love you all and want to share my life with you... not just a fake presentation of what I wish were true.

Preaching is my heart’s desire, my calling, and my vocation. I know you have callings and vocations that are important to you, and that’s our connection.

Have you ever been discouraged from how life was going, upset at your failure or bad performance?

That is a weakness in my flesh. I find myself tempted to find value in what I do and how good or bad I do it. And, even though I don’t want to voice it, my greatest insecurities surround my abilities to preach and make disciples. (Could a lead pastor have a more inconvenient weakness?!) 

Yet, God is so close to me in those moments. After I went home that afternoon and went to Him in prayer, He graciously reminded me of the truth: “It’s not about you; it’s not about you; it’s not about you. Your identity is not found in your performance or perception.”

He used my recent reading in Colossians to affirm these truths. My identity is in Christ... not my abilities or failures. What I do matters; but it doesn’t determine my relationship with Him.

He’s the Father I always needed. The Lord I could never deserve. The Friend who comforts and empowers me to believe and pursue the truth.

He speaks to me through His Word, and He speaks to my heart without words (Romans 8:26). He’s even humorous sometimes... I think it’s because He knows how much I enjoy laughter. 

This Sunday we will continue our study in 1 Corinthians 12. God designed us to work together, and I pray that He fills our hearts with joy as we receive His Word.

I love you, Grace.
Pastor Jack