The Most Important Word

By
January 9, 2013
Inspiration, Ministry
Leave a Comment

Have you ever thought about what the most important word is in the English language?  What would you pick?

Maybe love…faith…hope?

Perhaps something a little more epic like freedom or perseverance.

Maybe you’d pull the Bible class answer and go with Jesus or God…after all, who can argue with that?  They are definitely the most precious words that you can utter with your tongue.

All of those words are important and meaningful, but my guess is that everything in the world hinges on a much less impressive word.  My guess is that the entire world could be changed, not by something substantial and ostentatious, but rather something so simple that most of us would read right past it without noticing.

My guess is that YOUR life is hinged on this very word as well.

We find it in 2 Chronicles 7:14 – If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

I’m pretty confident that the word is “If.”  Once you get past the “Ifs” in your life, there is power that shakes a nation.  Try it… “My people, who are called by my name, have humbled themselves and prayed.  They have sought my face, they have turned from their wicked ways, I have heard from heaven, and I have forgiven their sins.  I have healed their land.”

The sentence goes from a nice idea to a utopia of God’s provision and peace with the removal of just two letters.

My challenge for you, as you head into this new year, is to find the areas of your own life where you have two letters stopping you from all that God has planned for you.

Where are your “ifs”?

“If I would honor God with my purity…”

“If I would give Him my tithe…”

“If I would take the leap of faith…”

“If I would forgive that person…”

“If I wasn’t afraid…”

Get out the eraser of your life and change the sentences of your future.  God has abundant blessings and provisions for you, but it all hinges on us taking one small step of obedience.

Make 2013 the year without “ifs”.

 

January 6 Coffee Church Highlights

By
January 8, 2013
Inspiration, Ministry
Leave a Comment

Welcome back!  After a week off, it was nice to see people back in the actual buildings of this thing called “Church”.  A lot of people came early to chat and drink coffee, so my guess is that they actually missed each other…that might be a good sign!

Another pregnancy to announce…if you want to know who it is, check Matt and Andrea Garner’s facebook pages.  Yep, that’s right, our Hazel Dell Worship Leader and his bride, our HD Kid’s Coordinator, are growing their ministries by one.  SURPRISE!  I’m telling you, that coffee has something in it…

I walked into KidCity yesterday and watched the kids sing for a little bit.  Nothing is cuter than 15 kids doing their best “Air Guitar for Jesus” at the end of their worship songs.  We celebrate when kids are having fun learning about Jesus!  We think that’s true for adults, too.

Matt Bumala and Josiah Thalhofer took the sermons over the weekend!  They are both part of our teaching team and we are BLESSED to have them!  We love bringing up younger preachers and giving them a platform to share their hearts.  We are never disappointed by the quality they bring to the table!

We got two very difficult phone calls last week with some life tragedies within our church.  That’s where the reality of ministry sets in fast.  It is always an honor to rejoice with those who rejoice, but it is equally an honor to mourn with those who mourn.  To be allowed in to the deepest fears and sadness in people’s lives is humbling at best.  We are praying for these situations and trusting God to show up in enormous ways.

We are off and running for a great year at North Creek!  We are nailing out our entire year of sermon series and topics that we will be addressing.  It’s going to be a great year!

Go Seahawks!

I love this quote: “You need to change because your memories exceed your dreams.” – Carey Nieuwhof.  So, what are you holding on to because of what it “once was…”. Let it go!!!!

Who are you praying for?  Make this year one where you are focusing on the spiritual needs of someone around you.

Let’s change the world!

 

 

Another Year Begins

By
January 4, 2013
Inspiration, Ministry
Leave a Comment

I love New Years!  Sometimes I love it because it means a difficult year has passed and sometimes I love it because a wonderful year has ended well.  Either way, a New Year continues to symbolize hope in my life, heart, and spirit.

As we turn the corner to our year, we are excited for the next step of North Creek Church.  2012 proved to be a year with a tremendous learning curve as we began a multisite concept with the merge in Battle Ground.  We feel like our footing is solid, our systems are stabilizing, and our giving is growing.  It is with great excitement and expectancy that we step into this year ready to grow!

Some of the dreams on our heart include finding Hazel Dell a permanent home (or semi-permanent as we are always willing to move wherever God wants us!), growing our Small Group ministry base, creating an on-campus presence for the Battle Ground Youth, adding 30 new volunteers for our two existing campuses, stabilizing and preparing our churches for the addition of more campuses, building on the momentum of Be Present to impact our communities, and of course, continuing to baptize at least a couple dozen people a year!

So, how can you help us move the ball down the field?

1.  Start to give.  If you are already giving, thank you – it makes a difference!  For 2013, we want to encourage non-givers to step out in faith and watch God not only grow our church through faithfulness, but to grow individual lives through obedience.  This includes regular giving to support North Creek as a whole and our Be Present campaign to reach out to the needs in our community and world.

2.  Lead a small group!  If you are interested in facilitating or hosting a small group, we would love to sit down with you and go over the details.  It is a great opportunity to meet new friends and grow together.  Email Amy at office@coffeechurch.com for more information.  Also, if you aren’t ready to lead, being a part of a group helps build a healthy community!

3.  Volunteer on Sunday mornings.  We have a great system where we only want you to work one service every month.  You can see all of our serving opportunities at www.coffeechurch.com.  Right now we need at least one person in every position at each campus in order to have a full schedule.  Sign up today!

4.  Show up to church 15 minutes early and talk to people.  Yep.  That’s all we need!  Most people who visit our church come at least ten minutes early to get kids checked in and acclimate themselves.  It is a great opportunity for the church to be the church!

So much happening right now and so much to look forward to in our future!  Our prayer for you is that you find a place in the body of Christ and thrive.  Here’s to 2013!

December 30 Coffee Church Highlights

By
December 31, 2012
Inspiration, Ministry
Leave a Comment

Well, my first highlight is that North Creek went REALLY multisite yesterday as we met in hundreds of home all over Clark County!  We cancel our regular services on the last Sunday of the year and encourage people to BE the church to their family, neighbors, and friends.  It’s awesome!

One of the best parts of cancelling our services is to give our team a break.  Most of our team volunteers or works for small stipends week in and week out.  Although we let them have Sundays off regularly, they are still wired to plan, think, and wonder how their ministry is going when they are gone.  There is something so refreshing about knowing that everything is on hold and they can decompress for a week.  Rest is spiritual!

Several babies to celebrate!  Tatiana (from Battle Ground) had a baby girl last month and I think it never made it to my blog!  Also, this week at Hazel Dell, Chrystal and Rene Arellano had Royce on December 26.  Just a day later on December 27, Sarah and Will Sherland met their own little girl, Hanaye.  Someone asked me how many babies North Creek grew by this year….I really don’t know as I lost count.  It’s over a dozen and we are considering buying all of our nursery workers new cars in deep appreciation for their ministry!

We prayed for miracles and what is more miraculous than a baby?  On that note, I have several ladies on my prayer list who want to get pregnant.  My prayer is that God will give them the desires of their heart!

Mark and I were in Montana all week.  Something happens when you spend time away.  It clears your head, gives you the ability to pray, think, and dream  We are ready for 2013!

While in Montana, we got to hang out with one of my long-time friends, Jenny Woods.  She’s the author of my guest blog a few days ago.  We were friends in high school, roommates in college, and now we are both in ministry.  I am grateful for her ear and friendship!

We also hung out with Kevin Geer, whom I wrote a blog to a few weeks ago.  He recently became the lead pastor at the church I went to as a teenager.  He will do great things for God there!  I am excited to watch his new adventure unfold!

My email exploded while I was on vacation.  My new year’s resolution is to empty my inbox by the year 2014…

We are addicted to starting and restarting churches.  Lives are changed all around us everyday and there is no greater joy than being a part of Jesus’ first love, the Church.  Let’s do this!

Enjoy your last moments of 2012!  It may have been a difficult year or one filled with blessing.  Either way, Jesus is in the midst of it and if you will put your faith in Him, He will work all things out for good.

Be blessed!

 

Christmas “Magic”

By
December 25, 2012
Inspiration
Leave a Comment

Today I wanted to share a guest blog post from my dear friend, Jennifer Woods.  I hope you have a blessed Christmas!

As I was sitting in the quiet wee hours of the morning, looking at our Christmas tree, my eyes fell on one of the ornaments that holds great significance to me.  It may not look like much to anyone else’s eyes…a little porcelain, a little paint…but the story, the reminder behind it all is something I will never forget.

It was about 5 years ago, around the beginning of December.  It was a time in my life where I was busy and ‘on-the-go’ keeping up with the youthful energy and antics of a 3 year old boy and 5 year old girl.  Being an avid reader and book lover, I took time each month to meet with a group of friends as part of a book club. It often became my saving grace as it was filled with ‘intellectual conversation’ and laughter.  At our November gathering, it was announced that we would be doing an ornament gift exchange for December.  Everyone was to bring one ornament to share.

The Saturday before the gift exchange, I left my two sweethearts at home with their daddy so that I could go search out an ornament.  I saw it as an hour of bliss – the chance to wander around a store aimlessly without having to dole out gummy snacks or wipe runny noses.  Ahhh….sweet freedom.  Wanting to support local businesses when possible,  I had heard that Hoopers was having their annual Christmas craft fair  – lots of unique ornaments to choose from, right?  Normally I would run to my favorite, quick and convenient “go-to-store” Target, but today was about LEISURE.  So I left the house with a grateful heart and only $6 in my wallet.  There was something inside of my heart that liked this challenge.  To find what I needed within the budget that I set…nothing more, nothing less.  I reminded myself that the trip wasn’t going to be about purchasing for me.

As I drove up to the store, I said a quick prayer of thanks and asked the Lord to help me find what I needed, and to help me stay faithful to my small budget. Walking up the sidewalk to the front of the store, I see a ‘fresh baked mini-donuts’ stand and was immediately captured by the smell of fresh donuts.  Oh man!  They smelled SO good.  $3 a bag.  Mmmm…the kids and Jamie would LOVE those… It could be a ‘thank you’ treat for letting me go out.  I could use $3 on donuts and still find an ornament with the remainder, couldn’t I?   Decided!  That is what I would do.  On the way out, I would go home with donuts!

Upon entering the store my senses were overloaded with Christmas festivity – holiday music playing, the heavy smell of pine and peppermint, and trees dripping with ornaments of every kind!  So many things to look at.  After browsing for a bit, I came across this little tree near the corner.  It’s branches weren’t heavily flocked with ornaments like the rest.  Maybe that’s what drew me to it.  It had a quiet charm about it.  A handful of about 15 ornaments rested upon it’s tiny branches.  And then THE ornament caught my eye.  A little porcelain shepherd boy with his sheep (which for some reason reminded me of my little guy at home), with the saying underneath, “It took the heart of a child to reach the soul of the world.”  I took the ornament off of tree to look at the price…$2.99!  Of course.  A smile broke on my face, as I reveled in the Lord’s faithfulness.  $3 for the donuts.  $3 for the ornament. Can it get any better?  Feeling grateful and satisfied with the ornament in hand, I got ready to leave the tree to make the purchase – until another one caught my eye!  Equally as moving, a porcelain Mary holding a baby, with the saying, “What Mary knew by sight, we know by heart.”…also $2.99. Ugh.  I couldn’t decide.  I loved both of them.  I WANTED both. …to keep…for myself. I begin to justify…I could get one ornament for the gift exchange and one for me.  I’d still in my $6 budget.  Victory, right?  No one even knew about my donut idea yet  – they wouldn’t know what they were missing.  After all, donuts aren’t great for their health.  I’d be a GOOD mom, by NOT giving them junky donuts. Ha!

This self-talk continued on for a few minutes as I walked around the store with both ornaments in my hand.  And then a word struck me …”obedience”.  Oooh.  Not the word that I wanted to hear. I knew what I had to do.  I chose one, put the other back on the tree with a longing sigh and left the store with my $6 purchase: one beloved ornament (that I had to give away) and one bag of donuts. Sigh.  When I got home and presented the donuts, they were gobbled up without much thought or appreciation.  A dark cloud of pity formed in my heart as I mentally stewed…What a waste!  I should’ve bought both ornaments.  “Obedience” – ha!  It’s SO overrated.

As the week went on, my heart and perspective gradually softened and I was able to move on from my disappointment.  I went to the book club gift exchange later that week.  People arrived with their brightly colored wrapped presents.  The hostess had an extra wrapped’ present – just in case someone forgot theirs.

The exchange began – white elephant style with numbers being picked, and the ‘trading up’ banter beginning.  It came time for me to choose a present.  I picked the small, shiny, red-foil papered box.  Still being a kid at heart, with secret, hopeful excitement I quickly peeled off the wrapping paper.  A little cardboard box.  I lift the lid and peel away the tissue paper…..Mary.  THE Mary ornament from Hoopers!   Possibly the very ornament that I held in my hand, longing for.  How could it be??  I hadn’t told ANYONE about the ornament.  Out of all of the stores and ornaments in town that could’ve been chosen – and here she sat, cradled in my hand.   Tears filled my eyes.  I was absolutely speechless.  No one at the party understood the significance of that gift.  But I did.  With tears in my eyes and a silent prayer of thanks, I had some quick explaining to do.  Needless to say…at the gift exchange, my present didn’t get stolen.  And the extra gift?  Turned out that the person that received the ornament that I brought (the little shepherd boy),  received the ‘extra’ in a game and gave me the other ornament. That day I went home with the shepherd boy and Mary…and a heart that will never forget the faithful, extravagant, detailed, love of a Savior.