Orphans are unfortunately a reality in our world today. There are times that many of us feel helpless to do anything about it. Really, what can we do? There are many ways for us to begin helping. The most important is PRAYER…we must not underestimate the power of intercession for these orphans as well as many other needs. Another tangible way to help is to partner in the effort by getting involved in our “Africa Container” mission. This is a partnership with Heart for Africa and they have a goal of furnishing 3 different orphanages in Swaziland. Prayerfully consider how God wants you to participate and then see what He does on this mission. It’s an amazing work of the Spirit!
This is an exciting study of how we can learn more about participating with God in fulfilling his heart for the world. Check it out for your Growth Group and/or family study time!
John Piper has been known to say this about missions and I have to say that I agree! The truth is that in the world today our mission is about loving God first and foremost which is manifested by our love for others. Also if you think about it…in heaven missions will cease and a whole lot of eternal worship will continue! My friend Paul, who I admirably refer to as “Pablo” has just posted a video about worship that just basically gave me “God bumps”! It really speaks for itself…go ahead, check it out and join us in experiencing the amazing power of the Holy Spirit! God ROCKS!
Did I say awesome?!?!? In reality there are no words that can fully explain the impact World Changers had in Clovis last week. If you weren’t one of the over 300 people serving in some way then check out the video…to catch a glimpse.
The word “priceless” comes to mind when I think of a few hundred teenagers serving our community. Also not to mention Clovis Hills stepped up in a BIG way - we hosted 8 crews for the week which means we provided over 700 meals throughout the week! God is good!!
Next year it will happen again so mark your calendars for June 28-July 3, 2009. Several growth groups and families mentioned that they would like to host a crew all week…way to go! Hope you can join us next year!
Aren’t they a great looking bunch?!? Check out the World Changers site for more pictures!!
It’s an amazing time this week as students from various parts of the country serve 27 homeowners in Clovis. They will be replacing roofs, painting, repairing and/or replacing fences and whatever else God leads them to do! My part in this thing is to recruit churches in our community to serve the crews lunch during the week. Praise the Lord - we have 13 churches hosting crews! They are:
Baptist Foundation, Clovis Evangelical Free, Clovis Hills, Cornelia Avenue Baptist, First Southern Baptist Sanger, Life Way Baptist, Hope Lutheran, Lord of Life Lutheran, New Hope Community, Northpark Community, Sierra Heights, Trinity Southern and Woodward Park. THANK YOU!!
Clovis Hills is hosting 8 crews and the World Changers staff - it’s an awesome way to meet homeowners in our community. Hosting a crew is open to any evangelical church so email me if you are interested in participating next year at terry.maldonado@clovishills.com. Speaking of next year - the dates are: June 27-July 4, 2009…mark your calendars!
Yes, I’ve been on mission for the last couple of weeks thus have lagged on posting in my blog. And no, I didn’t go meet “the parents” but I did experience an adventure much like shown in the movie Meet the Parents. As I recover from jet lag and reorient myself to life here in Clovis I reflect on a most recent experience: FLIGHT CANCELLED! Yikes! Thus began the ordeal of trying to reschedule my flight home…have you ever had to do that? It was a test in patience, grace and perseverance…and much prayer too! It took several phone conversations, 3 personal visits to the airline office and about 10 hours total of time! Can you sense the level of frustration?!? Well, it’s hard to imagine but I found a video that can shed some light on what it was like for me as I interacted with various airlines.
World Changers is once again engaging in our community of Clovis to help those in need by working on 27 different homes throughout the city the week of June 22-27th. This is the 5th year that approximately 250-300 students have traveled from Alaska, Hawaii, Georgia, Texas…just to name a few. Along with the students are their adult youth leaders as well as crew chiefs, construction supervisors, first aid responders, set up and take down crews & runners - ALL adult volunteers! Then another VERY important group of volunteers are the many host churches who “step up to the plate” to serve the world changer crews. How do they serve them? Glad you asked! The host church serves by hosting a crew for the week which means providing lunch for a crew of 15-18 at their respective work site. This is a great opportunity for growth groups and/or families to serve together.
Clovis Hills is hosting 2 crews and if you would like to serve then contact Lynette Goodwin at lynette.clovishills@gmail.com for more information.
If you would like more information on becoming a host church then contact Bill Jones at kd7s@verizon.net and he will give you all the details.
Now, something like this doesn’t just happen overnight as you might imagine. In fact, in January there was a Coordinator retreat where a few hundred folks gathered together for a spiritual experience of sorts. Well, it’s hard to explain but I did find a video that can enlighten you more than my words and you might even recognize a couple of people…
Was that our own Dave MacNeill?? Hmm, I think he may need to see his dentist soon! Anyway, with Coordinators like that - you know it’s going to be a fun time as well as an amazing week to see how World Changers impacts our community in Jesus’ name…hope you can join us!
Okay, I didn’t go to the event but I got your attention! Anyway, I do know of a few people who did go and in jest I questioned why I was not invited. I was told: “Right, you, a missionary at sudz in the city!” The truth is I had no desire of going but the question had more to do with me being included. Yes, I want to be included in gatherings of fun people, good food and great fellowship! Well back to my point. I realized that my friend who is a Christian referred to me as a missionary but not herself. I know that many people believe that missionaries are “those” people who go overseas, sleep in huts, eat strange food and put themselves in danger. Yes, this is true but it is also true that if one is striving to be a disciple of Jesus then one IS a missionary…24/7 - around the corner and around the world. When I lovingly pointed this out to my friend - it caused her to pause and ponder the thought. I’m not sure what she did with that bit of insight yet I hope that it helps her journey with Jesus.
So, I’ve got a few questions. What would our churches be like if we taught the message that a disciple of Jesus IS a missionary? How different would our world be? Would we live our lives differently? I would love to hear your thoughts on these questions. In the meantime, here’s a video I think you might find interesting…
Discipleship is about action…loving God and loving others. Sharing the love of Jesus with others and teaching them to do the same…that’s our gig…it’s simple. This summer Clovis Hills has several missions teams going out:
They will be commissioned this coming weekend May 31st at 6 pm, June 1st at 9 am and 10:40 am. Join us at one of the services as we send them out as ambassadors for Christ!
Have you heard of the modern day form of slavery called “human trafficking”? If you would like to know more about it - check out the video for a snapshot of the problem.
We may want to ignore it or pretend it doesn’t happen - yet it does. So what can we do about it? Great question! There are many organizations serving to abolish this horrific form of torture and one such entity is International Justice Mission. In fact the president, Gary Haugen will be one of the speakers at the Willow Creek Leadership Summit in August. You won’t want to miss it! Actually it may very well be your first step in joining the war to abolish “human trafficking”! Will you prayerfully consider taking this step in your journey?
Well I’ve not written much in the last week mostly because I was buried with school work! My last day of the semester was a week ago and I’ve just emerged from the milieu of books, papers, lectures and stuff! Whew…it was good but a lot of work yet I still enjoy the challenge of learning new stuff. Although I’ve never birthed a child…it seems like it might be similar?? Great, now I’ll have a lot of comments from moms telling me that I don’t have a clue. Well, that’s true…I don’t but I do know what it’s like to “birth” a paper!
I am on track to graduate in the spring of 2009 with only 4 classes left - woo hoo! I’m working towards an MA in Intercultural Mission which makes sense considering my job. I look forward to applying what I learn in seminary to the ministry that God has called me to.
Okay, I’m sure I have some reading to do or a paper to write…don’t I?? No, wait…I can read a book for fun…YES!! Now, if I can ever figure out how to let you in on what I’m reading…I’ll gladly share with you. Don’t hold your breath though.
