In the age of twitter and facebook…I’m wondering about the value of a blog. Case in point: I have not posted here in almost 6 months. However, if you were one of my twitter friends then you would have read up-to-date tweets by me. And if you are a facebook addict then you would not know what’s happening with me since I don’t have a facebook. That’s right, no fb for me…at least not yet. Let’s test this “blog value” theory of mine…wanna play along?!? I will join facebook if I get 50 comments on this post by Saturday, June 6th. The comments have to be posted on my blog. Game on!

Next week on January 12th Clovis Hills has the priviledge of hosting Perspectives. 

Perspectives on the World Christian Movement is a dynamic course where you’ll discover what God is doing around the world and consider your part in His purposes.

Imagine the difference it would make in your life if God Himself would reveal to you the world as He sees it from His perspective. You would witness once again God’s great compassion for the lost. He would proclaim how well His servants are doing to reach each one. You would see first hand the importance prayer has in releasing His power. You would be moved by the testimonies of peoples from the world’s unreached locations. God would reveal to you the areas of the world where the need is greatest. You might even grasp the vision of how God will use you and your talents to share in the task of taking the Gospel to the lost. In short, God would show you His heart. How could you ever be the same again?

Hope you can visit a class to get a glimpse of what this class is all about! The first class is FREE!

2008 was an amazing year as Clovis Hills served the church, community and world. This happens because there is an amazing group of leaders that I get to serve alongside as we partner together to expand God’s kingdom. I couldn’t do it without them so if you get the opportunity to watch them in action or serve on a mission they lead…tell them how much you appreciate their leadership…I certainly do!

January launches SERVE 2009 with a variety of ways to serve in ministry and on mission. Check out the following…

• This weekend begins the series “My Life Mission” and the Personal Development Plan (PDP) – it was a great service so you’ll want to listen online if you missed it! Also, this weekend we begin offering “Spiritual Gifts Discovery Sessions”. This is for anyone not sure about what and/or how to serve using their God given gifts. Various dates are noted in the PDP or on MyClovisHills ‘SERVE Central’ calendar.
• Next Sunday, January 11th from 1-3 pm we will have the opportunity to share and hear stories of how lives were impacted in 2008 through the many ways Clovis Hills served in our church, community and the world…you’ll want to check it out!
• Beginning Mondays, January 12th – May 4th from 6:30-9:30 pm we will be hosting “Perspectives on the World Christian Movement” class. This is a college/seminary level course that is more than worth the money when it comes to missions education. Pastor Steve and I attended a few years ago and we both came away very impressed. Hope you can check it out by attending the first class and then decide if you want to register…you won’t be dissappointed! You can also register online.
• Next, the weekend of January 24th/25th completes the “My Life Mission” series with a SERVE emphasis weekend! The weekend message will included stories and teaching about serving in ministry and on mission.
• Finally, we end the month with a one session class called “My Life Mission” – offered on 4 different evenings. On January 25th, 26th, 27th OR 28th from 6:30-9:00 pm Pastor Kimberly and myself will be teaching on how to explore and discover one’s purpose in life. Should be a fun class so choose a night and join us!

SERVE 2009 is off to a great start! My prayer is that all of us at Clovis Hills will fully realize and live our Life Mission through the ministries at Clovis Hills, in our community and throughout the world. So, go ahead…engage the world…Go local. Go Global. Just Go!

I spent Thanksgiving in India along with 4 others from Clovis Hills and about 30 others from the states. Yes, we were there when the tradegies occurred in Mumbai yet we were in New Delhi which is quite some distance from the attacks. So, we are thankful that we are safe and at the same time are saddened by the suffering resulting from the terrorist attacks. Certainly there is a heightened sense of awareness for us as we served the people of India which led us to pray for them. It also affirmed for us the reason for being there in the first place…because Jesus went to the cross is why we choose to serve in India.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Now we are back along with “delhi belly”, colds and jetlag. It’s all part of the deal and worth it when one realizes we are a part of something that God is doing and it’s amazing! There is so much that happened on this journey but suffice it to say that we witnessed what we believe to be the beginning of a civil rights movement in India. And, interestingly enough I realized that today was the anniversary of the infamous Rosa Parks story that was instrumental in our own civil rights movement. Hmm, interesting timing…don’t you think?

In January we’ll have a time to share many of the stories of what happened so look for details in the program at Clovis Hills or visit us at the missions cart in the courtyard on the weekends.

As you can see…it’s been a while since I last posted. Life has been pretty hectic and finding time to blog is a challenging thing to do. However, I’ll be brief because I’ve got lots to do before I leave for the mission to India. That’s right, 5 of us from Clovis Hills will be meeting about 30 others in India to “demonstrate compassion through action” for the Dalits otherwise known as the “untouchables”. We will be there over Thanksgiving so keep us in prayer when you think of us!

So, I’ll leave you with a video of one of my favorite songs Mighty to Save …afterall isn’t this what Christianity is all about?? Check it out…

Ain’t that a great song?!? I’ll try to blog while in India but no guarantee however, I will definitely post some highlights when I return in December!

Last Saturday over 200 people from Clovis Hills and El Encino Baptist joined arms to serve the neighborhood. It was an amazing thing to witness and be a part of God’s work. I’d like to share a little of what happened from the perspective of one of the leaders:

I personally want to thank each and every one of you who participated in one why or another with Faithful Feet this year. Every record was abolished, we had approx 450 pairs of shoes, 65 volunteers at the tie party, more then 200 at the event and El Encino registered 220 new families. Can you just believe it? I cannot help but get God bumps just thinking about it.

PRAISE GOD!

Team Picture of some who were able to stay the whole morning…it’s a great looking team of la familia!

It’s Wednesday evening and there are only a few of us in the office at this time so I “pick” T’s brain.  Just so you know…T works in the Communications department helping Aron help us improve communication and they do an awesome job! Now T - a.k.a. Thilani is always willing to engage in conversation about better ways to promote stuff, etc. So, I thought I would ask her about my blog. I want to change it up a bit but don’t really know in which direction. T says: “Why don’t you just ask people to share with you what they want to read about?” EXCELLENT idea! Why didn’t I think of that?!? So…indulge me with your thoughts and ideas…

• “What do you want to know about serving?”
• “What would you like to read about regarding ministry?” 
• “What do you want to know about missions?”
• “Is there anything else you would like to read about?”

I’ll start with these questions for now and see what kind of responses I get. I can’t wait to read your comments!

In July I posted a video about the song “healer” titled missions exists because worship doesn’t. Since then the video has been removed because the author of that song, who claimed to have cancer, turned out to be a fraud. Unfortunately he lied about having the disease for over 2 years - to his wife, family, church…everyone. I am saddened for him certainly as he is in bondage however, I am also saddened because the song is powerful. In fact, I believe, it speaks to the power of prayer and how the Holy Spirit works in our lives. So, my prayer is that God can still be glorified through this unfortunate circumstance. Also, I pray that the author can experience the true redeeming grace that God has for each one of us.

Here’s his apology and more of how all of this happened.

This weekend was a time to reflect on how God is working through Clovis Hills on mission. Kids, youth, adults, families, and growth groups stepped into the “zone of the unknown” serving on local and global missions. If you were not able to attend service, check out the podcast to hear what Pastor Steve had to share about compassion…the Father’s compassion. A highlight video was shown and it also featured a song written and performed by our own Paul Haugen…it’s awesome!

Following the video Pastor Kimberly led the prayer of commissioning for the Faithful Feet, India & Christmas teams who will be serving this Fall…stay tuned for those highlights!