Vacation Bible School
This week is our Vacation Bible School, Saddle Ridge Ranch. Vacation Bible school is ministry, outreach, and evangelism. We teach the Bible, have a great time, worship, and tell children how they can follow Jesus Christ.
Monday, we’ll show children that God answers the question: Who Am I? It’s based on the story of Adam and Even in Genesis 2:4-24. They’ll learn that they are God’s greatest creation and that they can praise Him.
Tuesday, we’ll show them that God has more answers. They’ll learn that God cares for them by studying the story of Joseph in Genesis 45. We’ll teach them that they can cast their cares on Jesus because He cares for them.
Wednesday is evangelism day. We’ll explain God’s answer for eternity… that God has a plan for them. We’ll share the story of how Zacchaeus discovered Jesus in Luke 19:1-10. They’ll have an opportunity to choose Jesus.
Thursday follows up on the invitations of Wednesday. Children will lean how they can be like Jesus and follow His example. It’s about becoming a spiritual champion!
Friday wraps up the week of God’s answers. We’ll answer the question, “What do I do now?” Children need to know that, too! We’ll teach them from Philippians 4:4-9.
Summer Daily Devotional Books Available
Open Windows devotional books are free from church literature racks.
We believe that every church member should have a meaningful, daily time of fellowship with God Almighty. We call it a quiet time. Some folks call it personal devotions, daily prayers, or private worship. Whatever words you use, that time is the focus of our 21-day challenge – twenty-one consecutive days of quiet times. Why the challenge? A quiet time is a great habit. When practiced consistently for long enough, it will become natural, even indispensible. Because we believe in a quiet time so deeply, we provide resources to assist our members.
Each quarter, our church orders and offers free daily devotional books for those who will use them. The Summer 2010 edition is available now from the literature racks in the hallway near the church office. Devotional books offer prepared Scriptural devotional materials that conform to our doctrine. These devotion books are great for individuals who feel intimidated when wandering the pages of the Bible without assistance. Each day contains guidance for reading through the Bible in a year, a daily devotional Bible passage, reflections on the passage, and a guiding prayer. These resources are intended to guide you into a real, vital, personal relationship with God. Each guide covers three months and includes a missionary birthday prayer calendar that guides praying for SBC missionaries both with the International and North American Mission Boards. We order both the regular and large print editions for your convenience.
Other resources are also available to help you in your walk with God: a 21-day challenge check-sheet, God’s Will Worksheet, Daily Master Communication Guides, God’s Will Journals. These are all free. We’ll replenish the stock when they run low. Everything on the literature racks is offered to help you and to help you help your friends find Christ… and eventually our church. If you check the literature racks, and no devotional guides are available, contact the church office. We can still order them for you.
Life-Building Groups Expand to Wednesday Night
Wednesday Night’s launch Life-Building Groups focusing on “practical needs”
Life-Building Groups are expanding to Wednesday nights! Sunday night groups will still focus exclusively on our Next Steps Discipleship Process, offering individuals the opportunity to grow as Spiritual Champions. Wednesday night groups will focus on “practical” needs our people are facing in life. The first two needs we’re going to tackle with Wednesday night groups are parenting and financial management.
In addition to these Life-Building Groups, we will continue to host a prayer group on Wednesday night that is open to everyone, just like we always have.
Our first two Life-Building Groups on Wednesday nights will be:
Financial Peace University, led by Terry Kennedy, and The Power of a Praying Parent, led by Amber Parks. Each of these groups will require a cost to participate. These two groups will start meeting on June 9th and will run throughout the summer.
Wednesday night groups are also available for students and children. Nursery is offered during all group meetings. Groups begin at 6:30pm.
Take Your Next Step on Sunday Night
This summer we’re offering five Life-Building groups as part of our Next Steps Discipleship Process. They’ll start meeting on Sunday night, June 6th. Groups will be offered for steps one, two, and three. If you need help deciding which step is right for you, contact the church office for a copy of our simply step-finder tool. It will help you choose which step fits you best. Here are the groups…
Step One: Mentoring
This basic spiritual growth group is really a one-on-one mentoring experience with a trained mentor. Individual meetings will walk participants through a rudimentary, faith-building curriculum titled, “Call to Joy.” Each participant will receive a book and training in foundational spiritual disciplines. The interactive, one-on-one approach to mentoring focuses on helping a believer develop a hunger for God’s word and His ways.
Step Two: Old Testament III
This group will cover the Old Testament books from Proverbs through Malachi. Participants will receive an overview of the work of the OT prophets and their message. The class is designed to provide an opportunity for participants to read through the entire section in small pieces. Those who aren’t great readers shouldn’t shy away from the Bible. Ask for a free MP3 audio version of these books to listen and follow along in your Bible. Reading isn’t our goal; hearing is!
Step Two: Seeking Him – Experiencing the Joy of Personal Revival
This group will walk through the Seeking Him curriculum together and experience shining the light of God’s Word on specific areas of life that hinder spiritual development. The curriculum is a book-based version of Life Action Ministry’s fourteen day revival summit meetings. Daily assignments and group meetings will help participants savor and apply truth to their lives. Get ready to be challenged and transformed!
Step Three: Faith Sunday School People Training, Level II
This training opportunity helps Sunday School People Teams to engage their class in the work of leading people to Jesus. Participants don’t have to have completed Level I, but information covered there will be assumed. Anyone can attend. Those not trained in Level I will be able to join teams on home visits as silent partners. Through People Training, you’ll learn that you really can be used by God to draw others to Christ… and ask them to take the final plunge.
Step Three: Deacon Training – Partners in Ministry and Growth
Using Jim Henry’s fine deacon training materials, new deacons and their wives will be introduced to the full breadth of deacon ministry. All current deacons and their wives are invited to attend. Dr. Henry is a seasoned pastor, who enjoyed a fruitful ministry with his own deacon body. This class shares what he learned so we can enjoy the same experience.
Sunday evenings begin with a refreshment time at 5:30, followed by a half-hour prayer and praise service. Life-Building groups begin after the service at approximately 6:30. Nursery is provided. Call 334-6833 during office hours for more information.
Why I’m Passionate About 610 People…
In Revelation 1:1 and 22:6, both ends of the book, God’s angels confess to showing us the events of the end times to show us what must “soon take place.” Jesus says twice after the second “soon,” “I am coming quickly.” I just can’t get over that. Jesus is coming. Time is limited. Opportunities are coming to an end. We don’t have forever to get the great commission done. We don’t have unlimited time to do our work of evangelization. A clock is ticking – the clock of God. I hear it; do you?
Some people wonder what motivates me toward 610 in worship and beyond. Is it a prideful ambition to pastor a big church? Actually, the prospects of pastoring such a large church frighten an introvert. Tending to all those people and standing responsible before God for their spiritual and temporal care represent an immense weight. From my perspective, it appears infinite. The logistics of such a large congregation are complicated. I served on a church staff of an even larger church and watched my pastor carry the burden. I prayed for him. No, becoming a big church isn’t the motivation. I hope you’re praying for me.
What motivates me is the word “soon.” I can hear Jesus whispering, “quickly….” It could be tomorrow. I couple that with the knowledge that approximately 46,000 lost people live within ten miles of the church. Based on our average in worship right now, we’ll have to reach an additional 380 people with the good news of Christ and raise them up to be vibrant followers in order to reach 610. Our impact at that point will be eight tenths of one percent of the lostness just ten miles from us. And, less than half our church lives in that ten mile circle. We’re all spread out. What would the numbers be if we counted the lost within ten miles of every church member’s home? 610 doesn’t dent our harvest field.
Jesus is coming quickly, and I sense the surrounding lostness. Sure, we need to care for the saints. I’m just glad that the church I grew up in took a brief break from self-care to tell me about Jesus and invite me into the fold. That’s how I became a Christian. That’s how you did, too. That’s how everyone can. I long to reach heaven leading more than eight tenths of one percent of the lost around me to God’s throne.
I marvel at the promise that God has extended to me through Jesus Christ. It’s captured my attention and my heart. Its magnificence, majesty, extent, and wonder stun me. I can hardly believe how God loves me. When I ponder what it will be like to see God with my own eyes, not my imagination… well, I can’t really describe what I feel. Words fail. But, I know this: I want to share that promise more than a new house, new car, or new plasma screen. I don’t want anyone to miss out. I want them to be there, too.
It’s all coming soon. I can hear the clock ticking. I hear it every day. I can’t wait. But, somehow, I want God to wait – because so many aren’t ready. I sit in my office in the midst of 46,000 of them. They stir my soul. Mixed with the sound of the ticking, I hear their cries. They want hope. They want joy. They want safety and security. They want Jesus. That’s why we’re still here.
Honestly, I’m not that interested in 610. I’m interested in more. God will sustain me on the journey through all of the logistics and changes. Challenges and changes pave my way to heaven (yours, too), and I’ll take everyone I can along that path. Listen for the ticking…
With Joy, Pastor Kevin
National Day of Prayer Observance
Several individuals, including our pastor, participated in the National Day of Prayer activities at Aztec city hall Thursday afternoon. The noon meeting included singing, Scripture readings, and prayers. Pastors from Aztec Presbyterian Church, Aztec United Methodist Church, Aztec Assembly of God, Bethel Baptist Church, and First Baptist Church participated. The gathering seems to grow a little larger each year. One of our police officers represented the city among the group. The gathering is organized and sponsored by the Aztec Ministerial Alliance. Anyone is welcome to attend.
The planned gathering opened with prayer and the reading of 2nd Chronicles 7:14-15. The group then sang “My Country ‘Tis of Thee” together. Next the pastors led the group in prayers for our government leaders, for the needy, for deliverance from bloodshed and violence in our country, for our military, police, and firefighters, and for repentance from addictions, drugs, immoral life-styles, and other destructive sins. Organizing pastor, Bob Schlauger, closed with prayer for marriages and families. The group concluded with the singing of “America the Beautiful.”
Pastor Kevin read 1st Corinthians 6:9-11 and led the group in the prayer that the church and America would repent and be set free from addictions, drugs, immoral life-styles, and other destructive sins. His wife, Susan, led the singing. Other church members attending the event were Iola Parks, Barbara Uttz, Anna Parker, and Ashley Parker.
National day of prayer is a day set aside for all faiths to pray to God for the good of our country. Of course, prayer for our country is in order on any day of the year, not just May 6th. Never-the-less, next year, mark your calendar and join us. Similar activities are held in Farmington.