Big Idea: Outward Focus comes with the adoption of a Christ-centered mission

Values are the key to how we live. And while values may vary from individual to individual and from congregation to congregation, certain values are crucial or core to both the universal mission of the Church and the unique mission of a local congregation.

Core to succeeding in making disciples is the conviction that people who don’t know Christ and are cut off from the community of faith matter to God. They matter so much that we will go to any lengths to see them rescued, restored, and brought back into their rightful place in the family of God. (See Luke 15)

As we continue The Radical Experiment, opportunities for demonstrating our commitment, concern, and our call to make more and maturing disciples of those outside of our walls, are presenting themselves with increased regularity.  As I look at the 2012 calendar, I believe it is shaping up to be what may be one of the most evangelistically oriented and effective years of Hucrest’s history. I’m praying shamelessly that God would give us 25 new Christians in the first quarter alone, not for our glory but to His!

How is this possible? It will happen only by God’s grace and your partnership in prayer, fasting, sacrificial giving, community participation, sharing Christ with others, and sold-out service! When we get Radical Together, there’s nothing God would withhold from us!

Jesus declared that the fields were white for harvest.  Look out there and see, and look up to God. Jesus said to pray for workers, “disciples/evangelists.” I’m praying for 25 men to step up to the plate to begin investing in other men and their families to see them come to Christ and begin growing in Him. I’m praying that 25 women will join the cause. Imagine what 50 fully-devoted, radical disciples making disciples could do!

“Let us run with endurance the race set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus.” Hebrews 12

• Church of God Ministries – the international ministries of our affiliated church body (offices in Anderson, Indiana); supports missionaries, affiliated colleges and our seminary, church growth and initiatives, pastoral support and many other ministries.

• Association of the Church of God in Oregon and Southwest Washington – the ministries of our district affiliation (offices in Salem); supports church planting efforts, pastoral support, credentialing of  pastors and congregations, camps, campmeeting, state personnel and other ministries.

• Warner Pacific College – our church-affiliated college in Portland; helps prepare future ministers of the church as well as kingdom-minded students preparing for a variety of professions.

• Mid-America Christian University – another one of our church-affiliated colleges, located in Oklahoma City; helps prepare future ministers of the church as well as kingdom-minded students preparing for a variety of professions.

• Hope Pregnancy Center – a local pregnancy center that affirms the sanctity of life by ministering to women and families in “crisis” pregnancies.

• Umpqua Valley Youth for Christ – a local youth ministry that seeks to strengthen the youth ministries of local churches through cooperative evangelism efforts and community projects.

• Hands 4 Ecuador – a ministry to aid the church in Ecuador to minister to its communities through food assistance, clothing and other support efforts.

• Roseburg Rescue Mission – our local rescue mission that helps meet the physical and spiritual needs of the disadvantaged in our community, offering services both to men and women/families. Our church leads the daily chapel service on the third Tuesday evening of each month.

• Douglas County Evangelical Fellowship – our  local organization of Evangelical churches and pastors who cooperatively work together to strengthen and encourage the local church as well as outreach efforts, including LifeCare, the benevolence arm of DCEF composed of volunteers from local churches who  respond to a variety of needs and requests, and “Free Market.”

Join us as we once again host community business leaders for a lunch meeting and a brief video teaching on leadership. These quarterly events grew out of our annual Chick-fil-A Leadercast and is another way we are seeking to “build bridges” to our community. Please RSVP with the church office if you want to attend.  It’s also not too early to begin making plans to be part of the next Chick-fil-A Leadercast on May 4. Volunteers are needed both at the event and in encouraging business leaders to join us for this outstanding event.

Every four years there is a Presidential Election, a Summer Olympics, and a Leap-Year; 2012 is the year with the extra day, the global celebration, and our national election. In all honesty, none of us know whether we will see any of these events, or what their eternal impact will be. What we do know is that if we live through them, we are called to do so by faith in the unseen One who created, sustains, and is governing by His power, wisdom, and Divine purpose. We live in, for, and through Jesus Christ.

With every day (including the extra one) a gift from God, I’m proposing that we who call ourselves followers of Christ do something strangely radical in a world whose population is predominantly non-Christian:  We make glorifying God in all we do our number one priority…

⁸ This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. John 14:8

Faithfulness, fruitfulness and fully following Christ are inescapable requirements of discipleship. Jesus said this to all His would-be disciples:

²³ “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. ²⁴ For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it.” (Luke 9:23-24)

The Church is supposed to be a disciple-making   organism. And while disciples are not mass-produced or manufactured, there are key initiatives we can undertake in community to fulfill this task that brings God glory and reflects the mission He has given us to make more and maturing disciples. There are key beliefs and behaviors we can embrace and engage.  There is a Radical Experiment we can undertake for one year that has the potential to influence everyday of the rest of our lives as well as our eternity.

On January 1, I will begin unpacking the Big Idea of  a year-long church-wide Radical Experiment in  Biblical Discipleship. I will be preaching primarily from the books of Luke and Acts for the next twelve to twenty weeks. Many of our small groups and     Sunday school classes will be challenged to use our message-based curriculum, supplementary resources such as Radical and Radical Together by David Platt, and/or to study Luke and Acts as a comprehensive unit.

This experiment is extremely practical and has five basic commitments for which we will direct our  equipping efforts in the opening quarter of the year.

1. Pray for the entire world – Operation World, Seek God for the City, Focus Forty
2. Read through the entire Word – Reading plans & devotional resources
3. Sacrifice your money for a specific purpose – Faith Promise & Key Ministry/Mission Opportunities
4. Spend your time in another context – Mission Trips & Hands-On
5. Commit your life to a multiplying community – Life Groups & Mentorships

So for 2012 my call is to elect Jesus as Lord of your life, run the race he has called you to with endurance, and use the extra and every other day for God!

Blessings,
Pastor Jon

What I loved about this seminar is that it’s NOT a  lecture-driven ten-step checklist to a perfect child.  Instead, it is an interactive presentation diving into biblical principles and current world realities, helping you think through how you engage your children.

FACT – RWPS is BIBLICAL… explore Biblical principles that will help your family grow together as followers of Christ.

FACT – RWPS is REALISTIC… address real issues you are facing as a parent, and develop reachable next steps.

FACT – RWPS is FUN & ENCOURAGING… connect with other parents, laugh, and gain hope and confidence that your families can grow in Christ together.

FACT – RWPS is PRACTICAL… gain simple, concise tools to help your children develop godly wisdom.

FACT – RWPS is INSPIRING… giving your family a vision of how God wants to use you   together to bring love and generosity to your community

My hope and prayer is that this is the start of something life-changing for ALL parents of Hucrest   Community Church of God, and that this is the first step to developing a community of parents that can help one another during this journey called parenthood!

This seminar is for everyone, whether you have a 0 year-old or an 18…20…21 year-old or any variation in-between; I hope you will join us.

Blessings,
Pastor Kyle

Family Night Meal – 5:45-6:30 p.m. (donations accepted)

Family Night Activities – 6:30-8:00 p.m.

• Rock Solid Kids (through 4^th grade)
• Gate 56 (5^th & 6^th grades)
• The Grove Student Ministry (7^th through 12^th grades)
• Women’s Bible Study – Beth Moore’s “James: Mercy Triumphs”
• Men’s Bible Study – A Radical Experiment in Men’s Discipleship
• Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University
• Prayer & Care Team

Beth Moore’s “James: Mercy Triumphs”
James, Jesus’ own brother, started out as a skeptic. See how one glimpse of the resurrected Savior turned an unbeliever into a disciple with Beth Moore’s study, “James: Mercy Triumphs.” Once you get to know both the man and the Book of James, you’ll never be the same again.

A Radical Experiment
In Radical, David Platt invites you to encounter what Jesus actually said about being his disciple, and then obey what you have heard. He challenges you to consider with an open heart how we have manipulated a God-centered gospel to fit our human-centered preferences. With passionate storytelling and convicting biblical analysis, Platt calls into question a host of comfortable notions that are common among Christ’s followers today. Then he proposes a radical response: live the gospel in ways that are true, filled with promise, and ultimately world changing.

Financial Peace University
FPU takes the knowledge from God and turns it into real action in our lives through a step-by-step process taught by best-selling author and financial counselor Dave Ramsey. This 13-week life-changing program will empower and teach you how to make the right money decisions to achieve your financial goals and God’s plan for your life. The course includes practical lessons on eliminating debt, building wealth, giving like never before, and much, much more! A FREE PREVIEW will be offered on January 11. Check it out for free. The fee for new students is $100 (includes all materials). Alumni can attend for free.

My friend Mark Mayberry and I traveled to Lungphu, India, which is about two hours by jeep up into the mountains from Imphal. It is within sight of the border of Burma (Myanmar). Our mission was to teach the 2^nd of 3 modules of the Mobile Bible School. MBS is a  Bible teaching ministry started a few years ago by Travis Hunt and a few others from Camas Valley Christian Fellowship and Roseburg Christian Fellowship. Together he and a number of people from several other churches in Douglas County put together a basic Bible teaching curriculum designed to train and equip disciples in foreign countries. They specifically go to areas of the world that have never been reached with the gospel, northern Burma being one of those areas. One of their contacts in India is from this small village and has people they know across the border in Burma. So they chose this village (Lungphu) as a safe place to bring people across the border and teach since they are new believers and have little training but are on fire for the Lord. We spent two weeks teaching the Old Testament survey, proving the Bible, and teaching basics in biblical counseling to about 30 people. The classes were a success and everything went very smoothly. The village was like stepping back in time 100 years. They have no running water; they carry it from a community spring. Electricity has only been there for a few years and it is only switched on from their power company for a couple hours twice a day. Once in the morning around 6:00 a.m. and again in the evening at about 10 or 11 p.m. and this is not very consistent. There has only been a road into the village for about a year and only two or three families have a vehicle. Most people only have what they need to survive. There aren’t many luxuries but people are happy with what they have. We take way too much for granted. I was truly blessed and humbled by the people that we met.

As always I encourage anyone who has never been on a mission trip to go if you can. As Jesus said, we are to make disciples of all the nations! Thanks again so much for all the prayers. We will be praying for the safety and boldness of those who will be taking the gospel to the lost in northern Burma and India.

Keep Christ the Focus of your Christmas Celebration

Celebrate the greatest gift the world has ever seen this Christmas—the gift of Jesus. Hucrest Church offers three different worship service options over Christmas weekend.  You are encouraged to keep Christ at the  center of all your Christmas celebrations.  These special services are a unique opportunity to invite your family and friends to join you in worship.

Two Identical Christmas Services:

• Christmas Eve at 7:00 p.m.

• Christmas Day at 10:00 a.m.

These two services will feature elements from our annual “Christmas Celebration,” such as the Hucrest Special Events Choir, as well as dramatic elements that will tell the Christmas story in a unique and compelling way.

Candles and Carols Service:

• Christmas Eve at 11:00 p.m.

Join us for this special “midnight” service featuring the telling of the Christmas story through carols, Scripture, communion and candles.

Invite your family and friends to join you on Christmas weekend and truly “make room for Jesus.”

• Global Missions, including:
  • Connecting people called to missions to     service abroad
  • Connecting with missionaries
  • Connecting with projects and national leaders
  • Connecting with mission trips
• Partnering with individuals, churches, national leaders and organizations in global evangelism and discipleship
• A global radio network that spreads the gospel in nine languages
• Disaster relief
• Children of Promise – a global children’s sponsorship program
• Networking and accountability for pastors through SHAPE (Sustaining Health and Pastor Excellence) Both Pastor Jon and Pastor Steve are SHAPE Coaches.
• Leadership training and development
• Transformative initiatives for the global church
• Church multiplication tools and resources
• Curriculum and books
• Coordination of matching gift scholarship programs for students attending Church of God colleges and universities
• Endowment and gift planning services
• International Youth Convention (our students will be attending IYC in Denver next July)
• Annual North American Convention of the Church of God
• Resources for women’s and men’s ministry
• A chaplain ministry program