Tonight
City Reach officially begins tonight! This evening our special speaker for the adults will be Jeff Leake from Allison Park Church. Jeff is a good friend and personal mentor of mine. It’s actually because of his vision to plant churches that ACC was planted 9 years ago. He is a gifted teacher and communicator.
Leading our Vacation Bible School for our children this week is our children’s minister, Pastor Cal. Cal was also instrumental in the start of our church. He had been doing sidewalk sunday school’s in Ambridge for years before our church was ever started.
I believe more than ever that God has called us to this community with a special purpose, “for such a time as this!”
Tonight
City Reach officially begins tonight! This evening our special speaker for the adults will be Jeff Leake from Allison Park Church. Jeff is a good friend and personal mentor of mine. It’s actually because of his vision to plant churches that ACC was planted 9 years ago. He is a gifted teacher and communicator.
Leading our Vacation Bible School for our children this week is our children’s minister, Pastor Cal. Cal was also instrumental in the start of our church. He had been doing sidewalk sunday school’s in Ambridge for years before our church was ever started.
I believe more than ever that God has called us to this community with a special purpose, “for such a time as this!”
City Reach Is Finally Here!
Today I spent a good part of the afternoon walking up and down through the streets of Ambridge passing out flyers for City Reach. If even one person’s life is changed forever it will have been worth it!
This is our biggest outreach event of the year. Last year we had an average total attendance of 300 each night with 30 total salvations. I’m believing that God is going to do even more amazing things this year.
City Reach is not about building up our church, it’s about building up the kingdom of God. It’s about being filled with God’s compassion for his people and making His love known. It is about being faithful to Christ’s command to go into all the world and preach the gospel. This is about the mission God has called us to.
If you’re unfamiliar with City Reach, it’s basically three nights of special services for adults with music, giveaways, and a message, and Vacation Bible School for children with games, music, prizes, and exciting Bible stories. Also, I don’t want to forget that there is FREE FOOD provided for everyone, every night following the festivities. 
On Friday the 17th will be our annual Back-To-School Block Party. We will be blocking off the street behind the church and filling it with all kinds of games, food booths, and a moonwalk. We will also be giving away free backpacks and school supplies to students.
I’m so excited about this week! I’m really looking forward to all that God is going to do.
City Reach Is Finally Here!
Today I spent a good part of the afternoon walking up and down through the streets of Ambridge passing out flyers for City Reach. If even one person’s life is changed forever it will have been worth it!
This is our biggest outreach event of the year. Last year we had an average total attendance of 300 each night with 30 total salvations. I’m believing that God is going to do even more amazing things this year.
City Reach is not about building up our church, it’s about building up the kingdom of God. It’s about being filled with God’s compassion for his people and making His love known. It is about being faithful to Christ’s command to go into all the world and preach the gospel. This is about the mission God has called us to.
If you’re unfamiliar with City Reach, it’s basically three nights of special services for adults with music, giveaways, and a message, and Vacation Bible School for children with games, music, prizes, and exciting Bible stories. Also, I don’t want to forget that there is FREE FOOD provided for everyone, every night following the festivities. On Friday the 17th will be our annual Back-To-School Block Party. We will be blocking off the street behind the church and filling it with all kinds of games, food booths, and a moonwalk. We will also be giving away free backpacks and school supplies to students.
I’m so excited about this week! I’m really looking forward to all that God is going to do.
General Council
If your interested in reading up on any of the elections and resolutions from General Council in Indianapolis this year, you can find some good summaries here, and here.
General Council
If your interested in reading up on any of the elections and resolutions from General Council in Indianapolis this year, you can find some good summaries here, and here.
Indy
I arrived earlier today in Indianapolis for the 52 Biennial General Council of the Assemblies of God. Perhaps the biggest business item this year is the election of a new General Superintendent.
General Council is a great time of reconnecting with old friends. The fellowship really is the highlight of the conference. I love receiving encouragement from fellow pastors and to hear what God is doing in their communities.
Tonight at the service, Thomas Trask gave his final sermon as AG Superintendent. He stressed the importance of preserving the authentic Gospel, having authentic messengers, and facilitating an authentic experience.
Keep us in prayer as we elect our new leader tomorrow!
Indy
I arrived earlier today in Indianapolis for the 52 Biennial General Council of the Assemblies of God. Perhaps the biggest business item this year is the election of a new General Superintendent.
General Council is a great time of reconnecting with old friends. The fellowship really is the highlight of the conference. I love receiving encouragement from fellow pastors and to hear what God is doing in their communities.
Tonight at the service, Thomas Trask gave his final sermon as AG Superintendent. He stressed the importance of preserving the authentic Gospel, having authentic messengers, and facilitating an authentic experience.
Keep us in prayer as we elect our new leader tomorrow!
Yesterday
I spent my entire day off yesterday with my brothers David and Mark at Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio. We had an amazing time. It would be an understatement to say that Cedar Point is the best theme park in the US. They have a total of 17 major roller coasters!
I think the highlight for me was riding the Top Thrill Dragster. This ride shoots you up a 420 ft vertical track and down the other side at 120mph! I have to admit, it felt like I was being executed.
It was awesome to just spend time together as brothers since Mark is getting ready to go back to college next week.
Cedar Point rocks. It’s a roller coaster lover’s paradise (except for the waiting lines!)
Yesterday
I spent my entire day off yesterday with my brothers David and Mark at Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio. We had an amazing time. It would be an understatement to say that Cedar Point is the best theme park in the US. They have a total of 17 major roller coasters!
I think the highlight for me was riding the Top Thrill Dragster. This ride shoots you up a 420 ft vertical track and down the other side at 120mph! I have to admit, it felt like I was being executed.
It was awesome to just spend time together as brothers since Mark is getting ready to go back to college next week.
Cedar Point rocks. It’s a roller coaster lover’s paradise (except for the waiting lines!)
Sunday Reflections
We had a great service this morning. I believe that God has a specific purpose for every gathering we have. This morning there were two prophetic words that confirmed almost exactly the message that I had prepared!
The message was the third in our Jonah series. It was all about God’s mercy in ch 3. As part of the message, I identified 5 elements of repentance. They’re real simple, all from Jonah 3:
1. Believe God- v. 5
2. Humble yourself- v. 5b-6
3. Fasting- v.7
a. Fasting is a way of silencing your earthly, fleshly desires to make you more aware of spiritual realities.
4. Call out to God- v.8b
5. Turn from evil ways- v. 8c
This is certainly not 5 steps to perfect repentance and God does not require that we fast every time we repent. All repentance is really an issue of the heart before God. These are just some pointers to assist in the process.
Sunday Reflections
We had a great service this morning. I believe that God has a specific purpose for every gathering we have. This morning there were two prophetic words that confirmed almost exactly the message that I had prepared!
The message was the third in our Jonah series. It was all about God’s mercy in ch 3. As part of the message, I identified 5 elements of repentance. They’re real simple, all from Jonah 3:
1. Believe God- v. 5
2. Humble yourself- v. 5b-6
3. Fasting- v.7
a. Fasting is a way of silencing your earthly, fleshly desires to make you more aware of spiritual realities.
4. Call out to God- v.8b
5. Turn from evil ways- v. 8c
This is certainly not 5 steps to perfect repentance and God does not require that we fast every time we repent. All repentance is really an issue of the heart before God. These are just some pointers to assist in the process.
Access Elevation
I’ve really been learning a lot from this blog. It is an amazing resource from Elevation Church in North Carolina. This church plant is really having a huge impact in their city. From a numerical standpoint God has blessed them with tremendous growth as they have gone from 121 at their first service to almost 2,000 in 17 months. There is a lot of really good articles on issues that face every church plant or established church. From accounting to assimilation to leadership and more. Check it out here.
Access Elevation
I’ve really been learning a lot from this blog. It is an amazing resource from Elevation Church in North Carolina. This church plant is really having a huge impact in their city. From a numerical standpoint God has blessed them with tremendous growth as they have gone from 121 at their first service to almost 2,000 in 17 months. There is a lot of really good articles on issues that face every church plant or established church. From accounting to assimilation to leadership and more. Check it out here.
