Thought for the day -- July 29th

The most valuable thing the Psalms do for me is to express the same delight in God which made David dance.

-- C.S. Lewis

Prairie Camp has begun!!!

Prairie Camp started last night. The camp eveangelist is Joel DeSelm who will be bringing a series on the life of Jacob.
It runs through next weekend. Come on out and take part. There is a Family Life series and Bible study in the AM, as well as a kids program. There are evening services, with kids programs, as well. Whatever your schedule we hope that you will be able to take in some or even all of the events. The general schedule is below, see the link for full info.
Don't forget our church fellowship on Sunday at 4 PM. Bring a dish to share and join us at the Camp Pavilion.

Evening Schedule:
Saturday/ Sunday: 6 PM
Monday - Friday: 7 PM

Prairie Camp link

Pronoun - The Right They

What they are you listening to?

Thought for the day -- July 28th

Understanding is the reward of obedience. Obedience is the key to every door.

–George MacDonald

Thought for the Day -- July 25th

If you have not chosen the Kingdom of God first, it will in the end make no difference what you have chosen instead.

--William Law

Thought for the day -- July 24th

The strength of a man's virtue should not be measured by his special exertions, but by his habitual acts.

--Blaise Pascal

GC - Ron Hockley

I am still personally mulling/ processing the teaching that we heard at Conference. I have notes from a couple more sessions that, as promised, I will be posting. What follows are the notes from the morning devotional given by Ron Hockley. Ron pastors the Trinity Project (a Missionary church in Portland).

Matthew 14:13
- Jesus retreated when he heard the bad news about John the Baptist (his cousin)
- the people followed him
* the danger of giving all of ourselves to the "needy" around us
* example of a giant Slurpee and everyone gets a sip until it's gone
- Jesus had compassion and ministered even during his personal time of sorrow
- you cannot do ministry without encountering need -- there are broken people everywhere
John 6:5
- "where will we get food for all of these?"
- there is never enough to meet all of the needs around us
The Disciples' Solutions
1. Its not my problem
- send them away to buy their own food
2. We can't afford it
- "it would take 8 months wages..."
3. What I have Isn't enough
- we only have 5 loaves and 2 fish to go around
Jesus' Solution -- You feed them
- Jesus calls us to accomplish things beyond our own capabilities
- giving what we have to Jesus = multiplied blessings
- do we measure our resources by what we have or in terms of what God can give?
- what is the provision that you need?
*** the key lies in giving what you have to Jesus and having Him multiply it

Discipleship Groups Forming

If you are planning to host/ lead a discipleship group for the Fall semester now is the time to make the plans. Get with Pastor Bud, Paul Neel, or Cris this week! We need to gather some basic information about your group so the catalog can be created at people can get signed up. We have some great groups potentially forming and are anticipating more.

Remember that all groups will have a core value of promoting spiritual growth in the live of the participants. However, the format and themes surrounding this goal are only limited by our imaginations. It could be inductive Bible study, weight loss/ management, Parcheesi, self help, crafts, sports, topical studies, service projects, and the list could go on.

If you feel that God is calling you to host a group or have an idea for one. even of you have never done anything like this before, don't hesitate to give us a call and talk about it.

Thought for the day -- July 23rd

One can believe in the divinity of Jesus Christ and feel no personal loyalty to Him at all - indeed, pay no attention whatever to His commandments and His will for one's life.

--Catherine Marshall

GC - "How to build a team" by Tom Mullins

• we spend far too little time working in our strengths. they are strengths for a reason.
• Jesus was the greatest coach of all time! we need to follow his examples
• the church is not about OUR comfort.
• the message of Christ and the Word are sacred; not the methods we use to present them
• good fishermen know all about the fish that they're after
• creating a Coach/ Team environment gives a common goal and people will follow

--- The Power of Celebration ---

Celebration ACKNOWLEDGES accomplished goals

Celebration VALIDATES the effort needed to achieve victory

Celebration MOTIVATES the team

Celebration BUILDS & SUSTAINS team attitudes

Celebration ATTRACTS potential new team members

** we need to find things to celebrate; even if they seem small. we should never create an environment where the only times we meet are about negative things.

GC -- Changes for the future

One of the changes that the denomination is seeing as necessary is to take our missions organization and create a separate entity for it. WP (abbreviated on purpose) needs to be unconnected from the denomination so that work may continue. In many places of the world it is becoming increasingly difficult to obtain visas and work permits that allow people into the country. This will only increase over time and this "firewall" will help WP continue their work. When more of this is made known do not be dismayed or think that they are turning away from their mission.
Along this line all churches and individuals that have websites, blogs, personal pages, etc. on the web are being asked to show discernment in what they might write or post anywhere on the Internet. A church who might list that they are actively supporting "so and so" in "such and such" country may in fact place that missionary in danger. Please check any pages you are responsible for. If you desire to have something on your page a suggestion is to simply state that you or your organization support ministry in "fill in the blank" country without including names or personal info.
If you would go to the WP page at this time you would find that there is nothing there. In the future there will likely only be a bulletin board type page with contact information for the organization.
All of this has been a powerful reminder to me that we need to be in constant prayer fro those who are ministry around the globe. Most of us have no idea the level of potential persecution and personal danger that many of these folks would be subject to if discovered.

Thought for the day -- July 19th

Preaching is to much avail, but practice is far more effective. A godly life is the strongest argument you can offer the skeptic.

--Hosea Ballou