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Spare Change - April 2019

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                                                                        Ministry Update

The past three months have been pretty crazy.  We wrapped up the Upward basketball and cheerleading program the first part of March.  I would have to say that this was one of the most successful years in terms of outreach and connecting with families.  We know for sure that one child was saved.  We have had several families visit our church.  There have been a few of the middle school students begin to engage with our student ministry.  In one sense I am happy the season is over, if for no other reason to get some rest, but I will miss it and the opportunity for ministry.  Thank you to all the volunteers and coaches that put in countless hours to organize this league.  We could not have done it without you!

From there we move on to planning for Easter and even VBS!  Easter will be on us before we know it.  Our Easter weekend is a great way to connect people to our church.  They will be able to hear the gospel proclaimed and learn about the power of the  resurrection.  One of the highlights of the weekend is our Community Easter Egg Hunt.  We fill over 6,000 eggs and invite the entire community to come out.  This event is what we call a bridge event.  We simply try to connect with our community in a positive way.  It is something that you can invite friends and family to partake in that is casual and fun.  We hope to have a great turn out for the egg hunt.

Also, a lot of my time right now is focused on VBS.  Yes, VBS!  We actually start prepping for VBS in February.  We really ramp up in March and April.  Mostly getting volunteers lined out, supplies ordered, and having our leader training.  This year the theme is “In the Wild”.  We are going to look at  snapshots of the different ecosystems around the globe while looking at snapshots of the life of Jesus.  I can’t wait to see what God will do through our VBS this year.  As I wrote last month, VBS is the largest evangelistic push that most churches do all year.  We are going to keep the focus on connecting with families and proclaiming the gospel.

I have enjoyed the last three months as the pastor of children and missions.  It has been an adjustment, but it has been a delight to get to know the kids and their families even more.  We have a great group of kids and kids’ ministry volunteers.  Please pray for them, they don’t just provide childcare, they are pouring into your children the Word of God each week.

We also have had another big change the past few weeks.  Our Hispanic church planter, Leonid Marsan, came onsite at the end of February.  He and his family are currently living in our Charis House while they get set-up and adjust to life in Evansville.  Leonid is not sitting idle, he is getting out into the community and God is already beginning to work.  Leonid has been connected to several Hispanic individuals by God’s providence.  Please pray for him and his family as they begin this new work.  Also pray for them as they learn the culture and English language.  Our church family has been so welcoming to them already, I know you will make Oakhill feel like home.

God has also been doing some things in my life; reminding me that people, not programs are most important when it comes to ministry.  We must keep our eyes on Jesus, proclaim the gospel, reach out to our community, and make disciples.  If we keep those ideals first, then the programs will fall into their proper place.  Thank you for trusting me to be the pastor of children and missions, it is quickly becoming one of the greatest joys of my life.

Posted by Bryan Gotcher with
in Newsletter

Spiritual Development - April 2019

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                            “Steps to Strengthen Prayer” by Bonnie McKernan

1. Set prayer apart. The more we pray, the more we want to pray. To do this, you need to build it into the rhythm of your day any way you can: set alarms, leave notes, put it in your day planner. Prayer is a practice that requires discipline and perseverance, and we should own the cost. Prayer is the greatest act of our day, and we must fight for it. And not just in times of need. It matters how we train and prepare for the battle.

2. Learn to withdraw. Pull away from distractions — the phone, the computer, the TV, the constant noise of modern life — and find a way to separate yourself so you can be and feel “shut in with God.” Your car on lunch break, a quiet corner in the office, a closet in between meals or feedings or naptimes, or simply the quiet of your heart if that’s all you can muster.

3. Have a posture of prayer. Do what you need to help you focus on what it is that you’re doing. Kneel, stand, close your eyes, look to the heavens — when your body is focused, it’s often easier for your soul to follow. If able, pray out loud. I’ve found that just softly whispering during my private prayer time is quiet enough that it doesn’t inhibit the flow of my praying, but loud enough that it keeps my mind from wandering.

4. Pray fervently. Praying should be active. We cannot truly come into contact with God and not be a different person, at least in some small degree, by the time we say, “Amen.” Struggle in prayer, wrestle with it, and let the Spirit move. Answers to prayer are a blessing, but prayer in and of itself is meant to be a blessing.

5. Pray specifically. Vagueness can be the death of prayer. Not that we can never be general, just not at the expense of praising God’s specific attributes, confessing specific sins, or thanking him and asking him for specific things. We must learn to pray specifically and boldly due to the status we have through Christ, while simultaneously being completely submissive to God’s will. Bold and expectant faith coupled with humble submission is a powerful thing.

6. Pray for and with others. Prayer is meant to knit together the children of God, oftentimes, people we have never even met. We share a Father, we are family, and we should bear each  other’s burdens in prayer. We become invested in each other’s struggles and triumphs. We start to care more about the people we pray for and less about ourselves. What a beautiful thing to come before our Father of one accord with the same appeals out of love and care for each other. Prayer binds the church together.

 Recommended Resource— The Disciple-Making Parent by Chap Bettis
Parenting in today’s culture can be exhausting, scary, difficult, challenging and… well, pick your own adjective. Moreover, your desire to raise children as a Christian parent in accordance with the Bible’s truths amplifies those adjectives to an entirely different level. You bring home that beautiful little  baby made in the image of God from the hospital, and you look at your spouse and say, “Now what do we do?” That question never goes away for the Christian parent. Your baby grows to become a toddler, a child, a pre-teen and a teenager, and as your baby grows in each of those stages of life, you look at your husband or your wife again to say, “Now what do we do?”

The Disciple-Making Parent: A Comprehensive Guidebook for Raising Your Children to Love and Follow  Jesus Christ seeks to help us answer that kind of question. This book ranks as a top contender for a book that every parent should read as they seek to honor Christ by parenting their children faithfully.  You will read this book and be convicted that you need to do better at making a disciple of your child. That’s a good thing. We all need to be convicted that we should take our God-given task more seriously and faithfully. With The Disciple-Making Parent, you will be better equipped to answer the question, “Now what do we do?”

 

Posted by Nick Scott with

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