"Ministry is a marathon. It's not how you start that matters but how you end." Rick Warren stated this in the beginning of his journey to planting a church. How you end in your ministry is the most important part of your ministry. Ending is the outcome of how well you taught and discipled your church. In this book, Rick Warren talks about how he came into the ministry of planting a church and the purpose of a driven church. One things that Rick talks about though is that you can't wait for things to be perfect in your ministry because if you do things won't ever get done. You can't always just expect everything to be perfect and that's not how it works in the ministry. If things were perfect than we probably wouldn't need to minister to each other but that's not the truth. We weren't made perfect and when it comes to us being in the ministry there will always be ups and downs and challenges but never perfect.
Within your church you need to be able to offer people something that they can't get anywhere else. When Rick stated that i was like wow! If there are good things happening in your church and a lot of awesome things are going on, than people will be drawn to that kind of church where much is happening in the church. I think one thing that we don't really think about is that as church planters, all church planters go through a discouraging point at some point in time and Rick makes this statement, "Absolutely nothing will revitalize a discouraged church faster than rediscovering its purpose." How true this statement really becomes. God has so much purpose in each of our lives and in our passions and in our churches. When we are going on a downhill spiral, if we choose to remember the purpose that God gave us and our church than it all works out and things begin to get better!
All churches need a system and a strategy and i know that we all do! When we know our purpose as a church we need to find steps to take and strategies that we can have to get the things that we need to get done. Part of having a plan and a strategy with your church is that you need to be able to turn your attenders into members. Come up with a membership plan for people to really be able to become a member of your church and then make small groups too where people can grow even more in what they are learning and that's where the relationship happens where we can connect more with people. I could talk so much more about this book that Rick Warren wrote but i can't so i want to end with this, "Successful ministry is building the church on the purposes of God in the power of the Holy Spirit and expecting the results from God." If we build our ministries and our churches on God's purpose that he has for us and the church that is being planted, we will see the results that we want when we expect things from God.
I read 50% of The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren.
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Sunday, December 11, 2011
Lee Rogers
Lee Rogers works with Youth Alive as the Youth Alive Missionaries. Youth Alive started in 1979 in the Penndel District.
Youth Alive has 4 Strategies which are Campus Missionary, Campus Clubs, The Seven Project, and Prayer Force. For me one of the biggest strategies that stuck out to me was Campus Missionary and the Campus Clubs. I've been to Penndel Youth Convention every year since i was thirteen and it's the best thing in the world but i would always hear every year about being a campus missionary but never really understood it i guess. After Lee talked about this i did understand it a lot better!
Being a Campus Missionary is about challenging students to be intentional with their faith in their schools and in their lives! I grew up in public school and when Lee was talking about being a Campus Missionary i began to realize how important it being a campus missionary really is! If i would have been a campus missionary, just maybe i would be seeing some of my classmates in the ministry! It kind of makes me regret that i didn't live out my faith maybe as good as i could have. And that having the support of the Youth Alive behind me could have gotten a lot more going in my school. Campus clubs were so cool to hear about too! I know when i was in high school, one of the area youth ministers would come in on Wednesday morning to do a little Bible Study with the students who were there but none of them were really responsive to it and i think there could have been a huge difference if me and the other students would have taken more of a step than what was happening. There is so much that we could have done in our school and i think that we could have even gotten the seven project at my school!
This is really kind of setting a passion in me to some day go back to my high school and start something up again with students there who i don't know now and help to get them to a spot where they can live out their faith intentionally in front of their friends, in front of their teachers, and the staff!
Youth Alive has 4 Strategies which are Campus Missionary, Campus Clubs, The Seven Project, and Prayer Force. For me one of the biggest strategies that stuck out to me was Campus Missionary and the Campus Clubs. I've been to Penndel Youth Convention every year since i was thirteen and it's the best thing in the world but i would always hear every year about being a campus missionary but never really understood it i guess. After Lee talked about this i did understand it a lot better!
Being a Campus Missionary is about challenging students to be intentional with their faith in their schools and in their lives! I grew up in public school and when Lee was talking about being a Campus Missionary i began to realize how important it being a campus missionary really is! If i would have been a campus missionary, just maybe i would be seeing some of my classmates in the ministry! It kind of makes me regret that i didn't live out my faith maybe as good as i could have. And that having the support of the Youth Alive behind me could have gotten a lot more going in my school. Campus clubs were so cool to hear about too! I know when i was in high school, one of the area youth ministers would come in on Wednesday morning to do a little Bible Study with the students who were there but none of them were really responsive to it and i think there could have been a huge difference if me and the other students would have taken more of a step than what was happening. There is so much that we could have done in our school and i think that we could have even gotten the seven project at my school!
This is really kind of setting a passion in me to some day go back to my high school and start something up again with students there who i don't know now and help to get them to a spot where they can live out their faith intentionally in front of their friends, in front of their teachers, and the staff!
Service Learning Component Post
1. Who were we trying to serve?
We specifically wanted to try and serve the children in the hospitals who would be there over the holidays. We wanted to give them some Christmas cheer, as well as their families.
2. How did we serve them?
We served them by just being able to spread a little Christmas cheer through the cards that we made and through the notes of encouragement on them. As we pray over the cards, we want to pray that God would just pour out his love over the children and his joy over them as we give out the cards or even if the nurses give out the cards. Giving out Hershey Kisses and Candy Canes will really help to just bring out the joy and the smiles in kids as we fill them with candy haha! But, we are really hoping to give these out personally to the children and families so that they may see our passion and our love that we have to share with them. That we are able to spread the love of Jesus to them but if we are not able to, we will pray that God would just surround them with love and joy these holidays. We will also put invitations in to the Christmas services and hopefully be able to see some of the families there!
3. Where did you serve them? Is there a location, or a specific event, where your target population gathers or that is, for some reason, more effective for you in serving them than other locations?
We made the cards and everything at the church but we are waiting to hear back from the Hanover or Gettysburg Hospitals to see if we can deliver the cards and they will pass them out or if we can deliver the cards and pass them out ourselves. The hospital will be the best place because that is where the people will be who we are ministering to with the cards and that is also where they will be over the holidays. We want to fill them with Jesus's hope and love in their hospital rooms!
4. When did you serve them? Was there a particular day or time that was better than others?
Well we made the cards after class on Monday and we each made a certain amount but we want to deliver the cards closer to Christmas but before our break so that we are all there. As earlier in one of the answers, we are still waiting to hear from the hospital about delivering them so when they get back to us is when we will go and that should be this coming week!
Report on the Outreach:
Unfortunately i can't really report too much on how the outreach went because we have not been able to proceed with that yet because of waiting on the hospitals. We are all really looking forward to it though and i personally am really looking forward to just being able to sow a seed into the person that i get to meet and bless with some smiles and some love. I want to shine the light of Jesus upon them and i pray that they would be able to see Jesus in me and to invite their family to church at our Christmas Services that they would be able to even hear about Jesus there! When the girls and i sat down to make these cards it was just plain fun for us to do but as we did them we were just really hoping and praying that Jesus would use these cards to put a joy in their hearts.
Three Things that were executed well:
1. The Act of Service: I think as we tried to figure out what to do for this project, coming across the cards idea really is a great idea because it's a way to bless people but not only bless them, bring a hope and joy to them and a peace to them through the holidays. I think sometimes i don't really think about how important or meaningful a card could really be to somebody.
2. The Cards: As the girls and i got ready to make the cards, Bonnie and i brought the supplies and i think we all had the most fun with the glitter pens..haha. :) We did quite enjoy using those! But, just the fact that whether the cards looked professional or not, it means more to someone when it's something that you make yourself, something that you took the time to make for someone that you don't even know, just so that you could put a smile and a hope in someone for the holidays, but not just for the holidays, that it could be life-changing for someone!
3. The time spent together making the cards: It's been quite awhile since the four of us girls have just been able to sit down together and just have fun. It was a struggle for us girls to come up with an outreach to do. We actually had one or two ideas that had just totally fell through and once we finally got this idea and were able to set aside some time to work on it, it went so well! We were just able to sit down together and just spend some time together as we worked. We really had some good positive time together and even laughed a little bit. :)
Three Things that could be Improved:
1. Timing: Our timing wasn't the greatest with really trying to sit down and plan out something to do. All of us really struggled with it and every time we did try, it just ended up getting pushed off to where we only had two weeks left. Starting earlier next time would be good!
2. Giving out jobs in more of a specific manner: We didn't really hand out jobs to each other. We really relied more on one person and we should have all been working harder on it and really trying to plan more but we didn't. When you hand out jobs, it doesn't put as much pressure on one person like it did and it made it frustrating too i think for all of us. So being able to hand out jobs to each person is definitely something that could have been better!
3. Better communication with the event that is taking place: We definitely have been having some trouble getting a hold of the hospital/service center. I think if we would have started earlier it would have been easier but the hospitals are not getting back to us so we are really hoping and praying that things will work out because when you just expect something to happen like that it doesn't always work out but we are believing that things will work out for what we need!
We specifically wanted to try and serve the children in the hospitals who would be there over the holidays. We wanted to give them some Christmas cheer, as well as their families.
2. How did we serve them?
We served them by just being able to spread a little Christmas cheer through the cards that we made and through the notes of encouragement on them. As we pray over the cards, we want to pray that God would just pour out his love over the children and his joy over them as we give out the cards or even if the nurses give out the cards. Giving out Hershey Kisses and Candy Canes will really help to just bring out the joy and the smiles in kids as we fill them with candy haha! But, we are really hoping to give these out personally to the children and families so that they may see our passion and our love that we have to share with them. That we are able to spread the love of Jesus to them but if we are not able to, we will pray that God would just surround them with love and joy these holidays. We will also put invitations in to the Christmas services and hopefully be able to see some of the families there!
3. Where did you serve them? Is there a location, or a specific event, where your target population gathers or that is, for some reason, more effective for you in serving them than other locations?
We made the cards and everything at the church but we are waiting to hear back from the Hanover or Gettysburg Hospitals to see if we can deliver the cards and they will pass them out or if we can deliver the cards and pass them out ourselves. The hospital will be the best place because that is where the people will be who we are ministering to with the cards and that is also where they will be over the holidays. We want to fill them with Jesus's hope and love in their hospital rooms!
4. When did you serve them? Was there a particular day or time that was better than others?
Well we made the cards after class on Monday and we each made a certain amount but we want to deliver the cards closer to Christmas but before our break so that we are all there. As earlier in one of the answers, we are still waiting to hear from the hospital about delivering them so when they get back to us is when we will go and that should be this coming week!
Report on the Outreach:
Unfortunately i can't really report too much on how the outreach went because we have not been able to proceed with that yet because of waiting on the hospitals. We are all really looking forward to it though and i personally am really looking forward to just being able to sow a seed into the person that i get to meet and bless with some smiles and some love. I want to shine the light of Jesus upon them and i pray that they would be able to see Jesus in me and to invite their family to church at our Christmas Services that they would be able to even hear about Jesus there! When the girls and i sat down to make these cards it was just plain fun for us to do but as we did them we were just really hoping and praying that Jesus would use these cards to put a joy in their hearts.
Three Things that were executed well:
1. The Act of Service: I think as we tried to figure out what to do for this project, coming across the cards idea really is a great idea because it's a way to bless people but not only bless them, bring a hope and joy to them and a peace to them through the holidays. I think sometimes i don't really think about how important or meaningful a card could really be to somebody.
2. The Cards: As the girls and i got ready to make the cards, Bonnie and i brought the supplies and i think we all had the most fun with the glitter pens..haha. :) We did quite enjoy using those! But, just the fact that whether the cards looked professional or not, it means more to someone when it's something that you make yourself, something that you took the time to make for someone that you don't even know, just so that you could put a smile and a hope in someone for the holidays, but not just for the holidays, that it could be life-changing for someone!
3. The time spent together making the cards: It's been quite awhile since the four of us girls have just been able to sit down together and just have fun. It was a struggle for us girls to come up with an outreach to do. We actually had one or two ideas that had just totally fell through and once we finally got this idea and were able to set aside some time to work on it, it went so well! We were just able to sit down together and just spend some time together as we worked. We really had some good positive time together and even laughed a little bit. :)
Three Things that could be Improved:
1. Timing: Our timing wasn't the greatest with really trying to sit down and plan out something to do. All of us really struggled with it and every time we did try, it just ended up getting pushed off to where we only had two weeks left. Starting earlier next time would be good!
2. Giving out jobs in more of a specific manner: We didn't really hand out jobs to each other. We really relied more on one person and we should have all been working harder on it and really trying to plan more but we didn't. When you hand out jobs, it doesn't put as much pressure on one person like it did and it made it frustrating too i think for all of us. So being able to hand out jobs to each person is definitely something that could have been better!
3. Better communication with the event that is taking place: We definitely have been having some trouble getting a hold of the hospital/service center. I think if we would have started earlier it would have been easier but the hospitals are not getting back to us so we are really hoping and praying that things will work out because when you just expect something to happen like that it doesn't always work out but we are believing that things will work out for what we need!
Friday, December 2, 2011
Peter Almqvist Response
Peter Almqvist is the International Director for Mission SOS.
One thing that Peter said was that, "We need to see today how people serve people." It is such a necessity to serve people today and when i say serve people, we need to show them God's love, God's grace, and God's mercy by just being open to serve them in loving ways.
To become a strong leader, we need people around us to help us out. We can't be strong leaders unless we have people behind us to help us out and lift us up. I think sometimes we don't realize how much we need other people behind us as leaders because support is what helps us out.
We all need a "Warrior Mentality." The mentality comes to three points, to one - suck it up; two - deal with it; and three - you do it because you are a warrior. I love this warrior mentality! It's so powerful because really when you think about it, sucking it up is what we need to do, it's part of the only thing that's going to partly get us through. Dealing with it is hard to do at times but we don't have a choice. When we don't deal with things then it tends to probably pretty much get worse and that's what we find when we don't deal with situations or things that may come up. I really love the third part though, the facts that you do it because you are a warrior is so powerful. When you use the mentality that you are a warrior and that you can do it, it helps more than you know. I think i'm actually kind of learning that now is that if i give myself a mentality that is positive, perspectives and things change on my own perspectives and i know that's what i need to do. I'm going to do it because i am a warrior and i am going to start with that kind of mentality. I'm going to try and do my best to start using a positive mentality like this.
One thing that Peter said was that, "We need to see today how people serve people." It is such a necessity to serve people today and when i say serve people, we need to show them God's love, God's grace, and God's mercy by just being open to serve them in loving ways.
To become a strong leader, we need people around us to help us out. We can't be strong leaders unless we have people behind us to help us out and lift us up. I think sometimes we don't realize how much we need other people behind us as leaders because support is what helps us out.
We all need a "Warrior Mentality." The mentality comes to three points, to one - suck it up; two - deal with it; and three - you do it because you are a warrior. I love this warrior mentality! It's so powerful because really when you think about it, sucking it up is what we need to do, it's part of the only thing that's going to partly get us through. Dealing with it is hard to do at times but we don't have a choice. When we don't deal with things then it tends to probably pretty much get worse and that's what we find when we don't deal with situations or things that may come up. I really love the third part though, the facts that you do it because you are a warrior is so powerful. When you use the mentality that you are a warrior and that you can do it, it helps more than you know. I think i'm actually kind of learning that now is that if i give myself a mentality that is positive, perspectives and things change on my own perspectives and i know that's what i need to do. I'm going to do it because i am a warrior and i am going to start with that kind of mentality. I'm going to try and do my best to start using a positive mentality like this.
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Jason Fitch Response
Jason Fitch is the Pastor at Freedom Valley Tulsa. Josh Ploch is the Associate Pastor to Jason Fitch. They are both amazing people in which i have had the opportunity to meet and their hearts are huge and they are just amazing men of God!
Today Jason talked about Discipleship and Evangelism. Believe it or not they are trying to start a Discipleship group right now where they would have a group of people who are willing to get together with new believers in the church to help them grow and just talk about the Bible and just be able to disciple them just as Jesus discipled many. I think that this idea is awesome and so necessary so that first off, not only can you see the people that are growing in Christ that you are ministering to, but it can also Jason to grow his church even more! I just love this idea of what he is doing and i am personally really going to pray that God would work out something awesome for Jason and the staff so that they can do some awesome ministering in Tulsa!
Another thing that i loved hearing Jason talk about today was how he does team building. This interests me for the reason that i believe God is calling me to work in discipleship ministry and i want to be able to know how to do some awesome team building and finding the right people to work with my vision and what God has called me to one day! One thing that Jason said was, "Pray that God would go ahead of you to build that team first." I like this saying because really when you think about it, God is already thinking about the people that he has picked out for your team. I think thought too that you need to pray and ask God to set those right people before you and that God would help you to choose the right people. I am so excited for the ministry that i will work in one day and what God is going to do in the young adults that i am able to minister to and i just cannot wait! I can't believe how much God has been growing me in my calling in this class. Jason has such a heart and i loved what he talked about today but these two things were exactly what stuck out to me today and i thank God for it!
Today Jason talked about Discipleship and Evangelism. Believe it or not they are trying to start a Discipleship group right now where they would have a group of people who are willing to get together with new believers in the church to help them grow and just talk about the Bible and just be able to disciple them just as Jesus discipled many. I think that this idea is awesome and so necessary so that first off, not only can you see the people that are growing in Christ that you are ministering to, but it can also Jason to grow his church even more! I just love this idea of what he is doing and i am personally really going to pray that God would work out something awesome for Jason and the staff so that they can do some awesome ministering in Tulsa!
Another thing that i loved hearing Jason talk about today was how he does team building. This interests me for the reason that i believe God is calling me to work in discipleship ministry and i want to be able to know how to do some awesome team building and finding the right people to work with my vision and what God has called me to one day! One thing that Jason said was, "Pray that God would go ahead of you to build that team first." I like this saying because really when you think about it, God is already thinking about the people that he has picked out for your team. I think thought too that you need to pray and ask God to set those right people before you and that God would help you to choose the right people. I am so excited for the ministry that i will work in one day and what God is going to do in the young adults that i am able to minister to and i just cannot wait! I can't believe how much God has been growing me in my calling in this class. Jason has such a heart and i loved what he talked about today but these two things were exactly what stuck out to me today and i thank God for it!
Unchurched Friend Interview #2
Sex: Male Age: 21
1. What are you reasons for not going back to a church that you visited once or any church?
Limited amount of time.
Not in particular.
3. What do you think the purpose of church is?
Worship God
4. Did you feel welcome when you walked into church? If not, why?
Yes
5. Do you think there are areas in the church that could be improved or made better? If so, what could be improved?
Not specifically the church. I've had people not like me because of my religion as opposed to who I am and my values. Which sends a bad message toward me. Then again there are people in every type of group that make poor choices.
6. What would make the enviornment of the church more inviting to you?
Church always seems very inviting. I have no advice there
7. Do you believe in the one true God? If not, how come?
No. I have not been able to put my faith in the bible.
8. Is there a way that the pastor and teachers at the church could make it easier for you to understand what they are preaching about?
So far I have been able to understand what I learned at church very well.
9. Do you think that a Christian should go to church on a regular basis? If yes, why, if no, why?
Yes, from what I understand the bible tells them to. Not to mention if you believe in something to that extent, I think it is important for the person to experience it weekly and make sure it stays real in their lives.
10. Do you think that going to church every sunday could change your life around?
I'm not sure I want my life turned around so to speak. I am super happy with my life!. I'm always open to finding ways to improve though. I know the values instilled within people at church, are great values that help to turn their lives around.
I was actually really amazed at the answers that i got here. This man was completely honest with me and said how he really felt and actually gave me length to his answers. I was actually very interested in his answer to number 5. It's quite different and i am curious as to what his religion is. The fact that he hasn't been able to put his faith in the Bible and not believing in God is really mind blowing to me in a way. So given that he has understood what we is being preached when he does attend church he knows what the truth is but because he is so enjoying his life right now he doesn't want God, he doesn't want to give up his life for Jesus Christ. I think he is learning a lot and i really believe that God is going to work in his life and i think God may be getting ready to show him some things but maybe just isn't seeing yet. So my thoughts on this interview and how it went, was that it went really well and some of the answers that i got really makes me think a little bit more because here this person believes in God but seems like he picks and chooses what he wants and what he can do and can't do and i'm not sure that he is ready to give up everything to follow after God. I hope that in the future he is ready to give up everything to run after the one and only King of the universe.
Friday, November 4, 2011
Cullen Allen Response
Cullen Allen is on the staff at Allison Park Church. Cullen oversees the young adults and the MCM School.
Cullen's underlying philosophy is "To raise up spiritual warriors for the Kingdom of God, to teach them how to live out the book of Acts in signs, wonders, and miracles." I love Cullen's philosophy here because working in a discipleship program, in my view the point of it is to exactly what Cullen said. I personally want to be able to raise up spiritual warriors for God's Kingdom.
I love that Cullen said their school is very hands on with ministry. I find that to be huge, especially when you are in a ministry school. I'm a believer that when you are able to get hands on in the ministry it helps you grow so much more and it gives you much more experience when it even comes to getting hired in the ministry. I love being hands on because i get the experience behind it and i learn so much more because i'm able to actually do it, not just learn about it.
One of the biggest things that i got out of listening to Cullen Allen was Confrontation. He made the mention that confrontation is a daily and necessary part of our ministry even though it's difficult to do. As Cullen put it, "Confrontation is an art; it's really like trial and error. The way i learned how to do confrontation was by doing it wrong so many times." I had asked Cullen about confrontation and that's what he told me. It kind of hit me hard. Even though i don't want to be bad at confrontation, i do realize that each time i'm able to improve it or learn something that i did wrong that i can improve for the next time. I know this is an area that i am definitely working on right now even as a small leader now. It's not easy and i want to get better at but i'm not really sure how to either. I am going to do my best now as a leader with confrontation when it happens and i really hope in the future that when i am discipling young adults that i am able to do well with confrontation, at least better than i have been and not come across as kind of harsh but to come across lovingly.
Cullen Allen does a great job with his program for just talking to him and i am so glad that he was able to share with us!
Cullen's underlying philosophy is "To raise up spiritual warriors for the Kingdom of God, to teach them how to live out the book of Acts in signs, wonders, and miracles." I love Cullen's philosophy here because working in a discipleship program, in my view the point of it is to exactly what Cullen said. I personally want to be able to raise up spiritual warriors for God's Kingdom.
I love that Cullen said their school is very hands on with ministry. I find that to be huge, especially when you are in a ministry school. I'm a believer that when you are able to get hands on in the ministry it helps you grow so much more and it gives you much more experience when it even comes to getting hired in the ministry. I love being hands on because i get the experience behind it and i learn so much more because i'm able to actually do it, not just learn about it.
One of the biggest things that i got out of listening to Cullen Allen was Confrontation. He made the mention that confrontation is a daily and necessary part of our ministry even though it's difficult to do. As Cullen put it, "Confrontation is an art; it's really like trial and error. The way i learned how to do confrontation was by doing it wrong so many times." I had asked Cullen about confrontation and that's what he told me. It kind of hit me hard. Even though i don't want to be bad at confrontation, i do realize that each time i'm able to improve it or learn something that i did wrong that i can improve for the next time. I know this is an area that i am definitely working on right now even as a small leader now. It's not easy and i want to get better at but i'm not really sure how to either. I am going to do my best now as a leader with confrontation when it happens and i really hope in the future that when i am discipling young adults that i am able to do well with confrontation, at least better than i have been and not come across as kind of harsh but to come across lovingly.
Cullen Allen does a great job with his program for just talking to him and i am so glad that he was able to share with us!
Friday, October 28, 2011
Chuck Lenhart Response
So, today we listened to Chuck Lenhart speak. Chuck is a missionary in China and speaks Chinese as well! He is truly a man of so much wisdom and knowledge. I loved everything that he said today and i just felt like i was sucking up everything he was saying today.
I loved what he was talking about in his second point. He said, "as we are going in our purpose we begin to write down the vision, speak the vision as God begins to make it clearer to you." Then he said, "live in the letter of God's vision for your life." I love that Chuck made this point. I know that God has such a plan and purpose for my life and all i want is to be in God's will to do what he has called me to. As i write down the vision that God is giving me and as i grow in the passions that he has placed on my heart i am going to begin to allow God to write the letter on my heart that he has for me. And so much lately, God has been writing that letter on my heart. God has opened up so many doors for me and is talking to me more than ever before. So the vision is the huge part and i just loved how he expressed that!
One of the other things that i really like was when he talked about just stirring up the fires of passion in your ministry. Right now, as God is stirring up a fire of passion in me to disciple young adults and work in a discipleship ministry i want to work with co-workers and people around me who are also stirred in the same way i am for a passion for discipling young adults. Along with stirring up the fire of passions in your ministry, Chuck also said this, "continually be stirring up yourself to see the world through Christ's eyes and not your own." What a statement that is to me. I want to be a leader and a person who is able to look at people the way God looks at them and not be so quick to judge someone on how they look or who they are. I want to focus on seeing people through God's eyes and i know that that isn't easy but i want to do my best to be able to see people how God sees them. So God i am asking you that you would help me to see people through your eyes and show them your love like never before.
I loved what he was talking about in his second point. He said, "as we are going in our purpose we begin to write down the vision, speak the vision as God begins to make it clearer to you." Then he said, "live in the letter of God's vision for your life." I love that Chuck made this point. I know that God has such a plan and purpose for my life and all i want is to be in God's will to do what he has called me to. As i write down the vision that God is giving me and as i grow in the passions that he has placed on my heart i am going to begin to allow God to write the letter on my heart that he has for me. And so much lately, God has been writing that letter on my heart. God has opened up so many doors for me and is talking to me more than ever before. So the vision is the huge part and i just loved how he expressed that!
One of the other things that i really like was when he talked about just stirring up the fires of passion in your ministry. Right now, as God is stirring up a fire of passion in me to disciple young adults and work in a discipleship ministry i want to work with co-workers and people around me who are also stirred in the same way i am for a passion for discipling young adults. Along with stirring up the fire of passions in your ministry, Chuck also said this, "continually be stirring up yourself to see the world through Christ's eyes and not your own." What a statement that is to me. I want to be a leader and a person who is able to look at people the way God looks at them and not be so quick to judge someone on how they look or who they are. I want to focus on seeing people through God's eyes and i know that that isn't easy but i want to do my best to be able to see people how God sees them. So God i am asking you that you would help me to see people through your eyes and show them your love like never before.
Monday, October 24, 2011
Ack Ackerman Response
Ack Ackerman was a man who is the Director of the Men's House at Adams County Rescue Mission. He made one statement that i feel was very strong for me. He said, "God loves us and cares about us but the reason we go through things is because it builds our character."
This statement hits me because a lot of times i don't understand why i go through things, i don't understand why i have to be the one to deal with pornography when i did at one point in my life, i don't understand why all through my years i felt like i had to act like everything was ok on the outside when everything wasn't ok. Looking on it, God loves me and when i look back on certain situations i see how it grew me in my faith and in my walk with God. I want to be a leader to young adults where i can stress to them that i want them to know that there is a reason to why we go through the things we do. Ack is someone who helps men see that in my opinion. He helps them see that there is a reason they are going through certain things and that's where we show them that God loves them and cares about them and God is going to bring us through the situation no matter what.
I want to disciple young adults and teach them to be more Christ-minded. I want them to know that struggles are just a part of life and it's also part of walking with Christ in my opinion. God is teaching me that i will pull you through the hardships and even though i may not see it now, it will grow me in my faith and in my walk with God.
This statement hits me because a lot of times i don't understand why i go through things, i don't understand why i have to be the one to deal with pornography when i did at one point in my life, i don't understand why all through my years i felt like i had to act like everything was ok on the outside when everything wasn't ok. Looking on it, God loves me and when i look back on certain situations i see how it grew me in my faith and in my walk with God. I want to be a leader to young adults where i can stress to them that i want them to know that there is a reason to why we go through the things we do. Ack is someone who helps men see that in my opinion. He helps them see that there is a reason they are going through certain things and that's where we show them that God loves them and cares about them and God is going to bring us through the situation no matter what.
I want to disciple young adults and teach them to be more Christ-minded. I want them to know that struggles are just a part of life and it's also part of walking with Christ in my opinion. God is teaching me that i will pull you through the hardships and even though i may not see it now, it will grow me in my faith and in my walk with God.
Saturday, October 15, 2011
Mark Chester Response
I enjoyed Mark Chester. I like that he compared Discipleship to kind of like a weight loss or self-help because is done in so many ways. I actually kind of found it funny that that's how he compared it.
Another thing he mentioned was about the media. We don't realize how much people are actually saved through watching television or through watching things online. Because the media is so big in our day and age, we need to figure out a way that we can anoint through the media.
In Romans twelve it talks about how God has put a gift in each person. When God created each of us he gave each of us certain gifts. We have to take into consideration that when we want to learn from someone else we learn but being someone is completely different. You want to learn from people, not be them. God has given us the gift of learning so we need to put our minds to it, and be open to learn.
Mark said, "Victory doesn't rest in our techniques, it rests in the Lord." I really like this quote and here's why. We don't gain victory through our techniques, it's by the Lord that we gain our victories. See, Jesus is the only one who is actually able to give us the victories. God is the only one that can change hearts, we can't do that and Jesus has all the victories already, it's not with my techniques that we get the victories.
One thing that not just Mark said, but many of our other speakers have said, is that discipleship is all about relationship. When you have relationship personally with somebody it builds something even more with people. When you are able to be real with people it shows them that they can trust you, i also think it allows them to be more open and honest with you and willing to listen to what it is that we have to say. When we build relationships with people we are able to show them that that's the kind of relationship that Jesus wants with them as well.
Another thing he mentioned was about the media. We don't realize how much people are actually saved through watching television or through watching things online. Because the media is so big in our day and age, we need to figure out a way that we can anoint through the media.
In Romans twelve it talks about how God has put a gift in each person. When God created each of us he gave each of us certain gifts. We have to take into consideration that when we want to learn from someone else we learn but being someone is completely different. You want to learn from people, not be them. God has given us the gift of learning so we need to put our minds to it, and be open to learn.
Mark said, "Victory doesn't rest in our techniques, it rests in the Lord." I really like this quote and here's why. We don't gain victory through our techniques, it's by the Lord that we gain our victories. See, Jesus is the only one who is actually able to give us the victories. God is the only one that can change hearts, we can't do that and Jesus has all the victories already, it's not with my techniques that we get the victories.
One thing that not just Mark said, but many of our other speakers have said, is that discipleship is all about relationship. When you have relationship personally with somebody it builds something even more with people. When you are able to be real with people it shows them that they can trust you, i also think it allows them to be more open and honest with you and willing to listen to what it is that we have to say. When we build relationships with people we are able to show them that that's the kind of relationship that Jesus wants with them as well.
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
The Complete Book of Discipleship Review
This book is so good! I was enjoying so much of it and God was really speaking to me through it as i read the book. I didn't even get that far into the book and on page 45 it has Hebrews 12:1-3 written out and as i read it today i totally felt like it really reflects our Master's team. Right now we need to literally throw off everything that is hindering us and get rid of it for good. We need to fix our eyes on Jesus and run the race that God has marked out for us. I know that's what God is calling me to do, but i also believe that's what God is calling our team to do. Bill Hull makes a statement that reads, "Jesus calls us to - a life of following Him - a life of humility, sacrifice, submission, and obedience." I can't believe how much God is stressing this to me about me personally and our team once again. I just can't help that God keeps bringing it up. Hebrews 12:1-3 was even brought up again in my further reading.
Salvation is such a lifelong journey and i love that Bill Hull mentioned this because our walk with Christ is a journey. It's not hard, but you just have to fight through and go as hard as you can go. When you feel like you are ready to give up, you don't because God has already won it and going through your journey is what God uses in your life.Your journey is how God sanctifies you in the way that he does and that's why we go through things we don't understand that Jesus can sanctify us all the more and make us whole again because that is how much our God loves us!
Another awesome quote was, "But a disciple's heart consistently yearns for and desires to please God." Wow! I mean come one, that's what i want my heart to be is that i would consistently yearn for my king and to please him only and nothing else. God has spoken to me such as i read the book and i love what God has been doing. I could probably write much more but those were just a few of the things that God was speaking to me through this book. I loved the book though and thought it was absolutely great and Bill Hull was truly anointed by God when he wrote this!
I read 33% of The Complete Book of Discipleship
I read 33% of The Complete Book of Discipleship
Friday, October 7, 2011
Andy Landers Response
So what i have to say about what i received out of this class with Andy Stanley was amazing! He was such a good speaker and i have enjoyed all of them! Andy is the Director of Youth With A Mission and he also runs the Discipleship Training School in Louisville, KT.
One of the things that Andy Stanley talked about was his underlying philosophy for his program. One of those philosophies is Hearing and obeying the voice of God. I can surely attest to this because God is speaking so much to me especially within my calling. I've always had a passion for missions and i know that God has put that passion and desire in me but I have heard God starting to narrow down my calling in this way. I truly believe that God is calling me to work in a discipleship ministry where i am able to disciple and evangelize young adults and still be able to work in missions with that. I know that God is perfecting this calling and clarifying details to me and i am soooooooo EXCITED for what God is doing!
I loved one of his other philosophies which was I + A =T. What does this stand for? It stands for Information + + Application = Transformation. To explain these further Information is what exactly is the truth that God is giving to you or to us and for me that truth is that God has given me a passion for evangelism. Application is how exactly do i live this out and just thinking about this i'm trying to figure out how to walk this out, especially the calling that God has placed on me. A statement that Andy made says this, "The application of truth is what do i need to do right now to live this out. " That is really any truth that God is giving you, how are you going to live it out, what steps are you going to take kind of thing. Transformation is this, "someone who is different now, walks away saying I heard the truth and i did it and now i'm different. " I want to learn to apply this to my life more, I feel like i have such a huge spark in me and i am just so on fire for God right now and what he is doing and what is to come! Andy really really spoke so many things that were so good and God has blessed me above and beyond to hear and obey God's voice and to hear the truth even when i don't want it!
One of the things that Andy Stanley talked about was his underlying philosophy for his program. One of those philosophies is Hearing and obeying the voice of God. I can surely attest to this because God is speaking so much to me especially within my calling. I've always had a passion for missions and i know that God has put that passion and desire in me but I have heard God starting to narrow down my calling in this way. I truly believe that God is calling me to work in a discipleship ministry where i am able to disciple and evangelize young adults and still be able to work in missions with that. I know that God is perfecting this calling and clarifying details to me and i am soooooooo EXCITED for what God is doing!
I loved one of his other philosophies which was I + A =T. What does this stand for? It stands for Information + + Application = Transformation. To explain these further Information is what exactly is the truth that God is giving to you or to us and for me that truth is that God has given me a passion for evangelism. Application is how exactly do i live this out and just thinking about this i'm trying to figure out how to walk this out, especially the calling that God has placed on me. A statement that Andy made says this, "The application of truth is what do i need to do right now to live this out. " That is really any truth that God is giving you, how are you going to live it out, what steps are you going to take kind of thing. Transformation is this, "someone who is different now, walks away saying I heard the truth and i did it and now i'm different. " I want to learn to apply this to my life more, I feel like i have such a huge spark in me and i am just so on fire for God right now and what he is doing and what is to come! Andy really really spoke so many things that were so good and God has blessed me above and beyond to hear and obey God's voice and to hear the truth even when i don't want it!
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Unchurched Friend Interview #1
1. What are you reasons for not going back to a church that you visited once or any church?
didn't get into the sermon
2. Was there something that kept you away from a church or from not going back to a certain church?
No
3. What do you think the purpose of church is?
to learn about god
4. Did you feel welcome when you walked into church? If not, why?
yes very welcomed
5. Do you think there are areas in the church that could be improved or made better? If so, what could be improved?
no
6. What would make the enviornment of the church more inviting to you?
Everyone greeting everyone and talking to each other
7. Do you believe in the one true God? If not, how come?
yes i do
8. Is there a way that the pastor and teachers at the church could make it easier for you to understand what they are preaching about?
yes by things that happen in daily life
9. Do you think that a Christian should go to church on a regular basis? If yes, why, if no, why?
yes, because its one day a week and shows god you care
10. Do you think that going to church every sunday could change your life around?
yes would make me a better person and have better choices in life
This interview made me realize some things. For one, some of these answers really surprised me and when i say that i mean it in this way, i didn't realize that's what people thought in life. I mean i have always heard people that have done these interviews and people have answered that way but i think to actually hear it from someone i know makes it more real to me. I don't have a hard time believing that people say that going to church once a week shows God you care but at the same time it just shocks me because if that's what people really think then it challenges me to come up with a response to that, a way to lead that person to Christ. Being a better person doesn't do anything for us. It's the fact that faith without works is dead but that means that you can't have one and not the other. Faith is believing in what you cannot see but you see the effects of it (not just in other people's lives but in your life personally of what God is doing for you). God leaves signs and shows you who he is, he reveals things to you and i want to be able to come up with responses to say to people of the answers that they give me. I think that the purpose of church too isn't just to learn about God, it's to grow in your walk with God, to dig deeper into the plans and the purpose that God has for you. This interview has opened up my eyes quite a bit to want to be able to respond to someone's answers like this and it even makes me think on some of the questions myself.
didn't get into the sermon
2. Was there something that kept you away from a church or from not going back to a certain church?
No
3. What do you think the purpose of church is?
to learn about god
4. Did you feel welcome when you walked into church? If not, why?
yes very welcomed
5. Do you think there are areas in the church that could be improved or made better? If so, what could be improved?
no
6. What would make the enviornment of the church more inviting to you?
Everyone greeting everyone and talking to each other
7. Do you believe in the one true God? If not, how come?
yes i do
8. Is there a way that the pastor and teachers at the church could make it easier for you to understand what they are preaching about?
yes by things that happen in daily life
9. Do you think that a Christian should go to church on a regular basis? If yes, why, if no, why?
yes, because its one day a week and shows god you care
10. Do you think that going to church every sunday could change your life around?
yes would make me a better person and have better choices in life
This interview made me realize some things. For one, some of these answers really surprised me and when i say that i mean it in this way, i didn't realize that's what people thought in life. I mean i have always heard people that have done these interviews and people have answered that way but i think to actually hear it from someone i know makes it more real to me. I don't have a hard time believing that people say that going to church once a week shows God you care but at the same time it just shocks me because if that's what people really think then it challenges me to come up with a response to that, a way to lead that person to Christ. Being a better person doesn't do anything for us. It's the fact that faith without works is dead but that means that you can't have one and not the other. Faith is believing in what you cannot see but you see the effects of it (not just in other people's lives but in your life personally of what God is doing for you). God leaves signs and shows you who he is, he reveals things to you and i want to be able to come up with responses to say to people of the answers that they give me. I think that the purpose of church too isn't just to learn about God, it's to grow in your walk with God, to dig deeper into the plans and the purpose that God has for you. This interview has opened up my eyes quite a bit to want to be able to respond to someone's answers like this and it even makes me think on some of the questions myself.
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Chad Furlong Response
I so enjoyed listening to Chad speak. He has launched 2 Master's Commission Programs and is launching a new ministry this year called "Twelve Experience."
One of the quotes that he made was "We don't want to be a mile wide and an inch deep." To explain this quote from a little bit of his perspective and mine is that we don't wan to get too wide in our ministries because we want to grow deeper as ministry first before you grow wider. I think with that being said, with a program of ministry you want to start out small and go deeper, and then grow wider or (bigger) and continue to go even deeper.
Chad had only gotten through one of the questions that we had but i'm really glad that he went on with just the one question which was "What is the underlining philosophy of your discipleship?" Chad went through all of the values that he has laid out for his discipleship program for "Twelve Experience" and i loved all of them.
I'm going to talk about one that really stuck out to me and that was his first value which to value intimacy more than anything. Valuing intimacy with God and with each other is huge, and it's a responsibility of people who are mature in Christ to help the other younger brother or sister to become like Jesus (to be able to try and line up with Jesus to the best of our ability). I actually kind of feel like this is hitting me right now even more than i thought it would. I'm starting to understand that valuing intimacy with God is so big, i don't need anything else except for Jesus and if i'm falling in love with him more and more and running after him with everything that i have, putting my full focus on him and not anything else than i'm doing well and that's where God is going to be able to take me and help me to help others to become like Jesus but one thing is that we never stop growing in our relationship with God. Wow, this is totally hitting me right now and how much God is calling me to to just grow intimate with him and not worry about anything else except for him, to love him and think about him all the time. This is my heart right now and what i believe that God is really wanting me to hear is for me to grow intimate with him and only him!
Another thing that i really loved hearing about was how Chad built his ministry and what he had to do to
take the steps he needed to in order to see his program built and to make your ministry "sexy" in his words. It takes a platform in your life that you need to find in order for your discipleship to reflect your platform because that should be what happens. And the next step is to write out your discipleship experience on paper and put in what you want in your ministry and what you don't want. That third step is to start calling people and finding leaders and getting things advertised which is where making your ministry "sexy" comes in. You have to be able to mark your ministry and let people see it, make it something that people want to see, something that catches their attention. I have learned so much and i really think that God is about to show me some things that need changed in my life and some things that God is calling me to that i need to start listening to and to stop ignoring it.
One of the quotes that he made was "We don't want to be a mile wide and an inch deep." To explain this quote from a little bit of his perspective and mine is that we don't wan to get too wide in our ministries because we want to grow deeper as ministry first before you grow wider. I think with that being said, with a program of ministry you want to start out small and go deeper, and then grow wider or (bigger) and continue to go even deeper.
Chad had only gotten through one of the questions that we had but i'm really glad that he went on with just the one question which was "What is the underlining philosophy of your discipleship?" Chad went through all of the values that he has laid out for his discipleship program for "Twelve Experience" and i loved all of them.
I'm going to talk about one that really stuck out to me and that was his first value which to value intimacy more than anything. Valuing intimacy with God and with each other is huge, and it's a responsibility of people who are mature in Christ to help the other younger brother or sister to become like Jesus (to be able to try and line up with Jesus to the best of our ability). I actually kind of feel like this is hitting me right now even more than i thought it would. I'm starting to understand that valuing intimacy with God is so big, i don't need anything else except for Jesus and if i'm falling in love with him more and more and running after him with everything that i have, putting my full focus on him and not anything else than i'm doing well and that's where God is going to be able to take me and help me to help others to become like Jesus but one thing is that we never stop growing in our relationship with God. Wow, this is totally hitting me right now and how much God is calling me to to just grow intimate with him and not worry about anything else except for him, to love him and think about him all the time. This is my heart right now and what i believe that God is really wanting me to hear is for me to grow intimate with him and only him!
Another thing that i really loved hearing about was how Chad built his ministry and what he had to do to
take the steps he needed to in order to see his program built and to make your ministry "sexy" in his words. It takes a platform in your life that you need to find in order for your discipleship to reflect your platform because that should be what happens. And the next step is to write out your discipleship experience on paper and put in what you want in your ministry and what you don't want. That third step is to start calling people and finding leaders and getting things advertised which is where making your ministry "sexy" comes in. You have to be able to mark your ministry and let people see it, make it something that people want to see, something that catches their attention. I have learned so much and i really think that God is about to show me some things that need changed in my life and some things that God is calling me to that i need to start listening to and to stop ignoring it.
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Response from Jeremiah & Cori Herbert
Jeremiah & Cori Herbert are the Pastors at The Intersection Church in Gettysburg, PA. They both co-lead as the Pastors of the church.
I learned so much from Pastor Jeremiah & Cori today about how they evangelize and disciple through their ministries. Jeremiah and Cori run The Intersection Church and Cori teaches dance as well. They both have beautiful imaginations and are so very creative which is what i love about them both. One thing you have to learn in the ministry is that serving is huge and there are ministry leaders that believe in you but if you want to do what they do, you have to work for it. It won't come easy, it takes work to get where you want to be. For instance, me personally, i want to be in the mission field somewhere but i have to learn how to organize events, how to pull together a team of people to go somewhere on a trip. There is a lot that i need to learn and i am interning with the Missions Pastor which is teaching me all of that, but along with that internship comes work and serving.
Everything that Jeremiah and Cori do is discipleship. In their thoughts, a disciple is someone who learns about God and teaches it. Sometimes we put Jesus into this box where you can only teach about God a certain way but that isn't how it is. Everyone disciples people in different ways and Jeremiah and Cori happen to do that in a very unique way which i think is so awesome! Relationships are so key to when it comes to the ministry. As leaders of a church or of whatever it may be in the ministry, the relationships are what builds in a church. You need to be able to build relationships with your church members and not just be a great pastor to them but a friend to them. Being a friend allows your congregation to feel like they can be more real with you and you hang out as friends and i think that's what makes your congregation feel more comfortable with you and not just look at you as the person who teaches them about God and that's it. As Jeremiah puts it, "Discipleship is a life-long obsession with Jesus." In the words of Cori, "It's not just about the church, it's about what Jeremiah and i present as Jesus." I love the statement she made because it's so true; see when we present Jesus in a way that people see Jesus in us and through us in how live and act, that speaks so loud. I could have interpreted this statement differently than from what they meant but that is what i get out of this statement.
I never really thought about it, but when you ask a Pastor or a ministry leader 'what can i do?' and they ask you 'what would you like to do?' and you answer, 'whatever you need,' it makes it hard for them to really be able to give you a job because they want you to be able to have a job in a place that you have a passion or a gifting in. I didn't really realize that that was something that i could do, i mean working in the ministry that i want to be in is awesome but as i serve under a pastor in the area i want to be in, i can serve where i know that my strengths are and that can help them out even more! When you know what your passions are and you go to a leader that you trust and tell them what you are gifted in or passionate about something then you can ask them if they could use you or what they would need.
Cori said, "Jesus can be first in your life, but that doesn't mean that you bend for somebody every time they want your time." Balancing between family time and the ministry can be hard but you have to make sure that you give yourself the time that you need to yourself or with your family depending on if you have a family yet like a husband, kids...so with that being said i know that i will learn to balance my time and my ministry time and also learn to be careful not to let people entice me to do things that they think may be an emergency but really isn't and God i'm asking that you will help me to distinguish between that as i'm working in the ministry now just as an intern.
I never really thought about it, but when you ask a Pastor or a ministry leader 'what can i do?' and they ask you 'what would you like to do?' and you answer, 'whatever you need,' it makes it hard for them to really be able to give you a job because they want you to be able to have a job in a place that you have a passion or a gifting in. I didn't really realize that that was something that i could do, i mean working in the ministry that i want to be in is awesome but as i serve under a pastor in the area i want to be in, i can serve where i know that my strengths are and that can help them out even more! When you know what your passions are and you go to a leader that you trust and tell them what you are gifted in or passionate about something then you can ask them if they could use you or what they would need.
Cori said, "Jesus can be first in your life, but that doesn't mean that you bend for somebody every time they want your time." Balancing between family time and the ministry can be hard but you have to make sure that you give yourself the time that you need to yourself or with your family depending on if you have a family yet like a husband, kids...so with that being said i know that i will learn to balance my time and my ministry time and also learn to be careful not to let people entice me to do things that they think may be an emergency but really isn't and God i'm asking that you will help me to distinguish between that as i'm working in the ministry now just as an intern.
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
10 Questions For An Unreached Friend
- What are you reasons for not going back to a church that you visited once or any church?
- Was there something that kept you away from a church or from not going back to a certain church?
- What do you think the purpose of church is?
- Did you feel welcome when you walked into church? If not, why?
- Do you think there are areas in the church that could be improved or made better? If so, what could be improved?
- What would make the enviornment of the church more inviting to you?
- Do you believe in the one true God? If not, how come?
- Is there a way that the pastor and teachers at the church could make it easier for you to understand what they are preaching about?
- Do you think that a Christian should go to church on a regular basis? If yes, why, if no, why?
- Do you think that going to church every sunday could change your life around?
Friday, September 9, 2011
Discipling & Evangelizing: Signs in Spiritual Transformations
I learned a lot from listening to Jan Workman talk about her ministry and how she disciples and evangelizes through children's ministry. See one thing that i didn't realize is that a lot of times when we are teaching kids from ages of Kindergarden through the ages of 20-25 its that church kids are sometimes the ones even kids that don't go to church aren't always retaining what we teach to them. When we teach on Sanctification, Baptism, and different things that are harder to understand we need to make sure that our students are able to retain what we teach them. If the students are able to retain what you are teaching them then you know that they are learning it. I want to be able to work on that myself personally that as i work with the kids they would understand what we are teaching them. Discipling them is very important but we are just helping to disciple them along side of the parents. You know when someone is getting it when you start seeing suttle changes like the changes in behavior, attitude, and when they start inviting their friends.
Another thing that we need to be aware of is that we have to look at transitions for kids. As a leader we need to be aware of how the kids feel when it also comes to going to a new class or a new age group. It can be intimidating and i know when i was younger and i transitioned to Youth Group. It was intimidating because i didn't really know anybody, there were people who were older than me and i was scared. Now the way that Jan Workman and the ministry works over at CLA in Camp Hill, it's worked out in a way that kids don't feel so intimidated and that the kids have the option of switching back and forth to kids ministry and to the middle school group until they feel comfortable but also sometimes they need to have that push. Sometimes that push helps but you also have to watch how the kids feel too.
I learned a lot today about how you are able to disciple and evangelize to people or kids in Jan's case. I also learned that when you may not have a certain gifting an area that's not your strong point, look for someone in the church who is interested in ministry and it may end up being that that person just may have the gifting. You could even pray that God would give you the gifting that you need in order to fulfill what you need to have fulfilled. Jan also said how with having her A/G Certification, it has opened many doors for her in the ministry. I am looking forward to working very hard in my classes so that i may get my A/G Certification and see where God opens doors for me in the ministry of missions!
Another thing that we need to be aware of is that we have to look at transitions for kids. As a leader we need to be aware of how the kids feel when it also comes to going to a new class or a new age group. It can be intimidating and i know when i was younger and i transitioned to Youth Group. It was intimidating because i didn't really know anybody, there were people who were older than me and i was scared. Now the way that Jan Workman and the ministry works over at CLA in Camp Hill, it's worked out in a way that kids don't feel so intimidated and that the kids have the option of switching back and forth to kids ministry and to the middle school group until they feel comfortable but also sometimes they need to have that push. Sometimes that push helps but you also have to watch how the kids feel too.
I learned a lot today about how you are able to disciple and evangelize to people or kids in Jan's case. I also learned that when you may not have a certain gifting an area that's not your strong point, look for someone in the church who is interested in ministry and it may end up being that that person just may have the gifting. You could even pray that God would give you the gifting that you need in order to fulfill what you need to have fulfilled. Jan also said how with having her A/G Certification, it has opened many doors for her in the ministry. I am looking forward to working very hard in my classes so that i may get my A/G Certification and see where God opens doors for me in the ministry of missions!
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