At The River we work hard to provide a unique environment in which anyone, and we mean anyone can be comfortable.
We seek to provide a diverse, judgment free zone where a lasting, active relationship with God can be discovered and developed at your own pace.
As we grow and develop as a church family we are seeking to continually provide a safe, energetic environment, where everyone feels accepted and respected.
We know that no one is perfect, except God, but we also know that God wants us to continually be in the process of becoming more like Him, so we are here to encourage you to be everything that God created you to be.
Therefore The River is committed to be a place where you can become and belong.
Our Mission: Come as you are, Love Jesus, Serve Others, and Tell the Story!
We are The River!
Showing posts with label church planting. Show all posts
Showing posts with label church planting. Show all posts
Monday, October 12, 2009
Friday, October 9, 2009
Getting into Fall at The River!
We are completely enjoying the Fall here in Idaho, the temperature has dropped, the leaves are changing, and it’s time to focus on growth! I am excited; I love the Fall and everything it brings. I am really looking forward to it bringing new people to The River! That’s why we are here: to introduce people to Jesus Christ and help them grow in Him!
· Please pray for us to grow and mature as a church.
We are just over 6 months old; running an average of 100 people and we have seen nearly 20 commitments to Christ. We are not satisfied! Our community is over 22,000 people and there are over a half of a million people in the Treasure Valley. We have discovered that the majority of people do not attend church; they are not irreligious, but they are lost and disconnected. Most non-churched people here have some form of religious background but for some reason they have disconnected from church, not God, just church. That doesn’t mean they know Jesus, they are most likely religious; making them very difficult to reach for Christ. They have been infected with enough religion to make them immune to a relationship with God. Our mission is to reach those people where they are, break down their religious barriers, and help them to fall in love with Jesus. Pray for us to accomplish this vision!
· Pray for our people, the people of The River, to reach out to their friends and invite them to church. Pray for divine appointments for them to talk to them about a relationship with Christ.
· Pray that my messages on marriage and family will reach our community with God’s practical and invaluable council on developing great families while pointing people to the life saving grace of a relationship with Jesus.
· Pray for our small groups to grow and develop as they work through applying each Sunday’s message to their life.
· Pray for the growth and development of our worship teams. Heather and Phil share the responsibilities of leading our worship on Sundays. We are struggling with having enough musicians to put together a weekly band and our goal is to have two or more complete worship teams. Pray for God to lead the right people to us and for us to recognize them and get them involved. We see playing an instrument as an opportunity to reach musicians who don’t know Jesus.
Cathy and I are both doing better physically; thank you for your prayers! We are not 100% but we feel we are getting there. Cathy joined my gym and she is going with me every day! Pray for her as this is huge lifestyle change. I love her going to the gym with me (I’ve tried to get her to do this for 30+ years)! Pray for her to develop this as a habit and to learn the right kind of exercises that will be best for her and will accelerate her healing and lead her to complete health.
Pray for our finances. Our outside support has been cut in half in the past two months. As a new church we are doing OK averaging nearly $1,000 a week in offerings, but it takes a minimum of $8,000 a month to meet our needs (that includes my support but not the rest of the staff who are on support). September brought a shortfall of nearly $900. Since our Grand Opening we have put ourselves $6,304.99 in debt. We know that statistically it takes 3 years for a church to be self supporting, but we don’t have that much time, so we are asking God for a miracle to pull us out of debt and to meet our needs every month. Maybe God is asking you to be part of the solution.
Click here to support The River!
· Please pray for us to grow and mature as a church.
We are just over 6 months old; running an average of 100 people and we have seen nearly 20 commitments to Christ. We are not satisfied! Our community is over 22,000 people and there are over a half of a million people in the Treasure Valley. We have discovered that the majority of people do not attend church; they are not irreligious, but they are lost and disconnected. Most non-churched people here have some form of religious background but for some reason they have disconnected from church, not God, just church. That doesn’t mean they know Jesus, they are most likely religious; making them very difficult to reach for Christ. They have been infected with enough religion to make them immune to a relationship with God. Our mission is to reach those people where they are, break down their religious barriers, and help them to fall in love with Jesus. Pray for us to accomplish this vision!
· Pray for our people, the people of The River, to reach out to their friends and invite them to church. Pray for divine appointments for them to talk to them about a relationship with Christ.
· Pray that my messages on marriage and family will reach our community with God’s practical and invaluable council on developing great families while pointing people to the life saving grace of a relationship with Jesus.
· Pray for our small groups to grow and develop as they work through applying each Sunday’s message to their life.
· Pray for the growth and development of our worship teams. Heather and Phil share the responsibilities of leading our worship on Sundays. We are struggling with having enough musicians to put together a weekly band and our goal is to have two or more complete worship teams. Pray for God to lead the right people to us and for us to recognize them and get them involved. We see playing an instrument as an opportunity to reach musicians who don’t know Jesus.
Cathy and I are both doing better physically; thank you for your prayers! We are not 100% but we feel we are getting there. Cathy joined my gym and she is going with me every day! Pray for her as this is huge lifestyle change. I love her going to the gym with me (I’ve tried to get her to do this for 30+ years)! Pray for her to develop this as a habit and to learn the right kind of exercises that will be best for her and will accelerate her healing and lead her to complete health.
Pray for our finances. Our outside support has been cut in half in the past two months. As a new church we are doing OK averaging nearly $1,000 a week in offerings, but it takes a minimum of $8,000 a month to meet our needs (that includes my support but not the rest of the staff who are on support). September brought a shortfall of nearly $900. Since our Grand Opening we have put ourselves $6,304.99 in debt. We know that statistically it takes 3 years for a church to be self supporting, but we don’t have that much time, so we are asking God for a miracle to pull us out of debt and to meet our needs every month. Maybe God is asking you to be part of the solution.
Click here to support The River!
Friday, March 13, 2009
Serve Others- Using What God has Given Me
Three weeks ago I began a series teaching on our Mission at The River. Our Mission is simple:
· Come as you are- we are a judgment free zone!
· Love Jesus – This is our ultimate purpose for being here, it’s what God created us for – to love Jesus
· And today part 3; Serve Others - using what God gave you. That’s what God wants us to do. He wants us to use the talents, abilities, and spiritual gifts He gave us to serve others.
Check this out: Several years ago, a fire destroyed a building that contained tons of ice. Although the building contained enough material to extinguish the fire, the water was not in usable form. The building was literally full of frozen assets.
I think that describes most of us. We have all kinds of potential locked up inside of us, yet it remains frozen, unused, and wasted.
For those of us who are Christians, We have even more potential because God has given each one of us an extra helping of abilities, skills, and talents called Spiritual gifts. And God wants us to use those abilities and gifts to serve others.
Let me review three things that God gives to us the moment we fall in love with Jesus and accept Him as our Lord and Savior…
I. GOD GIVES ME THREE GIFTS WHEN I accept CHRIST
God does more than forgive me of my sin, He also gives me…
1. Eternal life. When I open my life to Jesus Christ, instantly I'm given eternal life.
Romans 6:23 (NLT) "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."
I never have to worry about my future; I know I'm going to heaven. It's solid and I’m secure.
2. The Holy Spirit. The moment I gave my life to Jesus Christ, God gave His Spirit to me to live inside me.
Romans 5:5 (LB) “…God has given us His Spirit to fill our hearts with His love.”
And He'll never leave you and you'll never be alone. God is with you for the rest of eternity.
3. A special ability to use for His purpose.
Romans 12:6 (LB) "God has given each of us the ability to do certain things well."
(NASB) “Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, each of us is to exercise them accordingly."
When you become a Christ follower, God gives you a brand new purpose for living, and along with that new life purpose He gives you a special gift or gifts to fulfill that purpose and he expects you to use those gifts, they’re what we call spiritual gifts. The Bible has a lot to say about spiritual gifts.
Every Christian gets at least one spiritual gift. That's different from a natural ability. Everybody has natural abilities. But only believers have spiritual gifts.
· When you were born physically, God gave you physical gifts like hearing, taste, touch, sight, smell Maybe He gave you athletic abilities, the ability to write, do math, think outside the box. Those are natural abilities and everyone gets some.
· But when you become a Christ follower God gives you some spiritual abilities or spiritual gifts to serve Him. Every believer has at least one. They are given to you at the moment of salvation.
Now God chooses which gifts you're going to get; you don't get to choose. They're given by grace; you don't earn the gift, it's God's free gift to you.
There are several lists of spiritual gifts in the Bible.
Romans 12:6-8; 1 Corinthians 12-14; and Ephesians 4:7-16; 1 Peter 4:9-11
I don't think these lists are exhaustive. I think they're simply examples. When you include the special gifts mentioned in the Old Testament I think the list is much larger than the list of gifts that’s actually mentioned in these passages. I think they're just examples for us in Scripture.
Here’s my point: any time you're serving God and you're doing it well and you're having fun doing it, you're demonstrating giftedness; you’re using the gifts God has given you.
II. THE IMPORTANCE OF MY SPIRITUAL GIFTS
Why is it important to know my spiritual gift? Because, if I'm a Christian, God gave me at least one, probably several, and if He gave them to me He expects me to use them.
As a believer, there are 3 very important reasons, to discover, develop and use your spiritual gifts. So let’s look at them.
I need to know what my spiritual gifts are because…
1. MY GIFTS DETERMINE HOW GOD WANTS ME TO SERVE OTHERS.
I Corinthians 12:4-6 "There are different kinds of gifts but the same spirit. There are different kinds of service but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working but the same God works in all of them."
Your spiritual gifts determine how God wants you to serve Him.
Once you understand what your spiritual gift is, it answers a lot of questions. For example:
· "What is God's will for my life?"
· "What does He want me to do now that I'm a Christian?"
· "What should my ministry be?"
· "How should I spend my time?"
· "Where should I focus my life?"
Each of these questions are answered when you understand your particular spiritual gift.
Every Christian is called to serve the cause of Christ, but your spiritual gift shows how you, individually, are to serve Him.
· If you're gifted in leading then God wants you to be a leader.
· If you’re gifted in teaching then you need to be a teacher.
· If you're gifted in music then you ought to sing or play music
· If you're gifted in talking to non-Christians about Jesus you ought to be an evangelist.
However you're gifted determines how to use your life for God.
Notice the word different in 1 Cor. 12:4-6 it’s used 3 times.
· It says there are different kinds of spiritual gifts
· There are different kinds of service
· There are different kinds of working
Every gift in your life is unique, meaning God doesn’t want you to copy other people's spiritual gifts.
There is always a temptation to copy other Christian's gifts, because their gifts seem cooler or more important than yours.
But God doesn't want you to copy anybody else; He knows what gift is best for you. That's why He is the one who determines what gift you will get.
Spiritual Gifts explain why Christians who believe the same things see things differently.
Have you noticed that even though we believe the same, Christians disagree about a lot? Why?
It's because of giftedness. We see things differently. We tend to emphasize what we're gifted in.
Check this out… If seven spiritual gifts were represented in a family and somebody dropped their desert on the floor here's how each person would respond according to their giftedness:
· Mercy – Put your arm around and empathize
· Preaching - That's what happens when you're not careful!
· Administration - Jim, would you get the mop? Sue pick it up.
· Serving - Let me help you clean it up!
· Teaching - The reason it fell is because you weren’t carrying it right and it was too heavy on one side. They are practical.
· Giving – Can I buy you a new desert?
· Exhortation – There is a deeper reason you dropped your desert, the bible says….
Truth is we're all different. That’s how Christians become divided; they tend to over focus on certain gifts.
· Some people think the most important gift is teaching so they go to a strong teaching church.
· Another says the most important gift is evangelism. So they go to a very evangelistic church.
· For another it's miracles so they go to a miracle church.
But they’re all equally important. The key is to not expect your gift to show in others and don't project your gift onto others.
All the gifts are important and they’re all necessary. What you need to know is that your gift shows God's plan for your life.
I need to know what my spiritual gifts are because…
2. MY GIFTS SHOW ME THAT I’M IMPORTANT.
1 Corinthians 12:27 "All of you form the one body of Christ and each one is a separate and necessary part of it."
You're needed. You're important. There are no little people or little jobs; truth is all the gifts are needed.
You’re just as important in the body of Christ as I am or anyone else. Every gift is needed.
· My gift is the power God gives me to bless others.
· God gives you a spiritual gift to bless other Christians too.
· If I don't use my gift, you get cheated.
· If you don't use your gift, I get cheated
The fact is if we don’t use our gifts everybody gets cheated.
God designed you to make a unique contribution. You're not gifted by accident; without you the picture isn't complete.
It's like a jigsaw puzzle with one part missing. Every Christ follower is needed in the body of Christ.
I need to know what my spiritual gifts are because…
3. MY GIFTS ARE THE KEY TO MY FULFILLMENT IN LIFE.
Everyone has the desire to be used in some way. And every one has the desire to accomplish something, to feel significant, to feel like your life makes a difference.
When you use the spiritual gift that God has given you - you're not only productive, but you’re doing what God has gifted you to do, and when you do what God designed you to do - you enjoy doing it.
John 15:8 & 11 (PH) "This is how my Father is glorified --in your becoming fruitful (productive) and being my disciples… I've told you this so that you can share my joy and that your happiness may be complete."
· Real joy does not come from making a lot of money.
· Real joy does not come from having a lot of pleasure.
· Real joy does not come from things.
Real joy comes from knowing my life is productive, that it counts, that it matters that I'm not just taking up space.
You find real joy and happiness by being what God meant you to be, by taking the gifts and abilities He's given you and using them. You feel a sense of accomplishment and fulfillment.
The Bible says that spiritual gifts are given to help other people.
God gives me one to bless you.
God gives you one to bless me.
And there is enormous personal satisfaction that comes from being used by God.
Nothing else to compares to the feeling of serving God. Being used by God is the greatest feeling and thrill you can experience in life.
Some of you can't comprehend that. If you've never experienced what it means to feel used by God you're missing out on real joy, the joy that God wants you to experience.
Nothing compares to knowing that God gave me a gift and I'm using it and God is blessing it.
God wants you to feel that feeling. He wants you to unwrap and use that gift. He wants you to use it so you can experience a satisfaction that compares to nothing else.
III. WHAT DOES GOD WANT ME TO DO WITH MY GIFT?
He wants you to do three things:
1. Discover it.
1 Corinthians 14:1 "Eagerly desire spiritual gifts."
One of the marks that proves you’re a Christian is that you have a desire to know your spiritual gift and to use it serving God.
In fact, if you have no desire to know your spiritual gift, develop it and use it, you ought to question whether you're a Christian or not.
The mark of a genuine Christ follower is they have a desire to know the gifts that God's given them and to use them.
God gave you your gifts - so it only makes sense that He wants you to know what your spiritual gift is.
I Corinthians 12:1 "Now about spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be ignorant.” God says, I don't want you to be ignorant of gifts. I want you to know them.
So how do I discover my spiritual gifts?
Examination and experimentation. By examining my Christian life and by experimenting with different kinds of service.
1. Examination. First, I discover my spiritual gifts by looking back on my Christian life and saying,
· In the ways I've served God so far, and what have I really enjoyed doing?
· What has God blessed?
· Where have people been impacted?
· Where have I seen results?
If you've never gotten involved in serving in a ministry since you've become a Christian there's no way you're going to know your gift.
2. Experimentation. Secondly, if you don't have anything to look back on you're going to have experiment with different kinds of ministries and service.
So what interests you? Try out some different ministries:
· Greeting
· Small groups
· Hospitality
· Teaching children
· Work with youth
· Start a singles ministry
· Rock babies in the Nursery
· Sing or try to sing on the worship Team
· Play in the band
· Get involved with set up and take down
· Sound tech, computers, lights, etc.
One of them will feel like your niche. If we don’t have a ministry that fits… make one up! Truth is if your gifted in something that we are not doing, then God has put you here to start it! Use your gifts and start a new ministry here at The River.
You need to do what God's gifted you to do. It will be enjoyable and you'll like doing it. When you do that you've found your gift and your ministry!
If you had told me 30 years ago that someday I’d plant a new church in Las Vegas and then another one in Eagle Idaho, I'd have said, "You're nuts!" I never in my wildest dreams thought I would be a church planter. In fact at that time, I never thought I would be a senior pastor. I was a youth pastor and I loved it and I never wanted to be a lead pastor! But I discovered I’m good at it, I’m gifted at it, and now I love it!
Taking spiritual gifts tests can help. There are a bunch of them online. But every test has to be somewhat standardized and we're all unique.
If I'd taken a test, never in a million years would I have discovered I have the gift of Apostle; one who starts a new work or plants a new church.
When I planted my first church in Las Vegas the only way I could have known I was gifted to plant a church was to do it!
So we trusted God, packed our stuff and moved to Las Vegas. I found out I had a special gift for starting churches. Then 12 years later, did it again when we moved here.
The only way you discover your gift is get out there and start doing something. Try it.
2. Develop it
Paul tells Timothy
1 Timothy 4:14 (GN) "Don't neglect the spiritual gift that is in you."
Many of you already know what you're good at. You know how God's gifted you. But if you're not using it for God's glory, then you're neglecting your spiritual gift.
Why? Maybe you think…
· I'm too busy
· I'm not good enough
· What if I fail or embarrass myself?
Satan will do everything he can to keep you from discovering and developing your spiritual gift.
He'll even try to get you involved in all kinds of good things to keep you from the best thing so you don't know the thrill of being used by God.
So follow God’s direction….
2 Timothy 1:6 (JB) "Fan into flame the gift God gave you."
Strengthen your gift, deepen it, increase it, and cultivate it. Don't get discouraged. Don't quit. Get some training, go to conferences, read books, find someone who is good at it to help you.
Just because you're gifted in an area doesn't mean it's easy. You may be gifted in counseling or caring for people who are hurting but that's not easy week after week. You may be gifted in organizing events but that doesn't mean it's easy.
I can tell you from experience it’s not easy starting a new church or teaching every Sunday, but I do it, it’s hard work but I love it!
So don't give up. Keep on doing until it feels good - or until you figure out it’s not your gift, then try something else!
3. Use it.
1 Peter 4:10 "Each one should use whatever spiritual gift he has received to serve others faithfully managing God's grace in its various forms."
God wants you to use the gifts He has given to you -- and the church is the place to discover and develop and use your gift.
Ephesians 4:12 (LB) "Why is it that he gives us these special abilities to do certain things best? It is that God's people will be equipped to do better work for Him, building up the church, the Body of Christ, to a position of strength and maturity."
God's plan is brilliant: Every Christian gets a spiritual gift…
· so that everybody can contribute,
· so that everybody's important,
· so that nobody feels insignificant,
· So that we all function together in harmony.
He says, I'll give every Christian a spiritual gift so that every person can be a partner with God in the most important task in the world, building His kingdom.
So here’s God's plan:
· some people set up,
· some people organize,
· some people make artistic signs, banners, or decorations
· some people do music,
· some people teach,
· some people work with kids,
· some people know how to raise money
Everybody's important. No one is more important than the others. It's all God's plan. It takes everybody.
In Matthew 25 there's a story called the Parable of the Talents. Jesus tells this story to say, "One day you're going to stand before God and He’s going to ask you, `What did you do with what I gave you?'"
When you stand before Jesus one day and He asks, "Why didn’t you discover, develop, and use your gift?" What are you going to say?
Folks this is serious stuff. One day there's going to be a final exam and as your pastor want you to be able to give the right answer.
What we're talking about here is of vital importance.
· God is not going to hold you accountable for gifts He didn't give you.
· But He is going to hold you accountable for the gifts He did give you.
1 Corinthians 4:2 "Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful."
God has made an investment in you and it is a sin to waste what God has given you. So don’t waste it!
God has given you spiritual gifts that are to be discovered, developed and used.
WRAP-UP
We are getting ready for an out pouring of God’s blessing next month. As we have our Grand Opening I believe God has positioned us here in Eagle to further His kingdom in a significant way.
There are so many things that need to be done as we kick off.
· There are new ministries that we need to start
· We need to build up and support all our core ministries, like children, youth, small groups, setup, tech, worship, greeters, and hospitality.
· I would love for us to start a drama team, a food bank, a helping hands ministry where people can find someone in the church who can help them do something they cannot do for themselves, for free!
· We need people who are willing to go door to door and tell people that a new church is starting.
There is much to be done. Jesus Said…
Matthew 9:37-37 “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”
I’m asking God to send you out into the harvest field, serving others for His sake.
· Come as you are- we are a judgment free zone!
· Love Jesus – This is our ultimate purpose for being here, it’s what God created us for – to love Jesus
· And today part 3; Serve Others - using what God gave you. That’s what God wants us to do. He wants us to use the talents, abilities, and spiritual gifts He gave us to serve others.
Check this out: Several years ago, a fire destroyed a building that contained tons of ice. Although the building contained enough material to extinguish the fire, the water was not in usable form. The building was literally full of frozen assets.
I think that describes most of us. We have all kinds of potential locked up inside of us, yet it remains frozen, unused, and wasted.
For those of us who are Christians, We have even more potential because God has given each one of us an extra helping of abilities, skills, and talents called Spiritual gifts. And God wants us to use those abilities and gifts to serve others.
Let me review three things that God gives to us the moment we fall in love with Jesus and accept Him as our Lord and Savior…
I. GOD GIVES ME THREE GIFTS WHEN I accept CHRIST
God does more than forgive me of my sin, He also gives me…
1. Eternal life. When I open my life to Jesus Christ, instantly I'm given eternal life.
Romans 6:23 (NLT) "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."
I never have to worry about my future; I know I'm going to heaven. It's solid and I’m secure.
2. The Holy Spirit. The moment I gave my life to Jesus Christ, God gave His Spirit to me to live inside me.
Romans 5:5 (LB) “…God has given us His Spirit to fill our hearts with His love.”
And He'll never leave you and you'll never be alone. God is with you for the rest of eternity.
3. A special ability to use for His purpose.
Romans 12:6 (LB) "God has given each of us the ability to do certain things well."
(NASB) “Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, each of us is to exercise them accordingly."
When you become a Christ follower, God gives you a brand new purpose for living, and along with that new life purpose He gives you a special gift or gifts to fulfill that purpose and he expects you to use those gifts, they’re what we call spiritual gifts. The Bible has a lot to say about spiritual gifts.
Every Christian gets at least one spiritual gift. That's different from a natural ability. Everybody has natural abilities. But only believers have spiritual gifts.
· When you were born physically, God gave you physical gifts like hearing, taste, touch, sight, smell Maybe He gave you athletic abilities, the ability to write, do math, think outside the box. Those are natural abilities and everyone gets some.
· But when you become a Christ follower God gives you some spiritual abilities or spiritual gifts to serve Him. Every believer has at least one. They are given to you at the moment of salvation.
Now God chooses which gifts you're going to get; you don't get to choose. They're given by grace; you don't earn the gift, it's God's free gift to you.
There are several lists of spiritual gifts in the Bible.
Romans 12:6-8; 1 Corinthians 12-14; and Ephesians 4:7-16; 1 Peter 4:9-11
I don't think these lists are exhaustive. I think they're simply examples. When you include the special gifts mentioned in the Old Testament I think the list is much larger than the list of gifts that’s actually mentioned in these passages. I think they're just examples for us in Scripture.
Here’s my point: any time you're serving God and you're doing it well and you're having fun doing it, you're demonstrating giftedness; you’re using the gifts God has given you.
II. THE IMPORTANCE OF MY SPIRITUAL GIFTS
Why is it important to know my spiritual gift? Because, if I'm a Christian, God gave me at least one, probably several, and if He gave them to me He expects me to use them.
As a believer, there are 3 very important reasons, to discover, develop and use your spiritual gifts. So let’s look at them.
I need to know what my spiritual gifts are because…
1. MY GIFTS DETERMINE HOW GOD WANTS ME TO SERVE OTHERS.
I Corinthians 12:4-6 "There are different kinds of gifts but the same spirit. There are different kinds of service but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working but the same God works in all of them."
Your spiritual gifts determine how God wants you to serve Him.
Once you understand what your spiritual gift is, it answers a lot of questions. For example:
· "What is God's will for my life?"
· "What does He want me to do now that I'm a Christian?"
· "What should my ministry be?"
· "How should I spend my time?"
· "Where should I focus my life?"
Each of these questions are answered when you understand your particular spiritual gift.
Every Christian is called to serve the cause of Christ, but your spiritual gift shows how you, individually, are to serve Him.
· If you're gifted in leading then God wants you to be a leader.
· If you’re gifted in teaching then you need to be a teacher.
· If you're gifted in music then you ought to sing or play music
· If you're gifted in talking to non-Christians about Jesus you ought to be an evangelist.
However you're gifted determines how to use your life for God.
Notice the word different in 1 Cor. 12:4-6 it’s used 3 times.
· It says there are different kinds of spiritual gifts
· There are different kinds of service
· There are different kinds of working
Every gift in your life is unique, meaning God doesn’t want you to copy other people's spiritual gifts.
There is always a temptation to copy other Christian's gifts, because their gifts seem cooler or more important than yours.
But God doesn't want you to copy anybody else; He knows what gift is best for you. That's why He is the one who determines what gift you will get.
Spiritual Gifts explain why Christians who believe the same things see things differently.
Have you noticed that even though we believe the same, Christians disagree about a lot? Why?
It's because of giftedness. We see things differently. We tend to emphasize what we're gifted in.
Check this out… If seven spiritual gifts were represented in a family and somebody dropped their desert on the floor here's how each person would respond according to their giftedness:
· Mercy – Put your arm around and empathize
· Preaching - That's what happens when you're not careful!
· Administration - Jim, would you get the mop? Sue pick it up.
· Serving - Let me help you clean it up!
· Teaching - The reason it fell is because you weren’t carrying it right and it was too heavy on one side. They are practical.
· Giving – Can I buy you a new desert?
· Exhortation – There is a deeper reason you dropped your desert, the bible says….
Truth is we're all different. That’s how Christians become divided; they tend to over focus on certain gifts.
· Some people think the most important gift is teaching so they go to a strong teaching church.
· Another says the most important gift is evangelism. So they go to a very evangelistic church.
· For another it's miracles so they go to a miracle church.
But they’re all equally important. The key is to not expect your gift to show in others and don't project your gift onto others.
All the gifts are important and they’re all necessary. What you need to know is that your gift shows God's plan for your life.
I need to know what my spiritual gifts are because…
2. MY GIFTS SHOW ME THAT I’M IMPORTANT.
1 Corinthians 12:27 "All of you form the one body of Christ and each one is a separate and necessary part of it."
You're needed. You're important. There are no little people or little jobs; truth is all the gifts are needed.
You’re just as important in the body of Christ as I am or anyone else. Every gift is needed.
· My gift is the power God gives me to bless others.
· God gives you a spiritual gift to bless other Christians too.
· If I don't use my gift, you get cheated.
· If you don't use your gift, I get cheated
The fact is if we don’t use our gifts everybody gets cheated.
God designed you to make a unique contribution. You're not gifted by accident; without you the picture isn't complete.
It's like a jigsaw puzzle with one part missing. Every Christ follower is needed in the body of Christ.
I need to know what my spiritual gifts are because…
3. MY GIFTS ARE THE KEY TO MY FULFILLMENT IN LIFE.
Everyone has the desire to be used in some way. And every one has the desire to accomplish something, to feel significant, to feel like your life makes a difference.
When you use the spiritual gift that God has given you - you're not only productive, but you’re doing what God has gifted you to do, and when you do what God designed you to do - you enjoy doing it.
John 15:8 & 11 (PH) "This is how my Father is glorified --in your becoming fruitful (productive) and being my disciples… I've told you this so that you can share my joy and that your happiness may be complete."
· Real joy does not come from making a lot of money.
· Real joy does not come from having a lot of pleasure.
· Real joy does not come from things.
Real joy comes from knowing my life is productive, that it counts, that it matters that I'm not just taking up space.
You find real joy and happiness by being what God meant you to be, by taking the gifts and abilities He's given you and using them. You feel a sense of accomplishment and fulfillment.
The Bible says that spiritual gifts are given to help other people.
God gives me one to bless you.
God gives you one to bless me.
And there is enormous personal satisfaction that comes from being used by God.
Nothing else to compares to the feeling of serving God. Being used by God is the greatest feeling and thrill you can experience in life.
Some of you can't comprehend that. If you've never experienced what it means to feel used by God you're missing out on real joy, the joy that God wants you to experience.
Nothing compares to knowing that God gave me a gift and I'm using it and God is blessing it.
God wants you to feel that feeling. He wants you to unwrap and use that gift. He wants you to use it so you can experience a satisfaction that compares to nothing else.
III. WHAT DOES GOD WANT ME TO DO WITH MY GIFT?
He wants you to do three things:
1. Discover it.
1 Corinthians 14:1 "Eagerly desire spiritual gifts."
One of the marks that proves you’re a Christian is that you have a desire to know your spiritual gift and to use it serving God.
In fact, if you have no desire to know your spiritual gift, develop it and use it, you ought to question whether you're a Christian or not.
The mark of a genuine Christ follower is they have a desire to know the gifts that God's given them and to use them.
God gave you your gifts - so it only makes sense that He wants you to know what your spiritual gift is.
I Corinthians 12:1 "Now about spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be ignorant.” God says, I don't want you to be ignorant of gifts. I want you to know them.
So how do I discover my spiritual gifts?
Examination and experimentation. By examining my Christian life and by experimenting with different kinds of service.
1. Examination. First, I discover my spiritual gifts by looking back on my Christian life and saying,
· In the ways I've served God so far, and what have I really enjoyed doing?
· What has God blessed?
· Where have people been impacted?
· Where have I seen results?
If you've never gotten involved in serving in a ministry since you've become a Christian there's no way you're going to know your gift.
2. Experimentation. Secondly, if you don't have anything to look back on you're going to have experiment with different kinds of ministries and service.
So what interests you? Try out some different ministries:
· Greeting
· Small groups
· Hospitality
· Teaching children
· Work with youth
· Start a singles ministry
· Rock babies in the Nursery
· Sing or try to sing on the worship Team
· Play in the band
· Get involved with set up and take down
· Sound tech, computers, lights, etc.
One of them will feel like your niche. If we don’t have a ministry that fits… make one up! Truth is if your gifted in something that we are not doing, then God has put you here to start it! Use your gifts and start a new ministry here at The River.
You need to do what God's gifted you to do. It will be enjoyable and you'll like doing it. When you do that you've found your gift and your ministry!
If you had told me 30 years ago that someday I’d plant a new church in Las Vegas and then another one in Eagle Idaho, I'd have said, "You're nuts!" I never in my wildest dreams thought I would be a church planter. In fact at that time, I never thought I would be a senior pastor. I was a youth pastor and I loved it and I never wanted to be a lead pastor! But I discovered I’m good at it, I’m gifted at it, and now I love it!
Taking spiritual gifts tests can help. There are a bunch of them online. But every test has to be somewhat standardized and we're all unique.
If I'd taken a test, never in a million years would I have discovered I have the gift of Apostle; one who starts a new work or plants a new church.
When I planted my first church in Las Vegas the only way I could have known I was gifted to plant a church was to do it!
So we trusted God, packed our stuff and moved to Las Vegas. I found out I had a special gift for starting churches. Then 12 years later, did it again when we moved here.
The only way you discover your gift is get out there and start doing something. Try it.
2. Develop it
Paul tells Timothy
1 Timothy 4:14 (GN) "Don't neglect the spiritual gift that is in you."
Many of you already know what you're good at. You know how God's gifted you. But if you're not using it for God's glory, then you're neglecting your spiritual gift.
Why? Maybe you think…
· I'm too busy
· I'm not good enough
· What if I fail or embarrass myself?
Satan will do everything he can to keep you from discovering and developing your spiritual gift.
He'll even try to get you involved in all kinds of good things to keep you from the best thing so you don't know the thrill of being used by God.
So follow God’s direction….
2 Timothy 1:6 (JB) "Fan into flame the gift God gave you."
Strengthen your gift, deepen it, increase it, and cultivate it. Don't get discouraged. Don't quit. Get some training, go to conferences, read books, find someone who is good at it to help you.
Just because you're gifted in an area doesn't mean it's easy. You may be gifted in counseling or caring for people who are hurting but that's not easy week after week. You may be gifted in organizing events but that doesn't mean it's easy.
I can tell you from experience it’s not easy starting a new church or teaching every Sunday, but I do it, it’s hard work but I love it!
So don't give up. Keep on doing until it feels good - or until you figure out it’s not your gift, then try something else!
3. Use it.
1 Peter 4:10 "Each one should use whatever spiritual gift he has received to serve others faithfully managing God's grace in its various forms."
God wants you to use the gifts He has given to you -- and the church is the place to discover and develop and use your gift.
Ephesians 4:12 (LB) "Why is it that he gives us these special abilities to do certain things best? It is that God's people will be equipped to do better work for Him, building up the church, the Body of Christ, to a position of strength and maturity."
God's plan is brilliant: Every Christian gets a spiritual gift…
· so that everybody can contribute,
· so that everybody's important,
· so that nobody feels insignificant,
· So that we all function together in harmony.
He says, I'll give every Christian a spiritual gift so that every person can be a partner with God in the most important task in the world, building His kingdom.
So here’s God's plan:
· some people set up,
· some people organize,
· some people make artistic signs, banners, or decorations
· some people do music,
· some people teach,
· some people work with kids,
· some people know how to raise money
Everybody's important. No one is more important than the others. It's all God's plan. It takes everybody.
In Matthew 25 there's a story called the Parable of the Talents. Jesus tells this story to say, "One day you're going to stand before God and He’s going to ask you, `What did you do with what I gave you?'"
When you stand before Jesus one day and He asks, "Why didn’t you discover, develop, and use your gift?" What are you going to say?
Folks this is serious stuff. One day there's going to be a final exam and as your pastor want you to be able to give the right answer.
What we're talking about here is of vital importance.
· God is not going to hold you accountable for gifts He didn't give you.
· But He is going to hold you accountable for the gifts He did give you.
1 Corinthians 4:2 "Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful."
God has made an investment in you and it is a sin to waste what God has given you. So don’t waste it!
God has given you spiritual gifts that are to be discovered, developed and used.
WRAP-UP
We are getting ready for an out pouring of God’s blessing next month. As we have our Grand Opening I believe God has positioned us here in Eagle to further His kingdom in a significant way.
There are so many things that need to be done as we kick off.
· There are new ministries that we need to start
· We need to build up and support all our core ministries, like children, youth, small groups, setup, tech, worship, greeters, and hospitality.
· I would love for us to start a drama team, a food bank, a helping hands ministry where people can find someone in the church who can help them do something they cannot do for themselves, for free!
· We need people who are willing to go door to door and tell people that a new church is starting.
There is much to be done. Jesus Said…
Matthew 9:37-37 “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”
I’m asking God to send you out into the harvest field, serving others for His sake.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Prayer and Fasting
Acts 13:2-3 (GW)"While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, 'Set Barnabas and Saul apart for me. I want them to do the work for which I called them.' After fasting and praying, Simeon, Lucius, and Manaen placed their hands on Barnabas and Saul, and released them from their work in Antioch."
Matthew 17:20-21 (NASB) "... for truly I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you. 'But this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.'”
We are only a week away from beginning the next phase of launching The River (Our Preview Services begin Sunday, February 22). This is the end of phase one and the beginning of phase two... and so far God has supremely blessed! We have been experiencing God's awesome blessings and miracles. And I have been absolutely humbled by His faithfulness.
Now it is our turn to show our faithfulness. Normally God says "you first", but so far, based on what we have experienced, as God has blessed our socks off, we have simply watched Him show His grace and power as He has been establishing The River; having churches commit to helping us plant, gathering an awesome staff, and developing a committed core group of faithful believers.
So what are we to do? The Bible is clear, there is nothing we can do to make anything happen, it is only God that empowers, blesses, and grows. But there is ample teaching in the Bible that says we have a part in releasing His blessings. One significant thing we can do is pray and fast! Honestly, I don't understand in my own finite human mind (and my hungry body) how fasting works; however I do know that Jesus says, when I faithfully pray AND fast it empowers my prayers and releases God to do what He really wants to do.
What is fasting? Simply it is refraining from food. All through Scripture we see examples of fasting; fasting when seeking God's will, fasting to humble oneself before God, fasting to honor and worship God, fasting to sacrifice, etc.
As we enter phase two of launching The River I am calling on all our prayer partners to consider this Wednesday (2/18) as a day of fasting and prayer. I am not asking you to put on a monks robe and go to a Monastery in a self debasing way. Just fast, refrain from food, not water, and as you go through your normal day - pray! As you feel hungry let that be a reminder for you to pray. Pray when it comes to your mind. Pray during what would be meal times. You will be surprised at how often you will think about praying when you are fasting.
Will you commit to pray and fast with us this Wednesday? Please send me an email to let me know. I want to pray for you too!
Here are several things to bring to God in prayer for The River as we prepare to launch phase two.
-Pray that we can reach out to the non-churched people in our area; both those who have left the church for some reason and those who have never known God and lead them into a life changing relationship with Jesus.
-Pray that we can help people discover their God given shape and begin to equip them to serve Him, by serving others in and through The River.
-Pray that God would supernaturally charge all our advertising, newspaper inserts and handouts, so it is noticed and people respond by coming to The River.
-Pray that as people come onto the school property they would sense a spirit of love, caring, acceptance, and God's Spirit.
-Pray that we will fill up the school auditorium with people! Immediately forcing us to go to 2 services - even before Easter!
-Pray that we will bring Glory to God through every facet our services ; song, media, drama, teaching, announcements, communion, and the offering.
-Pray that as we plan our services we will experience the empowerment of the Holy Spirit to be creative, biblical, and point people to Jesus.
-Pray that God would spiritually supercharge our services with joy, encouragement, fun, discovery, and multiple challenges to new commitments to Jesus.
-Pray that we can develop a committed set up/take down crew that will view their hard work as serving the Lord not just a job.
-Pray for safety from the evil one. That God will bind him and not allow him to interfere, influence, or destroy anyone or any thing that is a part of The River.
-Pray for our staff: Don Steinke-Pastor of Connections, Dave Rowe-Pastor of Care, Kason Wedel-Worship Leader, Phil Eastman-Youth Director. Susie Tilton-Children's Director.
-Pray for all our volunteers who serve in hospitality, greeting, worship team, set up/take down, tech crew, children's ministry, youth ministry, and media.
-Pray for the staff at Seven Oaks Elementary School - that our use of their facilities will being blessings on them and their classes, and that they would recognize God's blessing.
-Pray for our finances. That God will continue to provide for our every need, and that our people will learn the value of giving.
-Pray for Cathy. Cathy was finally able to go to the Dr this past week. She has been given medication that prayerfully will begin to help her get back on track physically. She also did several lab tests and that suggested that there may be some other more serious physical problems. She has been referred to another Dr that she will see this week. We are praying for a miracle, we are praying for her complete healing either with the Dr's or not.
-Pray for me. I went back to the Dr on the blood clots in my leg and I have been referred to a vein specialist who I will see next week who will hopefully remove the veins. I am also scheduled for a full physical this week. Pray for a healthy outcome and no surprises!
God bless you!
Thank you for your prayers. We love you and appreciate all your prayers and support.
Monday, October 27, 2008
PLAYING IT SAFE - NOT!
You can’t please God by playing it safe. You say, I’ve got my cushy, comfortable life here and I’m going to coast the rest of my life. If you’re coasting right now, guess what? You’re headed down. You’re not improving your life, it’s deteriorating.
Why does God say you can’t please Me if you’re playing it safe? Because God wants you to learn to trust Him; Trust is faith.
One of the great lessons of life is learning to trust God. You can’t trust God if you never take any risks. In order to have faith you have to take some risks. God says if you’re not taking any risks in life, if you’re not doing anything that stretches you, then you don’t require faith. And if you don’t require faith in your life you are being unfaithful.
Romans 14:13 (KJ) “Whatsoever is not of faith is sin.”
Hebrews 11:6 “Without faith it is impossible to please God.”
God says I want you to learn to trust Me. It’s one of the great lessons of life. The only way to do that is putting yourself out on a limb. Never be afraid of going out on a limb. That’s where the fruit is. Don’t be afraid to rock the boat if God’s in it with you. He’s going to help you, He’s going to protect you.
If you want to please God, If you want to live life abundantly, if you are ready to grow in your faith, quit playing it safe and take a giant leap of faith.
God would rather have you attempt to do something great and fail than attempt to do nothing with your life and succeed.
We have taken on a huge goal of starting a new church. Most people aren’t willing to try something that’s risky. Everybody wants to success but they want it the easy way. If you talk to anyone who is successful in any area they will tell you they made it because they took a risk, maybe calculated, maybe not, but they took a risk and that led to their success.
If you have lost your joy; or you’ve lost your enthusiasm for life; There’s no spark. You just don’t feel totally alive any more. Maybe it’s because you’re playing it safe.
Step up, step out, live for God, and quit playing it safe!
Why does God say you can’t please Me if you’re playing it safe? Because God wants you to learn to trust Him; Trust is faith.
One of the great lessons of life is learning to trust God. You can’t trust God if you never take any risks. In order to have faith you have to take some risks. God says if you’re not taking any risks in life, if you’re not doing anything that stretches you, then you don’t require faith. And if you don’t require faith in your life you are being unfaithful.
Romans 14:13 (KJ) “Whatsoever is not of faith is sin.”
Hebrews 11:6 “Without faith it is impossible to please God.”
God says I want you to learn to trust Me. It’s one of the great lessons of life. The only way to do that is putting yourself out on a limb. Never be afraid of going out on a limb. That’s where the fruit is. Don’t be afraid to rock the boat if God’s in it with you. He’s going to help you, He’s going to protect you.
If you want to please God, If you want to live life abundantly, if you are ready to grow in your faith, quit playing it safe and take a giant leap of faith.
God would rather have you attempt to do something great and fail than attempt to do nothing with your life and succeed.
We have taken on a huge goal of starting a new church. Most people aren’t willing to try something that’s risky. Everybody wants to success but they want it the easy way. If you talk to anyone who is successful in any area they will tell you they made it because they took a risk, maybe calculated, maybe not, but they took a risk and that led to their success.
If you have lost your joy; or you’ve lost your enthusiasm for life; There’s no spark. You just don’t feel totally alive any more. Maybe it’s because you’re playing it safe.
Step up, step out, live for God, and quit playing it safe!
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Prayer mail 10-9-08
"I will sing of the LORD’s great love forever; with my mouth I will make your faithfulness known through all generations." Psalm 89:1
God is so good! I sense God's presence and power with every step I take. It is such a blessing to be doing what God wants me to do, and know and to feel His approval. That is the way I feel about the ministry here at The River right now. I know there will be difficult days, but for right now I am basking in God's unparalleled blessings!
I have been waiting, sometimes not very patiently, for our first Bible study for The River and we finally had it this Wednesday! It went great! There was good attendance with 18 people in total attendance with several people who planned to come but did not make it for one reason or another. I began a three part series called "How to Spend a Day With God". It went very well. We are struggling with meeting at Rembrandt's Coffee House. Wednesday night is a pretty good night to meet, not as big of crowd, but we are in a room right next to the counter and the blenders and counter noise is very distracting. Pray for us to come up with a great solution. I love being at Rembrandt's, everybody knows where it is, it is a very popular place in Eagle, but if God has anther option, pray that I will hear Him clearly and be willing to follow His lead.
As a church, we are in the core building stage. My focus is on building a core of committed believers who can and will carry on the bulk of the ministry. At that same time I am putting together my staff and leadership team. I am finally talking to someone with experience and availability that may take on our Children's ministry! Please pray, I have said this before, but this is a key position as Eagle is VERY family oriented and we need to have a significant ministry to Children if we are going to really reach into the community. Please continue to pray for the other staff positions I have mentioned previously. There are two very qualified pastors who are ready to make commitments to The River and begin raising support. I hope to announce their names to you soon so you may pray for them individually. I am still looking for a worship leader/team and a youth leader. Again very vital parts to reaching the non churched in our area. And having a worship leader is key to starting any preview services, without one, we will not begin.
While I am doing all that I can to build the core group, I am still reaching out to people in our community who are far from God. I have been building a relationship with a man at my gym for a couple of months and I asked him to come to our Bible study last week. He was speechless, in fact could not speak to me for at least 10 minutes. It was the first time he found out that I am a pastor and I think he was replaying everything he had said to me (not Godly stuff to say the least...) and had no idea how to respond. I don't think he has ever considered God as an option. On Tuesday I was in the middle of a set of sit ups and he sat next to me and just began to vomit out his life, bad choices, issues in his marriage, issues with his step children (18 & 20 yrs). It just poured out of him for about 10 minutes. Then all of a sudden he realized where we were and jumped up to leave. I had finished my sit ups, put my hand on his shoulder and asked if I could pray for him. Again, speechless... he looked around and said, "Th... th... this is not an appropriate place." He was very uncomfortable so I said no problem, He could go his way, but I wanted him to know that I would pray for him, and he bolted! Haven't seen him for two days, but that's not that unusual. Pray for this man, his name is Bob and he really needs the Lord! Pray for more opportunities, divine appointments, where I can gently weave in the message of God's grace, and that he would respond. This is why I am here! I love these conversations.
Praise God that Cathy continues to heal. She told me that Tuesday was the first day she had no headache and she could actually feel her finger tips! More progress! Two steps up, one step back. God is healing her, slowly but surely. Thank you Lord for Galen Danielson, owner of Rehab Authority, who volunteered to treat her physical therapy for free. We could not have done it without him. As for her job, she took in a letter to announce her leaving and looking for another job. Her manager decided she really needed her so she designed a job for her as a co-teacher in a 2-3 year old class. She was offered a regular schedule and less chaos. Cathy and I have prayed about this a lot. In fact this week I was praying and fasting asking for God to do something significant. We feel He has. It will not be perfect, far from it, unfortunately, the center is more concerned about accomplishing their goals and business than they are in loving and nurturing children. And Cathy is all about loving and nurturing. She believes the co-teaching position might work well. The biggest variables, besides their erroneous theory of child care, is if her manager can manage to let her staff do their jobs and not create additional chaos. It should be interesting to see if she can. Keep praying for Cathy, she has been the light of Christ at her place of business. I am very proud of her as she has maintained integrity and worked hard in the face of adversity and physical discomfort and pain, all the time keeping a smile on her face. She is ministering to the workers, loving the children, and looking forward to extending that loving care to the parents of the children she works with.
We had someone volunteer to give us a complete portable sound system with a built out 20' trailer to haul it with last spring. We have been trying to follow up on this offer, but there have been several snags, mostly with people being out of town . Pray that we can make the necessary connection and that the offer still stands... and that if we are going to get this equipment that we can get it by November 1 so we can learn the system and be able to use it; that is if we have our first preview service on November 23rd. Pray that either the offer for equipment comes through or that God will provide other options for a sound system and equipment transportation.
Thank you for your prayers and support!
God bless
Dave Griewe
1-208-570-3732
http://www.riverchristianchurch.com/
God is so good! I sense God's presence and power with every step I take. It is such a blessing to be doing what God wants me to do, and know and to feel His approval. That is the way I feel about the ministry here at The River right now. I know there will be difficult days, but for right now I am basking in God's unparalleled blessings!
I have been waiting, sometimes not very patiently, for our first Bible study for The River and we finally had it this Wednesday! It went great! There was good attendance with 18 people in total attendance with several people who planned to come but did not make it for one reason or another. I began a three part series called "How to Spend a Day With God". It went very well. We are struggling with meeting at Rembrandt's Coffee House. Wednesday night is a pretty good night to meet, not as big of crowd, but we are in a room right next to the counter and the blenders and counter noise is very distracting. Pray for us to come up with a great solution. I love being at Rembrandt's, everybody knows where it is, it is a very popular place in Eagle, but if God has anther option, pray that I will hear Him clearly and be willing to follow His lead.
As a church, we are in the core building stage. My focus is on building a core of committed believers who can and will carry on the bulk of the ministry. At that same time I am putting together my staff and leadership team. I am finally talking to someone with experience and availability that may take on our Children's ministry! Please pray, I have said this before, but this is a key position as Eagle is VERY family oriented and we need to have a significant ministry to Children if we are going to really reach into the community. Please continue to pray for the other staff positions I have mentioned previously. There are two very qualified pastors who are ready to make commitments to The River and begin raising support. I hope to announce their names to you soon so you may pray for them individually. I am still looking for a worship leader/team and a youth leader. Again very vital parts to reaching the non churched in our area. And having a worship leader is key to starting any preview services, without one, we will not begin.
While I am doing all that I can to build the core group, I am still reaching out to people in our community who are far from God. I have been building a relationship with a man at my gym for a couple of months and I asked him to come to our Bible study last week. He was speechless, in fact could not speak to me for at least 10 minutes. It was the first time he found out that I am a pastor and I think he was replaying everything he had said to me (not Godly stuff to say the least...) and had no idea how to respond. I don't think he has ever considered God as an option. On Tuesday I was in the middle of a set of sit ups and he sat next to me and just began to vomit out his life, bad choices, issues in his marriage, issues with his step children (18 & 20 yrs). It just poured out of him for about 10 minutes. Then all of a sudden he realized where we were and jumped up to leave. I had finished my sit ups, put my hand on his shoulder and asked if I could pray for him. Again, speechless... he looked around and said, "Th... th... this is not an appropriate place." He was very uncomfortable so I said no problem, He could go his way, but I wanted him to know that I would pray for him, and he bolted! Haven't seen him for two days, but that's not that unusual. Pray for this man, his name is Bob and he really needs the Lord! Pray for more opportunities, divine appointments, where I can gently weave in the message of God's grace, and that he would respond. This is why I am here! I love these conversations.
Praise God that Cathy continues to heal. She told me that Tuesday was the first day she had no headache and she could actually feel her finger tips! More progress! Two steps up, one step back. God is healing her, slowly but surely. Thank you Lord for Galen Danielson, owner of Rehab Authority, who volunteered to treat her physical therapy for free. We could not have done it without him. As for her job, she took in a letter to announce her leaving and looking for another job. Her manager decided she really needed her so she designed a job for her as a co-teacher in a 2-3 year old class. She was offered a regular schedule and less chaos. Cathy and I have prayed about this a lot. In fact this week I was praying and fasting asking for God to do something significant. We feel He has. It will not be perfect, far from it, unfortunately, the center is more concerned about accomplishing their goals and business than they are in loving and nurturing children. And Cathy is all about loving and nurturing. She believes the co-teaching position might work well. The biggest variables, besides their erroneous theory of child care, is if her manager can manage to let her staff do their jobs and not create additional chaos. It should be interesting to see if she can. Keep praying for Cathy, she has been the light of Christ at her place of business. I am very proud of her as she has maintained integrity and worked hard in the face of adversity and physical discomfort and pain, all the time keeping a smile on her face. She is ministering to the workers, loving the children, and looking forward to extending that loving care to the parents of the children she works with.
We had someone volunteer to give us a complete portable sound system with a built out 20' trailer to haul it with last spring. We have been trying to follow up on this offer, but there have been several snags, mostly with people being out of town . Pray that we can make the necessary connection and that the offer still stands... and that if we are going to get this equipment that we can get it by November 1 so we can learn the system and be able to use it; that is if we have our first preview service on November 23rd. Pray that either the offer for equipment comes through or that God will provide other options for a sound system and equipment transportation.
Thank you for your prayers and support!
God bless
Dave Griewe
1-208-570-3732
http://www.riverchristianchurch.com/
Friday, August 29, 2008
Our Journey To Plant a Church
About a year ago, Cathy and I began to sense that God was making some major changes in our lives. With our daughters raised and gone, we felt God asking us to take a new step of faith. It was rather unsettling, sensing that God had something different for us; we had grown comfortable in our home, our church, and in Las Vegas. We had no idea what that change was going to be, but we quietly began praying and seeking God’s Will as He gently tugged on our hearts.
We visited Boise last fall for what we thought was a visit to check out Boise State University for our youngest daughter, Emily. The last thing on our minds was packing up, leaving the rest of our family in Las Vegas and moving to plant a brand new church! It caught us completely by surprise; but God used that initial trip to plant a seed in our hearts for the people and community of the Treasure Valley. Honestly, we didn’t know what to do with our desires at that time. Neither Cathy nor I discussed it openly with each other. We both thought it was just a silly idea in the back of our minds. But as we prayed and committed to seek God’s will, the desire continued to grow intensely. When we moved Emily into the BSU dorms in January, we drove the entire ten hours home talking excitedly about the strong pull we both had for the community. We still didn’t know what to do about it, honestly it confused us greatly. We knew we had a wonderful church family in Las Vegas that loved us dearly and that we loved ministering to.
Beginning last January we prayed, fasted, and sought the prayer support of close friends, pastors and family to help us discover what God’s next steps would be for us. Immediately after Easter, I sensed God very clearly telling me: Dave-go plant a church in the Treasure Valley!
Why? Idaho is currently the third fastest growing state in the United States. The Treasure Valley is the fastest growing area in the state and is expected to grow by 40% in the next ten years, to over one million plus. According to the Southern Baptists, nearly 90% of the people in the Treasure Valley do not have a personal relationship with Jesus. Statistics continue to prove that new church planting is the quickest and most effective way to reach people with the Good News of Jesus Christ.
In an exploratory trip to Boise last Fall, Cathy and I met with several pastors, most notably Bruce Young of First Baptist Church, Mark Traylor of East Wind Community Church, and Jim Steinert of Second Baptist Church. God had already been preparing them for our meeting. Each shared that they, along with some other pastors, had been praying about planting a new church! God bound our hearts together and each pastor committed their support. They next question was where would we plant a new church? I met with business people and pastors and every single one agreed the place with the greatest opportunities and need was Eagle! I went back to my church in Las Vegas and shared God’s new call for my life and began making plans to move to the Treasure Valley.
We rented a house in Eagle and moved in it on June 23rd. We have had our house on the market in Las Vegas since April. Knowing that we are trying to sell it during the worst housing market downturn ever in that area we decided to move to Idaho on faith leaving our home in God’s hands. We have it listed as a short sale and we are praying that God sells it before we lose it, but whichever way it goes, we are at peace. We trust that God is in control. We raised partial support before we left Las Vegas and we are living on that and our savings until we get the River started and it is able to support us.
We are excited about the opportunities to further the kingdom of God here in Eagle. God continues to open doors, but we cannot do this alone. We are asking you to partner with us, as your pastors have, through prayer and support.
Specifically:
· We need your prayers! If you will pray for us we will send you a weekly “Prayer Mail” email. It generally comes out the end of every week.
· We need your financial support. Church planting costs money! There are many needs that are unmet right now and there are even bigger needs in the near future. Here are several ways you can help meet those needs. You may support us on a monthly basis or you may choose to donate towards specific needs; i.e. office expenses, advertising, health insurance, rental space… If you are interested in financially supporting The River let me know and I will show you how.
· One of the greatest ways you can support us to join us! Again there are several options available to you: You may choose to make a commitment to help us in the start up phase. You may choose to make a one or two year commitment to The River or you may choose to make the River your new church home!
· We need God’s people to fill vital leadership roles for The River. Specifically we need leadership over connections/small groups, Worship/Youth, Children, and Administration. These are all key and vital roles that need to be filled if we are going to effectively reach non churched people and minister to the whole person and their family.
God bless you!
Serving our Savior,
Dave and Cathy Griewe
We visited Boise last fall for what we thought was a visit to check out Boise State University for our youngest daughter, Emily. The last thing on our minds was packing up, leaving the rest of our family in Las Vegas and moving to plant a brand new church! It caught us completely by surprise; but God used that initial trip to plant a seed in our hearts for the people and community of the Treasure Valley. Honestly, we didn’t know what to do with our desires at that time. Neither Cathy nor I discussed it openly with each other. We both thought it was just a silly idea in the back of our minds. But as we prayed and committed to seek God’s will, the desire continued to grow intensely. When we moved Emily into the BSU dorms in January, we drove the entire ten hours home talking excitedly about the strong pull we both had for the community. We still didn’t know what to do about it, honestly it confused us greatly. We knew we had a wonderful church family in Las Vegas that loved us dearly and that we loved ministering to.
Beginning last January we prayed, fasted, and sought the prayer support of close friends, pastors and family to help us discover what God’s next steps would be for us. Immediately after Easter, I sensed God very clearly telling me: Dave-go plant a church in the Treasure Valley!
Why? Idaho is currently the third fastest growing state in the United States. The Treasure Valley is the fastest growing area in the state and is expected to grow by 40% in the next ten years, to over one million plus. According to the Southern Baptists, nearly 90% of the people in the Treasure Valley do not have a personal relationship with Jesus. Statistics continue to prove that new church planting is the quickest and most effective way to reach people with the Good News of Jesus Christ.
In an exploratory trip to Boise last Fall, Cathy and I met with several pastors, most notably Bruce Young of First Baptist Church, Mark Traylor of East Wind Community Church, and Jim Steinert of Second Baptist Church. God had already been preparing them for our meeting. Each shared that they, along with some other pastors, had been praying about planting a new church! God bound our hearts together and each pastor committed their support. They next question was where would we plant a new church? I met with business people and pastors and every single one agreed the place with the greatest opportunities and need was Eagle! I went back to my church in Las Vegas and shared God’s new call for my life and began making plans to move to the Treasure Valley.
We rented a house in Eagle and moved in it on June 23rd. We have had our house on the market in Las Vegas since April. Knowing that we are trying to sell it during the worst housing market downturn ever in that area we decided to move to Idaho on faith leaving our home in God’s hands. We have it listed as a short sale and we are praying that God sells it before we lose it, but whichever way it goes, we are at peace. We trust that God is in control. We raised partial support before we left Las Vegas and we are living on that and our savings until we get the River started and it is able to support us.
We are excited about the opportunities to further the kingdom of God here in Eagle. God continues to open doors, but we cannot do this alone. We are asking you to partner with us, as your pastors have, through prayer and support.
Specifically:
· We need your prayers! If you will pray for us we will send you a weekly “Prayer Mail” email. It generally comes out the end of every week.
· We need your financial support. Church planting costs money! There are many needs that are unmet right now and there are even bigger needs in the near future. Here are several ways you can help meet those needs. You may support us on a monthly basis or you may choose to donate towards specific needs; i.e. office expenses, advertising, health insurance, rental space… If you are interested in financially supporting The River let me know and I will show you how.
· One of the greatest ways you can support us to join us! Again there are several options available to you: You may choose to make a commitment to help us in the start up phase. You may choose to make a one or two year commitment to The River or you may choose to make the River your new church home!
· We need God’s people to fill vital leadership roles for The River. Specifically we need leadership over connections/small groups, Worship/Youth, Children, and Administration. These are all key and vital roles that need to be filled if we are going to effectively reach non churched people and minister to the whole person and their family.
God bless you!
Serving our Savior,
Dave and Cathy Griewe
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Taking Risks
I'm a risk taker. When I was younger I would take on any kind of risk, no matter how dangerous (or stupid) it might seem to be. Now that I have a few years under my belt, my risks are more calculated and a lot less physically dangerous! It seems, I may have grown up, at least a little bit! Actually, the risks I enjoy taking today are predominately God inspired. I am not the kind of person who enjoys the status quo or just getting along, or just getting by. That's boring to me. I love trying to figure out what kind of risks God wants me to take, and then taking them.
Planting a new church in Eagle, ID is one of those HUGE risks that God has led me to take. It was a risk to leave my Church in Las Vegas along with a regular paycheck. It was a risk to talk to people about supporting us as missionaries to plant a new church. And it was a risk to move to to a community we had never lived in before with the purpose of planting a church with the vision of reaching unchurched people with the Good News of Jesus. BUT we are here. With some financial support, our personal savings, and a call from God to "Go therefore into all the world..." Meaning we are to go into Eagle to tell people who are far from God about a God who loves them so much He sent His Son to die for them!
This is risky business! What if fail? What if we run out of money? What if we never get started? the first step is always the hardest... But we have done the work God's Word says to do when making risky decisions: I researched the Treasure Valley to see if a new church aimed at reaching unchurched people was needed, the answer is ABSOLUTELY! I analyzed what it will cost me in time, money, emotions, energy and effort. And we decided the risk was worth the rewards of seeing people become Christ followers and grow in their new faith. I developed a strategy; seeking wise counsel, anticipated problems, and we have prayed and prayed from the very first moment. And God gave us a plan. We announced our intentions to our home church in Las Vegas, to our friends, and family and anyone else who would listen, as a statement of faith saying we believe God wants us to plant a new church in Eagle! And now we are taking steps of faith. We left our home in Las Vegas and rented a home in Eagle. I have met with some godly pastors who totally support us planting a new church, and now we are completely trusting God for the results.
There is something absolutely freeing about living by faith, knowing that there is nothing I can do that will make this church successful. It is God, He is the One who makes us able to do all that we do (2 Cor. 3:5 NCV). That's true freedom!
Planting a new church in Eagle, ID is one of those HUGE risks that God has led me to take. It was a risk to leave my Church in Las Vegas along with a regular paycheck. It was a risk to talk to people about supporting us as missionaries to plant a new church. And it was a risk to move to to a community we had never lived in before with the purpose of planting a church with the vision of reaching unchurched people with the Good News of Jesus. BUT we are here. With some financial support, our personal savings, and a call from God to "Go therefore into all the world..." Meaning we are to go into Eagle to tell people who are far from God about a God who loves them so much He sent His Son to die for them!
This is risky business! What if fail? What if we run out of money? What if we never get started? the first step is always the hardest... But we have done the work God's Word says to do when making risky decisions: I researched the Treasure Valley to see if a new church aimed at reaching unchurched people was needed, the answer is ABSOLUTELY! I analyzed what it will cost me in time, money, emotions, energy and effort. And we decided the risk was worth the rewards of seeing people become Christ followers and grow in their new faith. I developed a strategy; seeking wise counsel, anticipated problems, and we have prayed and prayed from the very first moment. And God gave us a plan. We announced our intentions to our home church in Las Vegas, to our friends, and family and anyone else who would listen, as a statement of faith saying we believe God wants us to plant a new church in Eagle! And now we are taking steps of faith. We left our home in Las Vegas and rented a home in Eagle. I have met with some godly pastors who totally support us planting a new church, and now we are completely trusting God for the results.
There is something absolutely freeing about living by faith, knowing that there is nothing I can do that will make this church successful. It is God, He is the One who makes us able to do all that we do (2 Cor. 3:5 NCV). That's true freedom!
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