Summer Opportunities

Stephanie just handed me our average attendance for the month of June and it was 145 persons gathered together to worship and praise our Lord and Savior. I am very encouraged by this summer attendance. Just think of how crowded we would be if we all came on the same Sunday. This Fall we will be able to see how much the Lord has grown us this Summer.

We have two very important weeks coming up. Our prayer effort with the other churches in Rifle and our Vacation Bible School. 

Our church is committed to praying for two of the nights in the Church of Rifle 24/7 Prayer, Tuesday and Thursday. Please make it a priority to gather with the other churches at any of the nights you can attend but especially on the two nights that we are responsible for. On Tuesday night we will meet at our main location for a prayer rally led by our worship team at 7 pm. On Thursday night Elevate Youth will lead us in a prayer rally at the annex location, 1430 Railroad, Suite E. After each of these nights we will be responsible for the next 23 hours of prayer. You can sign up for an hour or more at our web site www.fellowshiprocks.org by clicking on the 24/7 tab, selecting our church or youth group, and then entering your information on the hour you want. Be sure to hit the save button and check if it keeps your name. 

I could tell you more about VBS but then I might have to kill you (just kidding). Our theme this year involves spys and searching for the truth found in Jesus. Please contact Elin for help opportunities (snacks, teacher's aids, game helpers, etc.). As a special treat on Thursday night we have invited the "Strength Team" to lead a special evangelistic night at 7:30. This is open to all the community not just the kids in VBS. Please join us and bring a friend. We hope to fill every chair and overflow up the stairs. We are even working on setting up a big screen tv for the youngsters in the back classroom next to the nursery. This is perhaps one of the greatest opportunities to bring a friend to hear a clear interesting presentation of the the gospel. Let's make this the greatest Vacation Bible School we have ever had!!

Of all the plans you have this summer, please make these a priority to pray for, attend, and support. 

Pastor Albert

"Let us draw near with a sincere heart....Let us hold fast the confession...Let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together"  Heb. 10:22-25

2 Chron 7:13-14  If I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or if I command the locust to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among My people,  and My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray, and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. NAS

In my quite time I have been reading from Exodus 28 the blessing from Mt Gerizim and the curses from Mt. Ebal as Israel was preparing to enter the promised land. Both lists are extensive with both the promise of good things for good choices and terrible consequences for bad decisions. God is not at all confused about which path His people will choose and so in chapter 30 prescribes a path to forgiveness and renewal.  It is as if He is holding a scale with one side weighted by His desire for holiness and righteousness balanced on the other by His grace and mercy. What was true for the nation of Israel is echoed when it comes to our own nation. 2 Chronicles 7:13-14 indicate that no matter how difficult the situation we find ourselves in, God is waiting for His people to humble themselves, pray, seek Him, and turn away from our sin in repentance. He then promises to bless us and restore, through His mercy and grace, a right relationship and His blessings.

We not only need to take this to heart as a nation, but also as individuals in His church. The hope for a prosperous and healthy future for America is found in America’s churches and in the seat we sit in. The promise for national renewal is given to God’s people. Revival must begin in the church. Pray with me for renewal and restoration to begin right here in Rifle.

Remember eternal souls are of far more value than temporary toys. Keep up the good fight!!

Summer 2014

Summer has arrived and with it some wonderful opportunities to enjoy the beauty all around us. God has certainly been gracious to this part of His creation in both beauty and resources. The grandeur of a snow-capped mountain (the view from the top they say is the best), the refreshing of a dip in a cool mountain stream (extra refreshing when your best bud pushes you in un-expectantly), or even the thrill of pulling in a large lake trout (make sure it is a trout not a pike before putting your fingers in to remove the hook) are all a part of living in this unique part of God’s creation

Whatever you use your vacation and summer for- I pray that you will maintain your relationship with the Lord and His people. We can get so busy that the good habits of quite time, Bible reading, and fellowship with other Christians, that we have worked so diligently to establish, can be put on the back burner. If this happens they are so hard to get going again. It seems odd that in the middle of the beauty He created we can forget to give Him praise and love.

The summer always affects our attendance here at church as our members travel on vacation, and use other opportunities to enjoy summer, but, it need not affect our spirit. God continues to be good to us as we experience another record year in so many areas. Our leaders are the best and they serve God wholeheartedly in the passions and gifts He has given them. We continue to make progress on the building that He has blessed us with and look to Him for guidance to grow as individuals, as a church, and as a community.  A bigger building is not our goal, but enlarging the Kingdom must be. You are a vital part of Fellowship and your presence and participation are necessary for us to be the church that God wants us to be.

Remember the Lord and His church this summer and let us enjoy the wonderful blessings He has provided for us. Please support your church with your time, talents, and treasure. See you this Sunday.

My daughter Michelle was given an eye test in school and they recommended that we take her to the optometrist. On her first visit we discovered she could not easily read even the large E that the chart begins with. We ordered glasses and when they arrived, picked them up. Through the door of the eye clinic my daughter walked out into an amazing large world she did not know existed before. Incredulously she asked us, “when did they put that mountain there!!”

To clearly see the present and the future is our goal in Vision 2020. God will move mountains to accomplish His will both in the present and for the future. We need to clearly see and take the first steps He has shown us. This “Bridge to Tomorrow” is one of those steps and addresses our need for physical space in which to grow. The remodel of the barn is the first part of building a bridge to the future. We will need to add some spaceto move our offices and have additional “Life Group” classes as a possible 2nd step. This would allow us to consolidate all our activities to the one location. With the sale of our current location on Railroad Avenue we will be able to pay off the two loans and have funds to begin the planning of our new building on the 4 ½ acre Whiteriver property.

We also need to develop in all the other areas that are important for a church to grow in (Evangelism, Discipleship, Worship, Fellowship, and Stewardship) and to have leaders trained and leading in each of these areas. Some of the steps to develop in these areas include: enlisting leaders in our life groups and encouraging these groups to be small churches in care and fellowship within the larger church; starting an evangelistic and caring visitation program that contacts the people that God brings to our church and reaches into new areas of our community; enhancing our worship with the needed equipment and continued inclusion of the many talented people God has brought here to serve Him; offering training that addresses marriage, family, stewardship, and discipleship needs.

We must seek God’s vision to see clearly what to do now and what He has prepared for the future.  What kind of church do we see with 20/20 vision now and in the year 2020. My hope and prayer is that the year 2020 will find us as a strong stable church in a great facility that will enable us to reach our community for Christ. It can happen if we allow God to grow His church by “the power that works in us” for His glory.

And the Winner Is...

This may be seen as a little presumptive a week in advance, but I am cheering on my favorite NFL team, the Seachickens to win the Super Bowl. Before the Pastor search team is restarted, I was just kidding. I am cheering for the winner, the Denver Broncos. With the game a week away, I am accepting by faith that they will win. What if I knew they would win, beyond a shadow of a doubt? I would have advance bragging rights and, if I was a gambling man, could make some money. We have seen that plot played out time and again in movies such as “Back to the Future” and its many sequels as well as over and over again in many television series. To know what is going to happen in the future is at least a call for us to prepare for those events and at most at great advantage in arranging out lives to capitalize on that knowledge.

There are some things that we do know about the future. We can be on the winning team because the Bible clearly tells us who will win the cosmic super bowl. Jesus wins!! While we should not be so arrogant that we trash talk others we also should not live our lives acting like losers. Knowing that ultimately our team wins has some great advantages for our individual lives and our church.

We have the advantage of knowing that unlimited power and resources are available if we are in close contact with the owner (God). We have the advantage of knowing that perfect guidance is available for each step (play) if we stay in touch with the coach (Jesus). With this in mind we are seeking to build a bridge to the future that God has for us. With the recent purchase of 4 ½ acres and a former night club to remodel we have the room to grow and to impact our community. We plan on putting in a community garden and a large park/playground on the creek level land, remodel the night club (God’s Barn), and eventually build a new worship/education building (God’s House).

Join us for the game of our lives and let’s prepare for a future super bowl like no other when the forces of evil are defeated by Jesus. It might be here sooner than we think. When the final victory is secured isn't it interesting that King Jesus comes back mounted on a white bronco…just sayin.

Happy 2014

2014 a new year, but will you be a new you? Resolutions come and go and with them the feeling of defeat of not being able (willing) to keep them. God is not as concerned about the peaks and valleys as He is about the direction of our lives. I pray that we all have high goals and see marvelous progress in our Christian discipleship. Those are the peaks that we get the clearest glimpse of God, where the air is crisp and clear, uncluttered by cares and worries. The top of the mountain is hard to live on and we inevitably come sliding down into a valley. God forgives and restores and we can start climbing again. I pray that your peaks are higher than before and your valleys are not as deep. While we would all love to make steady undimmed progress, progress is progress. Thank God that you are not who you were and praise Him for who He is helping you to become. Here is a brief outline to remind us of Who God is in all the periods of life.
 

Past: Key word “Forgiveness” Scripture: Isaiah 1:1-18
Present: Key word “Strength” Scripture: 1 John 1:1-17
Future: Key word “Hope” Scripture: Jeremiah 29:11; 2 Timothy 4:8
                 
 
Remember it is important that you finish well. Paul says, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing.” (2 Timothy 4:7–8, NASB95). How we live our lives does make a difference for all eternity. Let’s make sure we live each day with our past forgiven, our present strengthened and our future secured in the hope of the Lord. Happy 2014!!!

Forget Church Growth, Aim for Church Health

A healthy baby grows, so it is with a healthy church. My doctoral project was entitled "Breaking Barriers: Training Leaders to be Barrier Breaking Leaders." The thesis of the project was that the church that Jesus established was meant to grow and the reason many churches do not are the barriers that we consciously and unconsciously put up to keep it from growing. These can be as small as lacking a sense of vision to insisting on a particular agenda that we have.

I was encouraged on this subject by a recent Pastor's Toolbox article by Rick Warren. Here is what Rick said:

FORGET CHURCH GROWTH, AIM FOR CHURCH HEALTH

Church health is the key to church growth. All living things grow if they’re healthy. You don’t have to make them grow – it’s just natural for living organisms. As a parent, I didn’t have to force my three children to grow. They naturally grew up. As long as I removed the hindrances, such as poor nutrition or an unsafe environment, their growth was automatic.

If my children had not grown up, something would have been terribly wrong. I would have done whatever it took to discover the disease and correct it. I wouldn’t have remained passive, spouting clichés about faithfulness, or wanting “quality not quantity” in my children.

The same principle is true for the church. Since the church is a living organism, it’s natural for it to grow if it’s healthy. The church is a Body, not a business – an organism, not an organization. It’s alive. If a church is not growing, it is dying.

Rick Warren, Pastor's Toolbox, May 8, 2013