A young adult on the mission field

It inspires me to see the young people of our congregation taking on ministry leadership roles and being God’s hands and feet. One of these servants in our church family is Jocelyn, who attends the University of Central Florida. Below, she shares a report of the mission work she is doing in the Dominican Republic with an Orlando-area organization.

The first time I visited the Dominican Republic was this past March during Spring Break. When I was first preparing myself for the trip, I thought I knew exactly what to expect and I was not anticipating much. God is so funny though, because he completely broke me down and I fell absolutely in love with the country. The culture, the people, the food, the language — everything about it swept my heart away.

We stayed in Santiago in a Catholic Retreat center. All of our meals were provided for us by the pastor of a church in the city who we called Pastora. She opened her home to us for every meal and fed us delicious Dominican food. She was one of the first pastors in Santiago and her church is growing every week. She praises the Lord that they need more space. It's been 10 years and the church is still in the process of being built. Her church sends out two vans to two small villages — Cuesta Arena and Los Cocos, about 25 minutes away — to transport people to the church and back every Sunday. The service is very passionate and I love watching the congregation worship God.

Each day, we went out to the village of Cuesta Arena to help with a water filtration system. The water in the Dominican is very unsafe to drink and the people of Cuesta Arena are surviving off of this water. A lot of the kids down there have discoloration in their faces and some are very sick because of this. Once they brought back some of the water to be tested in the United States. It was so bad that nobody should be even living near this water, let alone drinking it. A couple of students on this trip were engineering majors, so they helped assemble the final details on the filtration system. They were able to complete the system, but the well needs to be dug 100 more feet before it is usable. The community is excited but it is also hard for them to understand why it is so important to have the clean water.

My favorite part about Cuesta Arena is the kids. They are so much fun. They are innovative, loving and curious. They ask a lot of questions about your family and where you live and they just love giving kisses on your cheek. One girl said that she had the best day of her entire life because someone hugged her, loved her and wanted to play with her. What was so neat about this trip is that since we were out there every day, we were really able to start developing relationships with those kids. You learn their stories. I cannot even begin to describe how rewarding it is to see those kids looking up at you, telling you they love you. We had a little Bible lesson for the kids every day and they love hearing about Jesus. They all ask when you're coming back and it truly breaks your heart to leave.

It is a very giving community for both the kids and adults. The men are eager to help with the construction and digging. The women can't wait to offer you some fruit or vegetables. The kids will give you anything they can find — a slice of cheese, a cough drop, a hair tie. It's amazing to see the generous hearts of these people.

I returned in May and all the people remembered me, even the kids. They remembered the dances we taught them and the games we played. When they saw me they started yelling "Yoselin, Yoselin” — that's how they pronounce my name. I couldn’t believe they remembered it!

The purpose of that trip, and all following trips, is the construction of a missionary house in Cuesta Arena. There will be four different mission teams coming in and out during that time and I will help lead devotions in the mornings for those weeks. I am elated to be going back and I cannot wait to see what God has in store. He is so good and He truly is moving throughout the Dominican Republic. Thanks for keeping me in your thoughts and prayers.

Note: Jocelyn is presently on her third trip to the Dominican Republic and will return home later this month.

Words of gratitude

Below is a thoughtful note I received from the Torres family of Tomoka Christian. They are planning to move out of state.

Dear Pastor Joe and our Tomoka Church Family,

As our time here in Ormond Beach comes to an end, we wanted to express our sincere gratitude and admiration for all that you are doing to spread the word of God locally, statewide, and across international boundaries.

It is not often one finds a place that not only "talks the talk" but actually "walks the walk" of spreading the will of Christ. From the moment that we joined this church, we have been dreading when the time would come to leave ... and, unfortunately, that time is now. Although we will surely join a church in Mobile, we know that it will be difficult to find a place of worship with such influence and, more importantly, influential action.

As a person who worked hard for years at pushing Him away, it was Tomoka that finally opened up my heart. I often tell the story of when Tomoka sent us a generous check to help us with the adoption costs, all with absolutely no strings attached. To me (to us) that meant so much and truly showed us that awesome things are truly impacting the world — all from our little church in Ormond Beach. God, through your church, has made a believer out of a skeptic, and for that, I cannot thank you enough.

May God continue to bless this remarkable church,

Roberto & Jennifer Torres
(Ariana, Mateo, David)

Churches you may like

From time to time in your travels, you may be interested in attending a church somewhat like Tomoka Christian. I put together a list of possibilities for you here.

• Christ's Church in Mandarin/Jacksonville
• Celebration Church in Jacksonville
• Northland in Orlando
• Calvary Chapel in Ft. Lauderdale
• North Point Christian Church in Alpharetta, Georgia
• Northridge Christian A church in Milledgeville, Georgia, led by our former teaching pastor Mike Waers
• Southland in Lexington, Kentucky
• Southeast in Louisville, Kentucky
• Harvester in St. Louis, Missouri
• Granger in South Bend, Indiana
• New Spring in Anderson, Indiana
• National Community Church in Washington, D.C.
• Menlo Park in the San Francisco, California, area
• New Life in Colorado Springs, Colorado
• Willow Creek in Chicago
• Reunion Christian, a church plant we support in Boston

Praying for increase

If you are a normal human being, you have probably prayed more than once for God to pour out His blessings upon you and your family. You have, no doubt, prayed for increase in money, ability, vehicles, or in some other tangible item.

Why do we not pray for an increase in God's kingdom? Moses said, “May the Lord increase you a thousand times.” Now, that’s a big prayer! So what's wrong with our thinking and our praying?

Why are many Christians afraid of the church growing? How can we get over this fear? How do our prayers need to change?

Deuteronomy 1:11

It's About Action

In Matthew 25, we read the Master's words, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” We all want those words to be what we hear from God when our time here on earth is done.

But it's important to notice that the Lord doesn't say, “well thought,” or “well intended” or “well planned.” He says “well done.” It's about action, and the action makes all the difference.

Are you a person of action? What will God say to you?

Little Red In the Hood

The other evening I was reading the story of Little Red Riding Hood. It is actually a bit gruesome as the big bad wolf eats both grandma and Miss Hood. If it were not for the woodsman who chops open the wolf to free the ladies, the story would end very tragically and probably would not be a children's book.

If this story were reset in today's culture it would sound even worse. The wolf would be a child molester, meth dealer, or leader in the prostitution trade. This is the reality of our time while we try to hide in our suburban worlds of shelter.

I am often asked why the church has to keep changing. The answer is that we do not live in the world of Little Red Riding Hood anymore. We live in a cold, calculating, corrupt world where only a radical demonstration of Biblical Christianity can survive.

Pray for the millions of "Little Reds" who need Jesus and for the church to be real enough to bring the Gospel to them.

"To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some." -1 Corinthians 9:22

Superficial Sunday In The South!!!

Here is an excerpt from the blog of Perry Noble, Senior Pastor of New Spring Church in Anderson, SC. To read the full blog click "Read More" at the bottom.

OK…so I am on a rant today…it’s been a while and I am fired up…this one will be fun!

I recently heard of a church in the area taking a stab at NewSpring DURING a worship service, saying that we allow people to dress any way they wish and that suits and dresses are not required, even frowned upon in our church. This comment was made to criticize us…but lets unpack it for a second. :-)

First of all–we do not look down on those who choose to wear a suit or a dress…unless it is a man in a dress, then we will say something! We simply ask people to wear what is comfortable and modest.

What I am wondering is where in the world did the modern day church ever get the idea that somehow dressing up in a suit OR wearing a dress equals godliness…and those who would wear jeans and a T-shirt, or even (GASP) flip flops just are not as godly. Read More.

St. Louis

Luanne and I spent three days in St. Louis last week to visit her brother, who is fighting throat cancer. We had little to offer except our time and encouraging words of faith. It makes me wonder how many people we interact with every day that could simply use an encouraging word.

Who needs encouragement?

• Single parent
• Widow/widower
• Parent who has lost a child
• Family struggling with a disease
• Senior citizen who is alone
• Divorced person
• Family struggling finacially
• Person out of work as a result of the economy
• Family in turmoil because of addiction

One writer has said that without encouragement we all die a slow, agonizing death. Paul states in 1 Thessalonians 5 :11 that we are to encourage one another and build each other up. Who can you encourage today?

Loose Thoughts In My Mind

Jesus said make disciples. Who will make disciples? We should invest in soul winning and disciple making. The word "church" means called out ones. People set apart for God and for God's work (Ephesians 2:8-9).

The local church is the hope of the world. Soul winning; disciple making; feeding the hungry; sending missionaries; being missionaries.

Highlights from "church" this week:

Tuesday Church: 72
Saturday 5 p.m.: 256
Saturday 6:30 p.m.: 269
Sunday 8 a.m.: 165
Sunday 9:30 a.m.: 524
Sunday 11 a.m.: 494
Palm Coast: 110
Retro: 58
Outposts: 123
TOTAL IN WORSHIP: 2,071

Church Plants:
The Beachside Church added a 3rd service and had 511 in worship.
Ocala Christian Church had their official launch and doubled in size to 165.
Common Group in Tampa had a total of 255.

Open Doors & Unwise Statements by Perry Noble

Check out this blog from Perry Noble.

Blown Away By The Book

While reading for an upcoming message, I stumbled over a passage I have read countless times. Every time you read James he just ticks you off because he is so practical and in your face. This one hit me like a ton of bricks.

James 2:5: Listen, my dear brothers: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him?

It is a question, yet God expects that His listeners know the answer. Jesus did say, "When you've done something for the least of them, you've done it for me." (Matthew 25)

Perhaps this explains why our most effective church planting is taking place amongst the poorest of the poor. They are not in Paris, London, Riyadh (Saudi Arabia), or Tokyo. Instead they are in India, the Middle East, Ethiopia, Mexico, Guatemala, Kenya, and Indonesia.

I wonder if we've been glamorizing a lot of people that will spend an eternity in hell, while ignoring the saints of the High King of kings because the did not look or smell like King's kids.

See ya on the mission field.

An Afterthought About Heaven

In Heaven we will all get our minds back. Just a thought from frustrated parents. Don't give up.

Deuteronomy 6:1-9

Hurricane Felix

Hurricane Felix is destroying Central America as I write this. Many thoughts are going through my mind:

1. Millions of my brothers and sisters in Christ are in Mexico, Nicaragua, Belize, Honduras, Jamaica, Haiti, Guatemala, Costa Rica, and Panama.
2. Urgent prayer is needed.
3. Response from God's people must be quick and we must meet real needs.
4. Many of those who did not get out were the poorest of the poor before Felix hit.
5. We've lived through hurricanes and know how hard it was with all of our resources and being a part of America.

Be blessed but ready to help.

Lost Miners

Our hearts break for the families of the lost miners trapped in the Utah mine. Even more disconcerting is if those men didn't know Jesus.

This story illustrates our love for life and the incredible need for hope in all of our lives. Hebrews 6:19 remind us that in Jesus we have hope, which is an anchor for our souls.

It is my desire that I would work as hard to find lost souls as they are in Utah looking for lost bodies.

Jesus said we are to be fishers of men.