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The children made “God Sightings” each day at Vacation Bible School. Here are a few of those written on the pyramid stones and ones Suzie heard and saw during VBS.
Update from the Worship Pastor Search Team Worship at Church of the Apostles ("CotA") is characterized first and foremost by the acknowledgement that the purpose of worship is to "glory in God's holy name" (Psalm 105:3). God's name is understood here to represent His revealed character- both through the Scriptures and the person of Jesus Christ. As our current worship pastor recently wrote for our team, "(we recognize) the glory and centrality of God in worship, not us". At CotA, this central theme plays out in a worship service that is participatory rather than performance oriented. Our audience is God and God alone. Another key characteristic of worship at CotA is theological depth. This is seen in music that resonates with truth (regardless of age or genre) and a commitment to liturgical worship service that culminates in Communion at the Lord's table. With regards to style and structure for worship, we are currently described as the following. Our historical style in music is led by acoustic guitar with a mix of traditional hymns and contemporary music. We are open to other approaches and styles that are close to our present experience but would not pursue a worship service that is primarily driven by an extreme end of the musical spectrum. We would welcome additional musical diversity when it is able to fit our core attributes above and draw believers to worship the Lord. In structure, our church utilizes a liturgical service including creeds, portions from the Book of Common Prayer, and Communion. We would neither be characterized as high nor low church but do value the history of Anglican worship. With regards to the personal traits of Worship Pastor, we value the following: As we approach the conclusion of the Upon This Rock journey, I wanted to give you a snapshot of Apostles’ financial picture as it relates to the church’s outstanding debt. During 2006, God led usto our current location where we began the process to purchase the land, construct the sanctuary and renovate the existing building. The total cost of this project was $6.2 million, which was funded by a construction loan from North State Bank. The pledges received under Upon This Rock have been used to reduce the debt on the construction loan. We are faithfully expecting God’s provision for the $3.6 million of pledges made for Upon This Rock by March 31, 2010. We have collected $3.1 million through February 28, 2010. Apostles will have approximately $2.8 million in debt assuming we collect the remaining $500,000 of outstanding pledges. As part of our church’s calling to be good stewards of our resources, Apostles’ budget policy is that only 25% of our church’s annual operating budget be spent on building facilities (utilities, repairs, principal & interest debt payments). Since the inception of the construction loan, we have been required to pay interest only on this loan. Once the construction loan terminates in July 2010, we will begin making monthly principal & interest payments (similar to a home mortgage payment) on the remaining debt balance. Again, assuming we collect $3.6 million or 100% of the outstanding pledges, the annual debt service payments will be approximately $218,000. This will increase our annual building facility costs by approximately $30,000 over our current budget, making it a challenge to keep building facility costs at 25% of our annual operating budget. This challenge will be alleviated to the extent we receive more than $3.6 million and heightened to the extent we receive less than $3.6 million. The Apostle Paul calls for us to “pray without ceasing.” Please pray in this manner for God’s provision as we conclude the Upon This Rock spiritual journey. From a long-term perspective, Apostles desires to be a debt-free church. Imagine the witness and impact our church could have on our community to “Seek The Lost, Build Up The Found and Transform The City Through Jesus Christ” if we had NO debt service costs and could redirect those funds towards ministries that fulfill the vision of our church. The following chart illustrates the cost of a 30-year payoff compared to a 5-year payoff:
Interest savings by paying the loan off early in 5-years is $3,305,140! The long-term impact of having no debt would free up approximately $218,000 of cash flow every year (more than $18,000 per month) that could be used towards missions and carrying out the vision of our church. Over the life of our church God has always provided for our every need. We await God’s provision once again. Please join me in lifting Apostles up in prayer as we reflect upon God’s calling in our part of carrying out the vision of our church. Peace and Blessings, Jeff Brovet Dear Church, I want to thank you for all your prayers and the way you so lovingly opened your arms to our visitors from Rwanda. I was so thankful to the Lord for the sincerity of your faith, your joyful hearts, and the evidence of your love. Our visitors were very impressed with the evidence of God’s hand on this congregation. Although there are many I could single out for praise as they went above and beyond in hospitality, I know they would point to many others and to the Lord as supplying them with all the resources, encouragement and support. So many thanks to all of you!!! I am extremely excited about the future possibilities of our partnership with our sister church in Rwanda. Some of those possibilities include:
With gratitude for you as we serve the Lord together, Patrick The Good News of the Bad Economy Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. 2 Corinthians 8:2-3 According to the Bible giving in the midst of troubled times says a lot about the depth of our faith. Paul is impressed with the generosity of the Macedonian Christians, whom he holds up as an example for the Corinthian church. He states that their bigheartedness is a direct result of “the grace God has given” them. In fact, our stewardship and patterns of giving are amazing indicators of the degree to which the grace of God has captured our hearts. When His grace grabs hold of our hearts, our natural response is to live a life that “agrees” with this grace. In 2 Corinthians 9:13 Paul writes: Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, men will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else. The Greek word “homologia” which is here translated “confession” also means “to agree with.” Paul was exhorting the Corinthians to generosity (the “service” he mentions) because it was a sure sign that their lives were being lived “in agreement” with the grace of the Gospel. The truth of this word cannot be understated, especially in modern-day America, the world’s wealthiest society ever. Undoubtedly, many who have felt wealthy are feeling less so these days. It is only natural that questions arise among Christians in times like these. How can I give when my income is uncertain? Can I afford to be generous when the economy may get even worse? Should I continue to give at previous levels or even at the same percentages I did before? Believe me, I struggle and have struggled with the same kind of questions for much of my Christian life. As a youth minister I did not earn big paychecks. I rarely felt an inner compulsion to give generously beyond my commitment to tithe. I reasoned that the well off in our church could take up that slack since I was doing and giving the commodity of my time in ministry. I will never forget being challenged by a fellow staff member when he noticed that I never put money in the suggested donation basket at church dinners. He said, “One day, you will probably lead a church and people will be looking to you to set an example. If you don’t give, why should they?” His question really bothered me and it took me quite some time to see that he was right. I had actually withheld giving because I lacked confidence that God really was true to His Word in which He had promised to be my Provider and had proved it time and time again. Most of all, He had proved it by sending Jesus to die for me and provide me with eternal and abundant life. So often when we prosperous American Christians give, we give out of our wealth; our “spare change” so to speak. Yet now we are in the midst of economic difficulty and we have the opportunity (some of us in dramatic fashion) to give out of our need. The Macedonian Christians gave out of “severe trial” and “extreme poverty.” Paul was not exaggerating. At the time of his writing, a famine was affecting the global economy and had undoubtedly impacted the Macedonians. Yet they responded to the even more desperate need of the poor in Jerusalem and gave in radical ways. They even “pleaded” for the privilege of sharing in this way. Why? The Gospel. They had been so impacted by the grace of God through the Gospel of Jesus that a desire to give sacrificially like Jesus literally overflowed (welled up) in their hearts. So Paul, using this example urges the Corinthians (and us as well) to do the same: …see that you also excel in this grace of giving…For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich. 2 Corinthians 8:7,9 We are urged to give because Jesus gave away everything. He who was rich became poor, literally during his life and ministry, and spiritually (even cosmically) in his crucifixion. And he did all this with joy knowing he was winning sons and daughters for God’s kingdom that we might become rich. When this truth drives deeper into our hearts than the nails drove into his hands what other response can we have but to gladly and joyfully give as much as we can and even beyond? One of my heroes, Tim Keller sums it up this way: “Gospel-shaped, Gospel-proportioned giving doesn’t even begin until it entails sacrifice and scarcity.” That’s why I entitled this article: The Good News of the Bad Economy. God is speaking to us in the midst of this economy and giving us a chance to more deeply grasp what it means to be Gospel people who give not only out of our riches but out of our needs. I want to conclude by suggesting a few applications for us at Apostles.
Thank you as always for your dear partnership in this glorious Gospel. May we continue in His grace! Patrick May 2009 We are meeting with this regional group in early June to seek the Lord’s vision and plan for church planting. Would you pray for us as we seek Him so that we might know when, where, with whom, and how to plant? Your prayers make all the difference! Also, a number of people have been under the impression that Nathan is going to lead that plant. However, the Lord has made it clear to Nathan that he is not to be our lead planter at this time. Another possibility has presented itself recently and we are currently in discussion with a church planting candidate. Please pray that we have true clarity as we seek to assess his potential and get to know his heart, experience and calling. Your brother in Christ, Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, Emil Bruner, author and theologian once said that “the church exists by mission as a fire exists by burning.” How true this is. It is so important that we understand mission at Apostles and how we go about mission. So I am writing to you today about our mission team and an important development in how they function in the life of Apostles. The Mission Team 1st Level Partners These partners will be funded at the highest level of our ability as a congregation through a multi-year commitment. In addition, we will seek to involve our congregation in these ministries through special giving and serving opportunities throughout the year. In order for a ministry to be considered as a 1st level partner they must have a proven track record of fruitful ministry, significant relational ties with a number of our members and staff, and a demonstrated commitment to keeping us informed on their progress. 2nd Level Partners These partners will also receive significant funding and multi-year commitment. They should have significant relational ties with our congregation. They may not qualify for 1st level if they are not structured in a way as to facilitate serving opportunities for our congregation. 3rd Level Partners These partners represent both short term and long term opportunities that are new to us. The relational ties may be few. They would be funded on a one time basis and would need to reapply for the next year. If they can demonstrate a growing relationship with our church, good communication, and fruitful ministry, they may qualify for 2nd level partnership. What can you do? Trip to Rwanda Lord Jesus may we, your church, burn for mission. In His name, Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, Last month I encouraged many of you to attend the opening ceremony of the AMiA conference. What a joy it was to see a whole busload of Apostles people in attendance! It was a great night of worship and inspiration and I am sure it has helped several more of us to catch the vision for what God is doing in the AMiA. Still, as I attended the rest of the conference I found myself wishing people in our church could have heard the many interesting speakers and wonderful ways God intends to use his church. So, I thought I might fill you in on a couple of highlights from the conference. The AMiA and the ACNA Several people had questions about AMiA’s policy on women’s ordination as there were a few women priests who took part in the opening ceremonies. AMIA’s policy continues to be that women may serve in the role of deacon but not priest. However, AMiA has another jurisdiction entitled the Anglican Mission in the Americas, which makes provision for some Anglican churches in Canada and the US who have previously practiced women’s ordination and will continue to do so. Archbishop Kolini of Rwanda asked that this provision be made. For an AMiA church to practice women’s ordination it would have to resign membership in the AMiA and enter the provisional jurisdiction. Apostles continues to ascribe to the original AMiA policy on women’s ordination. For a thorough treatment of the topic you may visit AMiA’s website and read the pdf Our Sister Church Please join me in prayer for our sister parish and churches and their leaders Emmanuel and Martin. With you in Jesus, Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, I want you to be aware of an important event coming at the end of this month. The Anglican Mission in the Americas (AMiA) is having its annual conference in Greensboro. This presents us with a unique opportunity that I would like you to consider. We have chartered a bus for the opening ceremony and are offering a free ride to and from Greensboro on Wednesday, January 28th. There are several good reasons for you to consider going.
Chuck Murphy our Bishop and chairman of the AMiA is a man of extraordinary vision and courage. He gives the key note address at the opening ceremony and it is always inspiring. You will gain insight into the vision and heartbeat of AMiA and understanding for why God chose to raise up this mission for such a time as this. He will also be speaking about the formation of the new North American Anglican Province and AMiA’s role and participation in the new province.
It is awe inspiring to worship with so many likeminded brothers and sisters in Christ who have been called by God into the mission of the AMiA. You will hear from the Archbishop of Rwanda, Emmanuel Kolini, and see many of our African brothers and sisters who stood with us in the formation of the AMiA. The AMiA has grown to over 150 churches since its small beginnings in 2000, half of which are new church plants. I can’t tell you how encouraging it is to worship with them and see the Lord’s blessing upon this mission.
Finally, this is a great opportunity to deepen relationship with the people of Apostles as you travel together and enjoy each other’s company. The experience of gaining vision, insight, and connection with the mission will also serve to further deepen our commitment to one another as we carry out God’s mission and vision for us to be a people who “seek the lost, build up the found and transform the city for Jesus Christ.” I do hope you will consider taking the time to join us. The bus will leave from Church of the Apostles’ parking lot at 4:00 on Wednesday the 28th and return by midnight. Please call in or email to reserve your spot today. Hoping to see you there, In The Mission of our Lord, |
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