Many of you signed up this past weekend for more information about future missions trips.  Very cool.  We will give you more details soon, but for now I want you to know that our first team will likely be sent to Brazil (one of our focus countries) by the end of March.  You will be able to sign up for the trip starting this weekend.   We will also send teams to Trinidad and Exuma in the near future.

We are excited to welcome Pastors Julio and Lucy Guzmán of Living Hope Church as our guest speakers this weekend.  We have already been partnering with them in their work in Trenton (our “Judea”).  But when you hear their heart for the people of their city, I know you will agree that we can help them even more in 2009.

I hope you enjoy the long weekend.  Just as we will spend time with our family and friends this week, it is my hope that the homeless we will be serving on Thursday would also become our family and friends.

Have a blessed Thanksgiving.  See you later in the weekend.

I am working through the book of Isaiah in my morning time with God.  I was struck by these words:

As we talk about missions (our next series) and reaching out past our neighborhoods into areas that cross cultural boundaries, I am reminded that the heart of God for the world is not just a New Testament concept.  Even in Isaiah’s time his heart was for the world.  Nothing less than the ends of the earth can satisfy God’s love.

I have a vision of raising $500,000 for missions in 2009.  That might sound crazy after the stock market lost another 900 points in the last two days.  But here is what I read Isaiah this morning:

This is God’s heart.  If He wants it done, I know that He will see it done.  Let’s be part of what He will be doing!

See you this weekend.

400 responses.

That is how many people left their contact information at one of our booths during the ministry fair last weekend.  That is a lot of work for us!  But we are prepared.  If you were one of the 400 you can expect a call or email from us this week or next.  We are very serious about not letting any of you “slip through the cracks.”  This is an incredibly exciting for us. To think of 400 new opportunities to serve.  Imagine how many people can be changed and helped through this.  

Thanks for being obedient.

This will be the last week for our Community Group Series on serving God.  Josh Conn will be bringing the message from Romans concerning the privilege it is to bring others to Christ.  

And don’t forget some critical classes coming.  Baptism classes will be held this Sunday, choose from 9:15am, 10:45am or 12:15pm.  We have some ready to be baptized in just a couple of weeks.  If you haven’t taken our membership class, I will be teaching it this Sunday at 2 p.m.  Come find out all you want about PAC and why we think our community is special.

And next week starts our missions month which we are calling “Passionate Hope.”  (I am just a little excited about that…)  Can we actually reach a goal of $500,000 for missions in the 2009 year?  Why not?  If 1000 of us gave $10 every week we will get there before the end of the year.  

Think about it.  Better yet, pray about it.

See you this weekend.