One Ministry Update

Hey my friends.  I wanted to bring you all into some of the cool things God is doing in our ministry and in the church.  Our mission as a singles ministry is to see others grow towards a greater maturity in Christ as disciples and there are many examples of God doing this through saving more people and then by growing them as followers of Christ. Here’s the scoop:

1. New believers group.  My friends, Andrew & Gia Sandor, have just started a new small group whose sole purpose is to provide an encouraging, helpful environment for new believers.  Their group is currently made up of new believers from the most recent Introducing God course and a handful of others who are new to the faith.  It’s really neat to see how these new brothers & sisters are growing in Christ as they experience Christian community for the first time.  Please pray for them!

2. CG Plant!  Recently I met with one of my small groups that is no longer small, and needs to be multiplied. We explored a few options of what to do & together have decided to move forward with a care group “plant” idea.  Instead of the traditional ‘splitting the group in two’, the existing group is going to “send out” a small team of 5-8 people to launch a new small group where I can place the many new people being added to our church.  I love this idea as it reinforces our call to be sacrificing by making disciples; “going” & “teaching” others as followers of Christ. 

3. Evangelism Strategy Meeting with local pastors.  This morning I’ll be meeting with a group of local pastors with Ravi Zacharias & leaders from the C.S. Lewis Institute to pray and discuss ways our local churches can be partnering together in reaching the lost in the DC Metro area.  Pray that God blesses our time and substantive gospel ministry & partnership results. 

Thank you my friends for your partnership & prayers!  Very grateful for each of you.

Hydro

How to Glorify God at Work | by John Piper | September 6, 2011

“Just home from two weeks in Australia, I am brimming with thankfulness to God for his people there, and for the pleasures of working with them in Brisbane and Sydney and in the mountains of Katoomba.

One of the conferences was called Engage. It was focused on “young workers,” which, in their lingo, means young professionals in the workplace. I was asked in an interview if I thought this focus was a good idea. I said yes, because of 1 Corinthians 10:31, “Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”

So they asked: How can young workers glorify God at work?

Here’s the gist of my answer.

Dependence. Go to work utterly dependent on God (Proverbs 3:5-6; John 15:5). Without him you can’t breathe, move, think, feel, or talk. Not to mention be spiritually influential. Get up in the morning and let God know your desperation for him. Pray for help.

Integrity. Be absolutely and meticulously honest and trustworthy on the job. Be on time. Give a full day’s work. “Thou shalt not steal.” More people rob their employers by being slackers than by filching the petty cash.

Skill. Get good at what you do. God has given you not only the grace of integrity but the gift of skills. Treasure that gift and be a good steward of those skills. This growth in skill is built on dependence and integrity.

Corporate shaping. As you have influence and opportunity, shape the ethos of the workplace so that the structures and policies and expectations and aims move toward accordance with Christ. For example, someone is shaping the ethos of Chick-fil-A restaurants with this video.

Impact. Aim to help your company have an impact that is life-enhancing without being soul-destroying. Some industries have an impact that is destructive (e.g., porn, gambling, abortion, marketing scams, etc). But many can be helped to turn toward impact that is life-giving without being soul-ruining. As you have opportunity, work toward that.

Communication. Work places are webs of relationships. Relationships are possible through communication. Weave your Christian worldview into the normal communications of life. Don’t hide your light under a basket. Put it on the stand. Winsomely. Naturally. Joyfully. Let those who love their salvation say continually, Great is the Lord! (Psalm 40:16)

Love. Serve others. Be the one who volunteers first to go get the pizza. To drive the van. To organize the picnic. Take an interest in others at work. Be known as the one who cares not just about the light-hearted weekend tales, but the burdens of heavy and painful Monday mornings. Love your workmates, and point them to the great Burden Bearer.

Money. Work is where you make (and spend) money. It is all God’s, not yours. You are a trustee. Turn your earning into the overflow of generosity in how you steward God’s money. Don’t work to earn to have. Work to earn to have to give and to invest in Christ-exalting ventures. Make your money speak of Christ as your supreme Treasure.

Thanks. Always give thanks to God for life and health and work and Jesus. Be a thankful person at work. Don’t be among the complainers. Let your thankfulness to God overflow in a humble spirit of gratitude to others. Be known as the hope-filled, humble, thankful one at work.

There are more things to say about glorifying God in the workplace. But this is a start. Add to the list as God gives you light. The point is: Whatever you do, whether you eat or drink or work, do all to make God look as great as he really is.”

Copyright © 2011 Desiring God, All rights reserved.

Mailing address is:
Desiring God
2601 E Franklin Ave
Minneapolis, Minnesota 55406

BIG Meeting: Vocation - Why Work?  **Audio Now Online**

Isaac preached from: Genesis 1:26-28

As image bearers of God we are called to work, to extend His governing rule over creation, and bring blessing to the world.

Click HERE to download the audio from the Oct. 11th BIG Meeting.

Ravi Zacharias is coming to town!

Skeptical about the relevance of the Christian faith? Has the church failed you in some way?  Have you been hurt by the church or by people who call themselves Christians? Just want to learn more about what Christians think?  This just may be the opportunity you’ve been waiting for.  Join us for a discussion of this challenging topic with world-renowned thinkers, philosophers, and speakers Dr. Ravi Zacharias and Michael Ramsden followed by an open-forum Q&A.

Christianity: A Failed Hope?
Thursday, October 20th @ 7:30pm
Location: Constitution Hall, 1776 D Street Northwest, Washington, DC 20006

Event is FREE, but you must register online - click HERE for more details.

LADIES - Serving Opportunity!

Ladies - there is a unique opportunity to serve with the Au Pair Place ministry.

An au pair is an international lady (ages 18-30) who comes to the U.S. to work as a nanny for a year or two. Back in 2004, our dear sister, Charissa Galbraith, started the Au Pair Place ministry as she had a burden to reach out and befriend these ladies who are away from all their friends and families living in a foreign nation.

The main purpose of our ministry is to represent Christ’s love by building faithful friendships with au pairs. We do so by organizing monthly coffeehouses on the first Friday of the month during which we spend time with au pairs playing games, talking, and just hanging out. We also provide additional opportunities to get to know each other and have fun. In the past, such events included dinners, excursions to downtown DC, movie nights, and day trips to the beach. In the fall, we usually organize a Thanksgiving Party, which provides a context to welcome newly arrived au pairs as well as to build even stronger friendships with the girls that we have already met. It is through building purposeful friendships that we expect Christ’s love to be demonstrated and conversations about the gospel to come up.

In the past, this has been a thriving ministry with au pairs giving their lives to the Lord and many ladies from Covenant Life participating faithfully. Right now, the ministry team has dwindled down to the point that if no more ladies from Covenant Life join, we may have to end it. Please consider joining this ministry!

Our next event is the monthly coffeehouse on Friday, November 4th at 7:30pm

To find out more, please contact Besilica Castaneda at (.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)).

Charity Softball Game!

Every Day is Christmas (EDIC) is hosting their second annual charity softball game on Saturday, October15th. They would love to invite you out to participate as they raise money to help families in need for Thanksgiving and Christmas. There is a $20 suggested donation to play. If you are interested in playing, please let Dennis Castaneda know so he can give you more details about practice times and game day information.

Please feel free to pass this info on to anyone else you think might be interested.

Dennis Castaneda
EDIC Founder
301-455-6521
(.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address))

Prayer Requests!

Hey friends!

Today I was praying for the various responsibilities I’ve got going on in the coming weeks and the Lord brought this verse to mind:
“Pray for us, for we are sure that we have a clear conscience, desiring to act honorably in all things.” Hebrews 13:18

The particular part that stood out to me was the author of Hebrews’ simple request for the people of God to pray for the leadership of the church - a simple “pray for us”.  In light of this, I thought I’d send out my own personal “pray for us” to each of you, my brothers & sisters. 

As the Lord leads would you pray for:

•    Today’s meeting with the SGM Board.  The pastoral team of Covenant Life have been in continuous conversation with our dear brothers who have been tasked to lead Sovereign Grace in this turbulent time.  Please pray for us & our brothers!

•    Redeemed Manhood Class on Saturday: I’m leading a class intended to equip the single men of our church to think biblically of our image bearing as men.  God has given me a particular burden to be discipling the men in our church & i’ve been praying for opportunities like this for many months.  Please pray that I would be effective in teaching & that God would equip & build up the men of our church!

•    Big Meeting: this coming Tuesday night I’ll be teaching on “Vocation: Why Work?” .  I’m excited about teaching on this important topic that we’re all called to but perhaps haven’t developed a biblical framework for.  Please pray for time to dig into the Word and for God to lead me in the message prep process.  My week has been jammed with many meetings & various urgent issues that have kept me from the kind of study I was hoping for this week.

Thank you for praying my friends!

Hydro