Monday, March 5, 2012

RECENT CONNECTIONS

SECIONTAL TOUR

Most of the month of February was spent in our Sectional Tour. I want to thank all our Presbyters who arranged for the events and the churches that hosted. The elections, workshops, and banquets went very well. 551 ministers and spouses attended our banquets and it was enriching to fellowship with each one.

We gave all our ministers who were present a binder with important church business and ministerial tax information. We will have a supply of these binders at District Council for those who did not receive one at the sectional meeting. The binder is free of charge and a great resource to keep in your church files.

DISTRICT COUNCIL

District Council will convene April 24-26 at Life Church in Salt Lake City, UT. Speakers in our services will be Greg Mundis AGWM Executive Director, Lee Ponder Pastor of Delta First AG and Assistant Superintendent, and Don Steiger.

We will also provide the following Leadership Resource Summit sessions:

Plenary Session – Wednesday, April 25, 10:00 a.m.

Transforming Talk: How to have a conversation with a Mormon with Greg Johnson of Standing Together; Sid Casillas, and Dane Wead moderating

This session will explore the history, the theology and a few key practical insights into Mormonism. We will take this information and develop conversation material that can take place between and Evangelical and Mormon – concluding with Q & A.

Breakout Sessions – Wednesday, April 25, 11:00 a.m.

Thriving Discipleship in a Busy Culture with Pastor Gene Roncone and the Highpoint Team

Increased work weeks, the explosion of weekend warriors and the proliferation of outside obligations have cut deep into people’s time and availability for church. How do we resolve the tension between the need for effective discipleship and the reality of limited availability? In this session Gene Roncone and the Highpoint team will share creative options Highpoint has employed to…
- Use podcasts, online media and flash drives to mentor new believers.
- Experience meaningful, but convenient discipleship.
- Use new media to expose people to “real time” missionaries and boost giving without increasing
church services or expenses.
- Provide quick and customized information through text casting, auto-responders and CR codes.
- Integrate direct mail and simple technology to connect with the unchurched community.
- Offer additional topical teaching without being distracted from core discipleship.
- Increase participation in and excitement about prayer.

All of these methods can drastically reduce the amount of money and time needed to facilitate them while increasing the quality of these ministries themselves.

Anchors in Ministry: Peace, Purpose, and Perks! with Rita Ponder, Christie Voss, and Loretta Steiger

Rita Ponder will discuss maintaining peace of mind, peace in our homes, and peace in relationships. Thoughts on keeping focus on our purpose in ministry will be shared by Christie Voss, and Loretta Steiger will discuss those “perks” that help us keep going. This workshop is available to all women.

Looking in the rearview mirror: A quick glimpse at how the world has changed and what it means to you! with Lee Terry.

Having a Christian worldview seems to be an easy thing but statistically it has proven to be difficult for people. Only 9% of Christians have and practice a Biblical worldview. The prevailing culture seems to dictate the world’s thinking. We will look at changes that have brought this about and how we can better equip our students and ourselves to have a Biblical world view.

In addition to ministry we will have important business to transact. I hope you can join us at District Council.

RECENT CHURCH SERVICES

Since the first of the year I have had the privilege of visiting and ministering in several of our churches Sunday services. January 8th Loretta and I visited Journey Church in Strasburg, CO. Pastor Scott and Linda Bottoms are doing a great job pastoring this church. They conduct multiple services in their current facility to accommodate the growth and have plans to build a new facility in the near future.

I had the privilege of ministering at First AG in Trinidad, CO, January 29th with Pastor Kim and Susan Pittman. This is a strong church having impact in the community. God bless you Kim and Susan as you continue the work in Trinidad.

On February 5th I spoke at Pueblo Christian Center for their Missions Convention kick off service. Under the leadership of Pastor Josh and Adra Richardson the church is alive with God’s presence and great things are happening.

On February 12th Loretta and I attended Living Hope Church in Colorado Springs, CO. Pastor Phil and Heather Steiger had as their guest speaker Dr. J. P. Moreland. Dr. Moreland is a Professor at Talbot Seminary, author, church planter, and Pentecostal scholar. I have read several of his books and highly recommend his writings.

On February 26th I had the privilege of speaking at Christian Life AG in Payson, UT in the morning service. Pastor Mark and Pam Gering lead this church and are doing a great job.

Sunday evening, February 26th I spoke at Victory Life Church in Fruita, CO at their annual business meeting. Pastor Ted and Tami Miller have led this church through a relocation and significant building program. God bless you Ted and Tami as you continue to lead this church in growth and impact in the Grand Valley.

On March 2nd Loretta and I joined the congregation of Family Worship Center in Centennial, CO for a wonderful 20th anniversary celebration banquet. Sunday morning, March 4th I had the privilege of speaking at Family Worship Center for Pastor Loren and Sylvia Popineau as we continued to give thanks to God for the establishment of this wonderful church and the ministry of Loren and Sylvia Popineau. In 1992 Loren and Sylvia came to Littleton (now Centennial), CO to plant this church in a vacant church building. Today this is a thriving church with impact in Centennial and around the world through their strong Missions involvement.