Thursday, October 18, 2012

RECENT CONNECTIONS


 

 

September 21-22 Loretta attended the Utah District Women’s Ministry retreat and shared in one of the workshops.  Attendance was excellent and the ministry enriching.  Peggy Vawter and her leadership team did a great job leading this retreat.

September 23rd I had the privilege of sharing in the dedication of the new building for High Point Church.  Due to the economic difficulties of recent years the completion of this building was delayed so it was a joyous experience to see the results of the Lord’s provision.  The building is beautiful and located in a strategic area of growth in Aurora, CO.  In the few weeks the church has occupied the building there has been a significant increase in attendance.  Congratulations Pastor Gene and Rhonda Roncone, and High Point Church.  May the Lord continue to use you and High Point Church to reach an ever increasing number of people.

September 27-28 Loretta and I travelled to Southwestern Assemblies of God University (SAGU) to meet with students from the RMD.  I also had the privilege of speaking in the Chapel service on the 28th.  If you are interested, the chapel services are video recorded and can be seen on the SAGU web site at www.sagu.edu under sagutv.  We have a great group of young people at SAGU receiving an excellent education.  As I am writing this ebulletin Randy Popineau and James Naron are at SAGU sharing credentialing information with our RMD kids and any others interested.  I thank God for those He is calling into vocational ministry.

September 30th Loretta and I visited Restoration Church in Fountain, CO.  Our 11 year old grand-daughter, Maddy, was playing the keyboard for worship that morning, and we couldn’t miss that.  Every few weeks Pastor Paul Aragon has a children’s worship team (they have more than one) lead worship in the adult services.  Normally they lead worship in children’s church.  What a joy to experience children leading adults in worship and doing so with proficiency.

On October 3rd the board of Northland Community Church in Monument, CO approved the launch of a PAC in Aurora, CO under the leadership of Pastor Craig Schroetlin.  Craig has a core team of about 25 people and a unique vision for ministry.  “The Gathering” won’t be a house church per-say, but will have many of the characteristics of a house church.  Craig and Dina are experienced church planters and have been a great help in the establishment of Northland Community Church under Jerry Cassell’s leadership.  God bless you Craig and Dina in your important work in the Kingdom of God.

On October 7th Mesa Trails Cowboy Church in Mancos, CO launched under the leadership of Pastor Paul and Rebekah Houston.  Seventy five people were in attendance and one couple gave their hearts to the Lord.  May God use the Houstons and this church for His glory and for the sake of people in the Mancos area.

The Colorado District Women’s Retreat was conducted October 5-7 at Keystone, CO.  As in Utah the attendance was excellent.  I accompanied Loretta on this weekend and took in portions of the services.  Loretta spoke in one of the workshops, as well.  Thanks Peggy Vawter and your leadership team for providing these meaningful venues of ministry for the women in our churches.

On October 7th Loretta and I visited Altitude Church in Leadville, CO.  Pastor Cody and Amy Hall are doing a great job leading this new church.  There were between 35 and 40 people in attendance after about one year of ministry in this community.  Several churches and District WM teams worked to refurbish the interior of the building and it is a beautiful and inviting house of worship.  God bless you
Cody and Amy!

October 8-13 I took Loretta on a vacation to the gulf coast.  I did not see a single RMD minister or congregant there, but we had a good time anyway.

October 14th it was my honor to participate in a service of dedication with Pastor Bob and Sherilyn Cook and the congregation of Victory Life Church in Fruita, CO.  Jim and Carrie Ayers, Dary and Bonnie Northrup, Travis and Linnea Lowell, Lee and Regina Schultz (Dary’s mother), and Rita Ponder (Lee was travelling) were present to participate in the dedication of various segments of the church. 

It was an anointed and exciting time of consecration as Bob and Sherilyn, and the entire church dedicated themselves to God and the work of His Kingdom.  Also, Josh and Sara Jane Cook have moved from Florida to serve on the staff of VLC and we welcome them back to the RMD.

COMMITMENT STATEMENT:

I asked Bob if I could share with you the public commitment he made to Victory Life Church and he graciously consented.  May it energize our commitment to effective ministry.

Statement of Commitment to VLC

October 14, 2012

                The invitation extended to Sherilyn and me on Sunday night, July 29, 2012 – 11 weeks ago – was a tremendous honor that neither of us take lightly. You have blessed us greatly by asking us to serve as your Senior Pastor.

                We commit to you that we will serve you to the very best of our abilities, as God helps us, for as long as you and the Lord see fit.

                I commit to Victory Life Church that:

·         I will be diligent in continuing to cultivate my walk with God; I will be a man of prayer that seeks God’s face earnestly each day. I will read His Word and feed on it so that my own soul can stay nourished before I ever stand to preach that same Word.

·         I will pray for God’s Spirit to anoint my life and ministry. May the good things that come from my life be indeed “not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord.” I will study diligently, prepare carefully, then believe God for His anointing upon my preaching and teaching.

·         I will stay faithful to my beautiful wife of 42+ years. I will endeavor to be the kind of husband that can serve effectively as a model of how a husband should treat his wife.

·         I will ask God continually to help me be the father and grandfather that my children and grandchildren need. May the legacy I give them be one that includes steadfastness in faith and love and loyalty to family.

·         I will attempt to follow the instructions given by Peter in his New Testament letter – I will be a shepherd to this flock not because I must, but because I am willing, as God wants me to be; not greedy for money, but eager to serve; and not lording it over those entrusted to me, but rather serving as an example to the flock. (I Peter 5:2-3)

·         When I make mistakes or lead in an insensitive way, I will be quick to repent. I ask that you be gracious and willing to forgive me when I fail. Please know that I desire to represent my Lord Jesus Christ as best as I possibly can. But I do have “feet of clay,” and will surely not be able to serve as a perfect pastor. But I desire to be the best pastor I can possibly be.

·         I will cry out to God every day for His wisdom as I lead you. I will not rely upon my own strength, intelligence, or experience. I will seek to hear His voice as I lead you. But I also know that at times God will choose to speak to me through you. I desire to be a good listener.

 

Please pray for me on a daily basis. Our challenges as a local church are huge, but we serve an awesome God who will build His Church!!

This is my commitment to you on this 14th day of October, 2012. May God keep His hand upon us all.

George Robert Cook Jr.

 

Tuesday, October 2, 2012

RECENT CONNECTIONS


ROCKY MOUNTAIN MINISTRIES CONFERENCE:

August 24-25 we conducted the Rocky Mountain Ministries Conference on the West Slope of Colorado at Victory Life Church in Fruita, CO.  One hundred ninety five (195) ministry leaders and workers from 39 churches attended.  It was an exciting event with helpful workshops and encouraging interaction.  Most of the workshop audio recordings are now posted on our district web site at www.rmdc.org.  You may find these workshops helpful for your workers and I encourage you to check them out.

I want to thank all our district department leaders and workshop presenters for making this a beneficial conference for every church involved.  Also, thanks to Victory Life Church, outgoing Pastor Ted Miller, and incoming Pastor Bob Cook for hosting this conference.

RECENT CONNECTIONS:

On Sunday, August 26th Loretta and I visited Steamboat Christian Center in Steamboat, CO.  Pastor Troy Lewis is doing a great job leading this church.  The church has Saturday night and Sunday morning services.  The sanctuary was packed Sunday morning when we were present.  The atmosphere of the church was joyous, exciting, and faith-filled.  With several hundred people coming and a clear vision for future ministry they are in the stewardship phase of preparations to build additional facilities.  God bless you Pastor Troy and Julie Lewis.

Wednesday night, August 29th Loretta and I attended the water baptism of two of our grandchildren at Restoration Church in Fountain, CO.  As you might imagine we are thankful for the faith of our grandchildren and for a healthy thriving church ministering to their young hearts.  Thirty seven people were baptized that night and now over 100 people have been baptized in 2012 at Restoration Church!  God bless you Pastor Paul and Melanie Aragon as you continue to lead this dynamic church.

NEW CHURCHES:

Sunday, September 9th Loretta and I attended the opening service of Connection Church in Highlands Ranch, Colorado.  Pastor Shawn Reine is the founding campus pastor of this new work.  Shawn most recently served as Youth Pastor at Dakota Ridge Assembly with Pastor Paul Church and has a great heart for the Denver area.  Connection Church is a Parent Affiliated Church of Crossroads Church in Lafayette, Louisiana a large church where Shawn served as Youth Pastor in years past. 

This church plant is the product of cooperation between the Louisiana District, the Rocky Mountain District, Dakota Ridge Assembly, and Crossroads Church.  Pastor Paul Church and Dakota Ridge Assembly in Littleton, CO have been instrumental in blessing and releasing the establishment of this church.  There were 157 people in attendance and 4 salvations at the launch service.  God bless you Shawn and Amy as you establish this needed church.

I spoke with Buddy Bishop in early September.  Buddy and Cecily started a new church in Dove Creek, CO about three months ago using the facilities of the church we closed a few years ago.  This marks a new beginning of ministry in the Dove Creek area.  Crossroads Victory Worship Center under the leadership of Pastor Chris Peterson provided a team to help prepare the building for the launch of this church. 

Buddy has knocked on half the doors in Dove Creek to date (a community of 800 people) and there are 25 to 30 people now attending this new church.  Buddy’s goal is to establish a viable flourishing church and locate a young pastor called by God to come and lead the church into sustained effective ministry.  In the long history of Assemblies of God ministry in Dove Creek, prior to closing the previous church, many came to Christ and several were called into ministry.  God bless you, Pastor Buddy and Cecily in this important work.

So far in 2012 eleven new churches have been set in order in the Rocky Mountain District (RMD).  Ten of those are Parent Affiliated Churches (PACs).  Two have been in existence as satellite ministries for a few years, and one is an independent church in Washington, UT coming into the AG as a PAC of Westview Christian Center, Cedar City, UT under the Pastoral leadership of Gerald Van Iwaarden.  The other PACs have been established in the last one to three years and chartered this year.  A quick calculation indicates there are well over one thousand people in attendance in these new churches already – PTL!

In addition we have partnered with two other districts to see the establishment of two churches in the geographical region of the RMD; they will technically be part of other districts but in fellowship and partnership with the RMD.  They are Urban Outreach Denver, inner city Denver, CO, Pastor Isaac Olivarez, Central District and Connections Church, Highlands Ranch, CO, Pastor Shawn Reine, Louisiana District.

We anticipate setting in order a new church in Mancos, CO under the leadership of Pastor Paul Houston soon and there are other satellites under way that may become PACs in the future.  I thank God for each new church.  Churches planting churches is the best way to start and sustain churches.  The PAC concept opens the door wider for pastors and churches to prayerfully consider reaching more people for Christ by establishing multiple campus churches.

Our Executive Presbytery meets this week, September 13-14 in Delta CO.  We have a great team serving on this executive board.  We will visit Camp Cedaredge, and Director Lee Terry and Renae Terry who provides excellent administration for the camp.  Camp Cedaredge is thriving in ministry and financial viability.  We will also visit House of Promise and Director Vicki Proffit.  House of Promise is an arm of Teen Challenge with an outstanding ministry to single moms in need.  Thank you, Lee, Renae, and Vicki for your leadership in these ministries.

TEEN CHALLENGE:

Ken Summers is the Executive Director of Teen Challenge Rocky Mountains.  May God continue to bless and use all three Teen Challenge centers – 180 Ministries men’s center in Denver, CO, New Hope House for teen age girls in Toele, Utah, and House of Promise for single moms in Olathe, CO.  You can learn more about these strategic ministries at teenchallengerockymountains.com.

September 15-19 Loretta and I travel to Sedona, AZ for our annual Southwest Region Superintendents meeting.  It is refreshing and instructive to spend time with these leaders.