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October 6 Coffee Church Highlights

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October 8, 2013
Ministry
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Great weekend, as always!  We have such kind people at our church who I look forward to seeing every week.

We are in full swing with our next series on Hunger.  I am LOVING it as we talk about seeking after righteousness and making our spiritual lives a matter of priority.  Good stuff!

As we have announced, we are still in process for a potential building for Hazel Dell.  It’s a slow start as we navigate a commercial building purchase, so if you feel like you are missing something…you’re not.  That being said, we need you to be praying right now.  First and foremost we want to do whatever God wants us to do, so in the “meantimes” of life, we can be praying for His wisdom.  You can drive by the building at 811 NE 88th Circle whenever you want to.  Times/dates to see inside are still in limbo, but they will be coming!

All of our small groups are off and running for a great semester.  I am really looking forward to hearing about how God uses each one to mold and form lives!  There is value in everything from Bible studies to Bowling Leagues in the Kingdom of God.  He uses our brushes with His people to make us more like Him.

Mark and I’s small group is focused on finances, so that will be a lot of fun!  Money is taught so poorly in this country that by the time you figure out about interest, saving, and spending, you probably already have credit card debt and you’re probably only about 21 years old.  It’s a shame!  There is freedom in living a Biblically-structured financial life.  We are looking forward to the next 9 weeks with a really wonderful group of people.

Speaking of being more like Jesus, are you ready to get baptized?  We have a portable hot tub that we fill for baptisms any time!  You can sign up HERE.

We also have a thriving email prayer ministry that you can be a part of.  If you have a prayer need or would like to be added to the email list to pray for people, just send us a note at prayer@coffeechurch.com.  Over 200 people pray for those needs that come through!  There’s power in our prayers!

We have a lot of new volunteers making their way onto our team this fall.  Thank you so much for serving at North Creek!  We LOVE having amazing volunteers involved in the lives of people of every age.  It makes everything more fun when there are a lot of people!

Well, so much to do and so little time!  Make every moment count and do it all for Jesus.  Have a great week and be blessed!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Raising Godly Pastor’s Kids

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April 19, 2013
Ministry
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One of the interesting facets of being pastors is raising kids that love Jesus.  We’ve been warned plenty of times about the negative effects that ministry can have on children, but we blissfully ignore those and keep moving forward.  Today, as I put my 3rd grade girl in a van to go to Kid’s Conference, I was reflecting on some of the ways we are implementing Christ into our kids.  I’ve blogged in this regard before, but I’ll add a few more today.

Here’s some of our foundational parenting tips:

1.  It’s gotta be their call.  I know that no matter how badly I want my kids to love Jesus, it is ultimately their decision.  Sometimes I have to force myself to relax and have real conversations with my kids.  A couple of years ago, Delaney said to me, “I’m not sure I believe in Jesus.”  Honestly, I wanted to plead with her in that moment to change her 6 year old ways.  I could picture myself on my hands and knees with a hankie and some tears.  Instead I calmly said, “That’s OK.  Let’s talk about why you feel that way…”  It opened up lots of conversations, both then and over the next several months.  It also proved to her that following Christ is not merely an emotional response, but a well thought out decision as well.  Her strongly worded sentence was her way of saying, “Mom, I have some questions.”  Christ was never afraid of questions.

2.  They will sit in a lot of vans on their way to a lot of camps and conferences.  I know what happens at camps and conferences and it’s worth every penny!  Being in a pastor’s family is definitely a challenge for kids and teens, so the balance we can give them is to cram all the fun we can into ministry.  One of those ways is to take advantage of overnight trips.  The kids and youth love them and it partners fun with following Jesus…what could be better!

3.  We are more concerned about what we are FOR as a family, rather than what we are AGAINST.  We’d rather show them LOVE for people lost in sin rather than be AFRAID of their presence in our church and lives.  And we would rather them find FREEDOM in their relationship with Jesus rather than feel CONDEMNED by their own sin.  There is a balance to all of this, but the bottom line is we are raising strong, young women with a Biblical foundation.  That should not come with a lens of fear, condemnation, and judgmental hearts.  If we impart the love of Jesus into their hearts, we can ultimately trust them with the behavior choices that come in the future.

So, that’s what we are trying.  I’ll let you know in about 15 years if it worked for us!  What I do know is that God is a God of grace and His mercies are new every morning.  I know that verse was never more real to me than when I started having kids.  I am thankful that God can take the best of what we have to offer and help my kids navigate life and ministry in a positive way!