Northern Ireland Mission Update

The Men’s and Women’s Ministry at our church put on a Valentine’s day dinner and movie night and as a fund raiser the youth served the meal for tips. There was also a silent auction where all of the items were donated and went to the highest bidder. This was a great fundraiser and the youth that participated did a great job. The fundraiser put a dent into the total that is needed and we are praying diligently that the Lord will provide the remainder because we are only a little over half way there.

From a preparation standpoint I am continuing to meditate on the things that the Lord is teaching me. This past Sunday I had the pleasure of teaching the youth about Love and Compassion. We talked about loving our neighbors and that led right into the discussion of compassion. We used the following definition:

Compassion - a feeling of deep sympathy and awareness for another’s suffering and a  desire to do something about it.

After talking for a while about the importance of having compassion as a Christian, we all agreed that it was indeed important and that it is something that we should all have.  I asked my audience if they felt a bit of pressure after learning that compassion requires action. As for me the Lord spoke clearly to me on the need to attach some real action to my compassion. I have to admit that I often use the word compassion when in reality I should be using the word sympathy. I am amazed at how we can be teaching and learning all at the same time.

I encouraged the youth to be practicing compassion at home where it is safe. Home is a place where they can be aware of the needs of their family members and immediately take action by praying or some other appropriate response. They should be practicing at home until action is comfortable for them. Following this we discussed how our youth meetings should be another safe place where they can step out and put some action into their compassion equation. The goal is that they would be so comfortable showing compassion that taking it to the streets would be a natural  next step for them.

The people of Northern Ireland are in need of a little compassion and I want our team ready and able to take action by praying and serving. As for me, I’m preparing my heart for the work ahead.

If you would like to commit to praying for our team, please let me know by sending me a message and I will send you updates on our prayer requests as we progress toward our departure. If you desire to help us financially we would appreciate that as well. You can do that by sending a check to:

Youth Ministries
Vineyard Community Church
601 South Cooper Road
Gilbert, AZ 85233

Please write my name in the memo section of the check. There is also a method available for using a credit card (In case you want to earn credit card points), contact me and I can pass along the details.

This Little Light of Mine

It is funny how God uses little things to teach us more about Himself. I had one of these little teachable moments tonight while singing to my little boy.

I was singing the song This Little Light of Mine to my seven month old little one, but I don’t always sing songs using the traditional lyrics. I often make up my own lyrics to suit my mood and honestly this does not often make my children happy, but my little one, he doesn’t seem to mind.  Tonight’s lyrics went a little something like this.

This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine
This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine
Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine

Can’t nobody stomp it out, I’m gonna let it shine
Can’t nobody stomp it out, I’m gonna let it shine
Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine

Jesus put this light in me, I’m gonna let it shine
Jesus put this light in me, I’m gonna let it shine
Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine

Jesus make this little one shine, Jesus let him shine
Jesus make this little one shine, Jesus let him shine
Let him shine, let him shine, let him shine

While singing this little song to my son… it became so very clear to me that “This little light” isn’t mine at all. It totally belongs to Jesus. Its His light! Just because its in me, doesn’t mean its mine. What is mine? If I am to decrease, so that He may increase, how should I try to claim anything as belonging to me. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me! Get that? I don’t even own my own life… my very life and every single breath belongs to him.

It is Jesus who is going to Northern Ireland later this year! He is simply catching a ride with me and the rest of the team. If it were simply us going, it would be totally in vain!

Funny how the Lord uses the little things to reach down deep inside of us to teach us more about Himself and how we also learn more about ourselves in the process.

If you want to help our missions team get to Northern Ireland, drop me a line…

Northern Ireland or Bust

In July 2010, ten teens from the Vineyard Community Church Youth Group will be headed to Northern Ireland on a missions trip. More specifically the team will be headed to the Causeway Coast Vineyard located in Coleraine on the north coast of Northern Ireland. I am excited and extremely blessed to be going with the team as a chaperone/team member but better yet I am going as a proud dad. You see, my oldest daughter Courtney is one of the teens on the missions team. This will be her first mission outside of the United States. 

The missions team will be participating in “Shine” a week long community service program. The team will be doing community service projects, delivering groceries to those in need and will be doing other things to show the community that the church is there to care for them in a real and tangible way.

The teens will have the opportunity to be stretched in their social skills by being called upon to share about their life experiences  with the local youth in Northern Ireland. They will need to adapt the social differences between the youth back here in the United States and those that they will encounter while in Northern Ireland. I expect that there will also be some learning when they come to realize that some words and phrases mean something totally different outside of the US. I am really looking forward to the growth that they will experience while on the trip.

We still have a few months before we embark on the adventure, but the team is already at work trying to raise the funds necessary to pay for the trip expenses. Each member of the team is responsible for raising the funds necessary to cover their portion. There will be yard sales, car washes and a silent auction (being held during the Valentines dinner at the church). Beyond that we are asking friends and family for support, both prayer support and financial support as both will be extremely important to the success of this mission.

If you would like to commit to praying for our team, please let me know by sending me a message and I will send you updates on our prayer requests as we progress toward our departure. If you desire to help us financially we would appreciate that as well. You can do that by sending a check to:

Youth Ministries
Vineyard Community Church
601 South Cooper Road
Gilbert, AZ 85233

Please write my name in the memo section of the check. There is also a method available for using a credit card (In case you want to earn credit card points), contact me and I can pass along the details. Please remember that all of your donations are completely tax deductable. It is a little bit of a struggle to ask for help, but I guess humility is one of the lessons that I am meant to learn.

Over the next few months as we prepare the team for this wonderful journey, I will be sharing my thoughts, feelings and the things I learn along the way.