News & Views April 15

APRIL MEMORY VERSES
But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins.
He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed.
All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own.
Yet the Lord laid on him the sins of us all.
Isaiah 53:5-6

APRIL 18th WORSHIP
CONNECTING POINT - 9:30 A.M. - Dining Hall
Grand re-opening continues
WORSHIP  - 10:00 A.M. -  Family Center Gym
NLC KIDS - 10:00 A.M. - Rooms 101,103
Pastor Mark, preaching  -  Music by Erica Vasquez, Al, Beth and Josh
"Your New Life is Meant to Take Over"
Read ahead: Matthew 13:31-32
MEMBER MEETING - Family Center Gym - following worship (11 a.m.)
GROWING IN PRAYER training - Dining Hall - 3:00-4:30 p.m.

ONLINE - watch live from anywhere at 10:00 a.m. or when you can

This article is shared from a short book by Thom S. Rainer, "How Your Church Can Reach People in a Post-COVID World".
Where will your church be in a year?
Will it be unified, thriving, and reaching its community for Christ? Or will it be divided, struggling, and almost irrelevant to the community? Will the events and challenges of the pandemic be the markers of the end of your church?
I have a watchful eye on churches that are “breakout churches,” meaning they have moved from struggling to thriving. I am seeing some specific traits common in many of these churches, particularly in a post-COVID world. And I see four of these traits to be unique and vital to the health of the congregations.
To be clear, these four characteristics are by no means an exhaustive list of traits of healthy churches. Instead, they are unique characteristics that will likely become both the cause and the result of the breakout.  
They increased their efforts to reach their communities by fourfold. 
These church leaders and members understand that the days of easy growth and cultural Christianity have ended. As a consequence, they increased their efforts, their spending, and their time by fourfold to reach their communities. And while the factor of four is not a magic number, something near that number will be common among the breakout churches. Reaching and ministering to their communities becomes a  very high priority.
They focused their congregations to pray John 17:20-23 as an ongoing prayer effort. 
Not all the congregations pray Jesus’ prayer of unity specifically, but they are praying for church unity in one way or another.  Many churches fail to have a gospel witness because of infighting, self-serving behavior, and tepid commitment. The breakout churches will pray, sometimes for a year or more, for unity in the church.
They made a concerted effort to abandon the entitlement mentality.  
Too many congregations have become religious country clubs, where the members pay their dues and get their expected perks. The breakout churches made intentional efforts to abandon that mentality.  
They prayed for hearts that would be willing to accept new paradigms.  
Please hear me clearly. Your church will either change or die. I know. You don’t change the truths of God’s Word, but many of the methodologies and paradigms that describe the way we “did church” before the  pandemic are simply not relevant today. The breakout churches will  
deem themselves missional churches. They know sacrifice and change are critical to the mission heart.
As we begin this new season, we have a new opportunity to start with new attitudes and renewed  efforts. I am beginning to see a number of churches move toward breakout. In God’s power, your  church can be one of those churches. As we begin this new season, we have a new opportunity to start with new attitudes and renewed efforts.
My prayer for your congregation is that the days and months ahead will be your church’s best season ever. In God’s power it can be done.

This year and last have been full of debates about reopening strategies for businesses, schools, sports programs, and even churches. What if we could "reopen Christianity"? How would we reopen and what would we do?

Tuesdays, starting April 20th at 6-7 a.m. the men's morning Bible Study will begin to explore the following questions every Christian should answer:

• Am I moving forward or backwards?
• Am I a consumer or a contributor?
• Am I playing offense or defense?
• Am I known for what I am for or what I'm against?
• Am I willing to follow Jesus as my Lord?

Are you ready to refocus and come out a stronger representative of who Jesus is? Join us!

Received Last Week (4/11):... $29,240.98
Received this year to date:.. $304,306.22
Budget to Date: ……......…….. $314,922.89
Budget Goal: …………........…...$521,591.00
Needed Weekly: ……….......……$10,346.89

COVID-19 precautions: Praise the Lord we may freely gather for worship!
As the coronavirus continues to mutate and spread, please maintain 6' of distance and wear a face covering on the church campus to protect yourself and others. Thank you.

Questions? Call 559-591-1176 or office@newlifedinuba.org