I wanted to share some good news with you. So far we’ve raised $5500 for the To Save A Life Campaign! We’re getting really close to our goal of $8000. That’s amazing for our church, especially during this time of year. Thank you to those who have given so generously!
In case you haven’t heard, let me fill you in on what I’m talking about. Last month we made a decision to reach 200 people this fall with the life-changing hope of Jesus. In order to do this, we need to raise $8000. That may seem like a lot, but it’s only $40 for every man, woman, and child we are able to reach. This is not going to be an easy task, but I know that God and His people are up to it. How do I know this? Because it’s God’s will that none should perish. He sent his Son because he loved the whole world, every last person. And He’s an Ephesians 3:20 God. And I believe He would do whatever it takes to reach the people of Missoula. And we as a church want to have (and should have) the heartbeat of the Father…a heart for his lost children. A heart to see them reconciled and made whole. And we should be willing to do whatever it takes to make that happen.
So although we’re well on our way to raising enough money to see 200 new people come through the doors at River City Church, we’re still $2500 short. Here’s where we need your partnership.
We need you to sponsor some lost souls. It’s $40 for each person we’re trying to reach. We’ve had one family sponsor 62 people. Another has sponsored 50 people. And yet another has sponsored 25. That’s amazing. And that leaves us with 63 people left to sponsor. And it doesn’t matter if you sponsor 1 or 50. But please consider sponsoring at least 1 person. If each of us did this, we’d be well on our way to easily reaching our goal! Click here to make a one time donation.
If you don’t have the cash to sponsor someone, no problem. We’re having an RCC Yard Sale on Aug 25th. Please consider donating some items and helping out on that day so that we can raise some additional funds. But please, consider donating some items of value. Remember, each $40 could change someone’s life forever!
Please commit to praying for the people you are sponsoring. Ask God to show you your people, and pray and believe that God is going to change their life this fall through this campaign.
Invite, invite, invite! You need you to be inviting your friends and family. We’ll be kicking off a new series Sept 16th (see below). Invite them on this Sunday. We’ll have invite cards for you soon.
Last but not least, we need people to step up and contribute by serving. We need help in children’s ministry, greeters, worship, food and drink, setup, and LifeGroup leaders. If you haven’t already, please let me know how you can help to welcome and minister to all of the new people who are going to be coming through the doors in the next 2 months.
Here’s the plan for this fall. We’re going to be kicking off a series starting Sep 16th called “The New Normal”. The bottom line is this: Normal isn’t working. The normal American family is broke, stressed out, overworked, too busy, and lives a life of broken relationships.
There IS a better way… it’s the new normal. A normal where families have more than enough. A normal where families spend quality time together and aren’t running around frantically. A normal where relationships are whole and prosperous. It’s the Gospel of Jesus Christ. And it is possible for you and for all families. You’re going to want to invite your friends and family to this one.
We’ll also be kicking off a variety of LifeGroups. Relationships are the heart and soul of River City Church. And what better way to experience relationships than through hanging out with a group of great people each week.
So please, let’s partner with the others in your church who are giving generously to this campaign. It’s what RCC is about. And we’re not going to stop until we’ve done whatever it takes to reach Missoula with the Gospel of Jesus Christ!
Jesus’ mission, and the mission he gave his followers was to help save lives. That’s why we’re kicking off our new series How To Save A Life. As a follower of Jesus, we should be passionate about those who are dying spiritually. If we’re not passionate about that, we probably don’t know the heartbeat of God. He’s passionate about his children. He’s passionate about those who are lost and dying.
How To Save A Life is not about how to evangelize the lost. It’s about growing up in Christ. It’s what we call discipleship, or becoming a follower of Jesus. You see, when we grow up in Christ, we become more like Him. Our hearts break for the lost and dying. We WANT to help save lives. It’s a natural byproduct of following Jesus.
So join us as we explore what it means to be a Jesus follower! We’ll see you Sunday @10am at River City Church!
I’m ready to start the Sunday Replays again. Here’s what happened today at RCC:
Worship set: You Deserve, Rooftops, One Thing Remains, Adoration, My Reward.
Great worship today. Aidan Beeson from RCC Lewiston drummed for us last minute and nailed it. Eric and Jamie did an amazing job leading as usual. Passionate and Spirit-led.
Good turnout today considering we had to make a last-minute venue change to the Hilton. Some new faces and return visitors. Thanks for joining us today!
I have to admit I’ve been a little cranky the last 2 months about our meeting location (or lack of a steady one). But I decided to repent of my stinky attitude and be thankful that God has provided a location each week. I like the Hilton, where we were today, but the Best Western has been very accomodating and is practically giving us the meeting rooms each week. It’s hard to beat that.
I keep telling everyone that the church isn’t defined by 4 walls…but I sometimes wonder if I really believe it or not! While a permanent meeting location would be great, God is certainly not confined to a particular location.
So we’re going to keep doing what God has called us to do: make followers of Jesus wherever we go!
I’m so grateful for Kevin Beeson and his family coming all the way over from RCC Lewiston to preach today.
Kevin is a great friend and is also my pastor. River City Church in Lewiston sent us out to Missoula 3 yrs ago and has been our greatest supporter. It’s good to know someone’s got your back!
Kevin preached a message on Lazarus from John 11 that was the most unique word I have ever heard on that passage.
The main emphasis was on John 11:44 And the dead man came out, his hands and feet bound in graveclothes, his face wrapped in a headcloth. Jesus told them, “Unwrap him and let him go!”
Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead and could easily have unwrapped him and cleaned him up…but he asked the people to do it instead. Jesus wants to use each of us to help remove the grave clothes off of each other. The graveclothes of our past. The unforgiveness. The addiction. The jealosy. The anger. The shame. The ___________.
What grave clothes are you still wearing? The only way that others can help you is if you are living in community with them. Biblical community like that found in the book of Acts. Unselfish community.
BTW, we have some ways for you to get connected and live in community. We’ll be having a Welcome Dinner for our newest guests here soon. Keep checking back for the time and place. We have a men’s group that meets on Thursdays at lunch. We have a women’s group that meets on Tuesdays at 10am. We have a Financial Peace University that meets on Wednesday eves at 6pm. We constantly have ways to connect through various events. In fact, we almost named our church “Connect Church”. Not kidding.
One of the things that RCC does really well is provide ways to connect. If you can’t connect here, you probably aren’t trying that hard!
We’re working hard to get a new podcast page up. Keep checking back because we should have it up some time this week and we’ll be posting sermons from the last 2 months.
Ah, it’s good to do Sunday Replays again. Be sure and join us next Sunday at the Best Western so that you don’t have to read the blog!
Couples that pray together, stay together. It’s a common saying among Christians. And it turns out there is some truth to it. However, we’ve all heard the statistic that divorce rates are not different between Christian and non-Christian couples. However, these statistics are based on a study that may be flawed. The flaw perhaps is in the definition of a “Christian”. Had the study differentiated between “Jesus follower” and “Not a follower of Jesus”, the results would have been entirely different.
Many people claim “Christian” as their religion, but they make no apparent effort to follow Jesus (actually be a disciple; live out their faith on a daily basis). A study published in 2004 by University of Virginia sociologist W. Bradford Wilcox titled Soft Patriarchs, New Men: How Christianity Shapes Fathers and Husbands (Chicago, 2004), reports that there are several variables that greatly reduce the probability of divorce. He found that couples who practiced their Christian faith (not just people who claimed to be Christian) had a divorce rate of 50% lower than the rest of the population.
Here are the 3 variables that reduced the probability of divorce by 50%:
Regular, joint church involvement: Couples who were members of the same church, regularly attended the same church, and were involved in serving in the same church.
Shared theology: Couples who shared the same biblical beliefs about God, marriage, family, etc.
Living out their faith at home: Couples who didn’t just “go to” church on Sundays, but who lived it out in their homes with their families 7 days a week. Living it out means praying together, living with integrity, loving one another, reading the bible together, etc.
So, if you are interested in reducing the probability of getting a divorce by 50%, you should first not marry someone who doesn’t want to do the 3 things above. And if you are already married, you need to make sure you’re doing those things.
You may have noticed that we didn’t hold our service last Sunday. Instead, we encouraged people to go hang out with friends and family for the Superbowl and be the church “wherever we go!”.
Sounds like we had some good parties.
Last night we continued the “Wherever You Go” series with a message by Darin on being filled and empowered by the Holy Spirit.
Jesus said in Acts 1:8 that we’d be his witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the ends of the earth.
But first, he said we’d be filled and empowered by the Holy Spirit!
Jesus did not intend to send us on mission without first equipping us.
Just a reminder that we won’t be having our evening service on Feb 6th. Instead, we want to take this opportunity to practice what we’ve been preaching. That is, let’s make followers of Jesus wherever we go! Let’s go and be the church. Invite some friends over and watch the game. Have a good time and make God famous in Missoula!
I’m a little surprised we had anyone come out last night. Nice little blizzard yesterday left the roads a mess. And it was the NFL Pro Bowl.
We did an acoustic worship set. I think it went well.
We continued with our Wherever You Go series. I talked about partnering with the natural rhythms of life, rather than fighting our busy schedules, when it comes to making followers of Jesus.
No service this Sunday. Instead, go and make followers of Jesus while watching the Superbowl!
Last night was great. Worship was phenomenal. Both Eric and Darin shared some passages that God placed on their heart.
I love it when people hear God and respond by serving. That’s what it’s about!
We continued with our Wherever You Go series.
Last night I talked about who it is that God has called us to reach here in our city/community
We watched a scene from the movie “The Village”. If you haven’t seen the movie, it appears to be set in the 1800s. A bunch of people live in a village. Surrounding the Village is a forest where “Those We Don’t Speak Of” live. Anyone who tries to venture into the forest usually doesn’t return. Beyond the forest are “The Towns”…wicked places where wicked people live. Everyone in the Village is afraid to ever move beyond their comfortable perimeter. The irony is revealed in the end when one of the Villagers makes it through the forest and to the Towns. Turns out the monsters called “Those We Don’t Speak Of” are the Village elders trying to keep the Villagers from venturing out. The Towns are modern-day cities. They have been living in a wildlife preserve in rural Pennsylvania this whole time.
For too long the church has acted like the Villagers, having holy huddles and not daring to venture beyond the comfortable perimeter of our church relationships, family relationships, and safe friend relationships. We don’t dare reach out to “Those We Don’t Speak Of”.
But God has called us to mission, a mission of reaching out to those he has placed in proximity to us.
Here’s the YouTube clip that we watched during the sermon. The message will make much more sense if you watch it.
What’s a pastor to do when he can’t find his bible and sermon notes right before the service? Thank you Bryce for finding it in the nick of time! Thought I was gonna have to wing it!
We continued talking about getting our game on by getting involved in small groups.
Small groups are to the church as special teams are to football. Some of the biggest plays of the game are made in small groups. In fact, the game is often won or lost depending on whether special teams get in the game or not.
Small groups are where we get to run up the score on our opponent.
We had a meeting with potential small group leaders after the service. We’re going to start a “Turbo Group” with those interested as a way to train them up in a short period of time. Then we’re going to release them to lead their own groups starting the week of January 24th.
