H O M E

I love the word home. I think it is one of the warmest, heartfelt words in our language. The love of this word is partly due to being raised in a great (big and loud) home but more so because I've discovered "Home" in church.

The first time I entered a church with that atmosphere, I was overcome with a sense of home.  As I sat there with tears running down my cheeks, I knew this is what I had been searching for. When we subsequently planted Relate Church some thirty plus years ago, my goal was to help multitudes of others have the same discovery of finding a place to call home.

King David wrote, "One thing I have desired of the Lord, that will I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life' (Ps 27:4) and in Ps 84:10 he wrote, "For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness."

I totally relate with David. Church is that supernatural "Home" where, as Pastor Bobbie Houston wrote, "Heaven's in the House."

Here are a few thoughts about Home: 

1. Home is family; the two are inseparable. Where the family gathers, there you will find home. Church is where those that have been born into the family of God, gather in His Name. As Jesus said, "where two or three are gathered in His Name, there He will be" (Matt 18:30). We need each other and we need His Presence.

2. Home is where we belong. We all long to be where we belong, it’s one of our strongest basic human needs. I grew up in a large family where it seemed every year, my mom came home from the hospital with a new member of our family. Each new child was now home, not because of what they achieved but because of who they were. Belonging is the right of birth, not behaviour.

3. Home is where we are accepted just as we are; scrapes, bruises, bloodied knees and 'bed head'. We are known and yet loved and accepted just the way we are.  God's unconditional love reaches out to us and accepts us just the way we are. 

4. Home is where we discover who and why we are.  Our identity comes from our parents not our performance. I love Pastors Caleb and Jewlie Davidson's story of when asking their toddler, Judah, "Who loves you?”. He responded saying, "Daddy loves me”.  She then asks, "Why does daddy love you?" and he replied, "Because I'm me". 

Once we are safe in 'who' we are, only then can we discover 'why' we are. Home is where we risk spreading our wings and following our dreams - our safety net is family.  If we fall, we just get back up and try again.

Psalms 92:13 says, "Those who are planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God." In a sense, we are all miracles in seed form and home is the soil we need to be planted in.  As our life grows and flourishes, we continually discover more of our gifts, callings and creativity.

5. Home is healing. It’s where forgiveness reigns, where we get refreshed, restored and refuelled.  When we enter this place of unconditional love, acceptance and belonging our heart can exhale in safety. When we leave home we should feel stronger and healthier. This is the goal of Relate Church. When we gather together in His name, we should feel refreshed and ready to face the world outside. 

6. Home is where your heart is. I love my biological and spiritual home, but it requires a choice to guarantee that my heart will continually be homeward bound.  Jesus said in Matthew 6:21 "For where your treasure is, there you heart will be also."  I choose to continually invest my time, treasure and talent into building the home that I love so that my heart and the hearts of generations to come will always love the miracle of 'home'.

7. Home is waiting for you. When our gang comes home for family night, the table's set, the food is ready and our hearts are anticipating their arrival. They can expect to be celebrated as they enter. That's how church is every time we gather, our prayer is that everything we've done says to you, "Welcome Home!"

Pastor John Burns

Senior Pastor

WHY I LOVE THE CHURCH

I’ll be the first to admit that my experience with Church hasn’t always been glorious. There have been some painful memories, such as the time my Dad left the church I grew up in because of hurtful circumstances. Or the time John and I decided to get married, but neither of our churches were willing to perform the ceremony because we were from different ‘religious’ backgrounds. Even since planting Relate Church, there have been some trying times when all I wanted to do was run and live on a deserted island for a day or two, but I’m forever grateful that I stayed. I’m grateful that I grew and invested because now my life is immensely rich and blessed because of it.

Church is like family to me. Although we occasionally walk through hard times, it is a place to belong, to be nurtured and to grow in all that God has called and designed us to be. On this side of eternity, our lives will never be perfect because humanity is complicated and messy. But even in the midst of this, there is growth. There is still love and there is a place that’s uniquely designed for you.

I am who I am today because I planted my life, my whole heart and being in the beautiful House of God. I love how the Psalms speak of being planted in God’s family and in His House.

“The righteous will flourish like the date palm - long-lived, upright and useful; they will grow like a cedar in Lebanon -majestic and stable. Planted in the house of the Lord, they will flourish in the courts of our God. Growing in grace they will still thrive and bear fruit and prosper in old age; they will flourish and be vital and fresh -rich in trust and love and contentment…they are living memorials to declare that the Lord is upright and faithful to His promises; He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him.” (Psalms 92:12-15 Amplified)

There is no other place on earth that has the capacity to create this rich and bountiful life. Church, family, and the gathering of God’s household is truly the hope of this fragmented and hurting world.

Everyone has the capacity to thrive in any atmosphere where they are loved and accepted. True confidence and strength grows when people know they belong. It grows when they have the opportunity to plant their feet in a place where Heaven’s culture is displayed on earth. Where prayers are prayed and answered. Where the lost encounter a Saviour and find home. Where friendships are forged, grow and flourish. 

Who do you know that needs to find home, a place of belonging and planting? Aren’t you so glad that someone invited you? Who can you reach out to today and help them find home -  sweet, ‘imperfect-yet-magnificent’ HOME? 

Helen Burns
Senior Pastor

AM I FAITHFUL?

People often think that doing something for a long amount of time is significant - like having the same occupation, going to the same church, being married or even being a Christian. Let me just say that this isn’t always the case.

Jesus told a story that is recorded in Matthew 25:14-30 about a man who was going away and left three of his servants in charge of all he owned and then gave each of them a sum of money based on what he thought they were capable of handling. The two servants that were given the largest amounts took that money and doubled it. The one servant that was given the least amount of money dug a hole and hid it in the ground. When the man returned from his trip he asked each of the servants what they had done with the money given to them.  When the servants who had doubled the money told him what they’d done the man called them “faithful” and then gave them more responsibility. When the servant who buried the money told the master he was retuning it all back to him the master called him “lazy’ and took away what he had.

What I find interesting in this story is that the servant who was called “lazy” did not lose a cent of the master’s money and yet he was not called faithful. The conclusion I come to in reading this is that maintaining or doing something for a long period of time does not qualify as faithful and is not pleasing to God.

So what does God expect of us? He expects us to increase whatever he has placed into our hands. Not to just maintain our occupation, giftings, talents, service to others, marriage, relationships with others or with Him. He expects us to grow whatever is in our hand, whatever is given to us, to become more proficient, skilled, competent and more loving. Showing up is a big part of life, but don’t let it end there.

MARVIN MCGEE

Marv serves as Executive Operations Pastor, bringing oversight to our staff and helping to align our operations with the vision of our senior pastors. His leadership ensures we're all working towards healthy, long term growth. 

HUNGER

In the natural, after we’ve had something to eat we become full and, in my case, very happy. It’s a simple process and one that always blesses my heart. But when dealing with spiritual hunger, I’ve discovered things to be quite a bit different. You see, the more God pours into our lives (of His love, His grace, His Spirit) the more our hunger for Him increases -- It’s this place of fullness, yet still desiring for more -- and I believe that God wants to increase our hunger for Him and pour out even greater measures of Himself in and through our lives.

My hunger began to grow from a place of brokenness. Something that I had been praying for for a number of years had completely fallen apart and I didn’t know what to do. I began to cry out for God, and as I did, this simple prayer began to well up within me: “Lord, give me a greater hunger for You.” All I knew was that there was more of Him and that I had to have it. But within that process I found out that there’s always more of God and that our hunger for Him only burns brighter as He continually pours of Himself into our lives.

God has so much more for us to discover (gifts that He’s placed within us, promises in His word that we’ve yet to lay claim to, a deeper understanding of who we are and Who’s we are as His sons and daughters) and I believe He’s calling us to pursue Him for nothing less than everything that He came and died for us to have. God wants to bring you to a place of increase -- of having an increased measure of His presence resting upon your life, for ears to hear His voice over every situation, for His word to begin to burn within you, creating a greater hope and expectation for His goodness, and that most of all, to create a greater hunger and passion for the endless pursuit of His heart.

From this place of increase is where our lives begin to overflow. What I mean by that is that everything God has poured in begins to pour out, and without even realizing it, what we carry on the inside begins to transform the circumstances that surround us. People need healing, hearts need to be restored back to the Father, lives need to be changed through an encounter with Him, and through our lives, God can begin to work miracles. In Matthew 10:8 Jesus tells us to, “Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely you have received, freely give…”. God’s heart is to see people set free and He wants to move through our lives so that “on earth as it is in heaven” can become a reality.

So would you pray this simple prayer with me?

Lord, we pray for a greater hunger for You. Give us a greater desire to seek after all that You are. I pray for increase. For an increased measure of Your Holy Spirit and for an increased measure of Your grace, so that we can be and do all that You’ve called us to be and do. We love You, Lord. Amen.

RYAN BEASLEY

Ryan is a leader, drummer and worshipper who serves with our Music Team.

GET UP, ONE MORE TIME.

Life can be such a crazy journey of ups and downs and everything in between. I've come to realize that right when you feel like you've overcome in an area and you're starting to feel pretty good about the work you've done and the progress you've made... then BAM! You find yourself hit with a circumstance similar to the one you just got through. Like come on, didn't we just deal with this? Can't it be a one and done type of thing? OK, check 'insecurity' off the list, dealt with it now I'm good to go.

But sadly that's not life. We have to continually purpose to overcome. It doesn't just happen, we have to put the work in.

Something that sparked in my mind as I was annoyed with facing this type of repeated situation, was that I need to change the way I view it. Rather than thinking of it as 'Oh man, here we go again' and beating myself up, I can look at it as an opportunity. An opportunity to grow, an opportunity to remind myself that I've come through this before and can do it again, an opportunity to experience God in all his grace and goodness. God, who doesn't see us fighting through the same battle and get annoyed with us, but who actually meets us there AGAIN and AGAIN and AGAIN. He didn't say that He would help you through once and that's it. He has promised that He is closer than a brother, that He will NEVER leave us or forsake us.

If you are fighting a battle today that you are discouraged about because you felt like you already had this thing beat but it seems to be taking you out again (or threatening to), let me encourage you to change your perspective. Don't think about it from a place of feeling defeated and asking "Why am I dealing with this again?" Instead look at it for what it is, an opportunity to realize how far you have come, acknowledge the progress you have made, and then get to work so that it doesn't pack the same punch that it would have before. God doesn't roll his eyes and say "Oh man, here we go again" when we come to Him, even if it's a million times. He always embraces us with love, grace and mercy and says, "Take my hand, let's do this together."

TAMMIE GAUER

Tammie leads on our Relate Women team and serves with our Prayer MInistry and Community Care. She and her husband Adam have three beautiful children. 

WHAT COMMUNITY LOOKS LIKE

Growing up, money was very tight in our house. Extremely tight.

I remember trips to the food bank. I remember being hungry and not having food in the fridge. I remember generosity from relatives. While kids in school worried about parties and cute boys, I worried about money and food. Would we be able to pay the rent? Would we have to move again? I could tell they did not know the weight I carried. 

Poverty feels heavy. It also made me feel like an outsider in society. 

Eight years ago I was asked to help with hampers for The Christmas Project with Relate Community Care. At the time, I was taking the Faithworks course and our class was commissioned to take on the hamper project. Then I was elected to lead the project. When I saw the list of schools we would be helping, I realized I had attended some of those very schools as a child. As I stared at the list, all the feelings of growing up poor flooded back. 

Isn’t it amazing how God redeems us?

I can relate to these kids. It was rough for me growing up, but some of these kids now have it way harder than I could have ever imagined. My heart breaks for them.

Recently Relate Church was contacted by the Surrey School Board to help put together a Weekend Emergency Food Program. This is for families that do not have any food on the weekends. Some children rely on the food programs that run at school during the week to eat at all. We learned that many of them don’t eat again until school opens up for the breakfast program on Monday morning. 

They don't eat all weekend.

My own kids have not known hunger. They can barely survive two hours before rummage through the pantry, looking for a snack. I can’t even imagine them not eating for two days. How would they even have the capacity to sit and learn in school? 

We delivered our first hampers last week. As people heard about what we were doing, generosity bloomed. We had donations of granola bars and freshly baked goods to add. 

The Principal and Vice-Principal of the school thanked our representatives numerous times and were amazed by the generosity of our church. 

We all get to be a part of this. I know I could not have done this without YOU.  I thank God for planting me here, and giving me this mission field. I am thankful for a church that opened its heart to be broken by people in the margins. We are making a difference. 

This is church. This is sharing Jesus with the world. 

DANIELA SCHWARTZ

Daniela serves in many creative and hands-on ways with Relate Community Care. She's a businessperson, writer and homeschooling mom. She and her husband Ryan have two awesome boys. 

ON EVERYDAY LOVE AND GROCERIES

What causes me to love Jennifer?  Is it her grace? Her kindness? Her humour? I realize that for much of our life together (47 years), I expected... demanded those things... and much more from her. My selfishness resulted in me being disappointed during much of that time, because I loved kindness and grace... not Jennifer, and my attitudes and actions reflected that. My heart was not turned toward her.

So - How can I model God's grand design for marriage as represented by His love for me (Romans 5:8) and to love Jennifer as in Ephesians 5:25? How can I get there... Is it even realistic? I recently read, "Love is always set on the beloved's welfare... so all of our actions should be motivated for their good. ALL our actions... every one."  Too big? Well, big attitudes can be shaped through little actions. 

When we walk to our local Save On I always carry the groceries home. Jen inevitably tells me "I can carry that" but I just don't want her to have to do something she doesn't really want to do. There are a thousand and one ways I can improve on being a husband, but in this instance, my concern is really focused on Jennifer. How can I best serve her? This is such a small, insignificant example, but small moments become habits and habits can (re)shape my character. I'm beginning to use common life situations by asking, "How can I bless Jen here?" I want to make love a verb in our marriage. Can you think of a way to bless your spouse today? 

A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. John 13:34

Tom and Jennifer will celebrate their 47th wedding anniversary this month. They passionately lead in our Marriage Mentoring Ministry and serve as RGroup Leaders and Prayer Leaders.

WHEN A MAN LOVES A WOMAN [PART TWO]

(Read Part One of this post here.)

I have learned many valuable life-lessons from my wife, not the least of which is the way she continues to help me understand how to love her.  I would give her most of the credit for these words I’m writing and I’m eternally grateful for the lessons I’ve learned. 

According to Ephesians 5:25 where the Apostle Paul encourages husbands to love their wives as Christ loved the Church and gave His life for her, wives were meant to be loved and husbands were meant to love. If we are to enjoy the life that God has intended for us, women need a vision of how to be loved and men need a vision of how to love.

In part 1 of this blog, I began with the first three keys to what it looks like when a man loves a woman. Let me continue with the next three:

THIS IS WHAT I SEE WHEN A MAN LOVES A WOMAN:

4. HE WILL TREASURE HER UNIQUENESS AND CREATIVITY AND BE WILLING TO SPEND HIS LIFE FULLY DISCOVERING AND EMPOWERING IT

Helen and I have had a television show for years just answering questions about relationships.  One of the most frequently asked questions would be,”How do you stay in love for a lifetime?”  Our answer is ‘stay amazed.’  God has created her in His image, which means that she has unfathomable treasure… but you must purposefully hunt for it. Every time you discover more treasure, you cant help but be amazed. Decide to be on a treasure hunt for the rest of your lives.

Love does more than just discover the unique and creative treasure in her heart; it becomes her advocate and support.  I believe every woman has treasure in her heart that needs to be voiced. Over the years, I’ve had the privilege of watching and promoting my wife as her heart’s treasure and voice has blossomed and ministered to more and more people.

5. HE WILL EARN HER UNWAVERING TRUST AND GUARD IT DEARLY

Trust is the backbone of every relationship.  Without it we cannot build.  We can love someone and even desperately desire to build a future together but without trust, it is impossible.

It is vital to understand that trust MUST be earned.  Often the mistake is made of trusting someone because we WANT to build a future and we know that requires trust.  But, if that person is not trustworthy, disappointment and hurt is ahead.

When a man loves a woman he realizes how important it is that she trust him and that he must earn it so he will pace the relationship at the speed that he can earn her trust.  He also understands that trust can take a lifetime to build and a second to shatter, which causes him to protect and guard it with wisdom and diligence.

6. HE WILL ENJOY HER AS HIS BEST FRIEND

Friendship is the foundation of all intimate relationships. It is the strength and the reward of life.  Friendship is the ‘want-to’ that glues a relationship together.  Friends choose to spend time together just because they enjoy each other’s company.  C.S. Lewis said, “Joy is the serious business of heaven”.

Often, when a man loves a woman, it starts with hormones, physical attraction and infatuation but true love goes beyond those initiators and discovers the incomparable beauty of friendship.  It is where true intimacy is forged: to understand and to be understood.

(Still more to come on this subject – stay tuned)

John Burns
Senior Pastor

THE PURPOSE OF WORSHIP

Working in the business world has shown me that good leaders are vital to being successful. Those individuals that lead with their ability, confidence, encouragement, and strong values often have the most success. However, perhaps more important that any of these qualities is how much that leader believes in what they are doing. One who supports the mission of their work, and encourages others to do the same. This is what gives our actions purpose, and allows us to successfully lead others along the way, be this in our work, relationships, or worship.

Hebrews 12:28 says, “Do you see what we’ve got? An unshakable kingdom! And do you see how thankful we must be? Not only thankful, but brimming with worship, deeply reverent before God.” As a worship leader, I will never realize the true purpose of worship by simply playing my instrument, and not believing in what I am doing. Worship is not merely a song or a prayer, but an expression of gratitude and honour to God, developed deep within our hearts. We were never intended to do something because we have to, but rather because we get to. God paid the biggest price for us, and we must recognize that by honouring him in all that we do, especially in our worship.

As a worship leader, it is easy to become complacent; to wake up Sunday morning and just play the songs because it is our duty as musicians. But the danger in this is that our attitude and intentions are contagious, be it for the good or the bad. Whether it is a manager that goes to work and does the bare minimum, an athlete that loses focus after signing a big contract, or a worship leader that only plays for recognition, the true intention of their work is never realized, and those around them will never properly be led. In these instances, it is clear that the purpose was lost.

Therefore, it is important for us to remember that we do not worship for our own pleasure or fulfillment, but rather to glorify His name because of all that He has done for us. As it says in Psalm 115:1, “Not to us, Lord, not to us, but to Your name be the glory, because of Your love and faithfulness.” God is bigger and greater than we will ever understand, so He must remain our purpose for all things.

And for me, this is what keeps me worshipping week after week. Knowing that there is God that loves us deeply, and has sacrificed everything for us to experience His love to its fullest. All of the joy we experience in life is because of Him and His generosity, so let’s never forget that we owe everything to God, and have the privilege to show Him our gratefulness through worship.

CAMERON NICHOL

Cam is part of our lead worship team and has served on team for five years. 

THE GOOD LIFE

BY ANGELA DOELL

I wrote a little love letter a while ago, a note of appreciation for my my church. I think it's worth sharing again, because it's more true than ever...

No one promised the good life would be easy. 

The promised land, milk & honey sweet, it's for those who seek. Its wide open spaces welcome the traveller, those who journey, the life-invested. 

It's for the brave ones who show up today. And again tomorrow. 

They press on, despite fear. 

They're marked by commitment. 

Faithfulness defines them, loyalty their fragrance. 

A legacy people clothed in borrowed strength, His armour. 

They step aside to accommodate and serve without entitlement. 

They boldly hope, and sing with abandon. 

They're a refuge for the mourning, healing for the weak. 

They embrace, include, exhort. 

They're alert for the Voice, the Heartbeat, the Compass. 

They're steady. They are there. They are us and we. 

My people are the wild ones who keep turning up, keep trusting and keep serving as though it just might make a difference. Because we've had a taste of the good life. And it's worth showing up for.  

ANGELA DOELL

Executive Pastor

THE GIFT OF WORSHIP || JENNA LIESCH

James 1:17-21 in the Message translations says:

‘So, my very dear friends, don’t get thrown off course. Every desirable and beneficial gift comes out of Heaven. The gifts are rivers of light cascading down from the Father of Light. There is nothing deceitful in God, nothing two-faced, nothing fickle. He brought us to life using the true Word, showing us off as the crown of all His creatures.’

I’m so thankful we serve a God who we can worship.

I remember growing up in the Catholic church and loving the times where we would ‘stand and sing from the Catholic book of worship.’ The lyrics I still remember to this day…. ‘and He will raise you up on Eagle’s wings, bear you on the breath of dawn…’ and ‘sing to the mountains, sing to the sea, raise your voices lift your hearts, this is the day the Lord has made - let all the earth rejoice!’. I loved the ‘worship time’ back then, and I love it even more now.

I’m so thankful we serve a God who gives us a tool like worship. We need to worship. I have always loved to sing, but especially love singing songs to God, and about God, but I have never really known the deep need for us as God’s own kids, to worship him, until recently when my family and I suffered a tragedy- one of those moments in life where the rug got pulled from under us. I was told when four months pregnant with our fourth baby that the baby no longer had a heartbeat. I was by myself, alone in a hospital room. (This was an unexpected thing, and so my husband Koby was home with our other three kids, preparing a turkey for a big Christmas dinner we were planning on having that night) It was in that moment, alone, when I remembered these songs, these words, these truths that I have sung so often, and how in a moment like this, of desperation, of confusion, of loss and saddness, that I needed to get my worship on!!!! Thankfully I was in a room by myself and had this peaceful privacy, and as I sat on this hospital bed waiting for my husband and midwife to arrive, not knowing what the next few days would look like, I felt the Spirit of God whisper to me so gently- Now is the time to stand and worship. As if I felt like it. As if I wanted to, but I knew deep in my heart, just like it says in James 1, that in order to ‘not get thrown off course’, that I needed, I needed-needed, to stand and worship… and boy did I ever.

Its so amazing that God knows what we need, before we even need it. I had recently made a playlist on my phone of songs like ‘It is Well With my Soul’ and ‘I am Not Alone’ and ‘Prince of Peace’ and ‘Here Now’. Songs that all refer to God’s presence being with us in a time of trial.

Its not that singing a few songs made everything easy- as the weekend progressed, I was admitted into the hospital and had to be induced and delivered a perfect, tiny little baby boy. Not the easiest weekend for us at all. But can I tell you… what God provided for us in that valley was peace and strength and hope and so much more. I sang as I cried, and I sang as I laboured- I sang through the pain. I sang these truths about Him and to Him. And God was right there. His word says that He is close to the broken hearted.

You see, God gives us these perfect gifts like the gift we have to worship. Not that you have to be ‘gifted’ to worship, like know how to sing or play the guitar with skill… Worship is way wayyyy more than music and ability. It's the state of our heart. Its a beneficial gift - something we get to do, that benefits our lives. It's a stance towards God that says He is always good, all the time. Its a tool that brings us life in our every day ups and downs. Its a gift to get to look towards Heaven and sing praises to our King! And when we do, what happens to us- in us- is so supernatural. We are shaped, changed, strengthened.

Because of this, I will always choose to be passionate in how I worship. After all, the bible is pretty clear about how we can express ourselves passionately while worshipping!

Psalm 134 says to ‘lift up holy hands and praise the Lord!’ and Psalm 98 says to 'shout for joy to the Lord all the earth… burst into jubilant song’. Hello!

I pray that my heart will always be willing to worship God, and to worship Him passionately. Through the valleys and the mountaintops, He promises that He is always with us, so why not worship Him?!!!

I’m so thankful for this great God that we get to serve!

Jenna Liesch

Relate Generation Pastor

THE THOUGHT THAT CHANGED MY LIFE || Ashley Mohr

I feel like God has been working on my character BIG TIME over the last several years.  For a while it felt like I couldn’t catch a break. I knew God was there the whole time, but life was hard. My circumstances were difficult. Many thoughts of complacency, inadequacy, and inferiority began to rise up.  When they did, I wasn't a super hero determined to slay those damning thoughts, but I did simply think to myself, "I can’t think this way." 

A small, uneventful, anticlimactic realization… I can’t think this way. 

I would love to say that I turned to my bible every time these thoughts surrounded me and that I would read an uplifting exhortation to help me see who I was through God’s eyes and who was I to think anything less than that I was a daughter of the King. Honestly, most of the time, I didn’t.  I found solace, comfort and personal growth in reaching out to my daily relationships.  I found that as I focused a little harder on loving my children well and investing into them, my worth as a very valuable part of their life brought me purpose.  I found that as I sat with my parents or my sisters and laughed and enjoyed being with them in a relaxed family atmosphere, I was being heard and had value.  I found that in the moments that friends came to me for advice or prayer or to just download a hard day into hearing ears, my issues didn’t disqualify me from being helpful.  I found that as I focused on my job as creative pastor and helped shape a moment in our church service that would help people know the depth of God’s love for them, I had eternal purpose.  I found that as chose to place myself in situations where I could be useful in any capacity, it began to slowly shape my thoughts and life into something more beautiful and refreshing then I could ever dream for myself. 

The thought that comes in Ecclesiastes 3:11 : He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end, rings so true to me.  The hard moments helped shape me to who I am today and the most beautiful part is that at no time was I forgotten or cast aside in the eyes of God.  Every moment of pain, every tear, was shaping me so that I could give to the hearts around me in the future. It isn’t an accident that my life is where it is today.  It was a very purposed act of a very loving father who took the most pain filled, ugly parts of me and turned them into something more beautiful and precious then my heart could dare to dream.

That simple, uneventful, anticlimactic decision when I told myself, "No, I can’t think this way"… It changed my life.

Ashley Mohr
Creative Pastor

LEGACY || Helen Burns

My heart is still bursting with joy and thankfulness following our 30th Anniversary as a church. So many memories were shared, there was so much laughter and more than a few tears of gratitude were shed.

The word that framed our celebration was legacy and I couldn’t help think about the words of Dr. Lester Sumrall, who spoke into the life of our church in its early days. He was a spiritual hero, and a father in the faith to many, including John and I. I will never forget the last sermon I heard him preach in our church before he died. He was in his mid-eighties and one of the most passionately purposed men I ever met. With such intensity and tears rolling down his wrinkled face, he shared the power of passing on a spiritual sword: to live our lives in such a way that would leave an inheritance of blessing and godliness for generations to follow. I was listening intently that day and his words left a deep and lasting mark on my life.

He said how in the arena of science and technology we have passed on information to future generations, but sadly, when it comes to passing on a legacy–a spiritual sword–we have failed and it seems that each generation must start out by standing on their own. He passionately declared that ‘This is not right – God is a God of generations!’

Your faithfulness is from generation to generation; You have established the earth, and it stands fast. –Psalm 119:90

I will make Your name to be remembered in all generations; therefore shall the people praise and give You thanks forever and ever.–Psalm 45:17

It’s all about ‘Show and Tell’

Show: Let everyone see just how big your God is and invite them to do the same … help direct them to put their eyes on God as their source of life, health, future. What others, especially our children and those we influence need from us is to see true faith in action, not a second-hand faith or meaningless tradition.

Tell: His goodness always on our lips:

“All of your works will thank you, Lord, and your faithful followers will praise you. They will speak of the glory of your kingdom; they will give examples of your power. They will tell about your mighty deeds and about the majesty and glory of your reign.” (from Psalm 78)

Let your love + gratitude for God overflow, and continuously share the WHY behind what you do and what you believe. Share through your:

THOUGHTS  – something we know
EMOTIONS – something we feel
ACTIONS  – something we do

Share your personal story of how God has been faithful and the work He has done in your life - your testimony is your greatest tool. Let others see God’s grace at work in your life through your story

We connect our others to the God we know by sharing our stories…

Be vulnerable and real. Authentic faith is so appealing. Being preachy turns people away. It’s never about doing life perfectly - that expectation will only set us up to fail. It’s all about letting others see God’s grace at work in our lives.

The people in my life who have impacted me the greatest are the ones who have shared their struggles and their victories with me. My parents, my grandparents, my teachers and personal mentors never made me believe that a life of faith was easy. They let me see their gritty faith at work and always pointed me to Jesus, the Author and Finisher of their faith.

When we see His grace, He sees our faith.

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God. –Ephesians 2:8

Let your life be your example of the amazing goodness of God. As we walk in the way of Life, we become a way of life for others. Your life, built on Him, is the best incentive and motivator for those who follow you to thrive.

•    Who has passed on a spiritual legacy to you? 
•    What would you like to pass on to your children or those who follow you? 

Helen Burns
Senior Pastor