The Scoop

I’m pumped about the new vision. Here it is again.

NORTHLAKE COMMUNITY CHURCH
“Connecting People to God”

Mission: We are here to reach out with Christ’s love and gospel to the people who live in Whatcom County and to send missionaries and Christian workers around the world for the glory of God.

Vision: Our immediate vision is to carry out the work of Jesus by creating meaningful connections and ministries that meet the practical, social and spiritual needs of people living in our neighborhoods near the lake. We will passionately live out our calling as Northlake Community Church.

Here’s the latest on the vision. We’re establishing a strategic team whose task it is to help begin to implement the new vision. Please pray that the Lord shows us some short-term objectives the whole church can take together to start reaching out to our neighbors. AND remember, just because we’re focusing on our immediate neighbors, that doesn’t mean we’re forgetting about Whatcom County or sending missionaries etc. It simply means that our first focus is to create meaningful connections and ministries with our near neighbors. So for instance, those of you who love our Resource Center can go full speed ahead in caring for the poor in Whatcom County and maybe recruit our neighbors here to help do that. Of course those of us who don’t live in these neighborhoods can still reach out right where we live to others as well. Go for it!

Blake Kent is coming! The Board and staff are officially behind Blake Kent as our next Pastor of Student Ministries. Sunday May 6 Blake will be preaching and then you’ll have a chance to meet him with some Q & A at a Congregational Meeting scheduled for May 20th. It isn’t just that Blake grew up in the church, and has worked in student ministry for almost 10 years, the facts are he surpassed all the other applicants in the search process. Be thinking of what questions you might have for him at that congregational meeting.

Steve and Stephanie Allen are going! As you know the Lord’s calling the Allen’s to Zambia with Action International. Steve’s main work will be training pastors. What a transition from here to there! They plan to leave in early September! Yes, we’ll have an all church reception but you better start loving on em now.

What I’m hearing from God: Some of us have a great Bible Reading plan that involves reading 5 psalms a day. This was supposedly Martin Luther’s way of teaching his congregants to pray. To learn to pray all you do is read the Psalms back to God. The problem is if you were to read the Psalms in order as written, wow, you could get pretty depressed! So the idea is to read 5 a day x 30 days and you’ll cover the book in a month. On May 1 you read Psalm 1, 31, 61, 91, and 121. Today is April 23, 2007 so the plan is to read Psalm 23, 53, 83, 113, and 143. Psalm 23 spoke to me this morning. Because the Lord is my shepherd I won’t lack for anything. I’ll have wisdom, poise, and strength for whatever road I travel today or throughout this week. Jesus will go before us and our enemies will marvel at how God comes through for us. Our cups will overflow and God will find a way to Fed-Ex his goodness and His love wherever we now live. His grace will get through and arrive when we need His help.

Bloggin’ out now,