…and I remember signing up for the Koinonia Singers and going to practice with my friend Aaron. I also remember being slightly irritated with the costume that year (which was picked out by some girls) : the outfit consisted of Zubas (remember those? think M.C. Hammer), black vests and a white T-shirt.
Anyhow, despite the lame outfits it turned out to be alot of fun. We would travel to rural churches, get to know the people, sleep in churches, and do some sight seeing. It was also a great opportunity to spend time with kids from all sorts of different church backgrounds. Larry Schultz’s youth minstry was inter-denominational, which means basically that it was a youth group made up of other youth groups. I went to youth ministries at my home church, but I aslo went to Campus Life, where I interacted with other teens from other churches but we all had one thing in common–Jesus Christ.
We didn’t get into any deep theological discussions, but we did have lessons based on Sscripture and had a lot of fun in a safe environment. As we traveled around on the bus going from church to church on our Koinonia trip, I found out that my Lutheran, Methodist, Catholilc, Prysbeterian friends loved Jesus the same way I did. Sure, the style and method of worship varied greatly but there was still a lot we had in common–struggles, temptations, parent relationships, dating relationships, and trying to figure out where God fit in to all of that.
So, all that to say, … now that our building remodeling project is winding down I am looking forward to meeting some of the local pastors in town. It is hard to preach unity to your church when you are not demonstrating it yourself. When we preach “You are The Body of Christ, and each one has a part in it” (1 Corinthians 12:27) at what point does that include the various denominational traditions? Should it or shouldn’t it? What do you think?
One more thing–It was on that Koinonia trip that I first really had the opportunity to “minister” to people. We would sing songs centered on Christ, perform thought provoking skits, sing a few worship songs, and then one of the kids would be picked for that night to share their personal story of faith– How did they first come to know Jesus? What has the Lord helped them get through– what an experience to stand in front of people you don’t know and tell them what Christ has done in your life. I will never forget those first experiences of ministry. I had just graduated from High School the month before and when I arrived home from the Koinonia trip I found waiting for me there in the mail my acceptance letter to North Central Bible College. And the rest is…History… 
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So somebody got the idea to put on the cake one word–”WOW”, and that pretty much sums up my feelings about last Sunday. The church was packed, Pastor Gayland’s sermon was great, the ceremony was inspiring, and the picnic was fantastic. God truly blessed this church with a wonderful day. To God be the glory. He has raised up a church here in this area for His glory and for His purpose.
The other great thing was just how well the both congregations got along last Sunday. It was so fun watching the Hispanic VS American Volleyball game, and they practically played all afternoon. I am convinced that God is out to do something great here at this church and in this area. Thanks again everybody for all the help. The teamwork that was displayed last Sunday was nothing short of spectacular.!!!!!
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Thanks to the hard work of many volunteers we were able to have the church ready in time for Clint and Lisa’s wedding this last Saturday (June 6th).
There was around 120 people in attendance and the wedding had a cowboy theme, so the groom and groomsmen all had cowboy hats and bollo ties.
Hopefully Clint won’t mind that I share this this little story…
Ok, so the bridesmaids and the Groomsmen all make their way down the main aisle and Clint and I are standing up at the front. So the whole party makes it down and I was just about to say to the congregation “All Rise” for the bride when I see out of the corner of my eye Clint is talking nervously to the best man… So as this is going on Lisa is looking out the glass door waiting to come down the Aisle… Clint finally turns to me and says loud enough for all to hear “WILL!” “I FORGOT THE RINGS IN MY TRUCK! WHAT SHOULD I DO?” Well, so I thought for a second and I was like, “You better go get them!” And so he dashed out the side door that thankfully was right on our end of the church, and ran and got them. Meanwhile, Lisa is watching all this take place through the glass window not knowing why he is running out of the building!!! –Needless to say we got everything back under control, a relative ran back to tell Lisa what happened, and it all went really well after that. The thing is, I am not sharing this to embarass them, but to share in the fun. The funny unexpected stuff of life are the very things fond memories are made out of. I mean hey, I was the pastor standing up there with a black eye officiating the thing!!!
As a footnote, they are going antelope hunting in Wyoming for their Honeymoon. They both love the outdoors and hunting. I wish them the best and may God bless them in their new life together.
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Monday and Tuesday I went to Waupaca WI where our leadership put on a special time together for all the AG pastors of Wisconsin. The number 2 man of the Assemblies of God was there to give us a report on the state of discipleship within our fellowship. Then they also brought in another speaker who shared about the Relevance of Spirit filled Ministry. It was all very powerful, challenging, and insightful. Rest assured much of what I heard will be finding its way into upcoming sermons!
The other great thing about this time is just the fellowship of other pastors in like situation. It is a chance to compare notes, get some outside perspective, and to get a sense of how things are going for other pastors and their churches. Or to put it another way: a pastor gets the chance to find out if their church and ministry experience is normal!
So, I am sure you are wondering…what did Pastor Will discover? Is our church normal? Is HE normal? Well you already know the answer to that last question but as for the first one, I would really have to say that we are an extraordinary church. Our growth rate for a church plant is exceptional, the talent and resources that we have are exceptional, and just the match up of personality between church and pastor is really yet one more blessing from God as well. There are many churches and pastors that are struggling, especially in rural areas. A number of my good friends are really having a hard go of things. Their biggest problem is having an older established congregation that is resistant to change. I am so deeply grateful that we have a church with “Change” built right into our DNA. I am so blessed to have a church that is not afraid to try new things and to take some risks–Spiritual, Relational, and Financial. When I read about the life and times of the disciples, I am always reminded that risk taking is all part of the package deal of being a christian. It blesses me to know that we are a church of people who are willing to step out of the boat, to be in pursuit of Christ.
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When the TV broadcast changed to all digital, the picture was awesome– when it actually came in. Apparently, the signal for HD is weaker than analog, so now my reception is hit and miss.
Lately, we have not been able to get anything in so we have been doing more reading around the house, and the kids have been having Jen and I read to them. I forget just how nice it is to just simply sit and read with the kids. Everybody’s voices get a little quieter, the kids snuggle in, and through the power of imagination, we all get swept up into the story. Having HDTV is pretty awesome even when it doesn’t come in! In fact, I think it might even be better!
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Jen and I are really blessed to be able to be apart of such a great church. Last Sunday night Sandy Roe came up to me with a card and I took it home and opened it up and I was genuinely surprised to see the money that everyone had given so generously to help offset the costs of my broken down van. It was out of commission for about 2 weeks until we finally got it fixed. I just want to tell you all Thank You!!! for helping out. I know that in this economy right now money is tight for everybody, and so it makes it that much more special to Jen and I. I love this church, and I love what God is doing here.
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Jen and I went to District Council last week and had a nice time. The leadership of the Assemblies of God in our state are a great bunch of guys, and they are all newly elected/appointed in the last year. Their theme, motto or mission (whatever you want to call it) is Generation Now, Generation Next. Its pretty self explanatory, and it really captures their passion for the future. They are dreamers, and are trying to bring innovation and forward thinking into Wisconsin. I am both excited and reassured about where we are headed as a fellowship.
One of the things they did during council was a “move that mountain” service where in they brought pastors up on the stage who found themselves in need, be in for prayer or financial and they shared their testimonies of how God has come through for them, and how the District Leadership played a key role in either getting out the prayer request or financial need to all the other churches to help–It was very moving to see how our churches in Wisconsin have banded together to help one another. One of the testimonies was of a pastor on a native American reservation who’s church lost all of its LP fuel due to a leak, and since they didn’t have the last fuel delivery paid up, they wouldn’t deliver more. The need was sent out, and not only were they able to pay off the debt, they were able to completely fill up the tank. Another was of a pastor who had to sell his truck to make it financially at his church plant, and they presented him with a new truck right in the service! In had been hidden between some wall dividers! The place went nuts, and there was some sincere tears of joy. I am proud to be a part of what God is doing in the Assemblies of God here in Wisconsin.
And, by the way, Gayland did a great job presenting Missions, and casting vision forward as well. It is a privilege to be a part of this leadership team.
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Seriously. Last Sunday, we had our first service in our “almost” remodeled church and it could not have went better. God is so good. He always supplies us with exactly what we need. It was amazing how everything came together in those last 2 weeks. We had great contractors working with us, and we have such great volunteers. Thank you everybody for making it all possible. We had a record attendance of 154!!!! To God be the glory!!
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I am so excited–we are now committed to being in our remodeled church building on Sunday April 12th. the plumbing, painting and carpet laying is all on schedule. PLEASE PRAY everything keeps going as planned.
And I want to say THANK YOU to everyone who has given of their time to volunteer. I realize we all have so much to do, and so many time commitments already and yet you still give of yourselves. Thank You.
I was listening today to another Ravi Zacharias’ Let My People Think podcast. He never fails to deliver. I honestly have never heard someone preach and teach with such laser beam precision the Gospel of Jesus Christ in a culturally relevant way. After listening to his messages I always think, “Man, he’s good! I want to preach like that someday!”
–as a side note: My dog just woke himself up with his own snoring and I think he might have scared himself.
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