So much has happened since my last update. Much of it has caused us to literally laugh out loud (LOL) at what God is doing around us. I’ve been meaning to write this for weeks. Please forgive the delay. With the new season has come so many new opportunities for us here in the heart of Las Vegas.
UNLV: This Semester we began a new campus ministry on the UNLV campus. I meet with students on campus on Tuesdays one-on-one and in a small group. The focus is discipling students with a vision for equipping them to reach and gather other students from the UNLV campus. This effectively makes them our church’s 4th Missional Community. This week I (by accident) ended up helping with a fellow Covenant Seminary grad as he spoke primarily to UNLV's Secular Student Alliance about “Understanding Christianity.” One student from that event wants to come to our church now, while another signed up to be part of a group called a “Thomas Society,” where skeptics are free to come with their honest questions and doubts about Christianity – and no subject is off limits.
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| First Good News Club at Paradise Elementary |
Paradise Elementary: The principle of this school on the edge of the UNLV campus would not claim to be a follower of Jesus. Yet the impact of a Good News Club (a Bible club sponsored by Child Evangelism Fellowship) at her own kid’s school has led her to welcome us to start one at Paradise Elementary. Almost 40 kids were signed up for it at the school’s open house last month (where we were the ONLY table besides the local PTA). This week I was confused when zero children showed up at the start time. Then slowly the children found their way to the classroom where we were able to play games, sing songs, learn a Bible verse, eat snacks, hear a Bible lesson, and learn of God’s love through his Son Jesus. The children loved the time and each one I spoke to told me the name of a friend they want to invite next week.
The school has also offered to both promote and host our “Surviving the Economy” events. Next week a woman who teaches financial principles, helps folks reduce debt, etc. will be sharing what she knows with the
families that have kids at the school. The area zoned for the school has 0% home ownership and is as diverse as the United Nations. Praise God for allowing us to be a part of what He’s doing in this community.
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| Serving dinner together at the Ronald McDonald House |
Discipleship: The challenge of all this activity is how it increases the need for leaders and people to serve. To help with the anticipated numerical growth our Missional Community is focusing on developing leaders to keep up with what God appears to be doing around us. Each week we alternate between events that focus on serving, outreach and building community, and nights where we focus on developing our own interactive relationship with God and growth as servant leaders. Already we’ve seen young men and women rise to the occasion and step out in faith in ways that both stretch them and build into the lives of others. While we’ve been saddened by some who are struggling with a model of discipleship (and church) that seeks to engage not just the head, but also the heart and the hands, others have really benefitted from it (including myself).
How to Pray: Pray that God allows me sufficient rest and discipline to guard my own time with Him. My tendency is to gravitate to service for Jesus over time with Him. Pray that I’m able to delegate some of my current responsibilities so others can use their gifts and I can better use mine in areas that can’t be delegated. Pray for wisdom in encouraging those who have come from backgrounds where spiritual and doctrinal pride are seen as virtues, and for renewed hearts among those who have expressed literal hatred (!) for non-believers. Thank you.
