A Note from Chris - October 21, 2022

CHURCH!

I’m still floating from our time of worship together last Sunday. Not only did we have a genuine, life-giving time of worship and service together all morning long, but we celebrated 28 baptisms into Christ. 28 people gave their lives to Jesus on Sunday! Every story is unique, and every heart carries different weight. But Jesus knows it all, and he met every single one of those people right where they were on Sunday and offered them forgiveness. What a celebration. What a blessing to be a part of as a church.

A friend said to me this week, “You guys are blessed. Some churches don’t see 28 baptisms in an entire year.” I agree! It is such an incredible blessing to be a part of life change like that, and so frequently at our church. Thank you, Jesus.

As we conclude 10 weeks walking through Acts on the weekend, I’m celebrating what God is doing in us as a church. As we embrace and understand that he has called each of us not just to be a part of something, but to be used personally for his mission, we are understanding his calling better and better. We are called to be not just disciples, but disciple makers. I for one am so humbled by that, that God wants to use each of us for his Kingdom impact. Let’s take these principles and lessons forward as we continue into what God has next for us as a church.
Of course, it is not too late to be baptized. If you didn’t but should’ve and wish you would’ve, or you have really sensed God calling you forward in faith toward a decision about baptism, reply to this email and we will be in contact with you to set up a time to chat.

Baptism of course is only the beginning. A life of faith STARTS with new birth, but continues day after day being renewed by Jesus.

This weekend, we start a BRAND NEW series this weekend called “Unoffendable”. What if the people of God determined that no matter what, they just were NOT going to be offended? That since Jesus has already paid for all of the hurt and offense, we simply are not going to let it stick. Is that possible? How in the world could we truly ever do that? We’ll spend 4 weeks talking about it, because Scripture seems to think it is QUITE possible. It’s going to be a challenging and encouraging series for us. Hope to see you Sunday!

Yours and His,
Chris VandeLinde