This week we are reflecting, remembering, and
celebrating the evidence of God’s activity this past year at City Bible Church.
To do that, we are looking at the top ten things that we are celebrating when
it comes to the evidence of God’s activity this past year at City Bible Church.
Tuesday, we looked at numbers 10-6 on the top ten
list. Number 10 on the top ten list of evidences of God’s activity in 2019 here
at City Bible Church involved our involvement in the Global Leadership Summit. Number
9 on the top ten list of evidences of God’s activity in 2019 here at City Bible
Church involved our participation in the Angel Tree project. Number 8 on the top ten list of evidences of
God’s activity in 2019 here at City Bible Church involved our participation in
the Boys and Girls Club Scholarship Outreach. Number 7 on the top ten list of
evidences of God’s activity in 2019 here at City Bible Church involved our
involvement with the annual Fusion Prescott Pines Mission Trip. Number 6 on the
top ten list of evidences of God’s activity in 2019 here at City Bible Church involved
our engagement of the community through our annual Candyland Carnival that past
Halloween.
Today, I would like for us to continue to look at this
top ten list. Number 5 on the top ten list of evidences
of God’s activity in 2019 here at City Bible Church involved our annual
Saturday of Service. On January 12, 2019, we continued a yearly practice of
loving and serving the city of Bullhead City in a real and practical way
through our annual Saturday of Service. The Saturday of Service is designed to
let the community know that as a church, we consider ourselves a part of the
community and desire to partner with the community to make it a better place to
live.
In 2019, we participated
in a painting and renovation project at Firebird Field, which is the football
field at Rotary Park. As a church,
we were able to complete three aspects of this renovation. One team painted the
exterior of the building that contained the bathrooms and concession stand. A
second team painted the exterior of the stands of the stadium. A third team
cleaned out the inside of the building that contained the concession stand,
storage, facilities, and press box. We were able to complete every project
while representing Jesus well to those in the community and to the city workers
who worked alongside us. As a church we are looking forward to our next
Saturday of service which will be on Saturday, January, 11, 2020.
Number 4 on the top ten list of evidences of God’s
activity in 2019 here at City Bible Church involved our annual adopt a school
project. On June 8th 2019, we were able to love and serve Desert
Valley Elementary School in a real and practical way by painting 5 kindergarten
classrooms. As a church we were able to reveal and reflect Jesus in a way that
brought the light and love of the kingdom of Heaven into this school by
providing the paint and people necessary to give these classrooms a much-needed
makeover.
By adopting Desert Valley Elementary, we are able to
build a bridge within our community as a result of loving and serving many
local families that attend both the school and C.B.C. As a result, we are able
to help meet a pressing and practical need of the students and teachers in a
way that opens the possibility for the opportunity for those students and
teachers to be able to explore faith and experience genuine and authentic
community. We look forward to the
opportunity to continue to build and strengthen this bridge with Desert Valley
Elementary in 2020.
Number 3 on the top ten list of evidences of God’s
activity in 2019 here at City Bible Church involved our progress that has been
made toward the 2020 Vision. In May 2017, as a church we launched into a
three-year capital campaign with the goal to raise resources for a new Family
Life Center so that we could create the space for the city to encounter Jesus. The
goal of the Capital Campaign is to create an environment where hundreds of
children and their families could have irresistible and engaging spaces to
connect with Jesus. Our goal is to be able to create the environment where
hundreds of students and their families could have irresistible and engaging
spaces to know God, own their faith, and make their faith know.
Our goal is to be able to create the environment where
we would be positioned to create irresistible and engaging spaces that provided
training opportunities for churches in the region in areas such as children,
student, and family ministry. Our goal is to be able to create the environment
where we could love and serve our community in real and practical ways by creating
irresistible and engaging spaces where local organizations could have
conferences and training for their employees.
Our goal is to be able to create the environment where
we could love and serve our community in real and practical ways by creating irresistible
and engaging spaces for our community to engage in sports leagues and other
activities and interests. Our goal is to be able to create the environment
where we would be positioned to meet the potential pressing and practical needs
of our community that come through crisis. Our goal is to be able to create the
environment where we could reach out to both the church family and the
community by creating irresistible and engaging spaces for marriage and
parenting conferences.
Since the launch of the 2020 Vision, we have raised
over $756,000 towards the 1.3 million dollar goal to complete the 1st
phase of the new Family Life Center. We are now at the place where we have
completed the process of developing a floor plan for the Family Life Center. In
addition to helping with the floor plan, General Steel has also provided us
with an estimated cost to complete the new Family Life Center, along with a
timeline for construction and completion of the project.
As a church we are grateful for everyone who has made
the commitment to be a part of the 2020 Vision. Since we launched the 2020
Vision, we have had many individuals who have started attending the church and
who are beginning to engage in the ministries of the church. Maybe I have just
described you. Or maybe you were not in a position to commitment to partner
with us in the 2020 Vision last year but now are at a place where you could
make that commitment.
If I have described where you are at, I would invite
you to consider the impact that you could have by making a commitment to the
2020 Vision by prayerfully considering the following questions: Have you been
blessed and want to say YEA GOD!? Would you consider giving an additional
one-time gift, or increase your monthly giving? Have you not formally committed
to the 2020 Vision, but are giving sporadically? Would you be willing to either
complete a commitment card, and/or decide to give regularly? If you were not
able to join us part of the 2020 Vision last year, but feel you can now: Will
you join us by partnering in the 2020 Vision?
Number 2 on the top ten list of evidences of God’s activity
in 2019 here at City Bible Church involved the engagement of those who attend
City Bible Church in Community Groups. As a church we have set as a goal for the future that
everyone who attends C.B.C. would be investing their time, in addition to
attending a corporate worship gathering, in a community group. When we read the
letters that make up the Bible, we discover that individuals who were involved
in a growing and maturing relationship with Jesus consistently
invested their time with other Christians as they gathered corporately for
regular weekly worship gatherings and as they scattered to experience community
in homes throughout the week.
We feel strongly about
this goal because we believe that transformational spiritual growth occurs in
circles, not rows. And community groups create those transformational
environments where people can develop loving and supportive relationships that
challenge us to take that next step when it comes to our relationship with
Jesus. This past year, 71% of our average attendance at City Bible Church are
involved in a community group. Current community groups are listed in your
bulletin and other community groups will be starting in the future.
Now with that in mind, we come to the number 1 on the
top ten list of evidences of God’s activity in 2019 here at City Bible Church. Number
1 on the top ten list of evidences of God’s activity in 2019 here at City Bible
Church involved the many, many people who have experienced the transforming
power of God in their lives that has resulted in them taking that next step in
their commitment to Jesus this past year at City Bible Church.
This past year, we have seen the evidence of the life
transforming power of God through the many new people that have started
attending C.B.C. We have seen the evidence of the life transforming power of
God through the testimonies of those who were baptized in 2019. We have seen
the evidence of the life transforming power of God through the stories that are
shared during our Church Chat for new attenders at C.B.C. or in the various
community Groups. We have seen the evidence of the life transforming power of
God through those who chose to make the commitment to partnering in the kingdom
mission we have been given as a church through the Intro. To C.B.C. class.
We have seen the evidence of the life transforming
power of God through the stories of children who have encountered and are
transformed by God through their involvement in Kids Konnection and AWANA as
part of Element Children’s ministries. We have seen the evidence of the life
transforming power of God through the stories of Jr. And Sr. High students who
have encountered and are transformed by God through their involvement in Fusion
Student Ministries.
During 2019, the evidence of God’s transforming power
that has brought about a greater commitment to Jesus and the kingdom mission we
have been given by Jesus has encouraged us to continue to lean into the vision
that we have been given to help create environments where people can move on a
spiritual journey from a place of being a consumer who is searching and
shopping for answers when it comes to Jesus and the Bible, to being an owner who owns a genuine and
authentic relationship with Jesus, to being an investor who is investing their time, talent, and treasure in
the kingdom mission that God has given us.
So as this list demonstrates, 2019 has been an amazing
year where we have been surrounded by the evidences of God’s activity. As we
leave 2019 behind and lean into 2020, may we continue to lean into the kingdom
mission that we have been given as a church to be a city in a city that is
striving to reveal and reflect Christ as we love and serve the city….
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