July Update
Submitted by John on July 25, 2008 - 4:45pm.
This is a recent email update that I sent to my congregation at Moorpark EV Free.
It is hard to believe that it has been over 2 months since I last gave an all church update. A lot has happened. Here are some of the highlights:
A.L.I.V.E.: Our student ministries is up and running. The kids picked A.L.I.V.E. (Always Living in View of Eternity) as the name of their group. We have had over 20 different kids visit on Monday nights under the capable leadership of our 8 volunteer staff. Trisha Letourneau (Student Ministry Coordinator) is doing such a great job, that we decided not to hire a summer intern. Our first staff training luncheon is this Sunday. We are having a great summer connecting with kids and getting to know each other. Its still isn’t too late to join us if you would like to help!
Vision Focus Groups: We just held our first of 7 focus group nights this week. These nights of conversation will be critical as we move our church toward a united mission and vision. I am asking every single adult who calls Moorpark EV Free their church home, to commit to attending one of these nights. This is your chance to give feedback and help us as we pray about God’s future for us.
Baptism and Membership: This past month we had our first (meaning my first!) baptisms and membership classes. We tried a new format by requiring a “class” before the actual baptism. Congratulations to Matthew Saiki and Bri La Canfora as they followed Christ in obedience via baptism. We also held Moorpark 101 with 10 people attending. MP 101 is the basic class that orients people about our church and is prerequisite for membership. We will unveil other classes this year including:
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201: Maturity…Everything you wanted to know about growing in Christ, discipleship, how to have a Quiet Time, spiritual disciplines, and more!
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301: Ministry… Find out your spiritual gifts, training for ministry and getting plugged in.
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401: Missions…Find out more about God’s plan for the world through evangelism and missions. This class will be part of our preparation for our mission’s trips in the future.
Ministry Leadership Briefing: We also held our first ever training for our ministry leaders. 22 leaders came to be informed, inspired and instructed. My goal is to provide equipping opportunities like this 3-4 times a year. Through the use of video clips and discussion, we took a hard look at spiritual growth and how we evaluate success here at Moorpark EV Free.
Annual Meeting: You won’t want to miss our Annual meeting on Sunday night September 14. Mark your calendars now as we plan a very special evening. Capture the Vision is our theme as we unveil the results of our vision focus groups, approve our 2009 budget, affirm our elders, have a marvelous catered dinner together and celebrate our future.
Business Meeting: We will also be having a quick business meeting right after church on July 27th. We need to give a quick financial update, review a couple of minor changes to the constitution and share some other important information. We should be done in less than an hour!
Fellowship through Softball: This fall we launch our first ever church softball team. We want to use it as a creative outreach and also have some fun. The roster is almost full. Contact Ann Saiki or Kathy Nash for more information.
We’re Moved! Thanks so much to all of you helped us move last month. We are completely moved in. Our new address is 11646 Sagewood in Moorpark. Our home number is 805-222-5361. We are very spontaneous and would welcome any of you to drop in and say hi. Hopefully all of you will have been in our home before the summer is over. Cheryl and I also like to “double date”. We are looking for Friday night date night partners who want to go out with us. We love this church and are so glad to be here. I am proud to be your pastor and look forward to what God has in store for us!
PS I have also included a “tentative church calendar” so you can see what is on the horizon.
In His Grip,
Pastor John
