Isn’t it interesting how we see the same faces at church event after church event helping to make it all possible.
(If you’re reading this, you’re probably one of those faces!)
However, once in a while I notice faces that aren’t the usual ones I’m used to seeing. This Sunday was a case like that. Seven people got together to transport Harvest Festival supplies from a storage unit in Riverside to the church facility on Sampson. Three of them were new to our church. In fact, you could count the number of times they had come to our church on two hands and have fingers to spare. One of the mottos for the Heroes television show is “Some people were meant for something more.”
I agree!For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.Ephesians 2:10
New Life Community Church's annual Harvest Festival is October 31st from 6:00pm-8:30pm
The Harvest Festival is one of only two events that our church calls “All-Church” events. (The other is the Easter picnic) Because it is an all-church event, we try to create an outreach component that encourages others in our community to attend. One thing that is different about this year’s Harvest Festival is the intentional nature of this outreach.
Here’s what’s different:- Intentional Gospel Presentation
This year we have a station where children can come and enjoy a story about a pumpkin! The pumpkin is used as an object lesson to describe how Jesus can come into our “heart”, clean out the slimy gunk and make us clean. The candle in the pumpkin illustrates how His light shines through us.In addition to candy and small toy prizes at the game stations, we will also be handing out Gospel tracts. These small pamphlets are short, easy to understand, and encourage parents and children to talk about what it says.This year some of the prizes will consist of trading cards that have Bible buddies from the current Avalanche Ranch Sunday morning KidzLife curriculum. These cards have a picture of the Bible buddy on the card with a Bible verse on the back.This year, when people get photos taken we will be asking them to fill out a form with their address on it so that we can send the photo to them. This will allow us to include an invitation to our church and thank them for coming to the Harvest Festival.This year we will be raffling gift baskets. In addition to including coffee, gift cards, and other trinkets in these baskets, we will also include Bibles, Purpose Driven Life books and invitations/information for our church. - Over 20 people have already signed up to help with some part of this event. However, that’s less than half of what it will take to make this event great. Please pray for the Harvest Festival, the people that have volunteered, and the invitations and flyers that have gone out to the community and consider how you can play a role in making the Harvest Festival a blessing to our members, our kidz, and to those who may hear about Jesus for the first time.
Hi Everyone,I was fortunate enough to travel to Mexico and visit the orphanage that we support as a church. Gwen Edwards and Emily Wagner from KidzLife also came and had a great time hanging out with the kids there. In the next couple of blog posts I will share some more pictures and stories about what we experienced there. First, though, I want to share the story of Lupita, who you see pictured between NLCC member Dave Bourbinay and his son, Jonah. Lupita was found going from truck stop to truck stop in Baja California when she was 7 years old. She was brought to the Casa Hogar orphanage by the authorities. This is the orphanage that we help support as a church.Devon and Cindy Dickinson, former members of New Life Community Church, began to work with Casa Hogar in 1998; around the same time Lupita arrived there. Devon had a friend who was in medical school at the time and thought it would be a great idea to bring him down to Mexico to perform some minor health check ups. When he got to Lupita, he noticed she had a heart "murmur" of sorts. He believed it to be unique enough that it warranted further investigation. Mexican physicians confirmed that Lupita had a hole in her heart. Lupita, being extremely young, said that she remembered having surgery at an earlier age, but couldn't provide any more information than that. Devon and his friend were able to get travel papers for Lupita to be seen by a heart specialist at Loma Linda University. Her condition was so serious that the doctor said he couldn't explain why she was still living and breathing. The good news was that Lupita's serious condition was operable. The bad news was that, even with Loma Linda's kindness and generosity, the surgery would still cost around $50,000. A group of concerned members from our church sprang into action and started to "shop" heart surgery rates. God provided. The pediatric heart specialist team at Cedars Sinai was able to provide the surgery for $20,000. The funds were raised and Lupita had the surgery. As a testament to the toughness of this young girl, she had open-heart surgery on a Wednesday and was released on a Sunday evening .........that's one tough 12 year old! During the next year and a half, Lupita stayed with different NLCC families while commuting back and forth from the orphanage in Mexico so she could see her doctors for follow up. Lupita just celebrated her Quincenerra Fiesta for a Mexican girl's 16th birthday. She has a strong faith in our Lord and has personal, first hand experience of His grace and healing. She has made strong ties to friends on both sides of the border. God truly provided “New Life” to this young girl. Lupita's story is awesome and inspirational, but not rare. Each one of the 90+ children and adolescents at the orphanage have unique and amazing stories to share. God says He will neither leave us nor forsake us. When we are dealing with our own difficult times, let us all remember the strength, courage, and faith that these children have shown us.
Thank you to all the KidzLife volunteers who were able to make it to the Nursery appreciation party at my house!I had a great time getting to know you all better and it was a lot of fun getting together.
You guys are great!
Isn’t it interesting how we see the same faces at church event after church event helping to make it all possible.
