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Discipleship Ministries of the PCA

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The Irresistible Church Disability Ministry Summit

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Event Details:

  • Date: October 19, 2013
  • Conference Location: Calvary Church in Lancaster, PA

About:

This event will equip Christ-honoring churches to evangelize, embrace, and disciple people affected by disability and their families. This exciting one-day training event provides a rich environment for ministry leaders, disability professionals, and families affected by disability to learn, fellowship, and network. You won’t want to miss this special event! Click the button below to learn more or register today to discover your role in the disability ministry movement.[/vc_column_text][vc_button title=”Click to Learn More or Register” target=”_self” color=”btn-success” icon=”none” size=”wpb_regularsize” href=”http://www.joniandfriends.org/church-relations/northeast-ttr-summit/”][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_single_image img_link_target=”_self” image=”3180″ img_size=”full”][/vc_column][/vc_row]

PCA Yearbook

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[vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_single_image image=”2728″ img_link_target=”_self” img_link=”http://www.cepbookstore.com/p-9042-2013-pca-yearbook-2-vol-set-du.aspx” img_size=”full”][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]Every year a new PCA Yearbook is published. This is a great resource that includes the General Assembly Directory, Presbytery Directory, Church Directory, Statistical Reports for 2012, and Ministerial Directory. This resource is essential for keeping up with who is serving where in the PCA.

To order a copy of this two volume set click here.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Hosting a Training Event for Your Presbytery or Region

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If You Build It, We Will Come!

We would love to bring our one-day training event to your church. We will bring several of our own trainers (cost varies). Your church may want a staff person, member, or someone local to present a seminar/workshop as well. We will work with you to make sure the conference accomplishes the purpose that you have in mind. It may include only children’s teachers, parents and staff, or training tracks could extend to youth and church leadership. If you would like to schedule a one-day training event at your church please contact Kathy Wargo.

Below is information that you will need as we work together to serve, equip, and connect through a Ministry Conference at your local church.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_column_text]SUGGESTED SCHEDULE (To be adjusted according to number of workshops, special speakers, etc. All conferences will need to be scheduled for a Saturday.):

  • 8:15-8:45 a.m. Registration
  • 8:45-9:30 a.m. Opening Session
  • 9:40-Noon Two Workshop sessions with an intermediate break
  • Noon-12:45 p.m. Lunch
  • 12:45-1:45 p.m. Workshop
  • 2:00-2:30 Closing Session–Report Backs and CEP staff will give a 15 minute Challenge of the Day

INFORMATION NEEDED NOW FROM CHURCHES: Please provide us with the following information

  • Hotel accommodations in the area for speakers and those who may attend from out of town.
  • Any special directions to the church for those coming from out of town.
  • Often speakers will want to have handouts available for their workshops. If possible, it is easiest if the speakers provide them electronically to your church if you have the ability to print them out for the participants. To whom should we have the speakers send the handouts to be copied?

MEETING SPACES: We will need:

  • One large group area (for approximately 100-125 people)
  • An area for lunch for the same number
  • Five to Seven break-out rooms for approximately 15-20 people each

AUDIO/VISUAL:

  • We will contact each speaker and will give you a list of what you will need to provide in each break-out room (projectors, screens or white walls, white boards, etc.). Some of the speakers may provide their own projectors.

FOOD: As the host church, please provide:

  • Coffee/Tea and possibly some refreshments when people arrive in the morning
  • Lunch for all attendees (this should be an easy and quick meal; we have allowed 45 minutes in our schedule for lunch).
  • We will keep in touch with you in the weeks prior so you know how many have registered for food counts.
  • Some churches contribute the cost of the refreshments and lunch. However, if you need to be reimbursed, CDM will reimburse expenses up to $8/attendee.

REGISTRATION AND SIGNAGE:

  • CDM will host online registration for your event. The link will be: www.pcacdm.org/(your event)
  • CDM sponsored one-day training events range in cost, contact Kathy Wargo for more info (includes lunch, general sessions, workshops, and materials)
  • Please have a few volunteers available to welcome attendees as they arrive and give them their name tags, materials, and register those who did not sign up in advance.
  • We will provide the name tags and materials for attendees (Equip Magazine, GCP Catalog, and other handouts)
  • Church should copy the schedule from the website and add room locations for each session to be given to each attendee.
  • Please make signs with directional arrows so that participants know where to find the various workshop rooms.

PUBLICITY:

  • We will provide postcards that are more general in nature, giving the date, location, and broad topics. They will also direct people to the website.
  • Please put more specific information in your church bulletin (with workshop titles and speakers), and send a bulletin announcement to the churches in your area.
  • Please provide us with any specific information that would be important for our website (hotel accommodations, directions to your church, etc.)

SPEAKERS:

  • Please send names, short bios, workshop titles/descriptions, and contact information for local people you have invited to lead workshops or speak in the plenary session. We will want to contact them concerning the day’s schedule and their specific needs (A/V needs, recommended books, etc.).
  • Often the out-of-town speakers arrive late Friday afternoon and they would be happy to meet with someone from the church staff for dinner on Friday evening. Let us know if you would like to arrange a dinner. Some speakers may be available to preach in local churches on Sunday morning. We can provide you with their contact information.

BOOKSTORE

  • If your church would like to set up a bookstore the day of the conference, please let us know and we will work with the PCA bookstore to provide books for you. You will need to have someone on site to administrate the book sales. Two 6’ or 8’ tables will be needed.

GREAT COMMISSION PUBLICATIONS

  • Will have an exhibit at your conference. Someone from GCP will set this up and choose the best space when he arrives for the conference. He may be in touch with your church concerning the receiving of a shipment the week prior to the conference. They will need two tables for their display.

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Featured Book Reviews Summer 2013

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The following books are available from the PCA Bookstore

Revelation: Let the One Who is Thirsty Come, by Sarah Ivill
Sarah’s desire for women to discover the “meat” of God’s Word is evident, guiding the student to discover the truths of Revelation through studying all of Scripture and focusing on Jesus Christ. A PCA Director of Women’s Ministry noted, “(Sarah) shows with clarity and without a doubt that the one writer of all Scripture could only be God the Holy Spirit himself, because of the wonder and grandeur of the Holy Scriptures on full display through her careful explanation of the text.” Each chapter contains questions, aims, and application that aid in mining the truths of the passage and then putting those truths into action in one’s daily walk. (21 lessons)

Psalms, Volume 2: Finding the Way to Prayer and Praise by Kathleen Nielson
A welcomed new study to follow Psalms: Songs along the Way. For those who have taught her past studies, note that Kathleen has added a new element to this one. In each lesson, the author guides a study of a psalm, providing the tools that the student then implements in discovering God’s Word on her own in a second psalm with a similar theme. This method will enrich individual study along with discussion of the passage with other Bible study members.  (12 lessons)

Seeing Jesus in the Old Testament Series by Nancy Guthrie:
A PCA pastor describes these studies as: “User-friendly, biblically reliable, theologically astute, enthusiastically sensible, encouragingly realistic, and Christ-centered…”

Each study helps build community as the group shares discoveries and Nancy’s insight of the scriptures in the lesson.

Teacher adaptability:

  • Can do lesson with or without DVD; teaching chapter is in the book
  • Good homework gives students the background for the teaching lesson; can be used in discussion
  • 10-12 good discussion questions
  • Leader’s guide can be downloaded and printed from Nancy’s website—no extra purchase
  • Leader is actually a facilitator; Nancy teaches it!

CEP Publications by Dennis Bennett, Vickie Poole, and Morgan Jones: Each of these studies leads the student through searching the Scripture, commentary, and the challenge of application to one’s own Christian walk.

Judges: The Battle for Satisfaction
The newest of CEP’s publication by these authors, this study reminds the Christian that the battles in Judges are still the ones we wage today: being deceived into thinking that the things of this world can satisfy instead of looking to God Who alone can give us the satisfaction we crave. (11 lessons)

The Other Side of Christmas: We See a Wooden Manger: God Saw a Wooden Cross
Look beyond the secular Christmas that the world celebrates today. Study the Christmas story as God’s plan of loving redemption, planned from the beginning and unfolded throughout biblical history, and culminating with the birth, death, and resurrection of Christ. You might be surprised at how much you don’t know about Christmas! (Can be done in as few as 4 sessions or as many as 10).

Titus: Passing on the Truth; Equipping the Body
Discipleship—a lot of instruction packed in 46 verses. Learn how to “teach and demonstrate”:

  • What the church should look like
  • How it should disciple its people
  • How Christians should live before a lost and needy world

(9 lessons)

Parenting Resources

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Gospel Powered ParentingGospel Powered Parenting
William P. Farley

Not your everyday book on parenting, Gospel-Powered Parenting is a practical guide to parenting that highlights the differences the Gospel makes in the lives of parents as much as it does about parenting techniques. Farley talks about the spiritual basis of parenting, a subject most books ignore.

 

 

Parenting by God's PromisesParenting By God’s Promises
Joel Beeke

Parents are unable to give their children whatthey need most—new hearts that trust in Christ forforgiveness of sins. All belief is a work of Godalone. But parents must not “hinder” their children from coming to Christ, as Jesus’ disciples sought to hinder mothers and fathers from bringing small children to Him (Mark 10:13–16). On the contrary, they must do everything in their power to “bring” their children to the Savior, which means raising their sons and daughters in the nurture and admonition of the Lord (Eph. 6:4).

In Parenting by God’s Promises: How to Raise Children in the Covenant of Grace, Dr. Joel R. Beeke explores what this nurture and admonition looks like and offers gems of practical wisdom for parents on topics suchas instituting and leading family worship, teaching children, modeling faithful Christian living, and exercising discipline. However, he carefully puts parental responsibilities in their proper perspective and guides mothers and fathers to lean not on their own abilities but to trust more fully in the God who knits children together in the first place. Above all, he affirms, parents must look to the one true God, who promises to provide everything His people need and to bless them and their families.

 

Parenting in the PewParenting in the Pew
Robbie Castleman

There’s a big difference between training your children to be quiet in church and teaching them the joy of worship. Castleman believes kids should be involved-and offers down-to-earth advice (with a touch of humor) on how to inspire them to fully participate, from toddlerhood through the teen years. Revised and expanded with a study guide.

Your Home: A Place of GraceYour Home: A Place of Grace
Susan Hunt

Although, brimming with practical application for all stages of life-married or widowed, parent or single-it is not a how-to-book. It is more about who God is than what we do; more about His grace than our game plans. It is about God working in and through you to make your home a sanctuary of His design. Separate leader’s guide available.

 

 

 

 

You Are MinistersYou Are Ministers
John W. Neal

In the daily grind of life, heart-work is the hard work and the continual work. But it is also the necessary work and the effectual work. Yet when churches focus merely on activities and programs, it is usually at the cost of genuine, heart-level relationships. In such environments, ministry efforts actually add to the hectic pace of overtaxed households in disconnected communities, while church members languish in terminally casual relationships-figuratively “dying on the vine.”

John Neal examines the Bible’s instruction on these life-and-death matters in You Are Ministers. Discover how, rather than being the domain of “professionals,” true life-changing ministry flows from Christ through lay church members and households walking in covenant community with one another. When we apply the gospel through heart-level relationships, speaking the truth in love, we build up one another in Christ to the glory of God the Father.

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2013 Women’s Love Gift: Ridge Haven

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[vc_row][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_column_text]Starting in 1974, women in the PCA have supported an annual love gift to promote denominational connectionalism and demonstrate our corporate helper-design as women in the church. The money is raised in various ways such as donations, fundraisers, etc. The Women’s Love Gift has blessed committees and agencies such as MNA’s Special Needs Ministries, MTW’s efforts to support the Gonaives, Haiti, Children’s Home, and other such ministries. Showing the annual Women’s Love Gift in your church does several things: Educates the people in the pew, promotes unity and greater understanding of the PCA, and provides good opportunities for monies to be appropriately channeled to specific ministry needs. Below you will find information on the ministry we are supporting this year.[/vc_column_text][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/2″][vc_gallery type=”image_grid” interval=”3″ images=”2133,2132,2131,2130,2129,2128″ onclick=”link_image” custom_links_target=”_self” img_size=”200×200″][vc_column_text]Testimonial

Alexia Newman’s memories…

“When I think of places and events that have impacted my life and stir sweet memories, Ridge Haven is at the top of the list. I remember the first year Ridge Haven was a reality. I was staying in the brand new Lodge that was nice and new! We didn’t understand the impact then, but I think many sensed that this was going to be a special place. We had no idea what the Lord had in store from this incredible gift to the PCA from Ken and Polly Keyes!

I have watched the Lord call people to himself on the rec. field, on a hike to the waterfall, sitting by the pool, in a bunk bed late at night, in the chapel service, or after a conversation in the dining hall. God’s Spirit is always working at Ridge Haven!

At the 2013 General Assembly in Greenville, SC, I saw many men and women whom I met at Ridge Haven: Some were campers, others were counselors who came to Ridge Haven thinking they were pursuing one career but were called to full time ministry while serving for the summer, still others use their gifts to impact the school system, the medical profession, and the corporate world. We see them as ruling elders and women active in the work of the denomination. No doubt the training and experiences at Ridge Haven were formative in establishing their gifts and callings.

The beauty and rich heritage of Ridge Haven make it a special place where the Lord has blessed his people – from the covenant child to the senior saint!”[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]

heartThe 2013 Women’s Love Gift is going to support Ridge Haven!

Ridge Haven was established in 1978 by the PCA as a year-round ministry outreach to individuals, families, churches, PCA and other ministry organizations. Spiritual rejuvenation is as important as physical relaxation and Ridge Haven’s goal is to provide the means for you to have the opportunity for both.

A Growing Ministry
Over the last three years the Lord has given us extraordinary and even historic growth:

  • Serving people from 29 States
  • Conferences in conjunction with MTW, stretches the impact of our ministry worldwide
  • 2012 Summer Camp nearly quadrupled to almost
  • 1,700 campers
  • Fall, Winter, and Spring Retreats at an all-time high

The Love Gift
With all of the growth and improvements that have taken place at Ridge Haven, one thing has remained largely unchanged is their dining hall. It is simply not equipped to handle the growth. The Dining Hall represents much more than just somewhere to eat. With all of the different activities going on at Ridge Haven throughout the day, the Dining Hall is a special place where everyone can all gather together to share a meal, swap stories, laugh together, build friendships, and bond as one body of believers. Please help Ridge Haven to continue to be a place where all of this can be a reality as their ministry continues to grow.

If you’d like a way to promote this year’s love gift at your church then click here to view a video from Ridge Haven explaining their need or click here to order the same video in DVD format. We also have bulletin inserts available, click here to order those. (There is no charge for the DVD or bulletin inserts.)

How to Give
If you would like to contribute towards this love gift contact the Women’s Ministry Coordinator at your church or click here to make a contribution online. (The link will bring you to the general CEP online giving tool-just select ‘PCA Women’s 2013 Love Gift’ when prompted to designate the contribution.)

If you have any questions about this love gift, click here to contact your regional adviser.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row]