Archives

Reaching Every Man: Training to build a men’s ministry

March 15, 2010 by Gary

Reaching Every Man

Training to build a men’s ministry that
reaches every man in your church

What is the key to building an effective men’s ministry?
An inspired, equipped men’s ministry leadership team!

Host or attenda four-hour workshop to inspire and equip that team

Twenty years of ministry experience and research by three PCA men, Pat Morley, David Delk, and Brett Clemmer inspired the creation of “Reaching Every Man-Introducing A Strategy for Men’s Ministry to Leave No Man Behind.” Based on the book, No Man Left Behind, this dynamic, encouraging training will inspire your men to:

Helping Men Become A Band of Brothers

March 10, 2010 by Gary

Helping Men Become A Band of Brothers

All Christian men fight inner battles with their sinful nature. Lust, anger, selfishness, resentment, impatience, discontent, idolatry are just some of the forces that seek to overpower us as men. Many times we lose these battles for a simple reason-we are trying to fight them by ourselves.

Whether fighting in the street or fighting in Iraq, men know they are likely to become a casualty if they fight alone. The same principle holds true with the battles of our inner lives. God has not designed Christian men to be able to walk closely with him without connection to the body of Christ. Jesus did not call his disciples into only a vertical relationship with him, meeting Peter for breakfast Monday and James for breakfast Tuesday, etc. Jesus’ call to follow him was also a call to horizontal connection with the band of brothers who became known as Jesus’ disciples.

Can you imagine what our churches would look like, if each man in our church met weekly for breakfast or lunch with another brother or two to discuss the spiritual battles they were fighting? Can you imagine the strengthening that would take place as iron sharpens iron, trust is built, men are encouraged, brothers begin to really intercede for each other’s spiritual battles, and men ask a trusted brother to hold them accountable on their issues?

The stakes are too high, the battle too fierce, the enemy too wily, the attacks too frequent, the cost of defeat too severe for any Christian man to fight his spiritual battles alone.

2020 Vision E-Letter March, 2010

March 9, 2010 by Sue

Would you like to receive the Children’s Ministries E-letters? Enter your email address on the right side bar, and select “Children’s Ministries” on the next page…

What is the 2020 VISION? Here at Christian Education and Publications we want to help the local church with training and resources that will enable you to spend this decade focused on training up a generation of Kingdom disciples. In both youth and children’s ministries we want our churches to ask the question, “What do we want our 4 year-olds to be like when they are fourteen? In ten years, what place do we want our 15 year-olds to have as young men and women in the church?”

As we answer those questions together, we must become very intentional about the kind of ministry we will have in the next decade to realize our vision for the year 2020 – His church filled with strong Jesus men and Jesus women!

2020 VISION will include conferences, new resources, online communications and local training to help us pray together, train parents and church leadership, and connect as a church in the task of making disciples of our children.

We hope that your church leadership and parents will participate in at least one of the upcoming conferences.

One-day Conference

October 23,
2010

Calvary/Willow Grove

Philadelphia, PA

Three-day Conference

January 12-14, 2011

Covenant Seminary

St. Louis, MO

Two-day Conference

March 11-12, 2011

Orangewood Church

Orlando, FL

Registration will begin online on June 1 and special speakers and workshop leaders will be announced by that date. All three of these conferences will concentrate on prayer, parental training and special interest (preschool, elementary, middle school, high school) focus groups.

You are invited…

…to a 2020 VISION MEETING OF THE MINDS – a one day brainstorming opportunity for those working with youth and children in the church. We would love to see youth pastors and children’s directors from the same church come together. The first of several MEETING OF THE MINDS will be held on TUESDAY, MAY 4^TH, 9am-5pm at the PCA office building conference room at 1700 North Brown Road, Lawrenceville, GA. The first fifteen people to respond to this e-letter by contacting Sue Jakes at sjakes@pcanet.org will be registered for this MEETING. Christian Education and Publications will treat you to lunch and will welcome your ideas on further planning and development of our 2020VISION. If you are unable to make this MEETING, there will be others. The next is planned for mid-July.

2020VISION –

Plan to attend a conference.

Give us your input (fill out the poll on the right side bar).

Come to the MEETING OF THE MINDS.

Pray for the children.

Pray for the church.

Find out what 2020 Vision is all about… click here to download Sue Jakes’ PowerPoint presentation.

Women’s Leadership Training 2010

March 8, 2010 by Editor

The two hundred and fifty participants of the 2010 CEP Women’s Ministries Leadership Conference will enjoy remembering some of the pieces of this great weekend of training and encouragement.

For those who missed it, for those who have never come, we want to give you a snapshot taste of the weekend…we hope you will be with us in 2011!

Click here to view the Conference Image Gallery

Women told us:

“I have never had a conference impact me as much as this one did. I am so excited to expand my understanding of the concepts presented…I have been giving a lot of thought to the legacy I want to leave behind.”

“I am proud to be a woman in this denomination.”

One first-time attendee summed up the conference well: “excellent teaching, valuable training, and warm fellowship,” sending the women back to their ministries “informed and inspired.”

Highlights:

Jerram Barrs’ teaching on the book of Ruth showed us how Boaz’ example stands as a miniature depicting God’s missionary calling in front of the backdrop of lawlessness and rebellion in Israel (similar to the times we live in).
Tara Barthel sent us home thinking on the value and importance of woman-to-woman discipleship.
Three workshop periods with five workshops offered in each
Times scheduled for women to be with others in their geographic regions.
An opportunity for leadership women to meet with those in similar leadership roles.
A denominational night in which we saw the “big picture” of the PCA.
Fellowship around the dinner table.
…and a bit of fun and laughter!

Missed it? You can still benefit! A flash drive of all general sessions and most workshops can be ordered online. Visit the CEP Bookstore. Downloads are also available of the general sessions and each of the workshop sessions (four of the five workshops are available in each session).

Click on the links below for conference resources, and check back for updates!

Power Point Presentations and other Handouts:

Jerram Barrs

Ruth I (Plenary session) – PowerPoint

Ruth II (Plenary session) – PowerPoint

Ruth III (Plenary session) – PowerPoint

Questions to go along with Ruth – PDF

God’s Law and Our Renewal in the Image of God (Workshop) – PowerPoint

Sherrie Drury

Leading Them, Loving Them (Workshop) – PowerPoint

A Man’s Guide to Work

February 28, 2010 by Editor

A Man’s Guide to Work

Excerpts from:A Man’s Guide to Work: 12 Ways to Honor God on the Job, By Pat Morley

YOU WERE CREATED TO WORK, and you will feel most happy, most alive, and most useful when you are doing the work you were created to do.

Unfortunately, over 50 percent of all workers are dissatisfied with their jobs — a record high — and as many as 80 percent are not in jobs best suited for them. That’s tragic, since about half of your 112 waking hours each week will be devoted to work and your work commute.

Most men do not have what we might call “a theology of work.” They feel theologically stranded-left to cobble together their own doctrine of work. They have not been trained for the marketplace.

Ask most Christian men, “Is business or plumbing a calling, like being a pastor? What is God’s purpose for you in the marketplace?” or a dozen similar questions, and you will probably get blank stares. That’s not because the Bible is thin on the subject. Far from it. The Bible is replete with wisdom for every work situation you will ever encounter.

MEN WHO FOLLOW JESUS CHRIST are an occupation force “ordained” to serve in the markets of men. We should regard work not just as a platform for ministry — work is ministry, and we are stewards put in charge until Jesus comes back, a fifth column who infiltrate a world stained by sin, acting as salt that preserves the way of Christ and light that leads broken people out of darkness.

Same Work, Two Results

Picture two airline ticket agents. They do exactly the same job, but one views his work as something he does to earn money, so when he finishes his shift, he can do what he really wants to do. He is easily irritated by customers complaining when their travel plans go awry.

The second agent views his work as a calling. Every time someone comes to him with a problem, he sees it as an opportunity to serve the customer and represent his great God. The agent does what he was called to do to the glory of God, even when facing resistance from a particular customer.

That second ticket agent understands the big idea of this chapter: Whether you’re a businessman or a minister, your work is a calling. It has intrinsic value, and it has potential to bear eternal fruit that honors God.

Read the rest of the article http://www.maninthemirror.org/alm/alm180.htm

2010 Women in the Church Love Gift

February 28, 2010 by Editor

Click here to read about the history and the purpose of the WIC Love Gift

“Making the Gospel-the good news of the coming of the Kingdom-accessible to all, in word and deed.”

Jesus Christ beautifully models for us how to relate to people with special needs: with dignity, grace, truth, genuine hospitality, mercy, justice and faithfulness. When we learn to see people with disabilities through Jesus’ eyes, we end up seeing all people-including ourselves-more accurately as a result. Focusing on both our shared value as God’s image bearers and our common need for grace motivates us to make the Gospel more accessible to people with special needs. Whether this happens through community outreach, church inclusion, mercy ministry, or adapted discipleship-in God’s kindness-the Gospel ends up becoming more deeply meaningful and accessible to those of us with less-noticeable-disabilities as well. All of us need the good news of the coming of the Kingdom. All of us need to experience the Gospel every day in word and deed. And that is, at the core, what MNA Special Needs Ministries is all about: Equipping and encouraging PCA churches to make the Gospel accessible to all, in word and deed.

How will the 2010 Women in the Church (WIC) Love Gift help?

Your generous gifts will enable us to provide the following:

The Gospel and Disability Educational Gift Packs: Practical resources for developing special needs ministries that are built on sound biblical principles rooted in Reformed theology. They will be distributed to 500 PCA churches.
Trainer Development: Equipping trainers who will work one-on-one with local PCA congregations and help them to develop self-sustaining local disability ministries and network with similar ministries in their geographic regions.
Luke 14 Matching Grants: Made available to PCA churches that are starting new initiatives to serve individuals and families touched by disability in their local congregations or their communities. “Go out…and compel people to come in, that my house may be filled” (Luke 14:23).

Watch the 2010 Love Gift Video:

Use the following links as resources for this year’s WIC Love Gift:

Love Gift Bulletin Insert (Acrobat Reader Required)

Love Gift Program Information (Acrobat Reader Required) – Information and ideas to use along with the Love Gift video.

Order the Love Gift Bulletin Inserts – Get these inserts free to distribute in your church.

Order the Love Gift DVD – Get a free copy of the DVD to show in your church.

The “Rest of the Story…” – Follow up and get to know the families and congregations featured in the Love Gift video.

MNA Special Needs Ministries Website

Please make your check payable to:

2010 WIC Love Gift and mail to: Women in the Church
Christian Education and Publications
1700 N. Brown Road, Suite 102
Lawrenceville, GA
www.pcacep.org