Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Global Impact Celebration Reflections


   I intended to write about the GIC as we went through the week-long celebration, but it was so packed with great people and events that I just didn’t have time. I want to thank our wonderful missionaries for investing in us! Their presence and participation was the highlight of the event! Hopefully you can now call some of them your friends.

  We were blessed to have such a gifted group of people working on this event. Our GIC Director, Susan Byrd, and her three coordinators, Deanne Clem, Donna Zalatoris, and Bonnie Hailey, pulled all of this together and really allowed Urbancrest to shine for the Lord. What an awesome team they are! Diane Lynch and Susan Clemmons are the two people that touch every part of GIC with their gifts in administration and graphic design. I also wanted to thank the seventeen GIC team leaders who led countless team members before and throughout the event, taking care of every detail that can be imagined: cleaning, logistics, hospitality (manned by our Legacy Builders), host homes, transportation, and more. Preparing food for the events is always a huge effort! Dewayne Jeffers and his team put together the Wednesday night dinner and the Saturday breakfast. Sherlene Dishun and her two teams of homeschoolers took care of all the luncheons, while Angie Crumbley and Anna Pelphrey led the Taste of the World on Saturday night. Thanks to all of you! It is a blessing to see all the parts of the body of Christ working together in unity just as 1 Corinthians 12:27 encourages us to do. 
   

    Our GIC is about inviting Urbancrest members to enter into missions by committing themselves to be obedient to pray, give, and go. Though we do not have all the numbers in at this time, our members responded faithfully! Hundreds committed to pray for the missionaries. Many committed to short-term mission projects, and five individuals committed their lives to long-term mission service. In addition, so far we have $220,785.00 pledged toward our 2012 Faith Promise Offering. Though this amount is substantially lower than last year, we do know that other Faith Promise commitments may still be added to this total over the next couple of weeks. If God is leading you to make a Faith Promise Commitment for the upcoming year, please let us know promptly so that we can begin to plan our budget. We will need a total of $250,000.00 to maintain our current level of missionary support.

 Remember, a Faith Promise Offering is just that. You will pray for God to impress upon you an amount and then promise to Him that you will give it to this fund as He gives it to you. Or, He may impress upon you to live more simply, or do something to raise the money. Pray about it, and as God reveals to you what He would like to give through you, let us know. After spending time in prayer, you may also decide that you would like to increase the pledge that you have already made. Please be in prayer for our Faith Promise Fund Stewardship Team as they determine whether we will increase, maintain, or reduce the support of our missionaries.

   God is using our church in a mighty way to accomplish His mission of reaching all nations with the gospel of Christ! We are His heart, His hands, and His voice to a dying world! The eternal destiny of thousands will be impacted as Jesus saves souls and transforms lives. This cannot be accomplished unless we join together as co-labors in the work and say, “I am missions.”

Monday, March 12, 2012

Global Impact Celebration 2012

  Our Global Impact Celebration begins this Wednesday, March 14. What a great week God has in store for us! Missionaries who serve locally, regionally, and in places such as Australia, Cuba, Thailand, Uruguay, and North Africa/Middle East are coming to Urbancrest to proclaim the mighty works of God and to meet you! You will not want to miss a moment! 
 
  I have included the Schedule of Events below. During the evening services, our children will have their own GIC special activities! I want to encourage you to attend our Wednesday night Kick-off Celebration. Aaron Coe, Vice President of the North American Mission Board, is our featured speaker. Come fellowship with our missionaries as we worship together to prepare our hearts for a life-transforming message. 
 
  Please join us in Room 207 during the GIC to pray for the missionaries, workers, and the lives that will be touched. The missionary prayer posters will be up on the walls so that you can focus on their specific prayer requests.
 
  GIC Prayer Points:
  • Pray for our missionaries as they travel and are among us.
  • Pray that God will be glorified and choose to come to us in all His power and might.
  • Pray that souls will be saved and lives transformed this week.
  • Pray that lives and finances will be committed to enable us to extend our role in His global mission during the next year.
  • Pray that prayer warriors will commit to pray for each missionary and project to defeat the enemy and bring glory to the King!
 I hope to write a few short summaries as we experience the week together. Feel free to post comments below to share your GIC highlights and how you have been impacted by the celebration! For many people, this is the highlight of their year. Hope to see you there!