Flood Victims Lose Property, but Gain Christ

Ohio volunteers spent several days last week preparing to work alongside Disaster Relief Mud Out teams from Illinois, Kentucky, and Indiana. The towns of Wapakoneta and St. Marys, located 90 minutes north of Lebanon on I-75, endured flooding after heavy snow and rains. Numerous lives have now been reached with the gospel because of the almost 50 volunteers who traveled to meet the needs of these victims.

I am always glad to be a small part of a disaster response. The benefits of being part of a team that seeks to bring the hope of Christ to hurting people has great personal rewards. But even greater is the knowledge that the destiny of souls will be altered forever because of the sacrifices made.

Take a moment to read the National Disaster Relief Update article that can be found at the following link: http://www.namb.net/Disaster_Relief_Update_March_16_2011/ . The "Ohio Flooding" segment gives a synopsis of the deployment. The Activity Report (at the bottom) includes in part the Professions of Faith, Ministry Contacts, Gospel Presentations, Mud Out jobs, Showers, and Laundry. A percentage of these statistics were the result of this Ohio deployment. I will add that the total professions of faith for this week was 7. The individual who had the joy of leading these 7 to salvation was Larry Randolph, who, until moving to nearby Bellefontaine, was a member of Urbancrest. Larry and his wife Sylvia (who leads Ohio Child Care) have been sowing seeds in Bellefontaine and other places since they moved. Wapakoneta is one of those towns. It has not been easy and they have given up comfort to be obedient to God.

But seeing the gift of evangelism bear such fruit this week was simply beautiful. I can't help but rejoice with those who reap a harvest where they have sown. Nonetheless, Larry would be the first to say it was possible only because of the coordinated efforts of a team. In the ministry of Disaster Relief, the Lord takes many workers and makes them one. And when we choose to give ourselves to the helpless, the result is the glory of God through the body of Christ.

Mick & Wanda Lovely
Urbancrest Disaster Relief

Urbancrest GIC - DAY ONE

We are now one full day into our Global Impact Celebration at Urbancrest. WOW! How God has blessed us! Our Kick-Off Celebration last night was a tremendous worship experience. I always get a little misty-eyed when the flags come into the sanctuary. With missionaries present from all over the world, I am reminded that those flags represent people from every tribe, tongue, and nation. They will all be represented around the throne according to Revelation 7:9. The "black flag" that was brought into the room first will remain by the speaker’s podium throughout the event. It represents the lostness that remains in the world. 5.5 billion people are lost! 1.6 billion of them live in Unreached People Groups (UPG). Most have never heard the name of Jesus!

The Kids for Christ Choir and Preschool Choir were so good! They reminded us to live for Jesus “Everyday.” The adult choir and praise team were awesome in leading worship. Pastor Steven from Jerusalem, Israel brought one of the most dynamic messages I have ever heard. It always stirs my heart when I hear of believers in Jesus that are being persecuted and beaten for their beliefs, but when one stands before you that has endured such beatings and persecution and testifies that Jesus is worth it, you will never be the same!

We have this freedom to worship in this great land. Many throughout the world cannot even conceive of such freedom. They secretly hide to worship lest they are beaten, imprisoned, or worse. That is why we celebrate the work of God at our GIC each year. He is at work even in places that are hostile to Christianity, and the believers living there hold fast to their profession of faith because Jesus is worth it. Eternal life is worth it!

Pastor Steven will speak again tonight at the underground church experience. Be at the church at 6:30 pm. Follow the instructions of your guide and you will be admitted to hear him.

You will not want to miss any of this GIC. We are hearing holy instructions for the future.

Global Impact Celebration~March 16-20

The 2011 Global Impact Celebration (GIC) is now upon us! If you are new to Urbancrest, or you have been hiding under a rock somewhere, you may not realize that this is the most important and exciting event we have each year. Our GIC Coordinators have spent hundreds of hours preparing and working through every detail of the event with all the different Team Leaders. Next week, 37 missionary units will descend on us for our Kick-Off Celebration on Wednesday, March 16, at 6:30pm. These missionaries come from Vanuatu, Israel, Florida, Ukraine, Lebanon and all points in between. They come for two reasons: to proclaim the mighty works of God to those that will listen, and to meet and get to know YOU!

More than just another meeting or event, the Global Impact Celebration is a mission conference on steroids! Like the Church in Acts 14, we will hear the mission reports of those who have taken the Gospel to the world. We will worship and celebrate the work of God as His renown has been made known to the ends of the earth! We will pray together for the lostness that still exists in over 5.5 billion lives, of which over 1.3 billion have never had the name JESUS even whispered in their ear.

Visit the GIC page of our UBC mission website for an overview of the Schedule of Events: http://www.urbancrest.info/missions/gic/gic.htm

Please make a special effort to attend our Wednesday night Kick-off Service at 6:30pm. This is the time that God will kindle the fire in your heart with His love for the world. These missionaries are coming to meet YOU! The more time you spend with them, the more likely it is that God will use you to encourage them, and use them to bless your life as you hear “the mighty works of God.” Steven Khoury, Pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in Jerusalem, Israel, will be bringing the message of the evening. You will not want to miss his story and the challenges he faced growing up as a Palestinian Christian youth in the City of David, Bethlehem.

Thursday night will be a new experience for Urbancrest. Because so many of our brothers and sisters around the world are facing persecution and meeting in secret, our UBC youth are inviting us to experience a worship service in the “underground” church just the way the persecuted Christians around the world do. You will gain a new appreciation for the faith and commitment of those who worship the King in spite of threat and bodily harm. They have much to teach us. Because we want you to experience this as a family just like they do in the underground church, there will be no childcare for this event. Your faith will grow and you will have a new appreciation for “counting the cost.”

Friday night will be our Global Home Briefings. Each of the Sunday school classes will host missionaries in the home of one of their class members. You are invited to choose a Home Briefing that is close to your home and join us in fellowship with a couple of the missionaries. You will have the opportunity to talk with them, and really get to know them. There are maps prepared and available to you this Sunday in the foyer of the church for these very special meetings. Please be sure you attend and participate in this great time of learning and fellowship.

An Urbancrest favorite, the Taste of the World on Saturday at 5:00pm is an international banquet where our Sunday school classes prepare the favorite dishes of the missionaries. Visit each booth and sample foods such as alligator or borscht! Fried chicken will be available for the squeamish. Immediately following the Taste of the World, the 6:30pm Prayer Commitment Service will draw us to the throne of God to pray for the nations. We will also recognize our local missionaries and hear a challenge from Travis Ogle, the Teaching Pastor of Hope Baptist Church in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Our Celebration continues on Sunday morning at both 9:30am and 11:00am during our Faith Promise Commitment Service as we hear once again from Travis Ogle and missionaries who will be in most Sunday school classes!

Our closing service Sunday night is the Life Commitment Service. Pastor Khoury will once again bring the charge and our church will be challenged as we commit to go into all the world to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Our local, regional, and international mission team leaders will be at the front to receive the commitments from our members. The total of our Faith Promise offering will be announced and we will celebrate and bless our missionaries as we send them once again to the places God has called them.

On both Wednesday and Saturday evenings, our children will have their own GIC special activities at the same time the adults are meeting. Our preschoolers will be visited by different missionaries each night as well as enjoy special activities that focus on missions. Children’s Mission Specialist, Selena Newton, and our own Mindy Howell have planned special age-appropriate activities for children K-6 that will teach them about the persecuted church and how Jesus loves us even when we face adversity. On Wednesday, your child will learn about the coliseum and a drama about Christian persecution in Roman times. They will also learn about the current persecution that believers are facing in Chinese house churches while enjoying snacks from China. Saturday, the children will experience a “catacomb” where persecuted Christians used to have church. They will get to do mission work as they put together Voice of the Martyrs Action Packs that will be sent to Pakistan. We have a highly experiential GIC planned for your children! Don’t let them miss it!

This Sunday morning, Pastor Tom will introduce our theme in his message as we begin our journey together: “The Night is Coming” from John 9:4 “I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work.”

Please join us in Room 207 during the GIC to pray for the missionaries, workers, and the lives that will be touched. 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!

 Come join us and “be part of the journey!”