Back in 2009, I wrote a blog post about how to prepare for our Commitment Sunday. If you want to read it, you can click on the link and go there now. However, that was two years ago, and things have changed for us since then. The most significant changes are that we have adopted the ELEMENTS metaphors as the way we communicate our core values, we have established Elders and By-Laws, and we have created guidelines for Covenant Members in the church.

Here’s the bottom line: I know God is using LCC to make a difference in people’s lives, and I want you to go on record saying that you want to be a key player, a covenant member for this next year. As a result, I’m writing this post to encourage you to consider our membership covenant.

You see, this Sunday is our Commitment Sunday, and I want to remind you of what that means for you, me, and for the family we call Lafayette Community Church.

On Sunday, we will be celebrating a number of different commitments.

• Some will be making commitments to Jesus by praying prayers of repentance.
• Some will be making commitments to Jesus by going through the waters of baptism.
• Some will be making an “associate” commitment to LCC by signing the Associate Covenant (see below for that)
• Some will be making a Covenant Member commitment by signing the Membership Covenant.
• Some will be making a financial commitment by giving God the first portion of their income.
• And some will be renewing their commitment to Christ by joining together in the celebration of communion.

I believe that at least one of those commitments is your commitment for this weekend. I believe that Jesus himself is preparing you to make one of those commitments. Which one or which ones are for you this week?

A Prayer of Repentance

Heavenly Father, I confess to you that I have lived by my own rules and followed my own standards rather than yours. I realize that the only right thing to do is to return to you the way you ask me to, by placing my trust in Jesus for the forgiveness of my sins, and by giving you full control of my life. Please have mercy on me and cleanse me and lead me in the way you have for me.

Baptism

If you want to be baptized on Sunday, call me before the weekend is up! 765-404-0807.

LCC Associate Covenant

With a clear conviction that God’s will for me involves fellowship with the people of Lafayette Community Church, I commit to use this year to explore God’s simple commands to put him first, join his family, grow like Jesus, and serve others.

LCC Membership Covenant

GOD IS MY AIR:

In every aspect of my life, God comes first. His Word is my only authority. His Son is my only Salvation. His glory is my greatest desire. I give him the first of my every opportunity. Matt 22:37-38 (Gen 2:7 :: Acts 17:28-31)

Specifically, I have given my life over to Jesus as my Savior and Lord, I have followed him in the waters of baptism. I will submit my life to the mandates of the Bible, stand up for God’s honor, and invest the first portion of my time, talent and treasures in the work of his Kingdom.

GOD’S FAMILY FUELS MY FIRE:

The Spirit dwells in me but his power is revealed in community. I intentionally prioritize Christian relationships because I have something to give and something to receive. Matt 22:39-40 (Acts 2:1-4 :: Gal 6:10 :: 1 Th 5:19 :: Eph 4)

Specifically, I affirm the presence of the Holy Spirit in my life and heed the guidance he gives through the counsel of others in this church. I will view this community as my spiritual family and offer my time, talent, and treasure here before serving or giving elsewhere. I will prioritize the weekly gatherings for worship and join a Life Group. I will pray for and support my leaders, love my fellow believers, and vigorously defend the unity of this church.

I AM GOD’S EARTH:

God is creating me. I started as dust, but I’m becoming like Jesus. I rejoice in trials and hardships because Christ suffered for me, and I am a living sacrifice transformed by the truths of God. Rom 8:29 (Rom 12:1-2 :: Gen 1:27, 2:7 :: 2 Cor 4:7-10)

Specifically, I will pursue opportunities for spiritual growth. I will root out sin in my life through regular self-examination and confession of sin both to God and to accountability partners, and in all areas of uncertainty, I will submit first to the clear teaching of the Bible, then to the leaders God has placed over me, and finally, after prayer, to my own conscience.

THE WORLD NEEDS MY WATER:

I have the Living Water in me. Infinite refreshment is mine in Christ, and I unlock it in me when I give it to others. I eagerly risk embarrassment to offer others the Living Water of Jesus. Matt 28:19-20 (Prov 11:25 :: John 4:1-41 :: Matt 10:42)

Specifically, I employ everything I am and everything I have for the benefit of others beginning in this church and extending to the world around me. To help others find full life in Christ, I will work to serve them, befriend them, share my faith with them, invite them to join me in this church, and help them know the gospel so they too can experience the life I have been given. I will rely on God to refresh me as I strive to refresh others.

THEREFORE:

In full agreement with the mission and governing documents of this church, I will live by this covenant in unity with this church for this year.

Conclusion

I sincerely hope that you will be there Sunday to make commitments and to celebrate the commitments of others. It’s going to be one incredible morning!

In 2012, Lafayette Community Church is going to get really good at spiritual coaching. I’ve worked up a program for spiritual coaching that should be easy enough for anyone to work through and even guide someone else through.

If you are interested, you can download the entire coaching book here, or you can download each lesson individually.

Download

To access the downloads, click here:

http://lafayettecc.org/coaching-resources/

2012 is just beginning, but perhaps you are interested in making your summer plans include a mission trip. Mark and Carla Hanson, friends of LCC and missionaries to Spain, are hosting a missions trip to Alcoy Spain this summer. She sent me all the details, so I thought I’d post them here so you can know about it too.

You can Contact Carla Hanson directly at her email address: cjhmeh@gmail.com

Alcoy English Camp

WHAT IT IS AND WHAT IT ISN’T

In collaboration with Alcoy City Hall, and World Partners will host a 9 day camp on July 2nd – 13th, 2012 designed to bless the children and families of Alcoy with a unique and singular English immersion experience. Actually love, not English is the language spoken most audibly during camp. English Camp will run Monday through Friday the first week and Monday through Thursday the second week from 9:30 – 1:30 for students ages 5 – 11. We will deliberately limit our number to around 60 kids in each camp to provide personal attention and offer quality and individual contact with the families of the campers. Activities will include music, sports, crafts, and lesson time with a focus on small group learning and interaction. We teach through interactive curriculum, repetition, and creative activities. There is a cost to the families to help defray camp costs.

In an additional effort to bless parents who don’t have to run off right away after dropping off their children, we want to provide a special English conversational and craft class which we hope will turn into a natural avenue of friendship and trust that involves people from the local church.

We also will run an Intensive English camp for those who are 12 years old – Adult every evening of every week in July, Monday through Thursdays. This will be in the evenings from 6 – 8 p.m. We are especially looking for experienced teachers or those certified to teach English as a second or foreign language. Last year, this was our most popular program and as a result, we have had 86 adults & children continue in our year long program with each person receiving a Bible as part of their learning experience.

Given Spanish history and some past religious abuse, we work and live in an environment that can among other things be highly suspicious of organized religion, which influences and shapes how we minister. This camp provides a way in which Spaniards do not look at us as missionaries or you as short-term workers rather as individuals taking time, at your own expense, to love their kids and help them learn English. More will be said about this during the training and future correspondence leading up to camp.

English Camp is not a Vacation Bible School Program; instead it is used to model and demonstrate our faith in action. Other areas already using this program have stories each year of parents who talk of how teachers befriend and love their children. As a way of building upon that love and positive influence, special follow up events will be scheduled through out the year. From this continued and regular contact, we hope relationships will blossom and result in children visiting and becoming regular attendees at the local church, not to mention the countless spiritual conversations throughout the year.

WHY IT WORKS:

The strength of English Camp as well as our ability to run such a ministry is dependent upon cooperative and willing workers. The key dynamic of English camp is the relationship between the monitors or camp counselors and the 4-6 Spanish children that form each group. The groups will be formed by age and gender and will serve as the camper’s main reference for camp. A typical day begins with a welcome, a 15-minute workbook time at the beginning and end of each day, engaging them in song time, snack time, craft time, sports time, and talking to them at all times in English. Other programs like this have seen bridges of trust built in the communities that have been strong enough to support the weight of Truth.

WHAT IT COSTS:

Given the fact that we place the workers with Spanish host families for free, we are able to keep costs down. By far the largest single cost will be airfare to and from Spain. A rough guess of total cost would be between $2500 – $2800 (We will have a more exact figure as we look at flights more closely). Other costs will include a house-warming gift to the host family (we suggest something that tells them a little about where you come from such as a coffee table book on something your state is famous for – an example would be a book on the Indy 500 if you are from Indiana), the entrance fees to museums, site seeing events, etc. that your host family may plan, personal spending money (ice cream, souvenirs & gifts, etc.). Please know that the euro is stronger than the dollar at the moment ($1.31 to buy 1 euro). There is no need to bring euros since ATMs are plentiful and trustworthy. It is very difficult to exchange dollars so the ATM is the best way to get money. We have been doing it for 5 years with no problem. In fact, DO NOT BRING AMERICAN DOLLARS!

WHERE WORKERS STAY:

We know that bad housing can correlate into a bad trip. We value our workers and want to do whatever is necessary to care for them before and during their stay in Spain. Therefore, the homes we place people in are set up through personal contacts, city hall officials, and families of students attending camp. We will carefully screen these homes and they will be scouted out in advance. A good home environment is vital to a successful stay and we will take every step possible to ensure that this happens. In fact, the workers’ housing is just as vital and important to the ministry as the actual camp itself. The impact of 15-20 Christian workers living in the homes of Spanish families for two weeks is impossible to calculate. Most of the families would not be considered religious or church going but the stories from places that are using this program tell that between the workers and hosts alike there develops trust, friendship, and deep conversations of faith.

Most host families have two expectations: first, they are interested in hosting an international person for the experience and cultural exchange; second, they will want to practice their conversational English and have help for their kids. Workers are encouraged to spend their spare time with their host families. Breakfast and dinner will be eaten with the host families while lunch will be eaten together with camp workers.

ALCOY FACTS:

Alcoy , city (1990 pop. 65,082), Alicante prov., SE Spain, on the Serpis River. An important industrial center with manufactures of textiles, paper (especially cigarette paper), metals, and furniture, it also has trade in grain, wine, and oil from the surrounding region. The metallic structure of the Viaduct of Canalejas, one of the emblems of Alcoy, was quite innovative at the time it was built: the beginning of the 20th century.

The Riquer and Molinar rivers meet in the capital of the region to form the Serpis river. This fact, along with the numerous bridges and industries located by the rivers, and the homogeneous historic quarter, has determined the tourist character of Alcoy. The expansion of the medieval centre forced the creation of bridges, so the new suburbs could grow; this is the reason why nowadays the city is known as “city of bridges”.

The square of Plaza de España is the nerve centre of the city. In the medieval quarter we can visit the old City Hall, the Archaeological Museum and the Museum of the Festivities of Moors and Christians. Going on the opposite direction, up San Nicolás street, we will discover the Modernist part of town.

The festivities of Moors and Christians, which honour the patron saint San Jorge, are celebrated in Alcoy during the 22nd, 23rd, and 24th of April; this “fiesta” is rooted in tradition, and commemorates the historical events of 1276. Music, pomp, and a burst of imagination take us back to the 13th century, to remember the Battle of Alcoy.

The Christmas season is upon us, and once again we celebrate everything that Jesus means to us and everything that he has done for us.

• We celebrate that God would send his Son.
• We celebrate that the Son would willingly come.
• We celebrate that everything we need, he came to give.

That’s the theme for our Advent season this year. Jesus came to give us everything we need. From teaching us about our worry over food and clothes to saving us from our sin and everything in between. He is our Prophet, our Priest, our King, our Brother, and our Savior.

He has come to us to be for us and with us everything we need.

How generous is our God!

Join us each Sunday through January 1 (except for Christmas Day) to hear a series of lessons on God’s greatest gift to you.

He Came, Advent 2011

To everyone at LCC:

Let me tell you what an incredible privilege it is for me to be your pastor. Each day, I’m reminded what a wonderful opportunity it is for me to know you, serve you, and encourage you. Each week, I’m reminded what an incredible responsibility it is for me to bring God’s Word to you in a relevant and informative way. Nevertheless, each year, you remind me that LCC is a congregation of generous people who understand the value of community.

Last Sunday, at the end of our announcement time, Dave Hynes stood up to share before the whole congregation that a collection had been taken up during the month of October for me and for Pastor Reggie in honor of Pastor Appreciation Month. I was completely surprised and had no idea that anything like that was going on behind the scenes. He handed me a gift bag that had some fancy chocolates in it and a card with $50 worth of coffee gift certificates inside.

You guys know me well.

See, I’m not a big fan of normal chocolate or normal coffee. I like the crazy strange weird (and usually expensive) stuff. I like the chocolate with chili powder in it to make it spicy, the 90% Cacao dark chocolate that makes your mouth feel dry, the salted chocolate that has real crystals of sea salt in it. I like the strange chocolate, and I’ll go on record now saying that the stuff you all gave me on Sunday was (and half of it still is) absolutely incredible. There’s some seriously strange, fancy chocolate in there, and it’s all amazing.

Also, the gift cards for the coffee are for the most amazing coffee shops in town. I’ve already bought a bag of beans that I intend to french press for my Life Group tonight.

Nevertheless, gift cards, chocolate, money, whatever, all those things are great and all, and I love you all the more for them, but what really excites me, what really gets my motor running, and what really reminds me of your appreciation for me is whenever I see you growing in your relationship to Christ.

This last year, I have received the great gift of seeing people step up to do more than simply greet Sunday morning visitors but to engage them during our Interaction time, to invite them to join Life Groups, to share meals with them, and to welcome them into the life of our church. I have seen people step up to give of themselves financially, making the commitment to return to God through LCC the first 10% of their household income. I have seen people step up to become worship leaders, and KIDOPOLIS teachers, and Life Group hosts. I have seen people devote themselves to prayer, to cleaning the building, to starting a youth program, and to even building a drum cage!

I feel appreciated with chocolate, and I thank you again for your gifts, but I need to thank you even more for simply walking with Jesus. He loves you more than I ever could, not because of you, or me, but because of him.

Let’s finish 2011 strong. Let’s build each other up. Let’s reach out to the lost who don’t know Jesus. Let’s put our money where our mouth is, and let’s all together get ourselves ready for the new miracles God will do in our midst next year.

Thank you again.

Grace and Peace,

Jeff