Below is a link that shares some of what God is doing in and through the Relevant Student Ministry.  I am so excited when I watch this.  I am excited to see how God is using the Relevant student ministry to help transform students.  I am excited to see how God is transforming the adult leaders by investing into students.  I am excited to see how God is using my brother to lead the ministry.  http://vimeo.com/41579627

Pastor Ronnie

The following are the 14 people who were baptized yesterday to publicly proclaim their faith in Jesus:
• Nicholas Schlott
• Jordan Cullen
• Rebecca Belcher
• Elsie Uleman
• Sophie Uleman
• Zac Williams
• Hallie Paulson
• Jesse Paulson
• Julia Rutledge
• Kim McNamera
• Halley Miller
• Traci Mock
• Steve Dean
• Emma Pietrocini

It is a humbling thing to be a part of work that only God can do.  I am grateful that God is choosing to do transforming work in people’s lives through Relevant.

Pastor Ronnie

This Sunday, 2e will be commissioning 11 new Staff who just completed the 10 week Staff Orientation. 

• Ellie Boomer
• Steve Dean
• Sara Frank
• Krystal Ford
• Julianne Harm
• Dan Henery
• Jeff Henery
• Jennifer Marion
• Scott Marion
• Hallie Paulson
• Karry Whitten

I am so humbled that these people have taken on the leadership responsibility of driving the mission forward, and can’t wait to see the transforming work that God does in and through them…TOGETHER!

Pastor Ronnie

We are busy planning and preparing for this year’s summer ministry to the youth in our district. A huge part of the process is hiring the right staff to fill the needed positions to make camp successful. We are writing to ask for your help in finding young men to be counselors at camp this summer. This is a very important position that involves spiritually building into the lives of campers and having fun in the process. If you know of any young men 19 years or older who would be gifted to serve in a great summer ministry this year that would be great. If you have an information board at your church, please post the position details. We are also looking for a few more program staff this summer particularly one with lifeguard certification. Details regarding these positions are listed below. Please be in prayer for campers who attend this summer. Also, please pray for the staff and the speakers who will minister to the campers. We pray many will come to know the Lord, and that all will leave camp with renewed love and desire to serve the Lord.  If you have any questions please contact me, Jon Classen.

Position Details for Camp Rivercrest Summer Employment

Time of employment: June 3rd  – July 28th

Compensation: $200 per week

Note: must be 19 or older to apply

Apply online at www.camprivercrest.org follow the employment link on the right side of the page

Male Ministry Counselor: The male summer ministry team is responsible to lead a group of campers including building friendships, one-on-one interaction, and activity leadership.

Program Ministry staff: The program ministry staff is responsible for the facilitation and safety of the mini bike area, paintball area, high ropes, climbing wall, swimming pool and other program areas and activities. (Lifeguard certified preferred, but not required.) 

CONTACT INFORMATION:

Jon Classen

Camp Director

2840 county rd 13

Fremont NE 68025

office 402-628-6465

cell 402-317-0938

email jclassen@camprivercrest.org

Over the next few months we are going to launch into an intentional action plan to help take a step toward this vision.  I wanted to share a snap shot of this action plan with you, and ask you to really be in prayer over this.  Over the next three months we want to answer the following 3 questions…

1. What are the needs in/of Elkhorn the ECC can/should meet?  (we are going to be doing a city wide campaign to discover this)

2. How do we start meeting those needs RIGHT NOW even better w/o a building?

3. Based on the needs we discover and our own visions for ECC, how much land and how big of building do we really believe we need to purchase when the opportunity presents itself?

Our goal is to have all these questions answered by August 1st.    By answer these questions, I hope to be able to get the entire Relevant community behind this…which is very important to me.  By answer these questions, I hope we will continue to be mission driven instead of building driving…which is very important to me.  I don’t know when ECC will happen, but I do know God wants us to help transform our city.  We are working hard every day to do that. 

Pastor Ronnie

…we get to reflect on and remember what Jesus did for us that we could not do for ourselves. 

…we get to praise God for His relentless love for us. 

…we get to celebrate the penalty and power of sin being broken in our lives, so that we could be reunited with our God! 

Obviously, the climax of this week for Christ followers is Easter Sunday.  Not only because of what we get to reflect on, remember, praise God for, and celebrate; but because of the potential life transforming influence we can have in people’s lives who have not put their faith in Jesus.  This is the one Sunday every year the people we are all trying to influence may be willing to attend a  worship service, and maybe for the first time be open to the life transforming message of Jesus. 

I want to challenge you this week with a few of things:

·         First, spend time this week reflecting on, remembering, praising God for, and celebrating what happened this week almost 2000 years ago.  Spend time doing this by yourself, with your spouses, with your kids, with those whom you have authentic connections with from Relevant.  Read the passages of what happened during this week 2000 years ago throughout this week – Matthew 21-28, Mark 14-16, Luke 22-24, John 12-21

·         Second, don’t miss out on the influence possibilities this week.  Pray for those you are investing in.  Invite them this Sunday if it helps in your investment. 

·         Finally, pray for the Easter services this Sunday at 9:15am and 11am.  Pray that the people there on Sunday will be transformed.  Pray that God speaks the words He wants to speak!  

Pastor Ronnie

How do you spend your time when life doesn’t turn how how you intended, planned, or dreamed?  Complaining?  Asking God, why?  Trying to manufacture peace, happiness, joy?  It’s no wonder many of us don’t experience the life transformining presence of Jesus.  The way we experience His presence in the midst of our circumstances is to be thankful in all circumstances (Colossians 3:15). 

I closed the sermon with a challenge to be thankful in EVERTHING for one full week.  So, how’s it going for you so far?  Do you see how hard it is?  Do you see how much time you spend complaining, asking “Why God”, or trying to manufacture peace through pills, drugs, relationships, etc.?  Are you starting to see why maybe you aren’t experiencing the peace of God? 

Be thankful today.  Be thankful for the food you have, for the joy of living, for the breath that is in you, for the kids you have been blessed with, for the wife you get to come home to, for the car you get to drive, for the job you get to have.  Whatever it is…just be thankful!  It will powerfully transform your life

“When you arise in the morning give thanks for the food and for the joy of living.  If you see no reason for giving thanks, the fault likes only in yourself” (from “Act of Valor”).

Pastor Ronnie

At Relevant, we have always said that being transformed and living a transforming life involves 3 core elements:
• #1 Growing in an Interactive Relationship with Jesus: Jesus desires to transform WHO we are to be like Him. Continual transformation is a result of a constantly growing interactive relationship with Jesus
• #2 Developing Authentic Connections within the church: Our lives cannot be transformed in isolation, because God did not create us to live this life alone. Continual transformation is a result of being connected in authentic relationships within the church
• #3 Being an Influence in Glocal Culture: Continual transformation is a result of—and will result in—BEING the church that transforms glocal (global + local) culture. At Relevant, we want to be the best at developing transforming people who transform other people, because we believe transformed people transform people 

Whole life transformation happens when we keep focused on these three core elements, and figure out how to position our lives before Jesus in each of these three every day.  This past Sunday we gave everyone a tool to help them do that.  The “T-LIFE Focus Assessment” (TLIFE Focus Assessment) helps you assess where you are at in each area (the questions are not holistic, but will help you start thinking about where you currently are at in each area).  It also challenges you to think about what one step you can take in each area to position yourself before Jesus today.

I challenge you to do this frequently.  The more we assess where we currently are, and determine simple steps to take toward Jesus, the more He will transform our entire lives. 

Pastor Ronnie

For review, we said that positioning ourselves before God requires hustling (working with all your heart) at the work God has given you to do.  The real question, then, is what is the God-given work has given you to do?  He has provided you with a career to live out your calling.  Your career is not your calling, but an environment to live out your calling.  Your true calling is to bring glory to God by accomplish His work.  His work is to transform the world by transforming people.  What brings Him glory is people being influenced through you.  Your God-given work is for people to be transformed/influenced through you, for Him.  For that reason, God has called you to hustle - to work your butt off with passion, urgency, determination, and dedication at your place of work.  Why?  Because no one will ever be influenced by a sluggard!

The point I want to bring a little more clarity to is how you live and sustain hustle at your place of work.  In order to hustle everyday, you must feel engaged.  The only way you will feel engaged is when you have an opportunity to do what you like to do everyday.  If you do not have the opportunity to do what you like to do, are talented to do, and passionate to do everyday, you will be disengaged.  If you are disengaged, you will not work with hustle.  If you do not work with hustle, you cannot live out your God-given work.  However, if you find a rhythm everyday to do what you like to do, you will be more joy filled.  Positive emotion/joy is contagious.  People will want to be around you.  As people want to be around you, you now have the opportunity to influence them and truly live out your God-given work. 

A great book to further your understanding on this is called “Well Being” by Tom Rath (Gallup Press).  I challenge you to pick up a copy of this book to discover more about Career Well Being (http://www.amazon.com/Wellbeing-Essential-Elements-Tom-Rath/dp/1595620400/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1329171648&sr=8-1). 

Pastor Ronnie

God is near, and He is relational.  He wants to speak to the innermost places of our soul.  The problem with not hearing him has a lot more to do with us, than with Him.  He speaks loudest to our souls in whispers…we can’t hear His whispers without silence…and we can’t have silence without creating a space away from the noise.  Our lives are so full of noise.

This is a link to the video we showed this past Sunday at our Worship Gathering.  As you watch this again, crank up the volume on your computer.  Be ANNOYED by the noise, and rest in the silence.  After you watch it ask yourself, “do I have a rhythm of space in my life?”  If not, what is your plan?  Will you put together a rhythm of space throughout the course of everyday to be silent, and get away from the noise.  God always has been, and always will be, a communicating who would gladly speak if only we carved out enough space from the noise to hear!

http://vimeo.com/35541582 

Pastor Ronnie