Relevant Community Church Blog

Your Prayers are Appreciated

rrothe — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 16:59:13 +0000

I would like to ask that you pray for Kristy and me today and this week. We had not yet announced this to the entire church, but we were pregnant again. Until today.

Kristy had a routine check up today, and they could not find a heart beat for the baby on the ultrasound. Our baby has passed away. With Kristy being about 16-17 weeks pregnant her body did not naturally “miscarry” the baby. Kristy has miscarried before (between 1st and 2nd children), but this time she was much further along. Last time we only saw a heart beat. This time we saw the baby moving around her (I am just assuming) arms and legs.

Furthermore, with her being so far along in her pregnancy we have to make the decision today if they should induce labor for Kristy to deliver the lifeless body, or if a D&C should be done. We know what it is like to go through the D&C process, since Kristy had to have a D&C for our last miscarriage.

I ask for your prayers first of all for Kristy. Pray that God gives her peace and hope today. I also ask that you pray for our girls. Pray that they can understand this in the most healthy way possible. They were excited for the baby. Also, pray for our decision that we need to make today. Finally, pray for us financially. To add insult to injury, from experience we know that it is more expensive to go through the removal of a miscarried baby than it is to deliver a healthy baby.

In the midst of this we have confidence that God is in control. We know that He loves us, and that He has never let a little one slip away from His grasp. We believe that His grace is sufficient for us, and that He knew everything that was going on with our little one.

Thank you for your prayers!

Pastor Ronnie

Reaching Your Potential

rrothe — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 14:56:37 +0000

A few weeks ago we finished up the “Don’t Waste Your Life” series with a sermon called “Untapped Potential.” Here is the main point of that sermon… “Using your talents for God’s Kingdom is not just something you choose to pursue, but a calling you must choose to accept.” I am pumped that so many people at Relevant are using the talents God has given us for the Kingdom, but I realize that some of us may not even know what talents (gifts) we really have. Therefore, below is a link to what is called a “Spiritual Gifts Test.” This inventory (from Willow Creek Community Church) is not a fool proof system by any means, but I think it is helpful if you have never done one. If you have never done one, I really challenge you take a few minutes to do this. Be as honest as you can about who you are, not what you want to be. Then…ask God how you can start using your talents more alongside of Him. Just a couple of suggestions if you choose to do this…

Do the test 1^st w/o looking at the other two documents (spiritual-gifts-test).
Do the scoring sheet second w/o looking at the definitions (spiritual-gifts-scoring).
Finally, evaluate you score sheet against the definitions (spiritual-gift-definitions).

Is there alignment between what you are doing, and what your gifts/talents are? How can you start using your talents more alongside of Him? Have fun with this!

Finally, you heard me tell everyone on Sunday that I am not going to be leading everything anymore. We have worked hard to get leaders in place so that we really can function more as a body. WE are the body…not ME. I am going to work hard not to be the leaders in every area, not to stick my nose into everything, not to have my hand on everything, and to let our leaders lead. I am excited how God is going to bless us in that.

I am humbled that God has called me to be the pastor of this awesome church, and truly believe that He is going to do amazing things in and through this BODY!

Pastor Ronnie

Our 3 Summer Missionaries

rrothe — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 17:29:52 +0000

It is so exciting that God has called three of Relevant’s college gals to engage a nation this summer to help spiritually transform people. Jamie Gosch and Alicia Brown will be spending six weeks in South Africa, and Hannah Gegenbach will be spending six weeks in Uganda.

It has been so fun to see God working in the lives of these three ladies; watching Him spiritually transform them, and giving them a heart to help spiritually transform other people. They have all worked so hard to raise enough money to spend a large chunk of their summer in Africa working in orphanages, doing vacation bible school programs with kids who don’t know Jesus, and serving people in need. Furthermore, it has been a blessing to financially “send” these girls and cover them in prayer as a church.

All three of them leave this week, and need our continued prayers. I can’t wait for them to get back to hear what God did in and through them! Please be praying for all three of them over the next 6 weeks. Pray for God to use them in powerful ways. Pray for needs to be met. Pray that God spiritually transforms people through them. Pray that God protects them!

Pastor Ronnie

Financial Worksheet

rrothe — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 15:58:08 +0000

At the end of yesterday’s sermon called “Worthless Investments,” I gave the challenge to commit to re-align how we handle the treasure (money, finances, wealth) that God has given us (If you missed the sermon, you should listen to it on podcast). Afterwords, I talked to a few people who really wanted to do this, but didn’t know how. So, here is a budget worksheet that can help you (budget-worksheet1). Below is an explanation of how to navigate through this worksheet. If you do this, I think this is really going to help you take steps in the right direction financially.

Pastor Ronnie

Budget Spreadsheet

Fill out the attached spreadsheet as accurate as possible with a realistic working budget. Here are a few things to consider as you are filling out the budget

MAKE SURE YOU ONLY TYPE NUMBERS UNDER THE MONTH SIDE. THE EQUATIONS ARE ALREADY SET IN THE WORKSHEET AND WILL FIGURE THE YEAR AMOUNTS AS WELL AS THE PERCENTAGES.
Only work in both spouse’s income if you are married and will be living off both incomes
Your over/under cannot be in the negative, so you may have to decide what expenses to cut out
Try to keep fixed expenses as low as possible

Budget Method

Discuss what budget method will be most suitable for you to maintain your budget sufficiently. In order to maintain your budget you must both (if married) agree on a method that suits your needs and is easy to maintain. Here are a few examples (but not limited to these):

Check/Debit Card System: Much like the credit card system below, but a check register is used as well.
Credit Card System: All variable expenses and as many fixed expenses as possible are put on credit card and one check is written at end of month after recording expenses from statement
Envelope System: Envelopes are kept in the house with the variable expenses written on the front of them. At the beginning of the month the specified amount for that expense is placed in the envelope and withdrawn at time of desired spending

Budget Facilitator

If married, who will facilitate the budget and communicate to the other partner the progress of the budget? How will this be done on a day to day basis (computer spreadsheet, budget book, etc.)?

Q98.5 Radio Spot

rrothe — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 15:10:33 +0000

If I have said it once, I have said it 1000 times. We are not trying to build the biggest church in the city. We are trying to lead people toward living a transformed life so that we can transform the city. Therefore, I do not believe what is going to transform our culture is trying to get as many butts in the seats as we can. However, I do believe that there will come a time in some people’s lives where coming to Relevant is the exact thing they will need to take a step toward Jesus on their spiritual journey.

Most new people come to Relevant from a personal invite, but there are some people who may need to step into Relevant who don’t know anyone who goes here. How will they hear about it? That is why we do “Culture Marketing.” We don’t think any of the marketing that we do will make someone who is unchurched all of a sudden want to go to church. The purpose of our culture marketing is to infuse Relevant into the minds of the people in our culture, so if and when they ever feel like they need some help on their spiritual journey, Relevant is the 1st place they think about.

We have tried a lot of different things with culture marketing: invite cards, invite emails, yard signs, billboards, etc. One of the things we have never tried is radio advertising. Not anymore. Starting in June for the next three months Relevant will have a commercial on Q98.5 (www.q985fm.com).

Here is what the commercial sounds like (q98-relevant-commerical2). Please pray that people who God wants to spiritually transform will hear this and respond. Also…I know I sound like a complete dork. DON’T MAKE FUN OF ME!

Pastor Ronnie

Summer Small Group Starting Soon

rrothe — Mon, 17 May 2010 14:33:50 +0000

There are less that two weeks left to sign up for a summer small groups. All summer small groups start the first week of June and go through August.

I realize that there are many people who have started attending Relevant who can’t even believe they are attending a Sunday Service as consistently as they are, and the thought of joining a small group seems like a HUGE commitment. I understand. If you have never been in a small group, it can seem like a scary step. I could sit here and tell you that it won’t be weird, you don’t have to know anything about the Bible to go to one, no one is going to make you share you dirtiest secret, and kool-aid will not be served. However, I am guessing that those things alone will not settle the uneasiness in your stomach enough to actually sign up. So, all I am going to do to today is challenge you.

If you want to take a step forward on your spiritually journey…If you desire to build some relationships with other people…if you desire to understand how Jesus wants to relate to you every day…if you want to be a part of other people’s lives…then I challenge you to sign up for a group this summer. Summer small groups only last 12 weeks. It is a short time commitment, but I believe God can really do something amazing in your life during that time.

Visit the small group page. You can sign up for a group right there. Online sign ups end on May 30th. Hope to see you in a group

Pastor Ronnie

Spring 2010 Progress Report

rrothe — Mon, 10 May 2010 16:02:27 +0000

Our mission is to spiritually transform people who transform their cultures. How can we measure if we are being successful and taking steps toward that mission? This question is the reason we divide the calendar year at Relevant into three trimesters (4 months each): Spring, Summer, and Fall. At the end of every trimester we focus on what God wants to do in and through us over the next four months to take steps toward achieving the mission He has called us to. Then, at the end of every trimester we take a look back to see if we actually took steps forward.

May 1^st starts the beginning of the summer trimester. I know we are yet to be the transforming church God wants us to be; however, looking back at the Spring trimester, I see that we have definitely taken steps in the right direction. Below is a “Progress Report” chart that explains how we have taken steps forward in some different areas up to this point. As you read over this, my prayer is that you become as excited as I am about how God has worked thus far.

	Launch Period 5 monthly services from 4/09-8/09	2009 Fall Trimester 9/09-12/09	2010 Spring Trimester 1/10-4/10
GLOCAL TRANSFORMATION
Culture Investment Initiatives	N/A	N/A	N/A
Nation Engagement Initiatives	N/A	N/A	2*
Church Multiplication Initiatives - # of Churches helped launched	0	1	0
$ given to 3 T-CHURCH Initiatives	$583	$3,213	$5,638
WORSHIP
Average Worship Service Attendance	67	98	139
Average Kids (Birth-5^th Grade) in Relevant Kids	15	19	36
COMMUNITY
# of Regular Attendees	50	131	207
# of Members	0	0	0
# of Small Groups	2	4	10
# of people engaged in Small Groups	9	50	103
SPIRITUAL TRANSFORMATION
% of church financially tithing	4%	6%	4%
% of church giving regularly	12%	11%	25%
# of indicated faith commitments	3	10	21
# of baptisms	0	10	N/A
MINISTRY
# of people serving	26	48	63
# of paid staff	1	2	3

* = (1) Supported a missionary to Austria, (2) Haitian earthquake relief

Get Baptized THIS Sunday

rrothe — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 16:18:44 +0000

This Sunday is our Summer Relaunch Service. We are going to start doing baptisms at every Relaunch Service starting this Sunday. I can’t wait for Sunday. Baptizing people is one of my favorite things to do, because of what it means and signifies. We would like to see everyone at Relevant who should be baptized, get baptized this Sunday. However, a lot of people have asked me what baptism means, and if they should be baptized. In order to help answer those questions, below is a quick synopsis of what Relevant believes about baptism. Some of your questions may also be answered in the sermon I gave on baptism on 11/15/2009, which can be found on the podcast. If after reading over this and listening to that sermon, you feel like it is time for you to “take the plunge” :), sign up on the website by Friday. If you have any questions, or would like to talk more about baptism, please feel free to call or email. We would love to help you work through everything. Finally, to get an idea of what a baptism looks like at Relevant, I have included a picture from our last baptism service from November. As you can see…it isn’t that scary :)!

Pastor Ronnie

What Relevant Believes about Baptism

What does baptism mean?

· Baptism does not make you a Christian: Baptism publicly illustrates what took place in a person’s heart when they became a follower of Christ

· Baptism illustrates a follower of Christ uniting with Jesus’ death and burial: Baptism is a symbolic water grave that illustrates the death and burial of a person’s old, sinful life when they become a follow of Christ by putting their faith in Jesus (1 Cor. 15:3-4)

· Baptism illustrates a follower of Christ uniting with Jesus’ resurrection and new life: Every person who puts their faith in Jesus goes from spiritual death to spiritual life. For Christ followers, baptism is a symbolic resurrection to a new Christ-centered life free from the slavery of sin (1 Cor. 15:3-4, Rom. 6:4)

When is a good time to get baptized?

· When you become a Follower of Christ: As soon as you have put your faith in Jesus by asking him to be the forgiver of your sins and leader of your life, you can and should be baptized. There is no reason to delay! If you’re waiting until you’re perfect, you’ll never be ready. (Acts 8:36-38)

Why get baptized?

· To publicly declare a new association to follow Jesus – someone other than whom you have been following before: The act of baptism is as an outward expression of an inward decision

· It connects and binds us to the community of faith: Baptism is not just an individual experience. When a person is baptized into Christ, they are joined with his body (the Church). (Rom. 12:13)

· To follow Jesus’ example (Mark 1:9)

· Jesus commanded it (Matt. 28:19-20)

How does Relevant do Baptism?

· Baptism by immersion: Others hold varying thoughts and traditions related to baptism, but from where Relevant stands, the metaphor of immersion is both dramatic and significant. Through baptism we are drenched in God, enveloped in God’s presence, and brought from death to life. The water grave is a perfect expression of this reality

· Infant Baptism: Some denominations choose to baptize infants. While we recognize the right of other churches to practice infant baptism, we understand Scripture to teach that only professing followers of Christ qualify for baptism. Baptism does not make you a Christian, rather it shows you believe. At Relevant, we practice the dedication of infants, rather than the baptism of infants.

Team Player Reloading

rrothe — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 15:23:20 +0000

We call all of our volunteers at Relevant…Team Players. Not just because it is a cool name, but because we really believe that advancing God’s Kingdom is a team sport that must be done together. The entire church needs to be engaged as “players” for God to do what He wants to do through us. The more people we have on the sidelines…the less we can accomplish!

During the last month of every trimester, we try to reload all of our teams in preperation for the upcoming trimester. April is the final month of the Spring trimester. That means, throughout this month, we are reloading all of our teams for the Summer trimester.

Are you a team player? I challenge you as much as I possibly can to engage as a player on one of the teams at Relevant. Why? Well…just read through Exodus 18. Here is what you will discover.

People will burn out if we don’t operate as a BODY!
The process of advancing God’s Kingdom is way too slow with only a few people doing it
Getting engaged is the first step toward “bigger” leadership in the future.

If you are not a team player, please engage! There are a number of teams to choose from. It is only a 4 month (trimester) commitment. Go the the serving page and fill out the team player questionnaire. We will follow up with you quickly and get you engaged.

Our mission at Relevant is to spiritually transform our cultures. You are a huge part of this!

Pastor Ronnie

Easter Service

rrothe — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 15:42:23 +0000

This Sunday is Easter Service. I am so excited for this service. Not just because we get to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus, but because this is a day I believe many lives can and will be spiritually transformed.

There is something special about Easter. God seems to move in a special way on this day. Is there something mystical to this day? I don’t know. All I know is that I have seen people who were uninterested in Jesus come to church on Easter (because it is the religious thing to do) and be completely transformed.

So…I challenge you! I challenge you to come to service this Sunday. I challenge you to open up your heart and life to the possibility that God wants to do something amazing in you. I challenge you not to just show up becuase it is the religious thing to do, but to come expecting that Jesus is going to spiritually transformed you…regardless of where you are on your spiritual journey. It is going to be an amazing Sunday. Don’t miss it.

Pastor Ronnie