REFUEL

Is your tank empty? Running on fumes?
We are in a message series called "Refuel" on Sunday mornings! Come and learn how to fill your tank and re-connect with God in 2010!!
Don't miss it! Bring a friend!

KIDVENTURE IS RE-LAUNCHING IN 2010

WORK DAY THIS SATURDAY, JANUARY 16 @ 9:00 A.M.
Please come help us set-up our Nursery and Pre-K/K rooms this weekend. We have many items which need to be brought back into the church following the cleaning. We are praying for a great turnout to make the workload light!!

ANNOUNCING THE GRAND OPENING OF OUR NEW KIDVENTURE ROOM
While Nursery and Pre-K/K rooms will be ready for this weekend's services, our Grade School (Grades 1-5) room (large room) will likely take another couple weeks for reconstruction. Painting, flooring, etc. will be accomplished over the next couple weeks and we are tentatively planning for the first weekend of February to host a GRAND RE-OPENING PARTY!! The room will be lively, exciting, and will soon be filled with all new equipment. There will even be money to address needs in all other areas. The Kidventure areas will be better than ever!! Our children's ministry director (Lisa Guy) will be asking all parents, teachers, and church members to prayerfully support the re-launching of Kidventure at NVC.

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED!!
Lisa Guy and the children's ministry team need your help and support! If you enjoy teaching, encouraging, serving children in any number of capacities, please contact Lisa Guy (lisa@new-venture-church.org) to find out more about getting involved. We are going to be directly asking every parent whose child/children are in Kidventure to give at least one weekend service every six weeks to serve and support Kidventure. This does not necessarily mean teaching, but could also include registration, organizing, encouraging, activities, etc. You will be equipped and trained regarding whatever area of service best fits you.

Lisa has done a fantastic job leading Kidventure at NVC! We are blessed with great leadership and vision. One of the first things people say about NVC is that their kids loved it and wanted to come back! She would be the first to say that her Kidventure staff has helped make the ministry successful. We need your continued help as we move forward and need others to step up as this ministry grows! We need an influx of 12-15 new people right away across the board in Children's Ministry (Nursery - 5th Grade) right away!! Please consider stepping forward and serving our children.

A FRESH START FOR HT3 YOUTH @ NVC

As you know, Chad Brown has departed from NVC and has enrolled in classes at Liberty University, where he will be pursuing his Master's degree. Our prayers go with him and his family. One of the great things he was able to accomplish was to pull together an awesome team of leaders who will be serving our teenagers under Pastor Lee Turner's leadership as we move forward.

Here are our HT3 team members:
Yasmin Gonzalez
Chris Pauley
Shane Sadler
David "Pete" Morrison
Joey Williams
Heather Benn
Lineva Springer
Dee Maynard
Theresa Bailey
Pastor Lee Turner 321-615-0086 lturner005@cfl.rr.com
Pastor Charlie Arms

This group is excited and passionate about loving and encouraging our teenagers. It has been a tough few weeks for our teens as they have lost their youth pastor and had their room at the church vandalized. However, the resolve I see in the youth and youth leadership team is incredible and I believe this team will be stronger than ever in the New Year. Please support HT3 youth with your prayers as we build a safe, encouraging, and inspiring environment for them heading into 2010!! There will be a GRAND RE-OPENING OF THE HT3 ROOM IN EARLY FEBRUARY as re-construction comes to an end. A new era begins!!For now, the group is meeting (Grades 6-12) on Thursday nights at 6:30 p.m. in our worship auditorium!

THE PERFECT PASTOR

THIS WAS SENT TO ME IN AN EMAIL RECENTLY:

A recent survey has compiled all the qualities that people expect from the perfect pastor. Here we share some of them with you.

Results of a computerized survey indicated that the perfect pastor preaches exactly 12 minutes. He frequently condemns sin but never upsets anyone.
He works from 8: a.m. until midnight and is also a janitor.
He makes $60 a week, wears good clothes, buys good books, drives a good car, and gives about $80 a week to the poor.
He is 28 years of age, and he's been preaching for 30 years.
He is wonderfully gentle and handsome.
He gives of himself completely but never gets too close to anyone lest he be criticized. He speaks boldly on social issues, but must never become politically involved.
He has a burning desire to work with teenagers; he spends all his time with senior citizens.
He makes 15 calls daily on parish families, visits shut-ins and the hospitalized, spends all his time evangelizing the unchurched, and is always in his office when needed.
If your pastor does not measure up, simply send this letter to six other churches that are tired of their pastor too. Then bundle up your pastor and send him to the church at the top of this list. In one week you will receive 1,643 pastors; at least one of them should be perfect.
Have faith in this letter. One church broke the chain and got its old pastor back in less than 30 days.

O, how miserably I fail.
Blessings
<><
Charlie

(Thanks Dee for sharing this!)

ON THE SIDELINE?

I love sports! I am SOOOOO happy that college football season is back! As much as I love watching sports, I have always enjoyed playing sports even more. As time moves on, I find that I am more often watching from the sidelines or stands. I miss participating in the games. I am making a commitment today to participate in more games! I'm going to have to get myself in better physical shape and make time for the games!
As a Christian, it is easy to spend more time watching others serve Christ than it is to "get in the game" and be a participant. Are you willing to get in the game? Getting in spiritual shape is as easy as taking a moment to pray and commit yourself to getting off the sideline or out of the stands and into the "game". Then, you have to "make time" for Christ. The great news about serving God is that you never have to retire and there are NO boundaries (except, self-imposed) which prevent us from participating in some way!
As in any sport, there seem to be more people in the stands than in the game! This should not be so in God's kingdom? Anyone agree?

UNCOMFORTABLE

Over the past 18 years in ministry, I have learned to deeply appreciate Jesus' words in Matthew 16:24, which instruct us to "take up our cross" and follow Him. This calling is why pastors, missionaries, and devout Christians of all backgrounds are willing to make incredible sacrifices to share Christ and serve others.
In stark contrast to these words, it would seem the church has developed the twisted logic that being a Christian should make life easier and going to "church" should be comfortable. Instead of preaching a message of ease and comfort, it would be more appropriate to say that following Jesus will mess with your life and create chaos. This position is most highly confirmed by Scripture!
I would even argue that if you are COMFORTABLE as a Christian, you NEED A CHANGE! Only in places of comfort are we most vulnerable. Only in places of comfort are we less likely to take the kind of risks Jesus would desire. When you are willing to be UNCOMFORTABLE, you will grow and be blessed more than ever. For the sake of Christ...FLEE FROM COMFORT!
CHARLIE

METAMORPHOSIS

As most of you know, our church building is undergoing a series of renovations and will be transformed into a more aesthetically pleasing and logistically dynamic facility. THIS PROCESS IS A MESSY AFFAIR! Dust, debris, noise, and disorder are all realities we face during this remodeling process. No area of New Venture Church will be left untouched by this metamorphosis. The process of change and transformation is often awkward and inconvenient. We are all required to have patience and understanding.

On the "flip-side of the coin", this remodeling project will enhance church life for everyone at NVC and make most of our ministries more effective. We will gain usable space, maximize our facility, and have a more attractive place. In short, all the pain and discomfort have the end goal of greater effectiveness for our ministry.

Jesus used object lessons to teach and it would be senseless for us not to examine our current paradigm in the context of our journey of faith. The lesson Jesus would probably have us embrace is that CHANGE AND TRANSFORMATION IS OFTEN MESSY, BUT THE REWARDS ARE GREAT!

In Luke 5, Jesus used this analogy:
"No one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the new wine will burst the skins, the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, new wine must be poured into new wineskins. And no one after drinking old wine wants the new, for he says, 'The old is better.' "

When we become Christians (or take fresh steps of faith), we begin a process of being a "new creation". The image I get is of new wine being poured over my life. At first, it runs into my "old wineskin" or my old way of thinking and behaving and there is the inevitable conflict, turmoil, and frustation because I am not immediately a "new creation".

We must first acknowledge that SPIRITUAL TRANSFORMATION TAKES YEARS...NOT MINUTES! When we initially make the decision to follow Christ, we try to do better and make the appropriate changes in our lives. However, the process of transformation is not always simple and easy, but is often quite MESSY!! When we acknowledge our need for God, begin to desire more of what He has for us, and begin this process of spiritual transformation, we often assume that we should be super-Christians within a matter of days. Unfortunately, we are tempted to believe that this decision will make life easier and all our problems will mystically disappear.

The late Mike Yaconelli wrote a book entitled, "Messy Spirituality", which describes the patience and understanding needed during the process of spiritual transformation. As new Christians, we often thinkI would recommend this book, which is available on Amazon. The FACTS are these: When we are new and/or young Christians, we know little about the Bible, which is a Christian's main source of guidance. Therefore, we are prone to many mistakes from simple ignorance. At this early point in our faith, we usually have very few "Christian" friends, so we try to rationalize our own way through decisions and face our struggles alone. We have not yet realized and/or had the opportunity to appreciate the benefits of Christian"family". As new and/or young Christians, we also bring our baggage and bad habits over with us into our so-called "new life".

I want to encourage all of you in your faith journey to prepare for a "marathon" not a "sprint". Your journey is bound to be MESSY, but realize that true spiritual transformation requires a complete paradigm shift in our thinking (Romans 12:1-3). Start thinking long-term and begin with little steps. It's not how you start your journey that counts or how many bumps in the road you encounter, but how you finish the journey that determines success! The end result is worth it!!