News from Grace Church

Grace Connection

...where real life meets real faith

August 2007

Greetings!

I received a Grace youth newsletter from Wes Tarbox last week and it got me thinking. Wes said, "I have encouraged and challenged your teen to understand just how special they are, the fact they have been chosen by God who has great things in store for them, that they are part of a "team" with an important role to play, and to better understand and realize the power of prayer and consistent Bible Study and its impact upon their lives as they seek to know God's will for them. Ask them if they are studying their "playbook". They'll know what you're talking about. :-)"

Wes continued, "Seriously, if we all studied God's Word as often and with as much zeal as an athlete studies his/her playbook, or as a student of history memorizes thousands of facts, or as a musician who is preparing for a recital... how much more would we really "know" God and His plan for us? I think if we're honest, we'd admit we often set our "playbook" down at the side of the bed, or on a shelf. After all, we tend to pick them up on our way to church Sunday mornings, and maybe for an occasional Bible Study meeting. Oftentimes, Bible memory is something for young, primary-aged kids to get involved in, and once we become pre-teens, teens, and adults, it becomes a thing of the past. That is too bad. I wonder if we were in a foreign country where Bibles were scarce... could we, as individuals or collectively as a group, remember/recite most of it so we could effectively study our playbook? Maybe, maybe not. But the challenge is there and it's real. Our kids need to take ownership of their walk with Christ, and part of that is developing a passion to study His directives for us."

Ouch - that hurt! Am I really in the "playbook" often enough to hear my precious Savior speaking? This month Joel is calling for the people of Grace Church to unite as a team...cohesive, moving in the same direction, for the same purpose. How about spending some time in the "playbook" today?

Sheila Hoekstra

Ministry Development

The Mission...

The community of Grace is here to reach people for Christ and to help those who already believe in Christ to become more like Him.

Team Work!
I'll be one of the first to admit that the use of "team" as it refers to a group of people working together is overrated. It was in the 90's that most churches began replacing their boards and committees with teams - as if the new terminology meant a new structure or a new way of doing things. Old practices don't change because of new terminology.

Though you won't find the word in the Bible (its actually there, but refers to a bunch of animals), the concept is certainly there. I believe that the "team concept" best expresses what the Bible instructs us to be as the body of Christ. It's how God wants us to function. It's what God wants us to be. "The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body." ^NIV1 Corinthians 12:12

Over the past two years we have slowly been redesigning all of the ministries at Grace to function as ministry teams. The Pastors and Elders serve as the equippers (Ephesians 4:12), the team leader serves as the captain, and the lay people serve as ministers who use their gifts for the accomplishment of the goal. That's what a team is all about. Together we run the race (1 Corinthians 9:24). We meet together on a regular basis to plan, pray and to work on the implementation of our goals.

If you have ever gone to a sports event where teams participate, the Biblical illustration becomes very clear. My daughters run track, so I will use that as an example. They don't run in every event, but they do participate in the event that they are trained (or gifted) for. In fact, they would soon grow weary if they went to the meets but could only sit in the stands and watch the others participate. They win individual prizes, but the team gets the victory if the individuals do their part.

At Grace, we are building a church where each ministry teams work in cooperation with each other in an effort to accomplish our mission - to reach our community for Christ and to help those who believe to become more like Him. It's real easy for us to build "silo ministries" where each one does their own thing. But that's not Biblical. My vision for Grace is that we function as a team. "Under His direction, the whole body is fitted together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love" ^(NLTEphesians 4:16).

On His team,

Pastor Joel

Are you part of Team Grace?

Get to know more about Grace by contacting Sheila Hoekstra at sheila@grace-efc.org or 972.727.4512. Discover Grace and Membership Classes coming soon!

Real People

The following interview was conducted with Theresa Brandt. Theresa serves God at Grace in a staff position directing the Creative Worship Team (C.W.T.). Theresa is married to Craig and has three children.

1. What has God been teaching you lately?

Patience! I have to wait on Him and His timing for everything in my life and right now I am trying to be still, notice I said trying.

2. What is the most important thing you've learned about walking with God?

No matter what is going on in my life He is the one who I can trust, He is always there.

3. How do you keep your time with God fresh?

Well, I have to admit that sometimes I don't keep it fresh. It gets pushed on the back burner because of the busyness of life. I like to be in a study or guide to keep me on track. Also, I have learned that my time with God is really all day and in everything I do. I learned a while back in a women's bible study that we did at Grace, how to converse with Him all day. It's like when you first meet your spouse, you can't stop thinking about him/her and you can hardly function or you can go on little else because he or she is in your constant thought. That is what I want, for God to be in my constant thought, which is how it will affect everything I do.

4. Who was influential in your spiritual growth?

My husband, Craig.

5. If you could experience an event in the Bible, which one would you choose?

That is a tough question; it would be the birth of Jesus, the woman at the well, or I would be Mary at Jesus' feet.

6. How has being in a Life Group at Grace impacted your life and the life of your family?

I can not say enough about life groups and being involved in one. It is the best way to get to know people/families on a deeper more intimate level. It is so nice to have a group of people who are going through life and sharing in good times and hard times together...we are not going it alone. We consider our life group like family.

7. What is something the people of Grace would be surprised to know about you?

I have a twin brother.

8. Some Day I'd like to...

hike the Grand Canyon.