Happy Easter!

Vicki's folks

Since I have a RED's (CB Regional Executive Director) meeting in Southern Wisconsin on Monday, April 25, this Easter, Vicki and I will be celebrating with her folks in Morton, IL, near Peoria, in central Illinois. We will be visiting the church that she attended with her folks while growing up, Grace Evangelical Mennonite Church. Yea, it's not a CB church, but they believe in the resurrection just the same. Easter is the centerpiece of Christianity and remains the foundation of our faith that all believers stand on: baptists, evangelical mennonites, evangelical free, and others. We all believe and celebrate that Jesus rose from the dead.

Easter is a big deal--bigger than your birthday, your anniversary, and your sermon series. Celebrate it in a big way! You'll have some guests come on Easter as well. Andy Stanley said, "The Church is a family expecting guests." Treat them well. The more prepared you are to receive guests, the more guests you'll have. Nelson Searcy says in his book Fusion, "In the first seven minutes of contact with your church, your first-time guests will know whether or not they are coming back." That's before the singing even starts. He mentions four keys to welcoming guests: Greet (welcome at the door with a smile); Direct (signs or people directing guests to children's facilities, restrooms and sanctuary); Treat (show respect and comfort, perhaps some food and beverage); and finally Seat (assist to a comfortable seat).

Make the most of Easter, and then in two weeks....Mother's Day! We don't often get these two busy Sundays so close.

Sincerely,

Jim Smith

Executive Director

CB Southern California

Japan Relief News

Thank you for the financial support that is flowing in from our CB churches to help our CB churches in Japan. Already over $10,000 has come in from two churches. More is to come. Thank you on behalf of our fellow believers in Japan.
 

The massive 9.0 magnitude earthquake hit the Pacific Ocean and nearby Northeastern Japan on March 11 at around 2:46pm causing damage with blackouts, fire and tsunami. 

According to our CBGlobal President, Rene Atienza, we have about 80 CB churches in Japan, a majority of which are located in the NorthEast region where the disaster happened.

CBJapan has established a separate fund to help on behalf of our brethren and churches in Japan. They need all the assistance they can get to reconstruct their homes and church buildings on top of rebuilding their broken spirits. To find out more and where you can donate, click here. 

Following Pastor Tom Mercer's message at our Annual meeting, CB Southern California is encouraging pastors and church leaders to attend his one-day workshop at his church, High Desert Church, in Victorville on Friday, May 20.

Register your team now for this highly customized workshop at High Desert Church. During the workshop, your team will find out how to implement an Oikos philosophy of ministry throughout your church.

- A full day session with Pastor Tom Mercer and his Senior Leadership Team (SLT).

- Breakout sessions with each of the SLT members throughout the day.

- Snacks and refreshments provided throughout the workshop.

- Breakout sessions with each of the SLT members throughout the day.

- 2 meals provided on Friday (lunch and dinner).

- All of this for one flat fee of $79 per person (does not include travel and lodging).

What previous attendees have said: 

    "I thought the passion and strategy for oikocentric ministry was very motivational. I am so glad I came."

    "Thank you for taking such good care of us! For the price, the content, the food, the materials were outstanding. I want to encourage other pastors to participate."

    "The materials were clear and helpful. It was very helpful to see how the idea of oikos evangelism and discipleship is incorporated throughout all church ministries."

    "The materials were amazing-a lot more detail than I expected."

To Register and for more information, please contact:

 Executive Pastor Jack Hamilton

  760-245-2415

info@oikoschurches.com 

30 Years in Fullerton

On April 3, 2011, Temple Baptist Church of Fullerton will celebrate the 30th Anniversary of their Senior Pastor, Joe LoMusio. Joe, along with his wife Linda and their two daughters, came to Fullerton in April of 1981 after pastoring two churches in the Phoenix area for eight years. Pastor Joe also works with numerous Korean seminaries and is currently the President of Biblical International in South Korea where he visits annually for lectures and preaching opportunities. Pastor Joe has the most senior pastor seniority in CBSC. Joe has served on the CBSC Board including as Vice-president for one term. He has worked with CBSC executive directors dating all the way back to Dr. Frank Kennedy, and remembers when Evangelical Christian Credit Union was called the Conservative Baptist Credit Union and was housed at Grace Baptist of Anaheim. (That's some good CBSC trivia!) Congratulations, Pastor Joe!

Coaching Clinic at Montebello Christian

Sunrise Church Delays Time Change

On Sunday, March 13, while the rest of the country lost an hour of sleep because of the time change, those attending Sunrise Church in Rialto didn't lose that hour of sleep. People were told in emails and from the pulpit that on March 13, "Morning services will remain on Pacific Standard Time until after the 11:00 a.m. service." Sunrise holds services on Sundays at 9 am and 11 am. They changed their clocks Sunday afternoon. Some enjoyed not losing any sleep.

Most churches would like to see 10% giving from their members and CB Southern California would like to see 1% giving to them from their churches.

Click here to see more about giving trends in American churches.

Merge Vote Passes at West L.A. 

The vote for First Baptist Church of West Los Angeles to merge with Shoreline Church passed with 91 percent of the congregation voting for it. As of Easter Sunday, the two churches will combine and will be, "Cornerstone Baptist Church of West Los Angeles." They are praising God and praying He will continue to reach out to West Los Angeles through Cornerstone W.L.A. as He has through both churches throughout their histories. 

Christianity Today published an interesting article about the 27 most common hymns. They write that "There are many ways to identify the most lasting or best loved hymns among American Protestants. But what would we find by looking at all 28 hymnals published by mainline Protestant denominations from the late 1800s to the present? Out of almost 5,000 hymns, how many would appear in all 28 hymnals? Finalists had to be written in the late 1800s or earlier and still appear in current mainline Protestant hymnals. They had to appear in at least 26 of the 28 hymnals in the inventory. Where an original edition of a hymnal was not available, a revision of the hymnal was substituted. Christmas carols, choruses, and service music are not included in the database."

The most common hymns are:

1. Abide with Me, Fast Falls the Eventide

2. All Hail the Power of Jesus Name

3. Come Ye Thankful People Come

4. Crown Him with Many Crowns

5. Glorious Things of Thee are Spoken   

for the rest of the top 27, click here

Amazing Grace didn't place in the top 27. read why  

Mission Statements in Churches

Peter Steinke is a respected leader in church life as a congregational systems consultant who has been a pastor, educator and therapist for clergy. In an interesting article in Church Executive on Mission Statements, he says, "One problem with church mission statements is that they are not statements, but more like creeds - far too long. Someone said mission statements should be one sentence in length (and without more than one comma), understood by a 12-year old, and repeatable at gun point. A second problem is many statements are not converted to actions. They do not inform and shape staffing, budgeting, or programming."

read the whole article