Over 50 pastors and leaders came to hear Harvey Turner and Chad Vegas at Cornerstone Church in West LA on Tuesday, February 25. Preach shorter messages, have one point, preach Christ, focus on Jesus, preach to Christians but also to those unbelievers in your midst as the apostle Paul did, were just a few of the suggestions that were made throughout the 4-hour event. Members of Pacific Church Network and Acts 29 churches were in attendance. Thanks to Cornerstone Church for hosting this event. 

Twice a year, Pacific Church Network provides a lunch for pastors from churches that have over 1,000 in attendance. This past month, we hosted a K-Club meeting with Harvey Turner, who is lead pastor of Living Stones Church in Reno--attendance of about 3,000, with 4 campuses. The average age of Living Stones attenders is 27. How do they reach the younger generation? The group had a chance to ask this qustion and a number of others. Harvey gave several examples and suggestions on what they did, such as hire a young staff who is seen up front  and preach Jesus. He explained that he has found the younger generation doesn't know Jesus, but they respond to hearing about him and his teachings. Always bring it back to Jesus.

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In a headline that is almost surreal, NBCOlympics.com reported that "David Wise's alternative lifestyle leads to Olympic gold." What radical circumstances in the Olympian's life led to this distinction? Wise is 23, married, with a two-year old daughter. "At such a young age, Wise has the lifestyle of an adult," the article goes on to say. "He also attends church regularly and says he could see himself becoming a pastor a little later down the road." "David is one of those rare people with intellect, ability and personality,"  said John McKendricks, the Wises' pastor at Valley View Christian Fellowship in South Reno. "David likes to be an example. He's a nurturer." But David still has fun leading his church's youth group of 30 young people with his wife Lexi." How astonishing that the type of loving family that built this country would suddenly be dubbed an "alternative lifestyle!"

On Saturday, February 22, over 20 church leaders from our Spanish-speaking congregations came to hear Pastor Gerardo Zavala speak on improving communication skills when sharing the Word of God. The training was greatly appreciated, and one pastor said it made him think differently in a positive way. Very helpful. This was a free event provided by Pacific Church Network and held at San Antonio Heights Community Church in Upland, CA. The church not only hosted this event, but is the location of our Pacific Church Network offices.

Cornerstone West LA hosted a Valentine's Banquet. The event started with a fun "Newlywed Games." Then, following dinner and before dessert, they had a few couples discuss how they handle topics like conflict, business, sexual issues and more. The couples and questions were handpicked before the banquet, and the couples were given four minutes each to share their answers. Over 150 people came to the event. Cornerstone is following up this banquet with their "Understanding Sex Conference" on March 1. 

On January 27, the Fallbrook Pregnancy Resource Center welcomed a new executive director, Carolyn Koole. Carolyn and her husband recently moved to Temecula from Grand Rapids, Michigan where she held the position of executive director of the Alpha Women's Center for seven years. She is married to Dr. Richard Koole, the new senior pastor at Fallbrook First Baptist Church, and the couple has five children and six grandchildren. The center's mission is to provide help for those in pregnancy related crises and life-affirming care for the unborn. Carolyn Koole was formally introduced to the community at the Fallbrook Pregnancy Resource Center's annual fundraising banquet on February 22 at Zion Lutheran Church.

We are now financially supporting six church plants: Mission 316, Seed, Tradewind Communities, CityLights, Soma and Uptown Whittier. At least 22 people have been baptized recently through our church plants. We pray for more. This takes a financial commitment from all of our network churches to continue to support our ever-growing new churches. In 2014, Pacific Church Network is asking all those churches who have been with CB Southern California to recommit to the new network. We are asking for three commitments: agree to our statement of faith, agree to financially support our network with a significant monthly gift, and agree to actively attempt to participate in the network.  Check out those who have already signed their new covenant. We're excited about our future. Please sign the covenant and send it to the Pacific Church Network office. 

 

In December, Derek Greenhalgh became the new pastor of First Baptist Church in Sun City. Soon afterward, he had the opportunity to organized and attend a winter retreat up at Thousand Pines Camp. Not only did a strong number of teens attend, but 5 students acknowledged Jesus as their Lord and Savior during the retreat. The youth and church ministry is growing. 

 

Come get a free lunch! WorldVenture's President, Jeff Denlinger, will be in town on March 12 and would like to get some time interacting with pastors from around the LA/OC area. JJ Harling, the SW Regional Mission Director, and Jeff will be hosting a lunch at Calvary Baptist Huntington Beach on the 12th at noon. Jeff will share a bit about how a deep embrace of the power of the Gospel will ultimately result in a radical shift in what "missions" looks like, and in who can get engaged in it. Come to lunch to hear more and get to know Jeff!

 

RSVP and further details at the following link: http://worldventurelunch.eventzilla.net or contact JJ Harling directly at j.harling@worldventure.com.

 

 

Thanks again for reading our newsletter. Go to our facebook page for more information. Like us. Become our friend. We need friends. Please be our friend on facebook. Please. Also, did you know that the Disney movie "Frozen" is the 19th highest grossing movie worldwide of all time. $980 million. Amazing. It is good.

 

 

Compassion Sunday is a special, annual event that draws the attention of the Church to the needs of the world's poorest children.

This is your opportunity to share your heart for the poor with those who could help change their lives forever.

We anticipate that 15,000 children will find hope and begin a new life on this very special day.

The official date for this year's Compassion Sunday is May 4, 2014 (but you can choose any date that best suits your church).

more information

 

According to Christianity Today, seven Christian men have been shot execution-style on a beach outside Benghazi, security officials in Libya announced Monday. Libya, particularly the Benghazi area, is hostile to Christianity. The nation rose from number 17 last year to number 13 this year on Open Doors' World Watch List, which labeled Libya as the "most difficult North African country in which to be a Christian." Religion News Service recently reported on the religious freedom concerns of Libya's Christians, most of whom are foreign workers. 

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The movie "Son of God" opens up in a theatre near you this weekend.

Told with the scope and scale of an action epic, the film features powerful performances, exotic locales, dazzling visual effects and a rich orchestral score from Oscar-winner Hans Zimmer.  

 

Oleksandr Turchynov, a well-known Baptist pastor and top opposition politician in Ukraine, took office on Sunday, Feb. 23, as acting president after the Parliament voted to oust President Yanukovych. 

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