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Pacific Church NetworkMay 2015
Recognition
As our plane approached its destination on a trip I was taking, the flight crew announced that our plane held 10 young men on their way to Camp Pendleton to serve our country. Most of the passengers burst into applause. Well done. This month we are encouraged to remember those who fought for our country as well as remember and honor our mothers. It is also good to recognize those who have blessed your life. As Paul wrote, "Such men deserve recognition." (1 
Cor. 16:18 NLT) 

During my adolescent years, my dad served on the staff of Moody Church in Chicago, and I was privileged to have Warren W. Wiersbe as my pastor. I heard many sermons that ended up in the "Be" commentary series. I remember he once said, "The past can be a rudder to steer you in the right direction or an anchor that weighs you down." Wise words. Pastor Wiersbe is living now in Lincoln, Nebraska. A few years ago, I wrote a letter to him expressing my appreciation for all he had done for me when my dad died, and the positive influence he has been to me throughout the years.  

Take time to recognize those who deserve it. Write to them. Enjoy reading our newsletter.

 

Sincerely,

Jim Smith
Pacific Church Network

 

Outreach and Evangelism Workshop
Tuesday, May 12 /
Reaching Your City
Pastor Tom Mercer
Tom Mercer is pastor of High Desert Church in Victorville, CA. Through Tom's leadership and dedication to the "Oikos" idea of doing evangelism, HDC has grow to approximately 12,000 active participants and is a multi-site  church reaching out to four different regional communities (Victorville, Apple Valley, Phelan and Hesperia). If you want to reach more people for Christ, make this day a priority and attend this free workshop at San Antonio Heights Community Church in Upland. Sign up here
.

 

Armenian Church Genocide Memorial
Unveiling of the Khachkar Memorial
Pastor Dikran and Sioni Shanlian with Jim and Vicki Smith
On Saturday, April 18, the Armenian Evangelical Brethren Church in Glendale, a Pacific Church Network member, held a special ceremony to unveil the Khachkar, a permanent stone cross memorial outside their church, in remembrance of the genocide of 1.5 million Armenian Martyrs which happened 100 years ago. The memorial took eight months to create. Pastor Dikran Shanlian gave the closing remarks of a special ceremony, which included: Zareh Sinanyan, Mayor of Glendale; Ardashes Kassakhian, City Clerk of Glendale; Levon Fillian, West Coast Director of the Armenian Missionary Association of America; Jim Smith, Pacific Church Network Executive Director; and a "Hayastan" string quartet. See more pictures on our Pacific Church Network facebook page. 

 

New Pastor in Simi Valley
Christian Fellowship Church

CFC is thankful to welcome their new pastor, Rommel Tahimik. In God's providence, Rommel's calling to preach and his desire to minister to Filipinos brought him and his wife to this PCN member church in Simi Valley. Pastor Rommell is working towards his Masters of Divinity at The Master's Seminary in Sun Valley and will be in his second year this Fall. Serving alongside him is his wife, Angel Tahimik. They live in San Fernando Valley with their two golden retrievers. As Christian Fellowship Church and the Tahimik family receive one another, they praise the Lord for answering their prayers in a way only He can.

  
Easter at Tradewinds Church
Hog Throwdown!
On Easter, our church plant in Kailua, Oahu, Tradewinds Churchhad over 130 people in attendance. They had a number of non-believing families attend, with three decisions for Christ, and a beach baptism held later in April. After their Easter worship service, they had a "Tradewinds Easter Hog Throwdown" where people brought their best pork dish to share and enter into a
friendly competition. They had ham, ribs, bbq pulled pork, bacon wrapped cinnamon rolls--even an imu pork shoulder ("imu pork" is a native Hawaiian method of slow cooking where you wrap the meat in ti leaves and slow cook it in the ground using hot rocks). Pastor Sean Palmer wrote, "The winner was our friend Jenna who made chile verde--she also took home our 'Meat Champ' trophy. I included her victory photo-booth picture because it was so funny! We had the most volunteers leading and serving that we've had to date to make both our service and our party such great times of celebration. We were all so stoked! " 

Women's Breakfast Very Encouraging
Brunch in Bell Gardens

On Saturday, April 11, close to 100 women came to the Spanish-language brunch from 8 different churches. Nancy Czerwiak was the guest communicator and spoke on, "Beautiful Woman as a Pearl," based on Proverbs 3:15. Many women expressed it was a blessing and left motivated to continue being submissive, obedient, wise, hard-working and good administrative women. Many thanks go to our hospitable church, Iglesia Bautista de Bell Gardens, and to Pastor Emilio Nu�ez for making their facilities available and for all of their attentions toward this event. Thank you also to the wonderful coordinators Norma Bustos, Patsy Mazariegos and Mali Reguerin.

Spring Retreat Refreshing
Spring Women's Retreat
2015 English-language Spring Retreat
On the weekend of April 10-12, women from six churches gathered at Murrieta Hot Springs Conference Center for a great weekend of encouragement, relaxation and fellowship. Most of the available spaces were filled up, but a number of women also came for the one-day Saturday pass to hear Vicki Smith speak, sing with the music leader, Lisa Woods, and enjoy the mineral Hot Springs. Next year's Spring Retreat, April 8-10, 2016 will expand to allow for more women. Check our website for more details. The English-language Fall Retreat at Pine Summit is September 25-27, with Noe'l Robbins speaking. Rooms are still available, but sign up soon!!! Our Spanish-language Women's Retreat is September 18-20 at the Murrieta Hot Springs Conference Center with guest speaker, Ana Maria Granados. Sign up now. 
Women's Retreats

Western Seminary
20% Discount

Western Seminary, affiliated with Pacific Church Network and CBAmerica, offers a 20% discount to all PCN church staff members. They now offer an online campus. Courses include a MinD (90 credits) and a MA (60 credits). This is an excellent opportunity to continue your education, but stay where you are. For more information, contact [email protected]. Western also sponsor a free workshop in Portland called the Spurgeon Fellowship. Find out more here.
  
Independence, California
Perry White Moving
On Sunday, April 25, Pastor Perry White announced to the church he pastors, Sierra Baptist Church, that he will be moving to Beaumont, CA, to help his parents who are struggling with health issues. Perry and his wife, Sally, have been at Sierra Baptist, located in Independence, California for a total of 26 years. They were at Sierra Baptist for 5 years in the 80's before moving to the midwest for 10 years. They then were asked if they would come back to this town of 500 in the Owens Valley, 45 minutes south of Bishop, to pastor them again. This time, Perry stayed 21 years. Perry will be greatly missed at Sierra and in the community, where he and Sally have been deeply involved. Perry will continue to assist the PCN ordination team, as well as be involved in pulpit supply and possible interim ministry.
  
Men's Conference at Sunrise Church
"Why God's Word is Essential in the Lives of Men" 
Dr. Voddie Baucham

The focus of this conference is to understand the vital role the Bible plays in a man's life. God's words carry the weight of eternity and the power to transform lives, but what are you currently doing with the Word of God? Come and hear keynote speaker, Dr. Voddie Baucham, and Pastor Joel Sanchez of Sunrise, state their case why they choose to believe and obey the Word of God.

 

Saturday, May 30, 2015

9am - 3pm

Sunrise Church, 2759 N. Ayala Drive, Rialto, CA 92377

909.875.5566

Cost: $15 ($25 after 5/15). Lunch Included.

More info and register.

 
Stuff You May Want
Free or Close to it
 
Acrylic Podium
In excellent condition. About four feet high, large, clear podium. This is free. Just come and get it if you can use it. Contact Cindy at San Antonio Heights Community Church near Upland, CA. [email protected] 



4 Chair Storage Carts
Free, and they are in excellent condition. There are four carts. You may take all or just one. Contact Cindy at San Antonio Heights Community Church at [email protected]



Granite Sign: First Baptist Church
$500. It cost thousands to make. First Baptist in Sun City has now changed their name to Valley Christian Fellowship. The sign is 2' high x 8' long x 8.5" thick. Contact Pastor Derek Greenhalgh at [email protected].
  
On the Brink of Eternity
CB Chaplaincy

This story was reported by one of our military chaplains assigned to a hospital.

"Recently, I met an 88-year-old gentleman in the ER and was later called to visit him while on-call. He had a history of heart failure and has fought with cancer for over a decade. Now he was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor. He didn't have any close family or friends; he was here alone. When I was asked to see him in his room, he was very emotional and scared. I sat with him for over two hours and let him grieve. He told me that he had never been religious but he believed in God and asked me what I think happens when we die. I was able to walk with him through the story of how death was never a part of God's plan but our sin separated us from God and brought about death; both physical and spiritual. I shared with him the Gospel and he accepted Christ as his Savior. After he prayed and accepted Christ, he asked about baptism. He's seen people be baptized before and he wanted to know more about it. I explained to him that it is a physical symbol of what's taken place spiritually. He was very interested and asked if there was any way he could be baptized. I met with the medical staff the next day and found a walk-in physical therapy tub in the sports medicine center and coordinated to use it for baptism. Two days after he received Christ, we were able to baptize him and five days later he left this world."

  

CBAmerica Director of Chaplaincy, Andy Meverden adds: "Pray for CBAmerica chaplains serving in military, veterans and civilian hospitals throughout the US and on military installations around the world; that they may be ready, approachable, and Spirit-led in every ministry opportunity."    

  
Truth Encounter Book on Online
Tony Pezzotta's Book
Dr. Pezzotta was on staff for many years as our Director of Ethnic Ministries before he went home to heaven in 2014. He started as a devout Roman Catholic priest in Italy, and then became an evangelical Christian missionary in the Philippines, after his doubts were resolved by God's Word and the testimony of genuine believers. He spent the second half of his life working to present the Good News of Jesus Christ to everyone in a clear and convincing way. His book was a tremendous resource, but the print versions were sold out, both the English and Spanish. Now, through the diligent efforts of his son-in-law, Jordan Foote, the English version is available online!
truthencounterbook.com

 

Why "Don't Do It" Doesn't Work
A Better Vision on Sexuality from Leadership Journal

Is it only actual sex before marriage that's wrong?" he asked. "And at what point does it become sinful? Where's the line?" For a college campus minister, conversations like this are common. On one hand, that's great because it means these young adults are willing to talk about an intimate topic and discuss what God wants of them. On the other hand, such questions illustrate a massive challenge. They show just how thoroughly our culture's preoccupation with sex has shaped our thinking. We are saturated with sexual images. Commercials, the Internet, movies, even the news-we see it every day. The longer we are exposed to this obsession, the more elevated it becomes in our minds. Until it becomes the ideal, the ultimate pursuit that validates us and trumps any competing claim on our lives. Read the rest of the article.

 

 

Barna Survey
Least Churched Cities in USA
church_choir.jpg

April 24, 2015-The U.S. has a reputation for being exceptionally religious-and it is true that, historically speaking, churchgoing has played an outsized role in American identity. Still, millions of Americans have little to no connection to local congregations.

Currently, about 4 in 10 U.S. adults qualify as "unchurched" under Barna's definition (38%). Unchurched adults have not attended a church service, except for a holiday or special occasion, at any time within the past six months.

 

 

About Us
Pacifice Church Network is all about establishing new churches, equipping churches for health, and encouraging pastors and church leaders for ministry.

 
40 Maps 
that explain the
Middle East 
Maps can be a powerful tool for understanding the world, particularly the Middle East, a place in many ways shaped by changing political borders and demographics. Here are 40 maps crucial for understanding the Middle East - its history, its present, and some of the most important stories in the region today.  Go to the link 

 

How to Use Social Media
smartphone_stocks.jpg This is a helpful and informative presentation to explain the growth and powerful tool that social media has become.

 

Pastor, Missionary and Football Coach
WorldVenture missionary
Randy Hecker recently become a professional football coach as well as remaining a baptist pastor within Poland. It seems his ministry has flourished as a result of his second "job." In Randy's first 12 years of 
Polish ministry, his church baptized three people. In the last three years, he has seen 11 baptisms. In the last 15 years, he only witnessed one church plant. Now, just within the past month, he's seen three new church plants begin.

WorldVenture is a sister organization of Pacific Church Network. We both have Conservative Baptist roots and we continue to work together throughout the world to share the gospel.

other WV stories

 

Online Evangelism

Does your website share the gospel?

In 2014, the Billy Graham Evangelical Association (BGEA) shared the gospel with almost 9.5 million people around the world. Of those, only about 180,000 were in a live audience at a crusade, while 7.5 million were reached through BGEA websites. Of the 1.6 million people who told the BGEA they prayed "to accept Jesus Christ as [their] Savior" in 2014, less than 15,000 did so in person, while more than 1.5 million did so with the click of a mouse.

In 2014, Global Media Outreach reports more than 30 million online decisions for Jesus in 2014 out of 400 million viewed presentations across its 250 sites.