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Have a great Christmas season
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The Gift of Life
Jesus came as a baby. What simple joy comes from seeing a newborn baby. In November, I
was able to get away to Austin, Texas, to see my twin granddaughters! They were still in the Newborn Intensive Care Unit (NICU) and will be there a couple more weeks, but they are growing. My daughter and son-in-law drive down to the hospital to hold their little gifts of love as often as they can. The babies came early, but they are getting stronger and will hopefully be able to come home soon. Many were praying for these two little girls that they would make it into this world. Thank you to those who prayed. All life matters, and the gift is certainly from God. Hospital staff do what they can with the knowledge they have, but ultimately it is from God.
Seeing those little creations of God just makes me smile. It is like seeing a masterpiece before you. "For we are God's masterpiece..." (Eph. 2:10) Paint and canvas do not a picture make, it takes a painter to create a beautiful masterpiece. Two humans do not make a baby, that takes a miracle of God. Eternal life is like that as well. It only comes from God and it is more precious than gold. A little baby reminds us about the beauty of life, and it was through a little baby who grew up to die for our sins and conquer death that we can receive that gift of eternal life. What a great gift! "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him." (2 Corinthians 2:9 NLT).
Merry Christmas,
Jim Smith
Executive Director
Pacific Church Network
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Matching Gift to PCN
Each year our government encourages charitable giving by exempting certain financial gifts from taxation (as allowed by law). In a way, they are encouraging people to give to our church planting efforts. To also encourage financial gifts to PCN, someone has given us a church planting matching gift of up to $20,000. All increased gifts to PCN and special one-time gifts given to PCN will be matched! One small church increased their monthly giving to PCN from $250 to $300 per month in 2016. That yearly increase of $600 per year will be matched! Would you consider giving a special one-time gift to PCN or increasing your regular giving to PCN to help us plant more new churches? Thank you! Donate here. |
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Relief Opportunities
Pacific Church Network works with other national church associations through CBGlobal. Churches in Myanmar and Bangladesh have struggled because of severe flooding. We are also helping pastors in Nicaragua and in other Central American countries get through tough times by giving them a timely donation through Empower-A-Pastor. If you would like to give a special gift for these worthy causes, donate here. |
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Annual Meeting
Plan now to attend our 2016 Annual Meeting in Whittier on Sunday, January 31 from 3:30 pm to 8:30 pm. Attend one of our helpful workshops from Thien Doan, Joel Webbon, Brian Howard and more. Join us at our main session to hear from our church planters, military chaplains, and Robert Bishop. Member churches will also have a vote on several items. A free dinner will be provided (RSVP needed). See you there. Register now. |
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Church Gives Memorable "Tip"
On Sunday, November 29, Pastor Sam Brumit of our church plant in San Marcos called Mission 316, gave a message about how God uses our little to accomplish much when we make it available. Pastor Sam tells the story, "A pizza guy made a delivery of a couple of pizzas to complement our brunch. The congregation was challenged (before he arrived) to bless the pizza delivery guy with a generous tip. Needless to say he was surprised when he received it. The people came up with almost $400. Overwhelmed, he asked why. We explained it's because God knows us and gives us good gifts. I'm sure the next time we call in an order, there will be no problem getting it delivered...ha."
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Fantastic Pastor and Wife Getaway
In November, 77 attended Pacific Church Network's Pastor & Wife Getaway in Laguna Beach. These lead pastoral couples enjoyed a great time of networking during the Sunday evening reception, a free overnight at the Inn at Laguna Beach, a fantastic breakfast at Las Brisas, and a short workshop on Monday. "I look forward to this all year!" said one wife. We appreciate our pastors and wives at PCN. See you next year! To see more pictures, go to our facebook page.
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A Christian Response to Homosexuality Workshop
Homosexuality is one of the most relevant issues of our day. How should Christians respond to homosexuality and more importantly those in the LGBT community? Without any compromise of truth or grace, Dr. Christopher Yuan combines his life experiences with his training in the Bible in its original languages to bring a fresh and unique perspective on this sensitive issue. We are also privileged to have Dr. Yuan's parents speaking at the training. On Tuesday, January 12, 2016, in Long Beach, we will host a free workshop for staff and leaders from Pacific Church Network, Transformation Ministries and ACTS 29 member churches, lunch is included. $49 for non-members. Please be sure to register.
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Interim Pastor in Lake Elsinore
This fall, Lakehills Community Church in Lake Elsinore invited Ted Martinez from Interim Pastor Ministries to be their Interim Pastor. Pastor Ted will also complete an assessment of their church and will make an evaluation to help them find their next pastor. Additionally, Lakehills is completing a major structural repair to their sanctuary and hopefully will finish construction early next year.
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Thanks to the Pastor's Wife
In many churches, there are a few people that stand out because of the way they serve, love, or lead. They're the kind of people that a church is built on. The ones you can always count on to do anything. They're the special ones that have a long track record of faithfulness. Every church has these people and every church celebrates them. They're affirmed before meetings and in personal interactions. They're often the positive illustrations in sermons. Pastors are usually good at affirming and holding up others but sometimes have their appreciation muscles exhausted by the time it comes to building up their wife. If you aren't careful, you end up "expecting" her more than thanking her. Thank her.
Read more.
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Pacific Church Network Israel Trip
Next fall, PCN will be taking a trip to the Holy Land. You and those from your church are encouraged to join us as we tour the land where Jesus walked. The trip dates will be around this time of year, either before or just after thanksgiving. We will finalize all the details soon. More information may be found here.
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Silly Church Fights
Often churches get off mission and start fighting over silly things. Recently Thom Rainer published his top 25 Silly Things Churches Fight Over. Perhaps this will encourage you that you have a unified and harmonious church focused on Jesus' instruction to "go make disciples."
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Songs Popular in Churches
Tucked in the rainy Northwest corner of the United States, just outside of Portland, Oregon, CCLI (Christian Copyright Licensing International) nevertheless has an international reach. CCLI serves over 250,000 churches, schools and other organizations in more than 30 countries. Over 160,000 churches across North America have an active Church Copyright License, providing legal coverage to copy songs for congregational singing. Here are the songs most popular last month.
Read the list.
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Post-Christmas Outreach
On Friday and Saturday nights following Christmas, December 26 and 27 from 5:30 pm to 10:30 pm., the Armenian Evangelical Brethren Church in Glendale, a member of Pacific Church Network, is holding a free Christmas walk-through experience that will be fun for the whole family. Visitors will exchange currency at the City Gate, meet the Magi at Stargazer Hill, make pillows at the busy Inn, hear the miraculous Christmas story in the Stable and so much more! Why after Christmas? Did you know, the Christians in Armenia will celebrate Christmas on January 6, 2016? This is because, until the 4th century, all Christian churches celebrated Christ's birth on January 6th! According to sources, the date was changed from January 6th to December 25th in order to override a pagan feast dedicated to the birth of the Sun which was celebrated on December 25th.
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Ministry Counseling Available
John Sandy is a trained counselor working especially with those in ministry. He is a great asset to churches in helping them with their lay member counseling needs and also comes alongside pastors/wives and helps them with needs related to ministry and marriage. He is an appreciated and recommended resource. John will have a display at our upcoming annual meeting on January 31 at Redemption Hill Church in Whittier. Pastoral counseling for individuals, couples and families, providing biblical hope and guidance for life's challenges.More information.
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