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Delighting God by starting and strengthening churches that transform lives and communities here, near, and far away
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 | Hillside Baptist Church in North Fork is experiencing fruitful ministry among Mono Native Americans.
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The Resurrection is Key
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 Losing keys is maddening, inconvenient, and potentially expensive. (Any guess how much it would cost to retrieve keys out of a dog? Check out x-ray pic.) Worse by far, however, is losing touch with how key the resurrection is to our faith. As Easter approaches, here are three resurrection reminders: The resurrection of Christ is a key component of the gospel. The Apostle Paul declares the resurrection to be central to the gospel message: "He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures..." 1 Corinthians 15:1-5. Let's not drop this element down the storm drain in our efforts to simplify or modify our gospel presentations. The resurrection is key to our hope. "...He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade." 1 Peter 1:3-9. The resurrection offers us a lifeline during trials, troubles, and testing. It serves as our promise and guarantee of a future with Christ in heaven. The resurrection is key evidence of God's power and our provision to live a new life. Paul knew believers needed to comprehend God's "...incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms." Ephesians 1:18-21; also Romans 6:4-6. Jesus' resurrection illustrates the reservoir of God's power that is available to His children to successfully live the Christian life. While finding lost keys between the couch cushions deserves celebration, let's all rise up to rejoice, shout, dance, and twirl knowing that every CPW pulpit will be boldly and clearly declaring resurrection truth again this year!
Celebrating our risen Savior,
David Yetter
Executive Minister
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Five Ways to Embed Evangelism into Your Culture
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New Book...
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Pastor and
Church Planter, Wade Robinson of Clovis has authored a new book. You are invited to attend the book signing on Apr. 26th from 1pm-4pm at Majesty Bible & Gifts in Fresno.
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CPW Ministry Openings
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You can find ministry openings in our district on the CPW Website. 
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Noteworthy
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Hillside Baptist Church in North Fork baptized seven  people on Sunday, April 6. Most were from the Mono Native American Indian tribe. Praise God, and pray that
Pastor Steve and Sarah Crotinger would have wisdom and favor as they consider how to disciple new believers in the Lord and integrate them in the church (or start a new church?!).
Pastor Aaron Roy and Pastor Dave (and Josie) Clark of Living Hope Neighborhood Church in Richmond, will serve the Lord in Rwanda April 21-30. They will partner with local churches to host and coordinate a three-day conference for
local church leaders, and also minister in the churches.
Pastor Michael and Sandy Garmin of First Baptist Church in Paso Robles recently returned from a ten-day medical missions trip to Ethiopia where they were able to show and tell the love of Jesus by ministering to patients at a medical clinic in Sendafa.
Congratulations to Rev. Alvin Lin who was ordained to gospel ministry by East Valley Church in San Jose on March 18th.
Registration is now open for CPW's Retiro de Mujeres Latinas (Latina Women's Retreat) to take place May 30-June 1 in scenic Pismo Beach.
Prayer Training day is scheduled at Golden Hills Community Church in Brentwood on August 16 with Daniel Henderson. Watch goldenhills.org for more details.
Pastor Jason and Laura Helveston have taken a new ministry position, Teaching and Singles Pastor, at Park Community Church in Chicago. Their last Sunday at Dwell Christian Church (formerly Willow Glen Baptist Church) in San Jose was March 30.
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CPW Prayer and Fasting Day, Tuesday, April 8th
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Pray that the Holy Spirit will direct each of the 74 churches of Converge PacWest as they prepare for Resurrection Sunday this month. Pray that those who will attend Easter services and do not yet know Jesus will believe the truth of His love and sacrifice, and will choose to follow Him.
Pray for Pastor Bernard Emerson and his wife Kim who are in the process of moving their family to Oakland, where their CPW church plant, "The Way" is located. Pray for The Way's upcoming preview service on April 13th, and for their faith goal of having 100 people attend the preview service!
Pray for CPW Church Planting Director Paul Root, Pastor William Taghap, Pastor Sanny Olojan, and Pastor Ernie Cabrera as they visit the Philippines, April 22-30, to help lead the Converge-Philippines Biennial Meeting and District Conferences. Pray for safety as they travel, and for God's prompting and help for them to be a blessing to those they meet with and minister to abroad.
Pray for Pastor Jeremy Rhodes and his wife Elizabeth at Fusion Church in Chico. Pray for fruitfulness for the church as they reach out to a community that is very closed toward the Gospel. Also pray for the city ministries in which Pastor Jeremy partners: Chico "Street Pastors" and the "Food For All" food distribution site.
Pray that Better Gospel Sharing, Better Church Health, and Better Pastor Fitness continues to become a reality in our district.
Ask God to open doors for the gospel, so we will see people respond to Christ's invitation to salvation and be baptized -- with a goal of 750 baptisms this year (each church baptizing 5% of their weekend attendance)!
We are asking the Lord to identify a Community and Spiritual Development Trainer who might serve us and our Haiti ministry partners in Maissade, Haiti.
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