GIC: Missions Conference

GIC starts tonight! Join us for dinner at 5:15 and then visit with the missionaries! The opening ceremony starts at 7:00 PM! You will not want to miss the parade of flags! I'll see you there! - Barbara

Thursday, February 23
Missionary registration begins (Foyer)—11:00am
Missionary Orientation (A110)—4:00-5:00pm
Supper (MPR)—5:15-6:15pm
Meet the Missionaries (Foyer)—6:15-6:45pm
Parade of Flags and Opening Celebration Service—7:00-8:15pm

Friday, February 24
Kids on Mission International Game Night—6:00-9:30pm
Youth Event – “Going Global” (Student Building)—6:00-9:30pm
Global Briefing Sessions in Host Homes—6:30pm

Saturday, February 25
Missions Breakfast (MPR)—8:30-10:00am
Men’s Fellowship (Student Building)—10:15am-11:45am
Women’s Fellowship (E133)—10:15am-11:45am
Light Lunch (Student Building)—11:45am

Sunday, February 26
Morning Celebration & Giving Commitment Service—9:00am & 10:30am
Missionary Time in Bible Fellowship Classes—9:00am & 10:30am
Missionary Debriefing and Snack (A110)—4:00-5:00pm
View Missionary Exhibits—5:00pm
Closing Celebration and Time of Commitment for Service—6:00-7:30pm
Kids on Mission—6:00-7:30pm

One Sows and Another Reaps

“For here the saying holds true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’”John 4:37

The great English preacher Francis Dixon asked a young man in his church named Noelle to give his testimony at a revival. So Noelle stood up and gave this testimony:

“I was in Sydney, Australia when a little old man walked up to me and said, ‘Sir, if you were to die today, do you know where you would spend eternity?’“With that the old man turned on his heel, said, ‘Toodle-loo’, and walked away.

So when I got back to England the first thing that I did was to seek out a pastor who led me to Christ.”After the service, a young man came up to Noelle and said, “That’s my testimony too. I met that same man!”

Francis Dixon was so moved by this that when he went on a world tour of preaching, he shared it at every meeting. And when he preached in cities across Australia, he came across hundreds of people with the very same story.

So when Dixon made it to Sydney, he tracked down this old man at his home and told him about all of those people who had come to Christ through him. The old gentleman broke down and said, “Sir, this is the first time in my life that I’ve known of anyone who has ever come to Jesus because of my witness.”

Some sow the seeds; some harvest. So whatever role God calls you to fulfill, be faithful in it because you never know the impact you can have!

Control or Growth

In a recent issue of his Ministry Toolbox newsletter, Rick Warren said, "Every church must eventually decide whether it is going to be structured for control or structured for growth. For a church to grow, both the pastor and the people must give up control. The people must give up control of the leadership, and the pastor must give up control of the ministry. Otherwise, you create a bottleneck for growth.

"This is especially true once a church grows beyond about 500 people, because then no single person or board can know everything that's going on in the church. I haven't known about everything that happens at Saddleback for years. I don't have to know about it all!

"You might ask, 'Then how do you control it?' The answer is: I don't! It's not my job to control the church. It's my job to lead it. There is a very big difference between leading and controlling. Our pastors and staff are responsible to keep the church doctrinally sound and headed in the right direction, but most of the day-to-day decisions are made by the people actually doing the ministries of the church. Every lay ministry is assigned a staff liaison but, as much as possible, our staff stays out of the decision-making process in each ministry.

"When Saddleback was just a few years old, I found myself running out of energy. The church had grown to several hundred people and I was still trying to do most of the ministry myself. I literally helped with every job in the church...I was burning out physically and emotionally.

"At a midweek service, I confessed to our congregation that I was out of energy and that I couldn't continue trying to meet all their needs myself. But I went on to say that God didn't expect me to do all the ministry. The Bible is very clear that the pastor's job is to equip members for their ministry (Eph. 4:11-12). So I said, 'I'll make you a deal. If you agree to do the ministry of this church, I'll make sure you're well fed!' The people liked the deal and that night we signed a covenant that, from that day forward, they would do the ministry and I would feed and lead them. When we made this decision, Saddleback exploded with growth.

Come lead a ministry through the Women's Ministry - help us grow by sharing the Gospel!

A Prayer

O Lord Jesus Christ:
In obedience to your holy claim upon me,
I give myself anew to you this day;
All that I am, all that I have,
To be wholly and unconditionally yours for your using
Take me away from myself,
And use me up
As you will,
When you will,
Where you will,
With whom you will.
Amen.

BY: Charles Whiston