1 Peter 4:12-19

We have been studying 1 Peter at Regeneration, the young adult community at Bear Valley Church. This past Sunday (Dec 7), I taught on 1 Peter 4:12-19.

One of Peter’s primary purposes in his letter is to help his readers navigate the tension that comes from being both “in Christ” and “in culture.”

Culture is constantly writing what psychologists call social scripts: scripts telling us how to think and feel and act in any conceivable situation. The problem is that some of these social scripts do not honor God. What do we do when Christ calls us to live holy lives as aliens and strangers in this world, but culture continually says, “Stick to the script”?

As sinful and destructive social scripts intensify and dominate our culture, the danger is that we would look at culture, despair, and lose our joy. Peter’s text is instructive for us. In 1 Peter 4:12-19, we learn that suffering should not rob us of our joy. Furthermore, Peter tells us how we can find the strength to go on day after day by finding our joy in Christ, not in culture.

Click here to view the sermon notes.

Prayer Requests (Dec 7-13)

- On Friday (Dec 12), Emanuel, Erica, and I are teaching a Christmas Party Club at a Salvation Army location in Denver. Pray for us to make good connections with the kids and for the gospel to be heard.

- This is finals week at Metro State. I am thankful for this semester and hope to finish strong. (I also look forward to having a few weeks off before next semester begins!)

- Two weeks ago I wrote about my journey of raising financial support for the ministry of CEF in Denver. In addition to contacting families and individuals about financial support, I also plan to contact several churches in the Denver area. Currently my home church supports me out of its missions budget, and I am looking to secure the support of two additional churches. Please pray that the first steps of this application process in Dec & Jan (for the fiscal year beginning July 1) would go well.

Thanks! Blessings on your holiday season and your celebration of the incarnation.

Prayer Requests (Nov 30 - Dec 6)

- On Tuesday (Dec 2), Hannah, Larea, & Philip are teaching a Christmas Party Club at a daycare in Aurora. On Friday (Dec 5), Hannah, Lauren, & Anthony are teaching a Christmas Party Club at a daycare in Lakewood. Pray that they would make good connections with the kids and that the gospel would be heard loud and clear!

- Praise Report: Our trip to Allenspark, CO (by Rocky Mountain National Park) last week to check out a potential location for summer ministry training was very fruitful! Debbie took pictures and I took notes, and we e-mailed our report to Bill (the State Director for CEF of Colorado). The camp was absolutely beautiful; I think it will make for a great week if we end up going there.

- As we pursue our vision for Christian Youth In Action (CYIA), I am looking to hire five new staff to coordinate church partnerships, student recruitment, club scheduling, and student mentoring relationships in the NW, NE, SE, SW, and central regions of the Denver metro area. Please pray for me in this early stage as I lay the groundwork for these new positions, draft job descriptions, etc.

Thanks for your prayers!

Prayer Requests (Nov 23-29)

- Christmas Party Clubs begin next week! We are returning to five daycares where we taught clubs this past summer; the clubs are scheduled for Dec 2, 5, 12, 16, & 18. We will be playing fun games with the kids, telling a compelling story about the true meaning of Christmas, helping the kids memorize 2 Cor 9:15, and serving a great snack for Jesus’ birthday. Please pray that (1) the gospel would come through loud and clear, and (2) the kids would feel the love of God as we connect with them.

- This Wednesday (Nov 26) I am traveling to Allenspark, CO with two other CEF of Colorado staff to scope out a potential location for our summer ministry training in June 2009. Please pray for a fruitful visit!

- One of my main responsibilities with CEF in 2008-09 is to secure financial support. I need to raise $3,910/month for my salary, benefits, and ministry expenses. Right now I am at about 24% support. This week I am finalizing a rigorous plan to raise the remainder of the funds between Dec 1 and Aug 1. I believe that God has called certain individuals, families, and churches to support me for the ministry of CEF in Denver; it is simply my responsibility to make connections with them. Please pray for fruitful efforts and good relationships with my supporters.

Thanks so much! Blessings,

Andrew

Change of Address

UPDATED 03-23-12: We have moved offices. Here is our new address:

Child Evangelism Fellowship
3110 S Wadsworth Blvd, Suite #305
Denver, CO 80227

If you would like to support CEF, you can set up a recurring monthly donation here:

Level 1 : $150.00USD - monthly Level 2 : $135.00USD - monthly Level 3 : $100.00USD - monthly Level 4 : $75.00USD - monthly Level 5 : $35.00USD - monthly

Andrew Goes to College

I have been at college out-of-state the past two years, but I am back home now and a lot of people have been asking what I am doing school-wise. I though I would just post a quick update summarizing where I am at in my education.

Earlier this year I received an A.A. in Children’s Ministry from Calvary Bible College in Kansas City, MO. This fall I transferred to Metro State here in Denver, where I am studying for a B.A. in Speech Communication.

According to the college catalog, “The Communication Program at Metro State prepares students to be effective in communicating in a diverse and technological world. Students are grounded in theoretical understanding of communication, engaged in practical application, and encouraged to develop competencies in intra, inter, group, and organizational contexts.”

Specifically, I am pursuing a concentration in Rhetoric and Public Address. According to the college catalog, “Graduates in Rhetoric and Public Address have achieved success in law, industrial and organizational communication, educational administration, public relations, speech writing for political figures, teaching, public relations and theology.”

As a result of my studies at Metro State, I hope to develop my communication skills for preaching and teaching. (I am planning to then go to seminary for graduate school.)

Communication is an increasingly valuable resource in our world today. The ability to inform, persuade, entertain, etc. is the driving force behind many new social movements. Therefore, it is be valuable for God's people to be able to articulate, proclaim, and appropriately contextualize the good news of Jesus in a wise, winsome, and compelling manner.

Communication is key for the mission of God in this world, whether it takes place through moving people to collective action through rousing sermons or helping someone who does not belong to Jesus come to grips with the gospel through interpersonal conversations.

Communication—in all its forms—is the currency of the future, and the gospel has always been a message to be proclaimed. This is the motivation behind my current studies at school. I have really enjoyed this first semester so far, and I am looking forward to my studies in the future.

Prayer Requests (Oct 19-25)

- This December we are having Christmas Party Clubs at several of the daycare locations we worked with this summer. The clubs will be taught by our summer missionaries during after-school hours. Pray that we are able to just love the kids and tell them the truth about Jesus!

- This year we joined the regional training camp in Wyoming for our summer ministry training. We were planning to do the same thing next year in 2009 and then find our own facility for a Colorado state training camp in 2010. However, we recently learned that the regional event will not be held next year; each state will be having their own training. This means we have to find our own facility a year earlier than planned. Please pray for Bill Raymer, the state director for CEF of Colorado, as he researches potential locations.

- The CEF office is moving. This past week we moved all of our stuff out of the building at Mississippi & Kalamath in Denver. We will be moving into a new building at Wadsworth & Jewell in Lakewood. It was a carpet company's warehouse until recently, so we have a lot of work to do in converting it to office space. Pray that the construction and transition go smoothly over these next few weeks!

- Margaret Goldberg (our Good News Club coordinator for the NE Denver metro area) and I have been teaching a club at Centennial K-8 school in Denver this semester. The club is growing larger each week, and we are starting to get to know the kids a lot better. Praise God for the opportunity to share the good news of Jesus with them from the Scriptures! Pray that we would be faithful in ministry and love the kids well.

Thanks so much for praying! Be blessed.