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A Heart For Commerce City

Prayer Station #2Good News Community Church has a heart to reach people apart from God in North Denver.  With a mission to “be and make disciples of Jesus Christ who love God, love others, and serve the world.”

Their multi-campus ministry focuses primarily on impacting Broomfield and Commerce City.  Lead Pastor Matthew Fite and Commerce City Campus Pastor Ryan Whitson lead a community of owners of a God shaped and sized vision to reach their communities.

The church owns property at 104th and Blackhawk which is a prime spot for reaching northern Commerce City.  Recently they placed a cross, seats, and a set of solar lights on the Commerce City land.

On Sunday, June 5th the Commerce campus had service out on the land – it was a special day!

They spent the morning praying for the city of Commerce, for the future of the church, and for God to use them as a vehicle for thousands of men, women, boys, and girls to come to know Jesus as Lord and savior… in Commerce and across north Denver.

It was a good day!

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Why have we grown?

cothlogo11Recently, we have enjoyed a period of growth.  Twelve people have joined our church since the first of the year, ranging in ages from 10 – 65 years old, and four more are considering joining.

For our small church this has resulted in a 10% growth in membership and a 9% growth in attendance.  Plus, this Sunday we will be baptizing a young woman in our worship service.

A couple of months ago, two young men accepted the Lord Jesus downstairs in our Sunday School while their grandmother upstairs in worship rededicated her life!  Obviously the Holy Spirit was working on both floors that day.   Last Summer we baptized a family of four who are mostly new to the faith.

Why have we been experiencing this growth?  I can’t really say except we are being faithful to our vision of being living messengers for Jesus who share God’s love with others in all of our ministries.

A little over a year ago when we changed the name of the church, we had two prayers and goals in mind:  1. We desired to attract non-believers to our church. 2. We desired to attract believers who had recently moved into our community.

God has certainly honored both those requests in these new members.  I am pleased God has blessed our focus on vision and outreach.

Pastor Mike Lundberg,
Church on the Hill,
Montrose Colorado.

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One Day Conference 2016

CatalystOn Tuesday, August 16, One Day Conference: The View From Here will be in Denver, Colorado from 8:30-4:30.

Two key questions remain at the forefront of every leader’s mind: Where have we come from? Where are we going?

After recently celebrating their 20-year anniversaries in ministry, Andy Stanley and Craig Groeschel are sharing The View from Here by reflecting on the leadership lessons that have brought them to where they are today and looking ahead to the future of the Church with excitement and anticipation.

One Day is a can’t-miss opportunity to unpack the nuts and bolts of leadership with the two principal voices in leadership today. Catalyst One Day is a different type of Catalyst event that is designed to focus on answering the practical how-to and what-about questions we just aren’t able to cover at a larger event.

Learn from two of the most effective voices in organizational leadership today, Andy Stanley and Craig Groeschel, as they share the lessons they have learned in growing their ministries and developing as leaders over the past 20 years.

The conference will be at:

Cherry Hills Community Church
3900 Grace Blvd
Highlands Ranch, CO 80126

Conference Schedule

August 16, 2016
7:30 am  – Registration
8:30 am – Session 1
10:00 am – Break
10:30 am – Session 2
12:00 pm – Lunch
1:30 pm – Session 3
3:00 pm – Break
3:30 pm – Session 4
4:30 pm – End of Day

Register with RMCN to get the group rate of $89 per person by filling out THIS FORM and mailing it along with your check to:
RMCN
3686 Stagecoach Rd Unit E
Longmont CO 80504
Or if you want to pay by credit card use the following link:





If you have any questions, please call 303-772-1205 or email Assistant@rmcn.org.

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A Letter to the RMCN Family

Dear Rocky Mountain Church Network Family:   As chairman of the RMCN board I’m writing this letter on behalf of our Regional Executive Director, Stan Rieb, and the RMCN.   The RMCN supports regional churches in many ways.  The RMCN vision is: We envision a network of vibrant churches empowered by God and mobilized by passionate spiritual leaders, living out the gospel by serving their communities and making disciples of Jesus Christ to the glory of God.

Thus RMCN provides guidance and resources for pastoral searches, assessments for churches, ministry mapping, coaching for pastors, leadership learning communities, counseling and resources for struggling churches and pastors, and organizes the occasional regional leadership retreat for pastors, staff and their wives.

All of this boils down to one goal: to produce healthy and vibrant pastors and churches.  Stan is at the center facilitating the mission and has made great progress this past year in contacting and encouraging member churches.

My church has been the recipient of Stan’s expertise and is now experiencing growth in several areas for the first time in four years.   In our meeting last week, however, Stan informed me that we had to dip into our investments.  As a board we knew this day was coming but feel fortunate to have reserves to draw on.

So as a member church, I am asking you to consider a one-time financial gift, increase your current financial commitment or placing RMCN on your missions and outreach budget.  As you invest in RMCN, you are investing in God’s kingdom work in our region.     Please keep Stan and RMCN in your prayers.  May God richly bless you as you seek to make disciples through sharing and living out the gospel.

Sincerely in Christ,
Pastor Mike Lundberg
Chairman of the RMCN Board
Senior Pastor of Church on the Hill, Montrose, Colorado

 

 
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Reasons To Believe

Reason's to Believe (Cover Wrap)

 

Why would a good God allow suffering?

Is it reasonable to believe God exists?

Has science disproven God?

 

Questions like these can pique curiosities, stimulate thinking, and challenge faith in God. Reasons to Believe, a new book by RMCN pastor Ryan Whitson (along with six other authors), provides thoughtful, easy-to-understand responses in one concise resource. The book, endorsed by Christian scholars such as J.P. Moreland, Joe Stowell, and Doug Groothuis, takes on ten pressing questions about God, the Bible, and the Christian faith in order to help remove doubts, deepen Christian conviction, and provide compelling reasons to believe.

 

For RMCN churches this book can be a tremendous resource for small groups or classes, material for a sermon series, or a gift for your teachers, volunteers and staff who may face difficult questions in their ministry setting. For a free sample of the book click here (hyperlink- see below). To learn more about how this book can be a strategic resource for you and your church or to receive free chapters and other material feel free contact Ryan at R.Whitson@GoodNewsChurch.org.

 

Hyperlink: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B019D70H3K?keywords=ryan%20whitson&qid=1454545427&ref_=sr_1_1&s=books&sr=1-1

 

 

 

 

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Why We Cancelled Christmas Eve Services

Matthew Fite2For years we’ve done a Christmas Eve service… in fact, we’ve generally done multiple Christmas Eve services, trying to meet the needs of busy people with full schedules.

And every year we’ve encouraged our people to invite their friends, family, neighbors, and co-workers who aren’t Christians. We gave them invite cards and yard signs to help in their efforts. And every year people invited the non-Christians they knew.

But every year I got the same sad report back, “I invited my co-worker, but he and his family are going to grandma’s house on Christmas Eve.” Or “I invited my neighbors, but they can’t come because they always do a big Christmas dinner and open gifts with the in-laws on Christmas Eve.” Sure, plenty of people have been coming to our Christmas Eve services all these years, but by in large it’s just been Christians.

It turns out that non-Christians are really busy on Christmas Eve and are unwilling to change their plans, even when someone invites them to a Christmas Eve service on December 24th. So this year we cancelled the Christmas Eve services and did a “Christmas Celebration” on December 23rd.

When we first started talking with the congregation about this idea, some were very disappointed (that’s a nice way of saying mad and upset). So we talked with the congregation about how this was an opportunity for us to meet the needs of the community. We talked about how we needed to put our preferences aside in order to introduce people to Jesus. We talked about how we needed to follow Jesus’ example when he said, “I have not come to be served, but to serve, and to lay down my life as a ransom for many.”

The mumbling died down pretty quickly. People picked up small stacks of invite cards and took home a yard sign that said, “Christmas Celebration on December 23rd.” And I began to wonder if this was just another one of my stupid ideas (and I’ve had plenty) or if it really was inspired by God.

The first story I got back was from a woman who has probably never actively told anyone about God, but she was willing to put a yard sign in front of her house. She said that she had multiple conversations with neighbors who all told her that her Christmas Eve sign had the wrong date on it… It should say December 24th. This became her opportunity to invite each of them to the Christmas Celebration on the 23rd.

I shared her story with the congregation and told them all “thank you for being willing to try this big experiment for your neighbors and for everyone you’re going to invite.” The excitement grew… the stories kept rolling in… we ran out of invitation cards.

Finally the 23rd came and we did all the same stuff you do at a Christmas Eve service: sing Christmas Carols, tell the Christmas story, share the gospel, light candles, and all that good stuff. It was a beautiful service.

The Commerce City campus had 149 people… we ran out of chairs (that’s 50% larger than a normal Sunday and it was the largest service that campus has ever had)! The Broomfield campus had 235 people… again we ran out of chairs, plus ran out of parking spots (again, that’s almost 50% larger than a normal Sunday and people had to stand out in the lobby)!

And the best part was that we identified over 50 first-time guests who were not just visitors from out of town, but actually folks from our community who don’t yet know Jesus. We’re now in the process of following up with each of them, building relationships, and encouraging them to take their next steps towards a relationship with God.

Bottom line, doing the Christmas Celebration service on the 23rd was a huge, huge success!

 

     Matthew Fite is Lead Pastor at GoodNewsChurch.org

 

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Christmas Gift from the RMCN

Leaders BookThe Rocky Mountain Church Network greatly values pastors and church leaders. Their roles are crucial to church health, ministry effectiveness and Kingdom advancement; all of which bring glory to God. This is one reason for our investment in the Pastor Clusters, Learning Communities and Ministry Retreats.

President Harry Truman once said “Not all readers are leaders, but all leaders are readers.” We also believe that effective leaders are lifelong learners, but the pressures of ministry often leave insufficient time to read, learn and grow.

As we move into 2016, we would like to share with those in Pastor Clusters, Learning Communities and supporting churches, a Christmas gift of one one-year subscription to the Leaders Book Summaries.

Leaders Book Summaries brings you summaries of the best books on leadership, management, and church life to help you become the best leader you can be.

  • 30 new books each year
  • Clear & concise 12-15 page book summaries
  • 2-page super-summary of each book
  • Perspectives from veteran church leaders
  • Christian and secular authors

This is a $119 value. Additionally when you let us know that you accept this Christmas gift we will send you a memory clip with the entire Archived Library of book summaries – that is over 160 book summaries. Contact our office at Assistant@rmcn.org or 303-772-5655 if you are interested in receiving your gift of the Leaders Book Summaries.

 

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The Great Christmas Light Fight

Christmas LightsLights are a popular Christmas celebration component. No doubt the majority of Americans, if not everyone regardless of nationality, will have some connection to lights in the celebration of Christmas. Heidi and I have been amazed at the innovative use of lights in ABC’s, The Great Christmas Light Fight. If you have not seen this show over the last couple of weeks, individuals and entire neighborhoods create program driven light shows as expressions of their Christmas spirit in hopes of being declared the winner and winning significant financial prizes.

There were a few years that I attempted to see how many lights I could place on our Christmas tree. I believe that one year I placed 1500 lights on a 7’ tree. When turned on, our living room glowed and you needed to wear sunglasses to watch TV.

Although it seems that the connection is often lost to our consumer-driven holiday culture, the lights should remind us that Jesus’ incarnation was the introduction of light into the darkness of the world.

Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” Jn 8:12 (ESV)

Jesus is THE light of the WORLD. Like so many other things in life that we take for granted, light is often assumed. For most of us a world without light is difficult to imagine. I don’t think we can begin to comprehend how much our current lives have been influenced by Jesus Christ and others who have lived in the influence of His light. Science, education, health care and in general, all social order bear evidence of the light of Jesus shining through the lives of those who have followed Him.

Knowing Jesus changes life. Jesus said of his followers:

“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” Matthew 5:14–16 (ESV)

How will you and your church take on the Great Christmas Light Fight? How will you choose to adorn your lives with the light of He who is the Light of the world so that others might give glory to your Father?

We would love to hear how you or your church have chosen to let your light shine before others during this Christmas season.

 

 

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Ethnic Church Planting in the Rocky Mountain Church Network

Ismael and Esmirna Lopez 2015Ismael and Esmirna Lopez are missionaries working with Missions Door in the Rocky Mountain Region. Since their appointment with Missions Door in 1997 they have established two churches, the first in Holyoke, Colorado and another one in Imperial, Nebraska.

In Imperial they have Worship services every Saturday with an attendance of fifty people. Every Tuesday a ministry called “Pastoral Care” is carried out.  It is dedicated to evangelizing non-believers, and to encouraging believers to fulfill the Great Commission. Tuesday nights the Imperial church  has a prayer service. Whenever someone accepts Jesus, they start a home Bible study to disciple the new believer. Some people from the towns of Grant and Madrid, Nebraska attend the church in Imperial. On Wednesday nights they meet in Madrid for a Home Bible Study with four or five families.

In Holyoke, they have a Worship service on Sunday evening with an attendance of 50. Last year they had an attendance of 95, but seven families moved away. That is a normal situation due to the fluctuating Hispanic population in Holyoke. The “Pastoral Care Ministry” and prayer service are held on Thursdays.

The Hispanic population in Imperial is about 600 and Holyoke at about 800. The stable population works on pig farms or cattle ranches, and a few in town business.

The Lopez’s believe that by reaching children and youth they are preparing future generations of believers. Families are also being reached through this very active and effective children and youth ministry. Each week they minister to about 30 kids in Holyoke and 20 in Imperial. They have kids from all school ages but most are elementary kids.

An annual family camp draws one hundred people in attendance. The purpose of this camp is to evangelize the kids by sharing the love of Jesus with them. It includes Bible classes for adults, and the  parents are encouraged to participate by attending the classes, camping or helping as volunteers. The camp usually concludes with baptisms. It is always a great joy to see people growing in their relationship with God.

Ismael was born in Sinaloa, Mexico. At age 16 he wanted to be a teacher and moved to Navojoa, Sonora, to attend school. While there a relative invited him to a Baptist church, where he accepted Jesus into his life. He graduated from the Regional Center of Education in 1983.

Esmirna, a nurse, grew up in a Christian home and became a Christian at age 13. Her father is a pastor in Mexico. In 1989 they moved to Nogales, Sonora, to study at Nogales Baptist Seminary.

Following graduation from the seminary, Ismael pastored two churches in Mexico. He was appointed by Missions Door in 1997, and the Lopez family moved to Holyoke, Colorado, to start a Spanish-speaking church.

Each year many migrant workers come to this area to work in agriculture or construction. Some stay here during the summer, and others for one or two years before moving on to another place. They reach them through personal evangelism or by helping with needs they have. Many of them have accepted Jesus as their Savior through their ministry.  Some stay and grow in Jesus, and others move on.  They are being used by the Lord to share His love with them. Last year, 16 people accepted the Lord before they moved, and continue with their Christian lives elsewhere.

Through this ministry, they also provide translation for school or medical appointments. They counsel couples and provide help during time of sickness and deaths, not only to church people but to the whole community.

The Lopez’s ministry is based on fulfilling the Great Commission, with a ministry goal to plant 7 churches in Northeast Colorado and Southwest Nebraska.

Would your congregation be open to partnering with Ismael and Esmirna in this ethnic church planting ministry? They would covet your prayer and financial support.  Would you be open to having Ismael come and share with your congregation more about this vital ministry? Contact RMCN for more information.