Your Mission Field

I'm looking forward to this Sunday. I hope my last post got you thinking. The formal part of PCF, which is for about an hour at 12:00 noon on Sundays is not your mission field. Your mission field is where God has you right now. It's your everyday life in the world, demonstrating the Love, Forgiveness, Compassion, and Healing of Jesus with everyone you meet.

Pray daily that God will show you how to be Jesus to someone. It doesn't matter were you work you are probably dealing with people. Every single one of them is a child of God whether they act like it or not. The real issue is there are a ton of people who do not realize they are a child of God. And the other huge problem is, not too many Christians are helping them to figure it out.

Our light will shine when we learn just how crazy Christianity is!

I'm going to talk about that very thing this Easter Sunday. Christianity is Crazy and that's why I love it!

There will be a Maundy Thursday Service which commemorates the Last Supper with the Disciples at 7:00Pm and a Good Friday Service also at 7:00pm. all are invited.

See you soon!  Love, pastor kent

Does God Really Care if It's Easter this Sunday?

I thought question  that might get your attention. My answer: I don't think so! And here is why. Easter is a calendar date for most people. A time to easter Egg Hunt, have people over for Dinner, and celebrate life. Nothing wrong with any of that. But as far as God caring if it's Easter Sunday….I would say  no more or less than He cares about your heart and your love for Him any other day!

So this Easter, what do you expect? I'm afraid to ask what you are thinking! But that's OK because we are all human. Here is what I know, "There is something more than what we know about this life here on this earth". There is a Spiritual reality that cannot be explained but it sure can be felt. I have learned, and am still learning, "The more I love people, and the more I serve with a willing loving heart, expecting nothing in return, the more I feel the reality of God's love and the spiritual connection.

So, Easter! Yep it's a great Holiday! But it can be so much more than a chocolate bunny and eating delicious deviled eggs. I wonder if we should call them "deviled" eggs on Easter?

This Sunday 12:00 noon, ….I think it won't be what you might expect!
See you Easter!  Love, pastor kent

Anticipation!

That is the best way I can describe my emotions about PCF and the prayer we have for our church. Adopting new people who God puts into our path. It has been very interesting to me to have many of you telling me about the people you are inviting and asking to come check us out. I know at the Garden Club (Wednesday night small group gathering at 6:30 in church basement. All are invited! )  there has been a pretty lively discussion about reaching out to people. 

I want to share something with all of you that may take the pressure off if you find it hard to talk with people about joining our church family. First, let your prayer be the primary work you do for our church. Pray for God to move in our church. As you pray this prayer become aware of what God is doing in your life! God works through us. I think you will find some very interesting "coincidences" as you stay focused on this prayer.

Why more people? First and foremost it is what Jesus asked us all to do as Christians. To bring the Good News of the Gospel to everyone! 

What is the Gospel? The word Gospel means "Good News!" The Good News is:

John 3:16-17 16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.

As a pastor I am contacted by many groups and organizations needing support. Currently we, Praise Community Fellowship Family, have been supporting many worthwhile causes. As we expand our family, we will also expand our resource pool which will allow us to serve even more people. 

PCF family we are very unique!

We are able to serve our community and many organizations because we are approaching this ministry in a very unique way.

1.) We do not have any debt!

2.) We do not have pastor salaries, or support salaries, we are volunteers.

3.) We do not have the huge operating expenses of maintaining a facility. We pay rent, which is very reasonable, but we will not go into debt!

4.) We are trying to exemplify what Jesus taught by serving others and bringing the Good News to people who have not understood the Christian message.

5.) We offer a way for people to come and be part of a Christian family in a very relaxed, but God focused organization.

6.) We do not require membership. If you come to our church and want to be part of our family we consider you a member of our family.

7.) We are NOT competing with other churches! We are seeking the unchurched and are relying on God to bring us the right people.  

What is our future plan? To seek God's direction for everything we do, and to continue to support one another so that we all experience God's love!

Now, if you want to see a really cool way to present who we are to someone, click the link below and enjoy!      Funny but powerful! 

How to explain the church!

See you Sunday! love, pastor kent

I can See it, I can Feel It!

You have to learn to see what cannot yet be seen!  That is what faith is. The book of Hebrews says it like this:

Hebrews 11:1"Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen."

This Sunday is Palm Sunday, the beginning of Holy Week! 

Come be part of the Miracle story of Easter. 

I'm believing that we will adopt 50 new families by Christmas. That is my prayer and I'm sticking to it!

See you Sunday at 12:00 noon. Immanuel Methodist Church 800 North Main Edwardsville.

Love, pastor kent

The Sun is Always Shining!

It's cold and dreary today. I'm talking about the weather but it is also cold and dreary in too many hearts and lives as well. Praise Community Fellowship has a focus and a prayer. To bring 50 new families into our congregation. People who need the warmth and sunshine of Gods love.

Remember this prayer? "Thy Kingdom come Thy will Be Done ON EARTH as it is in Heaven! Who is going to bring God's Kingdom to this earth? We are! That is what we are called to do. We are the church. We are the hands, the feet, the voice, the mind of Jesus. It is up to us to bring sunshine to those who are living in the darkness, the cold, the dreariness.

We have a very, very important mission. We cannot solve all the world's problems but we can greatly and significantly affect the lives of 50 families! The parable I used the last two weeks of Jesus feeding the 5,000 gives us the perfect motivation to keep us focused. If God can take a couple of fish and a few loaves of bread and multiply them so that 5,000 people were fed and filled and still have left overs, He can multiply our love to shower onto and into the people we will be adopting soon.

We will see the impossible! Come be part of our mission and prayer and dream. Come join us as we pray 50 families into our family and let's watch how God showers all of us with His warmth and love and blessing! Come help us help others to bloom! We are going to bring Gods Kingdom to this earth with our love for others.  Come and be part of the miracle! We are not offering fancy programs, fancy services, or big productions. What we want to offer is love. God's love to one another and to those He is sending our way! It's that simple!

Love changes everything! See you soon! Love, pastor kent

The Promise is on the Way!

Praises and Concerns for PCF family members.

First I want to lift up Ryan and Jamie Stunkel and congratulate them on becoming our church family's first married couple. Ryan and Jamie Got married this past Saturday March 21st. Both Jamie and Ryan have been getting involved in our church and we look forward to seeing them grow in Jesus with us!

Please lift up Stan Rutkowski, Butch Peterson, and Chuck Wiess in prayer. All need Gods healing touch.

Please continue to pray for our vision.

The prayer: Father, please bring us 50 new families this year. Families that we can minister to, love, share with, grow with, and care for. Bless our church God so that we may be a blessing. Let us see your amazing work of grace in action. Thank you for hearing our prayer.

It's OK to question things! 
It's OK to get frustrated!
It's Ok to become discouraged!

All these feelings are part of our human nature, especially when we are wanting to see what we think is the impossible. I don't know how God will bring about your dream. My experience is that God does not give up on us or our dream, we do!  We are the ones who throw in the towel. We are the ones who say it's over, not God. 

Here is what I know. We are created in Gods own image. He gave us the desire to dream big, and to want more! We are His children. When a child asks a parent for something that would really make them happy. Something that would be good for them, and not harmful. What parent, if it is in there ability to provide that desire, would purposely withhold such a gift? The only reason you would deny a child of something they really want is either because you do not have the means of providing it, or, it is something that you know as a parent may not be in the child's best interest. 

Here is what the bible says about this: 

Matthew 7:11

11 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!

The one thing that some children and adults are not good with is patience. Our prayer for God to send us the right 50 families for our church to adopt is so we can share His love with people who need to know Jesus and the peace He can bring to their life. I am believing!
Will you join me in this prayer and believe with me. As you can see below, the promise is on the way!

Hope to see a bunch of new faces this coming Sunday which is Palm Sunday! 
See you soon! Love, pastor kent

This Sunday we will continue with our theme, "With God All Things Are Possible!"

So there is no misunderstanding, Praise Community Fellowship has a purpose and a vision:

The purpose as stated in our mission statement is to open a conversation about Jesus with as many people as possible. The vision is to have our sanctuary filled every Sunday by Christmas of this year! As I calculated we will need approximately 50 new families to accomplish that goal. Which means we are seeking to adopt about 200 people into our family who may not know the saving grace of Jesus. 

I am asking all of you to pray with me that God will put the right families into our path. Families that He knows we will be able to serve and to love. The reason we have this mission is to fulfill Jesus' great commission,  to go into the world and bring the Gospel to those who need the Good News of Jesus in their life. 

Everything we do at PCF will be focused on this mission. Adopting new people into our family who need the Love, Compassion, Forgiveness, and Hope that Jesus offers. We come together on Sundays to celebrate and practice that Love, Compassion, Forgiveness, and Hope. Get ready to love more, share more, get involved more. We are not a passive church! And here is the real cool thing, We are seeking to fulfill our purpose with the help of God by expanding our love to those who do not yet have a church home. We are not looking for people who already attend another church. I believe God can fill every church in town and that He will put the right people in the right church families! Praise Community Fellowship is in competition with no one! Our prayer to is be as effective as we possibly can at loving those who need God's love and sharing the Gospel who need to hear the Good News! 

Sunday I will be sharing God's word about the miracles of Prayer, Hope, Vision. We will come together with expectant hearts eager to see how our God will begin answer our prayers! 

Sunday Service 12:00 noon, Immanuel Methodist Church, 800 North Main, Edwardsville.

See yo soon. Love, pastor kent