Be Jesus to Someone

 

Going and serving became a part of my life during college. I remember my first local acts of service: volunteering at Feed My Starving Children, laying mats and serving food for those in transition housing, and visiting people experiencing homelessness at shelters. Then there were the larger service trips like  working at migrant camps in Oregon, daycare centers in Mexico, remote villages in Colombia, and Catholic Workers in Kansas City. These experiences led to my continually volunteering in domestic and global opportunities and, most recently, a career in ministry where going and serving is at the very fabric of what we do because Jesus is at the center of all we do.

While going and serving then and now, I often recall a phrase my high school pastor used to end each of his sermons: “be Jesus to someone.” What better way to be Jesus to someone than to actively be his hands and feet?

I want to encourage us to remember the first time we were Jesus to someone while engaging in going and serving. Perhaps you helped a sick family member, neighbor, or friend? Maybe you attended a Habitat for Humanity project when you were younger? Or maybe you have lived a life in ministry abroad to go and make disciples of all nations?

After you reflect upon how you were Jesus to someone when you went and served, I want you to refocus your mindset to a daily, missional mindset. Having a missional mindset reminds me of my time serving in Oregon when my mentor said something I will never forget: “the mission field is everywhere.”

Faith Family, our mission field is all around us. The mission field is not some fantastical place in a far-off land—it’s right here. I would like to invite each of us to pray over how God can use each of us individually and communally to be Jesus to someone in our community. If we are each intentional about this, I believe our church will be an active presence for God’s kingdom—what a witness this would be to our community!

If you would like to see a tangible example of our Faith Family going and serving, check out this news special on TeenServe. Our Director of Youth Ministry, Nick Madsen and members of our youth group (pictured in this blog) are currently serving in Pine Island, MN and this news segment highlights the ways in which they are serving.  Nick told me if you look closely, you can see one of our very own Faith Youth members serving in this clip. Another way to be Jesus to someone is to donate this Sunday and Monday to our garage sale and/or shop at our garage sale from July 18-20. All proceeds will benefit the M.O.M.S. program. More information can be found on our site. If you have questions, contact Kathryn at office@momsprogram.org.

Looking forward to going and serving with you, church fam!

-Tone

Here’s What’s Happening at Faith

Garage Sale for Missions

Faith’s All-Church Garage Sale is July 18-20. All proceeds will go to the M.O.M.S. Program. Help this sale be a success by gathering donations at home and/or volunteering! Sign-up to volunteer for set-up, clean-up, and working the day of the sale.  Donations for the sale will ONLY be accepted Sunday, July 14, 12-5pm and Monday, July 15, 4-8pm. Drop off at lower level. Do not leave donations at church at other times. Questions? Contact Kathryn at office@momsprogram.org.

All Church Retreat

Registration is now open for the Faith Covenant All-Church Retreat at Covenant Pines Bible Camp, August 23-25. All are invited to join us! This is a wonderful weekend to gather as a church family, grow closer to Jesus as we learn how to love our Muslim neighbors, and just plain have fun! Speaker will be Kim Gustafson. Once again we will hold a lake baptism service for those interested. Accommodations and activities are available for all ages/seasons of life. Register on Realm.

MUUUCE – Aug 1-3

MUUUCE stands for “The Most Unbelievable, Ultimate, Urban, Camping Experience.” This high-energy, fast-moving, multi-day event is designed to give students in grades 6-9 a chance to connect with Christ and their peers. Save the date! Sign up with Nick at nmadsen@faithcovenant.org or Shelly at sbrinkmann@faithcovenant.org.  DEADLINE is July 15!

Missionary Reception

Calling all Faith Family! You are invited to join us for a reception and presentation by two of our missionaries, Shannon and Katie following our 2nd service on July 21. Shannon and Katie will share specifics about their ministry abroad during this time. Please come and support this missionary family by learning more about what they do and how we can partner with them in prayer. Light refreshments will be served. Questions? Contact Tone Waters, Director of GO and Communications at twaters@faithcovenant.org.

CPR Class

If you are a volunteer in Faith ministries and have never learned CPR, or need a refresher course, we invite you to take this American Heart Association class from 6-9pm on July 25. It is led by Sandy Litman of LifeSavers CPR, and is free to our congregation! Sign up on Realm or by calling the office. Note: if you are a professional taking the class for recertification, a completion card will cost $20; please indicate in your registration if you need this, and bring $20 with you to class.

Faith Twenties and Thirties Go Bowling

Join Faith Twenties and Thirties on July 26, 6:45-9pm, for an evening of fun at Bowlero in LakevilleCost is $20 for bowling, shoe rental, and food. Please RSVP to Ryan at rnyquist@faithcovenant.org

M.O.M.S. Food Pantry Box

The M.O.M.S. Program food pantry box is back upstairs next to the Information Desk. Donations of non-perishable food items, laundry detergent, paper products, and  hygiene items are greatly appreciated. Thank you for supporting the M.O.M.S. Program Food Pantry.

Bible Memorization Challenge

Pastor Brad issued a challenge to our Faith Family in 2017 and would like us to take this challenge once again: to memorize 52 Bible verses in 52 weeks for 2019. These verses will be posted each week in this Faith Update blog and will be in the worship folder each Sunday. To see a full list of verses so you can practice adding a new one each week while keeping up with those you have already learned, click HERE. The verse for the week is this: Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you?  1 Corinthians 3:16