Pray for Compassion / Missions

For the past 40 Days we have been praying for Ingathering. Today is the day. We will give well. We will give sacrificially. Then what?

Our mission is to glorify God by sharing the gospel and serving others. So, that is what we must continually refocus toward, and missional opportunities lie before us we must all get behind. Join us in praying for and serving in the success of these opportunities:

The Compassion Experience—2-weeks from now the Compassion Experience will be here for a 4-Day event. Presently we have over 1,800 registered attenders (Fri – 428, Sat – 745, Sun – 488, Mon – 152). We expect 50% of people to RSVP and 50% of people to simply walk up. Therefore, our estimate of seeing 4,000+ people on our campus for the event is certainly realistic. You can sign up today to help at our Hospitality Center or to work in the Compassion Experience on any of the days they are here, Oct 9-12. Our goal is 100 prospect families and 200+ children sponsored. My prayer is that 20 of those children are sponsored by Shadycrest families. Pray & Serve with us! 

Kids Hope Mentors—we will have 10 trained mentors this year. Pray for them and pray they are matched up with the kids God wants us to help!

Operation Christmas Child—our world missions ministry to care for needy kids at Christmas. Pray for success. Begins in October.

Angel Tree—our local missions ministry to care for needy kids at Christmas. Pray for success. Begins right before Thanksgiving (Nov.).

INGATHERING SUNDAY IS ALMOST HERE!

"It is more blessed to give than to receive" (Acts 20:35).

Many people go to church for what they can get. Well, if you go to church just for what you can get out of the music, or what you can get out of the sermon, or just to get blessed, you've missed the point and therefore you may miss the blessing. The music and the sermon aren't ends in themselves, they are but stimuli to cause you to seek and worship God. And if you have any thought less than that, you've missed the point! Giving God the glory He is due is central to the Gospel and central to life!

We go to church to worship God, and that's done by giving, not getting. How can our worship be pure if our first instinct is to “get what we want.” No, instead, we first go to offer something to Him. We offer Him praise, a humble heart, a willing spirit. We lay our service and even our treasure at His feet to worship Him. Worship is a consuming desire to give to God, and it involves the giving of ourselves, our heart attitudes, and our possessions.

So, as Ingathering week approaches, plan to give well! Give sacrificially! Yes, give financially but also come prepared to offer Him great praise from a pure heart. In doing so you and I will be giving Him the honor & glory & praise He deserves. Let’s bless the LORD next week with all the passion we can muster! Let us come together and honor Him, and as He asked us to in Malachi, let us test Him and see what He might do amongst us when we give sacrificially to His Kingdom work.

The Compassion Experience

The Compassion Experience is coming to the Pearland area October 9 – 12, hosted by Shadycrest Baptist Church and Lifepointe Fellowship (our neighbor church). This free event will bring visitors on an interactive journey through the lives of children living in countries such as Uganda, Bolivia, and El Salvador.

Through over 2,000 square feet of interactive exhibit space, visitors will step inside daily life in a developing country—visiting homes, markets and schools—without getting on a plane. Through the use of an iPod and headset, each tour is guided by a child whose story starts in poverty but ends in hope.

The event is an excellent opportunity to experience another culture and better understand the realities of global poverty. Don’t miss this life-changing event.

We are expecting over 4,000 visitors to our campus over the 4 day event! Some of these will become prospects for Shadycrest. We are also expecting to see over 200 children sponsored because of our willingness to host this event for our community. That is exciting!

So, circle October 9-12 on your calendar and make sure you visit the experience yourself. Call your family and friends too. It is going to be awesome and God glorifying!

Building Bridges Through Love and Prayer

Building a bridge is an art. Not literal bridges that you drive over, although those are incredibly important...no, instead bridges for the gospel…bridges that help us sow the seeds of the gospel.

I love the prayer emphasis we are experiencing together right now. It is a joy to know a group of our members are praying every day and for the same things. Yes, we are agreeing and seeking the LORD in prayer, asking for his favor, for revival, and for a blessed offering this month at Ingathering.

Likewise, we should pray, as we learned last week, for God to break our hearts for lost people. And, we should pray for the wisdom and opportunity to reach them. Here are some other ideas to help us all:

1. Love people until they ask why. Then give Jesus all the credit.

2. Ask more questions than they do. Show your genuine interest in other’s lives…and this helps you to know how to pray for them.

3. Pray for them. And let them know you are doing it by continually checking on them.

4. Pray for your heart. We are by default selfish and we need to pray daily to ask the Lord to help our focus be on loving others as we love ourselves.

5. Connect them to church/gospel. Continually invite people to your church, your group, & your home.

6. Follow up. This is the step that everyone seems to forget. Never assume their silence means they are not interested. They’re busy, just like you. Keep reaching out. 

I Love My Church!

Lately I’ve been contemplating all the great things I love about Shadycrest. As I began to make a list I was overwhelmed by the number of great ministries and great people we have here who serve the LORD so well. It literally made me exclaim, “I love my church!”

I LOVE:

Watching our kitchen crew serve our members with great love.

Hearing the stories of members like Alvin Rose and Gene Weaver who visit our homebound and nursing homebound. 

Listening to the testimonies of our youth (Blaine Israel) about what God is doing in their young lives.

Hearing the giggles and watching the smiles as the children played this past week at our AWANA kickoff carnival.

 Praying with our prayer warriors during our 40 Days of Prayer.

Singing with our Celebration Choir and awesome praise band. 

There is so much to love about Shadycrest! What a great place to serve the LORD!
What do you love about Shadycrest? I’d love to hear your story. If you have a story to tell, please contact me. I’m collecting stories and I truly want to hear yours. Call or write me ASAP, and tell me why you love your church!