Lifeboat Rescuing Continues - Fall 2017

“The Church used to be a lifeboat rescuing the perishing.

Now she is a cruise ship recruiting the promising.”

 — Leonard Ravenhill

 

Our heart is to keep sending out as many rescue missions as possible…not wanting anyone to perish. We each have our niche and strategy as we daily walk through life being light and offering the hope of Christ to the world. Our niche is the city, the streets and alleys and broken-down shanty structures people call home in the center of one of the richest cities in the world. We jump at every opportunity to Go and Do…all while we are Being the Church.

It is exciting seeing people give their lives to Jesus and His mission. It is thrilling as we catch the eye of the people alongside us who now are in their own lifeboats – joining in on this mission – folks who we rescued from the murky water not long ago, precious people who we’ve helped come to know the Lord…giving their lives to do the same thing – helping more people know and experience Jesus.

Thank you for joining us in our heart 4 the city through prayer, encouragement and financial support – our church and the ministry beyond may not be filled with the richest or best educated, but we do see the face of Jesus and definitely see Him working in and through us. 

UPDATESWe were able to impact over 100 people during Thanksgiving. We especially give thanks to all the people who donated time, money and food to allow us to serve so many good meals and hand out so many groceries for the people in our community. It is fun and humbling to see eyes lighten up and shoulders relax when we are able to help families in need with some extra food and an invitation to join us for a hot meal. 

We have much to be thankful for…here are just a few things:
·       No More Cancer?
Edvin, the teen boy that has been fighting cancer, is just about done with his rounds of chemotherapy. He has been doing great and the images we’ve seen show drastic reduction of cancer in his body. Let’s keep praying, but what a blessing to see and hear the improvement.

·       Leadership team getting strongerWe were impressed when we returned from sabbatical at how well the leadership and the church overall had done, but now that we are back we get to see and be part of intentionally guiding even more growth and maturing. We are anticipating even greater things through this leadership team in 2018!

·       New Community Group started and growing

·       Great team of children’s ministry volunteers at our church
We had a full house during our powerful 3-hour training which was full of so many great ideas and a passion to impact our community. We desire to be and are working towards providing one of the best children’s ministries in our community – which is a very big need (many broken families, unreached segment of the population and other churches have no children’s ministries). It is through the children’s ministry that we believe many of our leaders will be trained up and released to do even greater ministry.

Pictured: Our two children’s ministry classes.

·       Rebecca being celebrated for her birthday.
Our firstborn is now 12 and our church really made her (and us) feel special by pouring out love and attention for her on her birthday.
 

·       Fabiola teaching 7^th grade Bible at Los Angeles Christian School (LACS)It has been an exciting time for Fabiola to dig deeper into the Word of God and equip and encourage these young people for Christ.

Pictured: A past group of 7^th graders from LACS at a Christmas party.

Toy Drive: We Really Need Your Help

Can you help us bless children in our community with toys this year? We need toys for boys and girls for all ages from 2-18. You can purchase the toys and drop them off (if your local), order them online and have them shipped to us (Chad Wolyn / 2001 S. Vermont Ave. / Los Angeles, CA 90007) or send us money and we can buy the toys ourselves. (If you send money please let us know that it is for toys so that it doesn’t go to our personal missionary support.) All donations need to be received by Saturday, December 16. Our goal is to bless 100 children!

Upcoming Events

·        Urban Church Association Pastor’s Christmas Dinner, Dec. 7

·        Our Identity in Christ Conference, December 8-10
·        Christmas Banquet, December 16
·        Christmas Toy Store, December 18

Thank you so much for your prayers and support!

Together we can be the lifeboat and help sent out even more lifeboats as we bring meaning, purpose and eternal life to people that otherwise may never know our Mighty God.

Wishing you the merriest of Christmases!

Chad, Fabiola, Rebecca, Justice and Beniah