[00:00:00] Speaker A: Foreign.
[00:00:06] Speaker B: Beautiful Westgate family. Let's rise together on this beautiful day and worship our beautiful Lord and Savior.
[00:00:32] Speaker A: We worship the God who was.
We worship the God who is.
We worship the God who ever more will be.
He opened the prison doors. He parted the raging sea.
My God, he holds the victory.
Yeah.
There's joy in the house of the Lord there's joy in the house of the Lord today and we won't be quiet.
We shout out your praise. There's joy in the house of the Lord Our God is surely in this place and we won't be quiet.
We shout out your praise.
Oh, we shout out your praise.
We sing to the God who heals. We sing to the God who saves. We sing to the God who always makes a way.
Cause he hung up on that cross Then he rose up from that grave.
My God still rolling stones away there's joy in the house of the Lord there's joy in the house of the Lord today and we won't be tired.
We shout out your praise. There's joy in the house of the Lord Our God is surely in this place and we won't be quiet.
We shout out your praise.
We were the beggars, now we're royalty.
We were the prisoners, now we're running free.
We are forgiven, accepted, redeemed by his grace.
Let the house of the Lord sing Prai.
We were the beggars, now we're royalty.
We were the prisoners, now we're running free.
We are forgiven, accepted, receive by his grace.
Let the house of the Lord sing Praise.
There's joy in the house of the Lord there's joy in the house of the Lord today and we won't be qu. Quiet.
We shout out your praise. There's joy in the house of the Lord Our God is surely in this place and we won't be quiet.
We're going to shout out your praise. There's joy in the house of the Lord there's joy in the house of the Lord today and we won't be quiet.
We're going to shout out your praise and joy in the house of the Lord Our God is surely in this place. Praise and we won't be quiet for the. Shout out your praise.
We shout out your praise.
There is joy in his house. There is joy in his house today.
We shout out your praise.
We shout out your praise.
[00:04:17] Speaker C: Hey. Good morning. How are you today? Church family?
Good. It is good to be here with you this morning.
Thankful that you have chosen to worship with us today. You may be seated.
We are excited that you are here, especially if you are a first time guest, whether that is today or in the past few weeks. Thank you so much for coming and worshiping with us.
As you take that step to get connected here at Westgate and you desire for deeper connection, the great first step to take is to fill out a connection card. And that connection card you'll find in the pew in front of you. If you take a moment to fill that out today, you can go out to our main lobby at the close of the service. And at our guest center, we have a team of people there that would love to take that card and exchange a small gift for you. But also they would love to answer any questions you might have about how to get connected here at Westgate. And so again, we are thankful that you are here and have chosen to worship with us today. Especially, we want to say thank you to those of you that are at home or traveling worshiping online. Thank you so much for joining us. As a reminder, you can find all of the information about our sermon notes or things that are going on through our Westgate Chapel app. And so please be sure to check that out as well. Now this morning you get to hear just a little bit about some awesome stuff that's gonna be going on in the fall. This is Julieann, our outreach and missions director. Welcome her this morning and she is gonna share with you about something great that's gonna be happening here at the very beginning of October.
[00:05:46] Speaker B: Emphasis week, October 5th through 12th. If you have your sermon notes I' you to pull this card out. Friends online, open it up on the app.
It's on our website. We have a full week of events to help us take our next step in missions. And so this is God's heart. Every day, 365 days a year, every week. We want to keep engaging our hearts and minds in what it means to reach our neighbors and the nations and hear testimony about what God is doing. But we have set aside the first full week, Sunday to Sunday of October each year as our kind of like our, our pep rally for missions to really engage our hearts and to move with the Christian Missionary alliance, which is the denomination we're part of through this year. And so every year we have a different theme and the alliance is in many countries. And so we're going to start with a video that just shows pictures of our international workers where God is at work on each continent, in each of our regions, where our people serve. And you will recognize familiar faces that were sent from here or have visited here. And then we'll talk about where we're headed in the first week of October. Watch this video Are praying in to this all of Jesus for all the world. We are praying that we will engage in what it means for it to take all of us. And so as I said, the entire alliance family all around the United States, every church will have a weekend set aside or a couple weeks set aside to talking about what it means for us to take our next step. And so this card is our save the date card October 5th through 12th. As we said, it's Sunday to Sunday and we love to have lots of fun. We want to engage, sight, smell our senses in missions as well as our hearts. And so my first ask of you is to begin praying just that you will have space in this amazing fall launch season of back to school and lots of commotion in our schedules that we will set time apart to really show up at these services and the week long events, but also that our ears will have space to hear. I remember something one of our guests said 13 years ago that still has stuck with me in the way I pray for missions 13 years later. And so our special guests that we are welcoming this year are Mao and Janet Abaya. They are our friends from serving in Jos, Nigeria. They attended here in the early 90s before Westgate sent them back to Jos, Nigeria where they have a very impactful and hard ministry.
We will teach you more about Nigeria but they have such an encouraging story that despite very hard circumstances as they half their country is Christian and half of it is Muslim and there is a high level of persecution for people that say yes to Jesus at their at their training school. And so they carry a weight as you'll hear in the services and the different on ramps to eat dessert with them or hear from them on Wednesday night you will also feel more joy and encouragement. It's a beautiful juxtaposition of walking with Jesus in hard places. And so we're going to champion Nigeria the beginning of the week.
As I said, we have a giant Wednesday night event that's on here as a save the date. Put it in your calendar. Now we will have the Abayas here as well as a whole building full of prayer experiences that champion different ways to pray for missions. It's all age friendly.
So we'll start with some global appetizers and foods from 6 to 6:30 and then we will open up the church for a time of prayer and close together that evening.
And then the Abayas will be here through teenagers. Then we'll switch and the Abayas will move on and we will bring in partners from Tea House Central Asia because that is a restricted place where you are not allowed to be a Christian. We're going to be very careful, especially in second service with our livestream, without showing the names and faces of our partners. But October 12, they will be here and we would love for you to be here in person since we again cannot share their stories just out of protection of them. But they get to share what it's like to share and share God's love in a Muslim country in Central Asia. And God is at work. We can hold that tension together and each engage our hearts in taking that next step of praying and giving and sending, encouraging, going and telling others about what God is doing.
So we are preparing our hearts in prayer. We're checking our calendars. As I said online on the app, there's many opportunities for our large group fun and then also some smaller engagements with dessert and things like that to really get to, to know our workers. And then we. The last thing I'm asking you to do is join us in serving. So it's one month away and we kick it off with our parade of flags and we would love for you guys to be our flag carriers on that 5th, October 5th.
And then all throughout the week, we just have opportunities for you guys to be part of this week. This is our church hosting our friends and learning together. And so we would love for you guys to take a next step. Check your calendars and see what it looks like whether to shepherd by hosting a prayer room or helping with food and greeting and things like that. Set up cleanup, the whole thing. So we're so excited for what God is going to do and know that you are being prayed for as we head into missions emphasis week just one month from now.
With that, I would love for you guys to stand up and meet someone. You can give a fist bump a high five and say, hi, I'm Julianne or whatever your name is.
[00:11:35] Speaker A: It's.
It's. It's good to be in the house of the Lord.
[00:13:01] Speaker D: Amen.
Outlast darkness hope that's in the blood there's future grace that's mine today that Jesus Christ has won so I can face tomorrow for tomorrow's in your hand All I need you will provide just like you always have Give it to God I'm fighting a battle you've already.
[00:13:55] Speaker A: Won.
[00:13:58] Speaker D: No matter what comes my way I will overcome. Don't know what you're doing.
[00:14:12] Speaker C: But I.
[00:14:12] Speaker D: Know what you've done I'm fighting a battle you've already won.
There's mercy in the waiting and mana for today.
And when it's gone, I know you're not. You are my hope and stay. Amen.
When the sea is raging, your spirit is my help.
He'll fix my eyes on Jesus Christ. I'll say that it is well.
Oh, I know that it is well.
I'm fighting a battle you've already won.
No matter what comes my way, I will overcome. I don't know what you're doing, but I know what you've done.
Thank you, God.
Fighting a battle you've already won.
Hallelujah.
I know how the story ends.
We will be be with you again.
Amen.
We're celebrating, Ryan. You're my savior, my defense.
[00:16:22] Speaker C: No more fear.
[00:16:25] Speaker D: No more fear in life or death.
I know how the story end.
We will be with you.
We will be with you again.
You're my savior, my defense.
No more fear at all.
No more fear in life or death. All right, Church, let's lift this up as loud as we can.
Oh, I know how the story end.
We will be with you again.
[00:17:23] Speaker A: You're my savior, my defense.
[00:17:32] Speaker D: No more fear in life or death.
I know how the story ends.
[00:17:42] Speaker A: We know.
Yes, we know.
[00:17:47] Speaker D: And I'm fighting a battle you've already won.
No matter what comes my way, I will overcome. Don't know what you're doing.
[00:18:11] Speaker A: What?
[00:18:12] Speaker D: I know what you've done.
[00:18:14] Speaker A: Thank you, God.
[00:18:16] Speaker D: I'm fighting battle you've already won.
I'm fighting a battle you've already won.
Amen.
Hallelujah.
God is so good. Amen.
As we do this next song, just encourage you to respond as you feel led. It's a call and response song.
[00:19:09] Speaker C: You've probably heard it before.
[00:19:10] Speaker D: Just want to encourage you to worship as you feel led this morning.
Do you feel the world is broken?
[00:19:25] Speaker C: We do.
[00:19:28] Speaker D: Do you feel the shadows deepen?
[00:19:32] Speaker C: We do.
[00:19:35] Speaker D: But do you know that all the dark won't stop the light from getting through?
[00:19:42] Speaker A: We do.
[00:19:45] Speaker D: Do you wish that you could see it all made new?
[00:19:52] Speaker C: We do.
[00:19:58] Speaker D: Is all creation groaning?
Is a new creation coming?
[00:20:08] Speaker A: It is.
[00:20:11] Speaker D: Is the of the Lord to be the light within our midst?
Is it good that we remind ourselves of this?
Is anyone worthy?
Is anyone whole?
Is anyone able to break the seal and open the scroll?
The lion of Judah who conquered the grave?
He is David, Trude and the lamb that died to ransom the slain.
Is he worthy?
Is he worthy of all blessing and honor and glory?
Is he worthy of this?
He is does the Father truly love us?
He does.
Does the spirit move among us?
[00:21:35] Speaker C: He does.
[00:21:38] Speaker D: And does Jesus our Messiah, hold fore those he loves?
[00:21:45] Speaker A: He does.
[00:21:48] Speaker D: Does our God intend to dwell again with us?
[00:21:55] Speaker C: He does.
[00:22:02] Speaker D: Is anyone worthy?
Is anyone whole?
Is anyone able to break the seal and open the scrol?
The lion of Judah who conquered the grave?
[00:22:21] Speaker A: He is.
[00:22:22] Speaker D: David, Trude and the Lamb who died to ransom the slave from every people and tribe, every nation and town.
He has made us a kingdom and priests to God to reign with the Son.
Is he worthy?
Is he worthy of all blessing and honor and glory?
Is he worthy?
Is he worthy?
Is he worthy of this?
[00:23:09] Speaker A: He is.
He is.
[00:23:15] Speaker D: Is he worth?
Is he worthy?
[00:23:22] Speaker C: He is.
[00:23:25] Speaker A: He.
[00:23:28] Speaker D: He is Worthy.
He is Worthy.
[00:23:35] Speaker A: He is.
[00:23:41] Speaker D: Thank you, God. Amazing.
[00:23:44] Speaker C: Worthy.
God is good. Amen.
So good to worship him together this morning.
Would you join me in prayer?
Father, thank you again for the opportunity we have to be here together to experience the goodness of fellowship as Christians, to experience God, your presence, to worship you, to thank you, God, for who you are and what you're doing in our hearts and our lives, how you're changing us and transforming us. God, as we yield to you, thank you, God, for what you are doing in using this church and this body to bring more people to a saving knowledge of your son.
God, all of it is you.
It's what you're doing in us and what you're doing through us. And so we worship you and we praise you this. This morning, God. We thank you as we come to our time of offering.
God. It is just another expression of our dependence upon you, but also our desire to be a part of what you're doing in bringing more people to know your son. And so, Lord, as we give of our offerings today, I ask, Lord, that it would rise as a beautiful and fragrant offering before your throne.
That you would multiply it, God, so that more people would know your. Your son. We love you and we pray this together in the matchless name of Jesus, our Savior. Amen.
All right. Well, thank you again for coming and worshiping with us today. We're going to take our morning offering. And the offering buckets are here in the center aisle, so if you can grab those and pass them out to the sides. And the buckets are in the corners of the balcony. And we'll pass those in and we'll continue to worship the Lord for just a moment as we take up our morning offering.
Well, as we mentioned at the beginning of the service with the fall kind of in fall swing, all of the students and kids going back to school, us finding our routines and rhythms. Our church calendar has gotten quite a bit busier. And so I'll just remind you that the best way to stay up to date is with our church app. Be sure to check that out. There are three things that would like to point out to you that are happening that you can be a part of. The first is this.
If you're new to Westgate this week or in the last few weeks, or as I always say over the last few years and you've never been to a new people party, I would love for you to come and join us. And we're going to be having a new people party with our staff on September 28, Sunday the 28th, it goes from about noon to one. You get to have lunch with our staff and it's an opportunity for us to get to know one another and to just understand a little bit more about Westgate and to make those connections with each other. So if you have never been, you're newer to Westgate, we would love for you to come and join us. You can register for that on our website or through the church app as well. Another thing that is happening is our fall serve. And as we get into fall, there are many opportunities with our community partners but also here at West Westgate to serve in many different capacities. And so as an individual or with your family or whether it's with your life group, if you're looking for opportunities for service, we have got a lot of those opportunities that are listed on our
[email protected] fallserve or on our Westgate app. Again, you will find that same link and you can check those opportunities out and be sure to get involved.
Thirdly, want to remind you if you are a mom of, of a child birth through Pre K, we have a ministry called Mom Life for you. And it's gonna be kicking off not this week Wednesday, but the following Wednesday, September 17th at 9:30am if you are a mom that's got children in that age group and you are looking for community and to connect with people, a place where you can also bring your friends and have that community together, we would love for you to join us. And so that's just a reminder that that's gonna be launching in two weeks. You can register again online or through the church app to be a part of it or just show up. We would love for you to come and just find that connection where you can meet other people but also grow in Christ together. So be sure to Check that out.
Now this morning is a very significant and, and different Sunday than most Sundays. This is what we call our Vision Sunday. And so if you are new here at Westgate, thank you. Things are going to be a little bit different than normal. We're going to be talking about today, the vision that God has given us over the past few years. And also we're going to be looking forward to what we believe God is calling us to as a church family in the year to come. And so if you're new here to Westgate, this is a really great chance for you to get to know a little bit more about us and our DNA if you're a regular here at Westgate. It's an opportunity for us to celebrate what God has been doing in us and among us and through us, and also to really set our hearts on where God has been leading us as a church leadership as we think about this year to come. And so I'm excited to dive into this with you. We have been in a five year vision together for the past three years that was entitled Deep Roots and Broad Reach. You can see it out on our vision wall across from the cafe. But the idea for this five year vision flowed out of the understanding that we believe that God has so much more that he wants to do in us and also through us. And with this Deep Roots, Broad Reach theme, I want to answer the question for you this morning. Why is it that we chose this theme three years ago to push into. If you have your sermon notes, you can pull those out and follow along with me this morning.
But why is it that we chose this theme? And first, what you'll see is this letter A in your notes is that there are numerous places in Scripture that describe our dependence on Christ as being the catalyst for how we live out our faith and God's mission for our life. I'll say it again. There are many places in Scripture that describe our dependence on Christ as the catalyst for how we live out our faith and God's mission for our our life.
One of the primary passages that we used when we launched into this vision is found in John 15. It's most commonly known as the vine and the branches passage. And in John 15, verses 4 and 5, Jesus says these words to his disciples, Abide in me, and I in you.
As a branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.
I am the vine and you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he. It is that bears much fruit. For apart from me, you can do nothing.
As we read this passage, launching into this five year vision together, it stands out that Jesus is telling his disciples and, and us through the pages of Scripture that one of the most essential aspects of the Christian life is that we abide in Christ.
That we are growing deeper in our intimacy and fellowship with God, surrendering more and more of our hearts to Him. And when we do that, our lives bear spiritual fruit. Not fruit that we create ourselves, but fruit that the Holy Spirit bears out in the our lives as we push into relationship with God. Jesus uses this picture of the vine and the branches of a grapevine in order to help us understand this truth. He says, I am the vine.
And in order to bear fruit, he says, you are the branches, you must remain in me. We know from grapevines that if a branch detaches from the main vine, what happens? It becomes wooden, it doesn't bear fruit. It actually is good for nothing. And as the passage says, it is often pulled away from the vine and thrown into the burn pile. And Jesus uses this picture to remind us of the importance of growing deeper in our fellowship with him and the surrender of our hearts and lives.
When we jumped into this series together and into this vision, we wanted to paint that picture in a way that might make sense for something that was happening culturally at the time. You'll remember back in 2023 that there was a story that became kind of broadcast all across news about a banyan tree in Lahaina, Maui. You'll see pictures of this tree here on the screen. But this tree was actually given to the island of Maui and to the king as a gift from missionaries that came to the island. It was planted as a very small sapling, but then grew into this beautiful, strong, majestic tree that was so significant, especially to the town of Lahaina. But as you know, in 2023, there were fires that ravaged the island of Maui. My son was actually there on the island the day that those fires started. He was preparing to leave. And we remember watching the news as the fire swept through, but it reached not only tearing through the entire town and taking out every structure, but also this tree that held such significance to the culture, but also to the people. And you can see there the burned out tree, it left them wondering what will happen to it has this kind of erased, if you will, the symbol of our town. But over the next year, what they began to realize is as the tree was tended to, there were small shoots that slowly began to pop, pop up from amongst the ashes, these small little pieces of green growing into bigger ones. On the news, they would broadcast new growth that was constantly taking place. And over the past couple of years, as the tree has continued, you'll see that it actually has regrown all new growth. And today, this next picture shows how it is completely regrowing now. They've cut away portions of it that were wooden and dead because of the fire. But the main part of this tree continues to live on and it is continuing to expand.
I love this picture. In this example, I want you to think about this. How is it that this tree could undergo such catastrophic damage and still yet continue to grow and thrive? It's because of its root system that you see on the screen. The banyan tree grows an incredibly different deep root system down into the soil.
So deep, about 10ft deep down, that it is protected by that, but also continues to receive nutrients and water that could help keep it alive even amongst such a such a catastrophe as this. Another thing that I don't have a picture of is that the banyan tree not only grows roots from its trunk like a normal tree, but as it continues to grow and expand and has a broader reach, there are are new trunks that actually grow down from the top of the tree with roots that sink themselves in. And so literally, the tree is supported by many different root systems everywhere that are sinking deep into the ground.
We used this picture as an example of deep roots and broad reach, pulling off of John 15 and the idea that Jesus presents there, that as we stay connected, connected to the vine, the vine provides the life, the life source, if you will, for Christian living. And as we are connected to Christ, we have a broader reach with the root system of a tree. It's the same.
We want to be deeply rooted in Christ because we understand that as we are, it is through him that our lives are changed and transformed. But he also expands our reach with others. Let her be in your notes. We believe that the deeper we grow in Christ as individuals and also as a church family, the broader our reach will become with those who are far from God. I'll say that again. We believe that the deeper we grow in Christ as individuals, which is primary of importance if we're going to grow together as a church family, but as individuals and as a church family, it is then that the Spirit will produce fruit and we will have a broader reach with those who are far from God.
So when we began deep roots, broad reach about three years ago in September of 2022, we set a number of goals, not so that we could try to orchestrate something on our own, but as a marker for us to say, are we continuing to. To surrender to God and through that is he the one that is producing fruit in our lives? I want to walk you quickly this morning through these goals and give you kind of our three year update as to where we are at in each of them. In the first section, when we talk about having deep roots, one of the things that we set out for is we wanted to be a church of life groups. What we recognize is that life groups perhaps provide two really important purposes for our church. Number one, life groups are a primary arm of discipleship that takes place here at Westgate as you are connected to other people. It's the opportunity to be in God's word and growing together. And number two, it's also the primary way of finding community together in a large church.
We believe at Westgate that the most significant spiritual growth takes place in our lives when we're connected relationally with other people. This is how God has designed his church. And often one of the things that we find is that finding authentic relationships in a large church can be difficult. For a number of years at Westgate, I have found that people struggled with providing and finding this type of community.
Often we would see many people over the years coming to Westgate Chapel, but then leaving and not staying long term. And I can remember when I was the outreach and connection pastor, that I got a phone call one day from a gentleman who said, I love so many things about your church, but I've been there about six to eight weeks and I just can't seem to break into relationship with people. And so I'm going to move on. And I felt heartbroken at that moment because I'm like, that's what the church is supposed to supposed to be is relationship and building those relationships and growing together.
And so our passion and our desire and the vision that God has given us is not that we would just be a church that has life groups, but that we would truly become a church of life groups, where big church begins to feel small and we find connection and community with each other as we grow in Christ.
There are three things to fill in here that I want you to see. We started in September of 2022 at 63% adult involvement in our life groups. And as we went on, the goal was to hit 80% plus people involved in a life group.
Number three, this last year, in December, we peaked at 77%. Almost there. And yet today we're sitting at 71% in a few minutes. I will tell you why. But one of the exciting things is this, is that people are regularly connecting into these environments. The problem is we're not keeping up with growth. But life groups are making a real impact. And I've got here with me this morning Jim and Bridget Beach. And would you welcome them as they join me here on the platform?
Jim and Bridget are partners of ours in the community today, working with young life. And we're just excited to have you guys as a part of our church family. But I know that when you came a few years ago, it was kind of a hard transition. Can you share with us just a little bit about that? Yeah.
[00:40:25] Speaker E: We moved here three years ago and felt like when we moved, we left a lot behind. Like God was clearly calling us to come to Toledo and work for young life here. But it was so hard, especially for me, just with the community we had left behind.
And we started coming to Westgate and didn't know a single person in Westgate. So maybe that's you this morning, not knowing anybody.
And I remember like thinking, maybe if we just hang out in the hallways, we'll start to meet more people. And with the church this size, that would take a while. So we. It wasn't till we joined a life group and for me got connected with serving in the early childhood hallway. Those two things helped this big church of strangers feel like a small, personal church. And it felt like we all of a sudden had people that had our backs and that we could follow Jesus with and grow together.
[00:41:15] Speaker C: That's awesome. And you guys have been a part of a rather large life group that I hear has really good barbecue often, which is exciting.
But you guys are going to be launching into something new. And would you take a moment to share kind of the vision of what you guys are going to be moving into?
[00:41:34] Speaker F: Yeah.
[00:41:34] Speaker G: Our life group has been really amazing and really amazing for us and we love it so much. But we are. We've been overflowing the last year or two and we've just. Our whole life group has just been feeling for the last year that maybe God is leading us to not split, but multiply.
[00:41:53] Speaker C: Good work.
[00:41:53] Speaker G: And I said split last service. That felt weird. It did because we're not splitting. It's a good transition, but it's really hard because we really love each other, but we just feel like God's pointing us in that direction and we'll still do some things to together. I sure hope I'm still invited to the barbecues.
[00:42:09] Speaker C: Yeah, right. Where's Burrow? Nope, you're out.
[00:42:14] Speaker G: We feel we're actually splitting, I think into three life groups this year at some point. And we just feel like God's leading us to split because you know what? When we're so full to multiply because we're so.
We're so full, it feels like we're full and we can't bring anyone new. And that just feels odd to us. We want to always be able to welcome people into our life groups and people need life groups. So we just feel like God's maybe leading us in that direction, direction to start a new life group and. But the second reason is because God's just really put it on our heart to.
We've been really praying for a team of people from Westgate that would reach our community in Sylvania. And we work with Southview a lot specifically. Now, we don't know if that's going to exactly happen, but we're just, you know, we're praying that God, maybe that life group could be become a team that's reaching our community together also where that is.
[00:43:05] Speaker C: Awesome. Would you thank Jim and Bridget for coming and sharing with us this morning?
I love, I love what this life group has been talking about. It's really a difficult one. And having led life groups in this church a number of years ago, one of the difficulties is always when you ask and say, hey, would you be willing to multiply so that more people can be a part of that? And as we grow as a church, there are so many people that want to get connected into that community. But there's got to be space for that to happen. And so I'm thankful for the vision that this group has had to say. We want to multiply. We want to allow more people to find that community that has been such a blessing to us. And as well, I love the emphasis that Jim and Bridget are placing in their group specifically of saying, not only do we want to do life together, but we want to find a way to reach the community that is around us.
Such a great vision for that. You know, if you are looking for a way to get connected into a life group and to find community, I know it can be hard in a big church. You can walk the hallway and sometimes be like, I would love more than just, hi, hello, and how are you? Life groups is a great way to find that community and to plug into the life of the church. And so next Sunday we're actually having a life group sign up event. And so if you are looking For a way to get connected. You can do that next Sunday over in the cafe. We're gonna have life group leaders that are there with openings in their groups. You can stop, talk to them, and feel no threat.
Just looking for the group that would be a good fit for you. And so if you're looking to get connected, keep that in mind. But I'll also say church, family, as you're gonna hear in a few moments. As we continue to grow, we have a huge need. One of the things holding us back and connecting more people is we need more people to have a vision for leading life groups. Maybe God would call you and your life group to multiply, or you as an individual to step out and say, you know what? I think God wants to use me so that more people can experience what I have been experiencing in my group. And so if the Lord would lead you to that, I know Pastor Adam would love the opportunity to talk to you and help connect you in that way.
Another piece that Bridget actually mentioned is in our deep roots, vision is it's not just life groups that help us to grow deeper in Christ and in fellowship with other people. It's serving is also another aspect of. Of that where we grow deeper as we use our gifts, but also it provides a place for us to find community as we serve. We develop Christ's heart for others when we're rooted in Christ and using the gifts that he has specifically given to us. And we use those to encourage other people to a relationship with him or to grow deeper in Him. And so as we set the goal, number one, we started in September of 2022 at, at 55% of our adults in the church serving and using their gifts. We said, hey, if you're serving weekly, that counts. Or maybe you're in a stage of life where you can't serve weekly, but you know, you serve four or five times throughout the year in different capacities.
That is kind of how we figured out that metric. The goal was 80% involvement. We peaked this last year at 67%, which was some decent growth, growth in this space. Currently, we're sitting at 64%. And again, in a moment, I'll talk a little bit about that. But one of the things that I've loved is that I've watched over these last three years is our church is branching out and serving in so many different ways in the community. You've heard about those as we had our partner Sunday recently, many people serving with the Pregnancy center in Bella Vida, serving with Door elementary, and our missional Team, which is continuing to grow and expand. We're excited, excited about that. People serving with First Watch, that neighborhood church and so many other partners. You are making an impact for Christ in our community. But as well, so many people serve in different ministries, but as we grow, we continue to have needs in our children's ministry for volunteers and people that would pour into the next generation, in our student ministries as well in our guest services ministry and as I already mentioned, with our life ministry. And this, as I'll talk about a little later in the service, is going to be a key focus for us in the year to come. But why is it that it seems with life groups and also with serving that our percentage has dropped well, Letter C. The percentage drop is a result of 40% growth in our church over the past three years. To give you a picture of that, In September of 2022, we had roughly 670, 70 people attending Westgate on, on an average Sunday to just over this past month, we had two Sundays where we crested over a thousand people each week. With that growth, we keep moving our percentage up, but we can't keep up with the growth. So the percentage continues to drop. But even more, it emphasizes the need that as we grow, we need to be able to connect more people, people into community with one another because we believe that is the best way that we grow deeper in our relationship with Christ.
Now I want to also take some time to talk about the broad reach side because as I said, we believe that as we grow deeper in Christ and the Holy Spirit produces fruit in us, it will naturally produce a greater reach with people that don't know Christ.
And one of the goals that we set, let's letter A is this is goal of 250 baptisms and professions of faith combined. Now I will confess to you as your pastor that when we set this goal, everything in my heart I was like, this feels like a really big faith risk. Can we do that number? And part of that was because as I looked at what had happened over the past 10 to 15 years, we maybe had seen 3, 4, 5 people per year come to faith in Jesus Christ. We would have more people getting baptized, but it was usually people that had already been in the church as well. And so I kind of felt like that feels like a really big goal. I'll confess to you. I look at it now and I go, man, my faith needs to be way bigger. And a lot of that is because of what we've seen God do over these past three years. Number one, 170 people have made a profession of faith in Jesus Christ over these past three years. Can we give God glory for that?
It has been beyond my imagination what I see God doing. And one of the core things that I think I learned as a pastor is that if you aren't giving people an opportunity to say yes to Jesus, they aren't going to do it.
Right.
How did it take me so long to figure that out?
But I'm telling you, the same is true in your relationships with other people.
The people that God has placed in your circle have every day. How will they ever say yes if you never provide the opportunity? I've been excited to see people from many of our children and our kids ministry and our people in our student ministry, adults of all ages making that decision to say yes. And this morning I wanted to share a testimony from one of those individuals who just this last summer gave their heart to Jesus for the first time and said yes to a relationship with him. His name is Preston. He went to the life conference with our high school students and hear his, his story on the screen.
[00:50:21] Speaker H: So Preston, thanks so much for coming out today and sharing a bit of your story. I really appreciate that. Of course.
And so I just want to start off with like, obviously you're part of high school ministry and so what brought you to Westgate High school ministry?
[00:50:37] Speaker F: I was just really curious about church. Right. Trying to get into, into religion. And then I was talking to my one buddy about it, Colton, and he just kind of dragged me along. Yeah, great guy. He, he invited me to some Mondays, and then the Mondays turned into Sundays, and then the Mondays and Sundays turned into every single one and you know, just started flowing.
[00:50:53] Speaker H: Nice. That's great. And so we started off in high school ministry. We, you were part of our small group with Colton and the guys and then basically led us into summer where we went to life. So we get to life and it's super hype, right? It's, it's, it's a ton of fun. And what were some of the things that, like when you got there were stood out to you? What, what, what, like what was God doing in those moments through life, through the messages, things like that.
[00:51:26] Speaker F: Before we even really got into like the, the building of life, we had these like, small moments with all, like every, everybody together where we were, you know, Dan and Maddie were playing guitar and singing and it was worship and it was really, really great. And it really got us, everybody in like the mood to just praise and worship. And it was, it was really beautiful and it Helped me, you know, open up my heart a little bit more and put. Take down a wall, maybe.
[00:51:49] Speaker H: Nice.
[00:51:49] Speaker C: Good, good.
[00:51:50] Speaker H: And then so we.
And that was a sweet moment.
[00:51:54] Speaker F: That was seriously great.
[00:51:56] Speaker H: And then so we make it over to the CONC conference and there's obviously awesome worship. Awesome messages. What were some of the things that spoke to you? Like what kind of was God drawing to your attention?
[00:52:13] Speaker F: The worship really, really got me. The, the singing. And I see people opening their hands in prayer, praising like, like, just hands up. Like, no, like shame at all. Like, what's the word?
Just not ashamed to praise. And it was really, really beautiful. And I loved the confidence in everybody and then the really, the friendship around me, the leaders connecting you, Carson, Dan, Luke, everybody just getting together. It was really, really great. And just feeling it with the other students, with me was just seriously amazing.
[00:52:45] Speaker H: Yeah.
[00:52:45] Speaker F: Made the world's difference.
[00:52:51] Speaker H: Had a pretty sweet experience there. Will you tell us a little bit about that?
[00:52:55] Speaker F: Yeah, I.
It was one night, we go to worship at the end of the night and I was. I was really feeling touched. And Firm foundation comes on and we're singing it and I just really, really, really get into it and I start crying a little bit and I felt this emptiness in like, my chest. Like I was hollow. And it was. I swear I could have heard someone talking to me and it was more of a feeling, but I just knew it was Jesus and God and he was calling me to talk to people, like, calling me to like, talk to him. Like it was finally my time to accept him into my life. And it was. It was seriously amazing. And I couldn't replicate the feeling if I wanted to.
[00:53:39] Speaker H: Awesome.
[00:53:40] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:53:41] Speaker H: That was so amazing. Was so glad to be able to see you, see that change in you. It seemed like your heart open up to it.
[00:53:47] Speaker C: It was just.
[00:53:47] Speaker F: It was a long night.
[00:53:48] Speaker H: Yeah, it was. But it was like super memorable.
[00:53:53] Speaker F: Never forget it.
[00:53:53] Speaker H: Yeah.
How about since you've come back from life and since you've dedicated your life to Jesus, what are some of the things that you're realizing that you want to implement, you want to do differently?
[00:54:08] Speaker A: What.
[00:54:08] Speaker H: What are some of the things that God maybe is calling you to now going forward?
[00:54:12] Speaker F: You know, a lot of the friendships that I've had throughout the past years, throughout high school, I realized, like, maybe they not might be as productive and really worth it. Not worth upkeeping if you know all you're doing is sinning and all you're doing is trash talking and just not really living for anything. You're living for your Fleshly desires and, you know, switching over to, like, you know, the church, church friend group. And it's a family here, so there's no reason that you wouldn't have friends here. And, you know, switching that over a little bit. And it makes it a lot easier to follow Christ firmly and, you know, setting down things that really, really implemented your sin in the past, like where you go, who you're with, just how you act, how you perceive things. Like, if you perceive things like Jesus did and you try to understand it rather than just get mad and upset or anxious or mad, then you. You really just. There's no reason to be upset. You just take it.
[00:55:10] Speaker H: And then what would you say?
[00:55:11] Speaker F: Yeah.
[00:55:12] Speaker H: Yeah, it does. What would you say is something you're doing right now that is helping you to grow in your relationship with Jesus?
[00:55:22] Speaker F: Daily reading the Bible. Read two chapters before you leave the house. Every time you leave, leave the house, it. That'll get you reading and, you know, worship songs really, like in the car, like, singing your heart out. It really, really helps me, like, just connect because, you know, I'm opening my heart. I'm screaming as loud as I can, just worshiping. So that really, really, really is like, one of my favorite times of the day.
[00:55:42] Speaker H: Awesome. Awesome. I really appreciate you coming and sharing your story. Appreciate you. No, I love you.
[00:55:47] Speaker F: I appreciate you talking. Have you too, everybody.
[00:55:52] Speaker C: It is.
I don't like to point people out, but I think Preston'.
Morning. Can we just encourage him in sharing his story?
It's awesome.
You know, Preston was one of a number of students that made that decision to give their life to Christ.
I hear they got baptized at the hotel pool as well. There were baptisms taking place, which was exciting.
And that just kind of goes with the next part of what we were asking of God. And we saw number two. Over this past three years so far, 130 people follow the Lord in baptism as they confess their love and surrender of their hearts and lives to him. And as we talk about the baptisms and people making a decision to follow Jesus, one of the other exciting things we've talked a little bit about is what God has been doing through a ministry that was started by Pastor Randy Fall at some of our nursing homes over at Kingston and Oak Leaf Village.
He has been leading Bible studies there. And if I'm correct, Randy, it's about four or five people that have given their lives life to Christ through the Bible studies there, which is awesome having that outreach into our community.
But even more, as you'll see, kind of in the video that is playing behind me, one person in particular who has attended Westgate for a number of years had never been baptized and wanted to get baptized and was unable to get down into our tank that is here. And so at their Bible study, with all of their friends around, made that decision to profess their faith in Jesus. And Pastor Randy was able to hold that baptism service and it was beautiful. Can we give God glory for that?
So great.
I'm just going to be honest with you. With a generation of people as they go into nursing homes that often are forgotten, I love the ministry that is being, that is taking place in this church with Pastor Randy and so many people that are getting involved, going and sharing the love of Jesus and seeing fruit come from that. Praise God for what he's doing.
As we see people come to faith, no doubt we have seen growth taking place in our church. And one of the goals we set as a marker for that was we wanted to see 250 new households connect into our church over the five year period up to this date. Today we have 186 new households that have connected into our church family. They're here, they are worshiping together over these last three years. And I think what's been exciting for me, as I mentioned earlier, the difficulty we had with retaining people, we have found that when somebody comes to the new people party with our church staff number two in your notes, we have a 90% retention rate of people that come to the new people party getting connected into the life of our church. And one of the things that we hear consistently from people is the friendliness of this church family. And so as you talk with people in the hallways or you see people near you that are new or you haven't seen before and you introduce yourself, it is one of the ways as a church that we show and share God's love and help people connect into the life of our church. Finally, one last goal in the Broadreach area was we wanted to launch a residency program. And the residency program vision behind that was that when I went through college, when you're going into ministry, your Christian college requires you to have two internships. But what I saw happened with those internships was, was often that you would have somebody go and they get a summer internship and they're working like, let's say in youth ministry, interning under a pastor. And largely they're there to bring the youth pastor coffee, to bring maybe their newspaper. Yeah, it's true, but they do a lot of like cleaning of the, you know, the room where we. The storage rooms, but don't really have a lot of time to get taught how to do the different aspects of the job. And I'll tell you one of the things that discouraged me because that's a. What was encouraged is I got into an internship in college where I was in the same place for about a three to four year period. And when I graduated, I felt ready to go. But many of my friends, I watched them get into their first jobs and within a year or two they were dropping out of ministry and going into something completely different because they hadn't been prepared. Well. That put a passion in me to say I want to be a part of a church that is intentional in raising up leaders for the next generation, generation within the church that are going to stick and be well prepared for it.
Westgate has had a rich history of that, especially in the area of sending missionaries through the ALME program of the Christian Missionary Alliance. And so we wanted to dive into a residency program. Coming out of COVID we got derailed a bit because our giving was flat, there were costs that were rising and ultimately we, we were unable to fund that ministry. And so we were delayed by funding. But as you know from our conversations over the last two weeks, as funding has come in, number two, we've been able to launch the missions side of our residency program this September. Josh Cook started in his new position this past Tuesday and we're excited to be on this two to three year journey with him of preparing him and Alessia to go together to serve the Lord as international workers in the future.
But with that, number three, our goal is still to launch kind of the pastoral side of this residency program, whether that's youth pastors, children's pastors, directors, whether we're looking at things like people that want to be future lead pastors or even working in worship arts or media and technology.
What we desire is to raise up the next generation and to prepare them well for ministry. And one of the exciting things is that we have got Shane Henry who is here with me. And Shane is going to be our new residency director. For anybody who is a resident at Westgate Chapel, would you welcome Shane this morning?
Shane, we've been meeting a lot and with the role that you're going to be getting into, you're moving out of a number of years working in student ministry, it felt like the Lord was telling you that season was over. And so I passed at the opportunity to say, I know your gifts, let's talk about this. And you're going to be giving direct leadership and mentorship to our residents. Tell us what excites you about this.
[01:02:20] Speaker I: So I was in student ministries for 12 years, so quite a long time and absolutely loved it.
Building relationships, mentoring, growing the students faith in Christ. It was fantastic.
This is now the second time Prescott that I've seen this video. Awesome. Chad, great interview.
I want to encourage everyone. Dan, looking out for you, I love student ministries.
If you have that calling, get involved. Those experiences happen all the time. Please listen to that call now. What God did as he's building those relationships, as he's building those experiences is I think he was preparing me for this.
And to think, man, two years ago, 10 years ago, 15 when I started, never would I have thought that I would get a chance to spend time pouring into individuals that are going to become our future pastors. It's just wonderful. That's exciting for me.
[01:03:20] Speaker C: It is. And we've been working on developing as the residency directors, you're mentoring them, kind of a two year plan where monthly we're going to be having different leadership development pieces, spiritual development pieces, ministry development, but also just personal growth and life pieces. And this is an opportunity for people to be involved. So tell us a little bit about that.
[01:03:43] Speaker I: Yeah. So as Rob had mentioned earlier, we met two or three times where he's explaining his vision to me. And I think what caught me is that there are a couple aspects we're trying to encourage is obviously they're going to become pastors. So they need to understand what that looks like, how does a church run, what happens behind the scenes. So that way one day when they're there, they know what they're doing. But then also as Rob and I were talking about it, we were talking about our 20s. You know, what didn't we know? What would have helped for people to pour into us. And we came up with this list of life skills, things like emotional intelligence, communications, financial literacy, literacy, time management, stress management, and a number of other things. And what we want to do is over a two year period, pour into these individuals so that they understand this is what life is as well. And at this point, having a few grays in the beard, I've learned that I don't know everything.
I can definitely teach a few of these things, but I want to reach out to you, the body, all the skills and talents that we have, and invite you in to help to mentor these people.
[01:04:55] Speaker C: That's awesome. Would you thank Shane for coming and sharing a little with us this morning?
As you think about that, in the weeks to come. Our hope is to be able to put out to you what those opportunities are and different topics we're going to be covering in development of our residents. And if you have a gifting in a specific area, we would love to talk to you about being a part of helping to train them as we move forward. So please be sure to touch base with me or also with Shane about that. Finally this morning as we have taken a look back, I want to give you the picture of where I believe God is leading us in this year to come with our deep roots, broad reach vision.
As you look at your notes, the first thing is this letter A.
I believe that what God is calling us to do is this year to wind down the deep roots broad reach vision. After four years and not five as I've been praying through it, I've been looking at at kind of what God has been doing.
We will quickly in this next year reach the majority of goals that we set out.
But even more as I have thought about that, I have really been praying through and thinking about this next truth. Which letter B is this is that there is a danger that we experience when it comes to this growth and or success.
Because growth and success, even in a church, when you put a vision out there, is that growth and success is can do one of two things. The first thing that it can do is that it can fuel passion. It can fuel our passion. We can look and go look at all of the great things that God has been doing, how he's been using us, how he's been changing and transforming us. And it can cause us to continue to look for opportunities, to push in and to do more, to grow deeper in him, to surrender more of ourselves to him, to share Christ and His love with more people. It can absolutely do that. But one of the common things that I have seen happen in so many churches and even happens in many churches today, is that growth in success can also, number two, breed complacency. We can almost have this feeling of look, I've arrived. Hey, my friend came to Christ. Whoa, I'm done. Or look at all the success. Other people are doing a great job. And here's what happens is that we begin to become comfortable with what has happened. Oh, look, there's more people here. This feels great.
And we, without even thinking, begin to turn inward and think about ourselves and what the church can do for me and how it can meet my needs as opposed to continuing to keep our hearts and our minds focused on the mission that God has given to us.
And as I've prayed, the one prayer that has been heaviest on my heart is God. As we go through this together, please let us not come to a place of complacency where we would live every single moment of our lives as followers of Jesus Christ with a continual daily passion to go deeper in relationship with him, to surrender more of ourselves to him so that as he changes, in transformation, transforms us, that we will continue to have a reach with people that are far from him, that they themselves would also come to know Him. And so there will be two key focuses that we're going to focus on in this coming year. Letter C, number one. It is a renewed emphasis on sharing God's love with our neighbors. Thinking about who is it that God has placed in my circle that needs to know Him?
How is it that he has called me, and what. What is it that he would like me to do to develop relationships that can carry the weight of the gospel so that I can share God's love with others.
We're going to be beginning and launching into, in just three weeks from today, a large initiative for this next year. You'll see it on the screen. And this initiative is gonna be called the 4000 Meal Initiative. My challenge for us as a church in this next year is to have 4,000 meals, coffees, gatherings with people that God has placed in our circles so that we can share the love of Jesus with them. This picture that you see on the screen, a version of that, is going to actually show up on our vision wall out by the cafe. It's going to be interactive in a way that we can actually track and visibly show and participate and show that we have been having these meals and these concepts, conversation, seeking to reach people that God has placed in our circles that don't know Him. I'm excited about this opportunity and hope that you will be equally excited about it. Another piece of this is that we're going to continue with our love your neighbor initiative, which is the grant program where we have the opportunity for you to apply for $500 grants in order to meet the specific needs of people in your life that don't know the Lord. Maybe they're going through a family financial hardship, or maybe you want to use those funds for a strategic outreach. There are many different ways that they can be used that is operating today. And so if you want to do it, you can reach out to Julieann. But I wanted to share one testimony this morning, and I'm going to invite the Golivers to come and share with us this morning. But Jake and Rachel, tell us a little bit about how you guys have gotten involved with the Love youe Neighbor initiative and used the grant for the opportunity to share God's love with others.
[01:10:16] Speaker J: So what we did is we used the grant money to buy an inordinate amount of food because we realized that there is more than one life group that does good barbecue in this church. And it is ours.
[01:10:28] Speaker C: The challenge is on. It continues, I should say.
[01:10:31] Speaker J: So what we did is we ended up hosting a block party in our neighborhood. We honestly don't know to many of our neighbors, and we wanted to be able to have an open space for them to come in, meet us, and kind of establish us as, hey, we're church people here. But we also have really good barbecue.
We utilized our entire life group to help with this because we realized that there are certain strengths and weaknesses within a large group. Weaknesses being I can't talk to new people very well. And we have people in our life group that are exceptional at it.
So we used all of our life group to come together to make this event happen. And we'll have it kind of wrapping around the entire church. We're to the west. We've got east, north and south people that we'll have kind of circling this church doing block parties like this throughout the next year.
[01:11:17] Speaker C: That's awesome. And we're excited to see what fruit God produces as you continue to push into those relationships. But you know, Rachel, we were talking about how, as you have done this, that God is also opening your guys eyes to other opportunities that he's giving every day. Tell us a little bit about that.
[01:11:36] Speaker E: Yeah, well, it was hard opening up our house to our whole neighborhood.
You know, all the what ifs going through my head. You know, what if nobody shows up when you have all this extra food? What if everyone shows up and there's not enough food and just you can.
[01:11:51] Speaker C: Just bring it to us here at the church.
[01:11:53] Speaker E: True.
But yeah, it was hard and God really did a work on my heart to just say, you know what? Just you're making this food to love your neighbors, you're cleaning your house to love your neighbors. You know, just the focus is loving neighbors. And around the same time, we had a lot of renovation work going on at our house. And we had one particular worker in and out of our house every day for weeks. And Jake and I, we built a relationship with him. And we noticed he suddenly started bringing a different vehicle to work, one that wasn't great for bringing his tools.
And he was Having to make extra trips. And it was really complicated. And we're asking him about it, like, what happened to your work truck? And he said, well, it's in the shop and I don't have money to pay for it right now. Well, Jake felt really led by the spirit to take. Well, to give the same amount of money we had been given for the cookout and give it to this worker to fix his truck.
That's awesome. We had no clue at the time.
It was the perfect amount. He had just enough money afterwards to pay for some ice cream to eat afterwards.
[01:12:58] Speaker C: Words.
[01:12:59] Speaker I: That's great.
[01:13:01] Speaker E: Jake was able to talk to him about Jesus and what Westgate's doing. And it turns out we had no idea as a child. He came to Westgate.
[01:13:10] Speaker C: Oh, wow, that's cool.
[01:13:12] Speaker E: And he was so touched that his old church had found him and reached him.
[01:13:18] Speaker C: That's awesome.
[01:13:19] Speaker E: And he's determined to come back.
And it was just beautiful how God this to open up our eyes to the needs around us.
[01:13:27] Speaker C: That's awesome. Would you thank Jake and Rachel for coming and sharing with us this morning? Thank you, guys.
You know, as we think about what God is doing there, it is exciting to see how when we surrender ourselves to God and allow him to open our eyes to see the people he's putting in our circles, that there are so many opportunities that are being provided every single day. And so as we push into this year, we want to focus on sharing God's love with our neighbors. Number two as well. We really want to focus on leadership development and service. We recognize that as a church, if we're going to continue to grow and continue to welcome more people in, we have got to grow in our serving one another and also serving outside of the walls of the church, multiplying leadership. And so we want to be a church that is not reacting to growth that God is bringing to us, but we want to plan for it and move into it. And so this morning I would just close with this, this challenge for you. Will you, with the church leadership this year, make God's mission your priority?
Will you continue to press in with us with the vision that God is giving us? Letter A. Would you ask yourself the question, how has God gifted and wired me to serve within his body?
Maybe you're not sure and you need to take a first step of talking with a pastor or a staff member that you're close to, or maybe you're not close to one. You can come find us and talk with us. But understanding how God has wired you but Maybe how he wants to use you to pour into the next generations here in our church to serve others as they come, disciple others, or maybe to go out and serve in our community so that more people will know the love of Jesus.
But letter B, will you also be challenged to consider who has God put in your circle, that he's been doing it every single day, every single week that he wants you to share his love with? And would you commit yourself to praying and saying, God, would you give me more opportunities to share your love? And maybe you look at me today and you say, I don't know if I've got those people. I know there's, there's people like that. Can I tell you, as your pastor, are a lot of times where I'm in this church around a bunch of Christians, and I love you guys, but I'm supposed to be out there too.
And I've been praying and asking that God would open up, even for me, more relationships. And can I tell you, in just the last couple of months, God has given me an opportunity with 12 families and another individual with the opportunity to just sit down and to continually build relationships, relationships and share Christ's love with them, people that are far from God. And so I want to challenge you. Would you pray and ask God, God, give me those opportunities? Because as you are faithful to ask, I promise you he will be faithful to answer. Let's pray together. God, thank you so much for the opportunity we have to worship you together today.
I thank you for the vision that you have been giving to us. And I pray for you, God, for all that you have been doing, every person that has come into a saving knowledge of your son, every person who has been baptized to profess their love for you, every person that is connected into the life of this church. The great things are happening. They all come from you and you alone. And they come. Lord, we understand from your word, when we surrender our hearts to you, we grow deeper in you and. And then your spirit produces this fruit. And so all glory goes to you. But God, we continue to pray that as we press in with you, that you would produce more fruit through our lives and that you would use us to bring glory to your son, Jesus Christ. We love you. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.
[01:17:21] Speaker A: Sam all the saints and angels bow before your throne.
All the elders cast their crowns before the land of God and sing.
You are worthy of it all, you are worthy of it all.
For from you are all things and to you are all things.
You desire the glory.
Angels bow before Your throne.
All the elders cast their crowns before the Lamb of God and sing, you are worthy of it all.
[01:19:31] Speaker D: You are worthy of it all.
[01:19:37] Speaker A: For from you are all things.
Until you are all things, you deserve the glory.
You're worthy of the Lord.
[01:19:51] Speaker D: You're worthy of it all.
You are, you're worthy of it all.
[01:20:05] Speaker A: For from you are all things and to you are all things, you deserve the glory.
Sam.
Day and night, night and day, let incense arise.
Day and night, night and day. Let incense arise.
Day and night, night and day. Let incense arise day and night, night and day. Let incense arise.
Night.
[01:21:16] Speaker D: Night in.
[01:21:22] Speaker A: Night, night and day. Let it sense day and night, night and day.
[01:21:43] Speaker D: You are worthy of it all.
[01:21:47] Speaker A: Yes, you are, you are worthy of it all.
For from you are all things and to you are all things, you deserve the glory.
You're worthy, you're worthy. Hallelujah.
You are worthy of it all.
For from you are all things until you are all things, you deserve the glory.
Jesus.
I.
[01:23:27] Speaker D: Amen.
[01:23:34] Speaker C: I'm thankful that you chose to worship with us today. And as we close our service, if you have any prayer needs and you would like somebody to pray with this morning, our prayer team is here at the front on each side. We'd invite you to come at the close of the service, whether that be for healing or you just need something, somebody to connect with, to talk about some of the things God has been working in your life and to pray with you. We would invite you to come and participate in that as well. Just a quick announcement before we go, a reminder that we today, following this service in our gymnasium, our women's ministry is kind of doing their kickoff for the year, a little bit of a vision lunch. And so that women's luncheon will be starting here shortly in the the gymnasium. If you did not register, you are still welcome to come and join. And so you can head on over there as we close, but it should be a really great time of fellowship together.
And lastly, church family, as you head out today, remember that God, every single day is giving you an opportunity to share his love with others.
So press your hearts deeper into him.
You notice I didn't say go out, find somebody and do it.
Press your heart deeper into him.
Let his love fill your life.
Because when you are surrendering your heart and your life to him, the natural outflow of that is that he is going to bring people into your life to share his love with, and he is going to provide you with everything you need to do. So. So go out and serve him with all of your heart this week. God bless you. We'll see you next Sunday.
