It's the close of a year. That makes for a sweet time of reflection and also a time for ever-increasing passion for what God could potentially do as He lives through the life of our fellowship in 2008. A few weeks ago, I jotted down a few key markers on this journey in 2007. I thought that you might like to read a bit of the Christ-life expressed via the Emmanuel Fellowship.

Happy New Year! This past year has been simply amazing! We have experienced over 80 people, that we know of, embrace the story of Christ and follow Him in baptism and in life abounding, eternal, and impassioned. Amazing.

In January, 2007 we launched a 40 Day prayer vision and journey that involved kingdom impact and building more space on our campus. Since then, we have eliminated $500K of debt and we are currently paying forward on our building. It is our continuous passion to build into the lives of families and to build physical space when absolutely necessary. So, with debt behind us, the earth is moving and the future building is coming into fruition.

We have continued to ask God to strengthen our vision for families and our Synergy conference and the family ministry focus has become laser-like and simply astounding. Family impact is, honestly, immeasurable!

Likewise, our small group strategy has been prayed over in 2007 and we are at the re-birth phase of launching a strengthening small group strategy with an ever-increasing passion for the Word; others; and serving.

Speaking of serving, we’ve been invited to strategically partner with NW Brazil and to consider being the key liaison for that region of the world. That’s huge. Even more, we’ve also sent teams across America and also into four different continents in 2007. Amazing.

In 2007, Theresa, Renee, Brenda, and Chuck have joined the Emmanuel team and Doug has shifted roles and is lending guidance to our discipling ministry to adults. Bonnie has ventured to W. Africa; Andy to TN; and Diane to SC. It’s been a year of team transitions!

It’s impossible to capture, in writing, the impact of hundreds of kids/ students on camps, retreats, and in day to day growth via the life of EBC. Immense… that’s the impact in our kid’s lives.

We closed 2007 with an Advent conspiracy (it seems, as I read the above thoughts, we’ve been in a conspiracy for the glory of Christ all year!). We gave and gave and gave during Christmas. We provided thousands of bibles to our Chinese partners in the gospel; at least 4 wells in Africa; and incredible support for our missionary friends. Our giving goal was $20K… our church actually gave $47K! (Yeah, you read that number correctly!) That is a conspiracy!!

2007 has been fresh. Christ is beautiful and glorious. He is consuming.

So, we are poised to ask God to do more than we can ask or imagine during 2008. Expectations are high and anticipation is rich. It is my prayer that we make so much room for God to be Himself… to change our lives… to revolutionize this city for His glory… and to impact the nations with utter abandon. I can only imagine what God intends in the life of our fellowship this year. I love being your pastor. I love being on journey with you. I love that God will far supersede our wildest dreams for 2008. So, dream big, huge, audacious, God-sized dreams for you and for your family and for this fellowship. Then, sit on the edge of your seat with expectancy. Happy New Year! Expect… Think… Go… Live…Be!

Feel free to comment by clicking below. Have an amazing New Year!

By Grace…For Glory,
Mark

Christmas is changing the world.... God's Word, released throughout China. Water, and salvation, springing up from the ground in Africa. Missionaries, over 5500+ who have given their lives to other nations and people groups, supported financially and practically. It's been an amazing Christmas in the life of Emmanuel. I love this place. I love that God has placed me in the midst of a fellowship that is intensely in love with His life; His Word; and the full-bore manifestation of the living Word found in the person of Jesus Christ.

The advent has truly been a conspiracy....

Our goal was to distribute 835 bibles to the persecuted church in China ($5K)... We actually gave 1875 bibles to fellow Christ-followers in China ($11,250)

Our goal was to provide clean drinking water to 5000 africans (approx 2 wells) in sub-saharan Africa ($5K)... We actually gave $13K+ and we are able to place 4 well in villages in Uganda/ Zimbabwe/ Kenya/ and a village in a nation TBD.

Our goal was to support our full-time missionaries with a $10K offering. I cannot wait to share, this weekend, what God did through the life of our fellowship. Keep your fork.

Christmas is changing the world and the impact of our faithfulness will carry on for years and years to come. The Word is living and active. It has feet and gives chase to you; it has hands and grabs hold of you. You and I have distributed the living Word all over China. The water is physical, but the water of Life in Christ is spiritual. May thousands in Africa drink deeply and find satisfaction, physically and spiritually, in Christ alone. Finally, may our missionaries, who give their lives daily for the glory of the cross, sense our support, love, and passion for the fame of Christ as we partner with them in a tangible, financial way.

We have worshipped more; spent less; given SO much more; and loved all! Thank you.

Then, Sunday evening, we stood with a crowd of folks and broke ground on our new building. In the very near future, we will teach 250 preschoolers that they are loved by God; He is their friend; and He made them for His great glory! For generations, this building will display the awe and wonder of our God. It was a good night for many reasons....one of which is, we paid IN FULL our Field House. We enter our new building phase debt free on all other buildings. That is good stewardship. That is Emmanuel. God is glorified.

I love being on journey with you. I hope that your Christmas is amazing. Behold His glory. Behold His grace. Be transformed by His power, presence, majesty, wonder, and glory. He is good. His love endures forever.

Feel free to comment. Feel free to have a glorious Christmas.

By Grace... For Glory,

Mark

Bibles Unbound...... Clean Water. As we dive into the advent conspiracy a bit more deeply, I am still amazed and humbled by what God is choosing to do in and through us. Honestly, we placed a "God-sized" goal of 835 bibles to be sent into China. God felt free to smile and free us to send 1700+ bibles into the hands of fellow Christ-followers in China. Together, we gave more than $9800 toward Bibles Unbound! Amazing.. Amazing... Amazing!

This past weekend, we turned our hearts toward giving to the BloodWater Mission. I cannot wait to share with you what God has done through our fellowship. Keep your fork!

When it felt like we couldn't sap one more ounce of God's goodness in our weekend Encounter, Ian stood and said 'goodbye' to the crowd for the day. Tied with his 'goodbye' was the announcement that we will be breaking ground the 16th on our MUCH ANTICIPATED preschool building and family-fun area. Even better, we will break ground debt-free, God-willing. Our typical "Journey" giving in December will allow us to have fully paid off the Field House before breaking ground. Utterly and completely amazing!!

It was a good day Sunday! There are so many things that were right. Ultimately, the presence and Person of Jesus Christ was the most pervasive and amazing thing that happened Sunday. There was a palpable sense that we were experiencing one sacred moment after another Sunday. Sunday at 12:30, I was exhausted and refreshed in Christ simultaneously. What a feeling.

Perhaps the most challenging thing that happened Sunday stemmed from a biography that I am reading. The bio is about a Pastor in the underground church in China. The book is compelling. At 5:30ish AM Sunday, I was going to wrap up the book and head to EBC. As I eased into the next to last chapter, I was stopped in my tracks and left undone. He was describing a vision to impact a massive region of the Asian continent. The church in China longs to send 100,000 missionaries out of China and into the most challenging places in the world. Check out the progress @ http://www.backtojerusalem.com/

The three key components of the missionary training include: a deep biblical understanding of suffering as a Christ-follower. They are trained to live and to be willing to die for the sake of the gospel. 2) the capacity to share their faith... while traveling; at a home church; with a Hindu/ Muslim; and when in a van traveling to your execution! 3) how to escape imprisonment for the sake of the gospel....

I want to live for Christ. With all that I am, I want to live for Christ. I want to reach a point of willingness to die for Him as well. All of life for Him. All of life from Him. All of life to Him. Beautiful.

Feel free to comment. I hope that your week is lived as a conspiracy for His glory! Keep your fork, we have an incredible weekend on the horizon. See you Sunday.

By Grace... For Glory,

Mark

I really don't want to leave the goodness and all that was right about yesterday. Honestly, it was astounding to encounter the Word throughout our 3 weekend encounters. Yesterday, we celebrated the radical, eternal transformation of hearts through the sacred moment of baptism; we shared in giving in order to send 835 bibles into a region of the world that is persecuted for the sake of the gospel (Our giving was yesterday. We gave. 835 bibles will be packed and sent Tuesday night!); our kids worshipped in extraordinary ways and it is beautiful to read their notes as they gave the Word to a family in another part of the world; we explored the utter supremacy and majesty of our God. He is infinite (no limitations; no end; existing forever; unbound; never tired; never aging; never upgraded; timeless) He is God! By becoming more God-conscious and God-exalting, my worship enhances.

In the earliest of our services, we had a moment that is a bit hard to describe. I'll give it a shot and then share an e mail that I received today. A man has been worshipping with us for 27 months. He does not speak english. Our services have not been translated (his small group has, but not our services). He has worshipped with us anyway b/c he experiences the presence of God. Yesterday was his last Sunday in this country. He will make his way back to his homeland this week. So, we said goodbye and we honored him. The goodbye was crazy. I spoke and Billy translated. Billy can translate b/c he spent a couple of years on extreme teams in Peru/ Bolivia discovering and laying groundwork with unreached people groups in that region. It was a good moment! It was a moment that I will savor for quite awhile.

It got better today. I received the below e mail from Jace. I am genuinely astonished by the grace of God alive in our fellowship. Read below....

HOLA PASTOR MARK!

Brushing up on my Spanish. Hey I just wanted to share something with you from yesterday that happened in our life group. As you know yesterday was the last time for Miguel at EBC and what a blessing he has been not only to me, but to a lot of people in our church. Miguel has always said that he felt the love of Christo' (Jesus Christ)at EBC and he visited other places before he called Emmanuel his home. He has said that he knew Christ was alive in our hearts!

He didn't say a whole lot in class yesterday and then at the end whenI folded up my bible he asked if we were done. He then asked us to open our bibles to Genesis 28 verses 16-20. We read and some cried, including myself.He was telling us that he felt sad for having to leave, but that hewould be happy to see his family. He felt that Emmanuel was as the Word says "None other than the House of God". His prayer was verse 20 when Jacob prayed that the Lord would grant him protection and food on his journey back to his father's house and that He would remain his GOD.

There was a lot of silence in that room after that verse was read by Linc. Pray for his safe return to his father's house. He was robbed on his way over to the states in Mexico by the Mexicanpolice. He was the only one who DID NOT drown when him and about 14 others got caught in a whirlpool while crossing the Rio Grande coming intothe States. He said he felt the hand of the Lord pulling him ashore.I think that the Lord had a purpose for him coming to Crestview?? We serve an AWESOME GOD! Didn't mean to write you a book. HAVE AN AWESOME DAY! I PRAY for my pastor and my church staff. That was cool yesterday having Bill D translate Spanish for us. Ididn't realize he spoke Spanish until last week when he was talking with Miguel after church. Jace

I love God's presence. I am continually praying that many, MANY will find that God is our hope, refuge, presence, source and passion as we gather in this city! As a result of our passion, may others discover that He is more than enough. The Word becoming flesh and living among... beholding His glory, the glory of the one and only Who is full of grace and full of truth.

Feel free to comment by clicking below. Feel free to enjoy and revel in your God. He is good.

By Grace.... For Glory,

Mark