Time is flying, and soon this winter will be behind us. Many exciting things are happening in our midst, and we are thankful that the Lord is so merciful in reaching out to us as we learn to reach out to those around us. Celebrate Recovery, @home, Healing on the Streets, Lady’s Breakfast, are all new initiatives geared to reach those outside our church family.
On top of it all the Lord is challenging us to stretch our imagination and look even further beyond our horizons, and realize that part of our calling is to the ends of the world. We must become more intentional in our missions activities and giving. The Vineyard is a church planting movement, and it has long ago been discovered that the best way to reach the lost people’s of the world is to plant churches among them. Supporting social projects is wonderful and pleases the heart of God, but if they are not connected to a local church, then there is no lasting impact on the culture and society around them.
This year we want to take some practical steps in investing into church planting projects beyond our borders:
1. Missions Trip to Thailand, June 6 to 21
We will visit several small Vineyard churches throughout the country and encourage them, as well as explore ways of how we can partner with them in the future. Besides ministry, we will have some fun and do some sightseeing. There is are still slots on the team, so talk to me if you are interested.
2. Vilnius, Lithuania
We have friends that pastor the Vineyard there, and they would be very thankful for input from us. Nothing definite is planned yet, but there is the opportunity for our youth to connect with their young people at a camp. They would also appreciate help in the area of worship, so why not go there as a worship team? Think about it and dream, and the let’s talk about it.
There is nothing like a cross-cultural experience that opens our hearts for the nations, and those outside our borders that have eternity in their hearts… (Ecclesiastes 3:11)