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How does the church grow? What is the objective of church growth? Is there something more to grow than MORE? In our study of Ephesians 4:14-16, we learn why our maturity is so important. We conclude with two ways we grow as a church.
Follow along with the online sermon notes or download the fill-in-the-blanks PDF Outline.
Podcast: Subscribe in iTunes | Play or Download in new window.
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How does the church grow? What is the objective of church growth? Is there something more to grow than MORE? In our study of Ephesians 4:14-16, we learn why our maturity is so important. We conclude with two ways we grow as a church.
Grow Together from Mark Pierce on Vimeo.
Follow along with the online sermon notes or download the fill-in-the-blanks PDF Outline.
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Good Friday morning Church Requel!
Did you enjoy any of the festivities last weekend? Wow! What a weekend. I love this picture on the right of Don Angel next to the bonfire. That's as close as Don could get to the fire after it was lit. Yes it was hot!!!
We all had such a great time at Jack and Sheri's place. I know they worked hard to spiff up their property to make it as beautiful as possible. Thanks also go out to Shelli Jackson and Sheri for shopping for the groceries. It's great to see new people plugging into ministry at Church Requel.
We served a meal to about 150 people in our neighborhood last Saturday night. How awesome is that? I love your hearts of compassion! Then we put an exclamation mark on the weekend with two outstanding baptisms during our Sunday morning worship service. What a celebration!
Did you miss Doug and Angie's baptisms? Want to watch them again? Want to share their testimonies with a friend? We have uploaded their testimonies and baptisms to YouTube.com. Doug's can be viewed here. Angie's can be viewed here. As your pastor I can tell you there are few pleasures I enjoy more than baptizing committed Christ followers!
Newcomer's Meet & Greet This Sunday! I love how our church has grown this past summer. We have about ten new families that have begun worshipping at CR since June! Yay! We thought it would be a great idea to host a mini-pizza party after church Sunday and invite our new folks for an informal chat. If you're new at Church Requel, please plan to stay after the worship service and meet our staff. We'd love to know you better and answer any questions you may have about Church Requel.
Fall Festival Team Launch! I am so thrilled with this new event and team led by Tamira Barnes. On Saturday, October 25th, we plan to host a Fall Festival in our church parking lot. Our goal is to have fun together AND to reach families and children in our neighborhood to let them know about our church and our Kidsmin program. There are about a dozen people from CR on the Fall Festival team. They've already met twice! They even have started a Facebook Volunteer Group Page to share ideas together!
So how can you help? First - plan on being present on Oct. 25th. This is an all-hands-on-deck event! We really want to reach the families in our neighborhood and let them know about Church Requel and KidsMin. Our entire church body needs to show up in force! Second, we need donations of any and every kind. Candy. Prizes. Coats for Winter. Anything you can think of that would show love to our neighbors. Thirdly, we need volunteers. We need help setting up and also tearing down. And we need volunteers to help run the games. You'll find a sign-up in the church foyer this weekend.
Let's Grow Together. Sunday morning our talk will be about church growth from Ephesians 4:14-16. (Here are the online sermon notes.) I'm really looking forward to sharing this talk with you. There's so much bad info floating around on this topic.
Here's the really good news. When I sit down and analyze what we're doing and compare it to what we're going to learn together this Sunday - we're already doing it! Yay! The good news for this Sunday is this - just keep on doing what you're doing! Keep on doing life together. Keep on growing in Christ together. Keep on being real with one another. Keep on searching for God's truth from God's Word.
So much happening this Fall! I'm determined not to write an encyclopedic newsletter this week, so my advice for you all is to get a copy of the Sunday program (thank you Marci Crawford!) and stick it up on your refridgerator. It's packed with great activities. Here's just a preview: (1) Southern Gospel Garms Family Concert at CR on Wednesday, Oct. 8th at 7pm; (2) Six-week women's Bible Study beginning Wednesday, Oct. 22nd; (3) Women of Faith "From Survival To Revival" Tour on Friday and Saturday, Nov. 7th & 8th; (4) Belong Membership Class on Saturday, November 22nd. Add in the Fall Festival and you can see that we have so many fantastic opportunities!
I love serving as your pastor. I feel like Church Requel is right on the cusp of our greatest days. I'm so thrilled to see so many of you rolling up your sleeves and getting involved whereever you can. Thank you for your encouragement! Blessings, Pastor Mark
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What is God's game plan for the church? We study Ephesians 4:11-13 to learn the surprising truths about leadership, ministry, and responsibilities of everyone who belongs to the body of Christ.
Follow along with the online sermon notes or download the fill-in-the-blanks PDF outline.
Podcast: Subscribe in iTunes | Play or Download in new window.
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What is God's game plan for the church? We study Ephesians 4:11-13 to learn the surprising truths about leadership, ministry, and responsibilities of everyone who belongs to the body of Christ.
The Game Plan from Mark Pierce on Vimeo.
Follow along with the online sermon notes or download the fill-in-the-blanks PDF outline.
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Good Friday morning Church Requel!
What a HUGE HUGE HUGE weekend we have here at Church Requel! Did I mention that it was HUGE? Pastor Mark here with all the details about what's happening at CR.
S'Mores Praise & Bonfire Tonight at 6pm! We've been talking about tonight's social event for weeks so I know you have it on your calendars. We plan to meet up at Jack and Sheri's home at 6pm. They live at 4565 Flowers Road in Ontario. Bring your lawn chairs. For extra credit, bring hangers or spits for your hot dogs and marshmallows. For brownie points, bring any kind of musical instrument you might want to play around the campfire.
What you don't have to bring - food, drink, plates, utensils. We are providing it all! Come hungry! Come ready for a good time. Come prepared to get to know some of your fellow church members better. This should be a fun event for all age groups!
Saturday Night - Feed The Hungry In Our Neighborhood. Saturday night we serve our neighbors around our church. This Saturday it is our turn to prepare the meal and serve it to those who need some warm fellowship and food. All of our volunteers should show up at Church Requel at 4pm. We serve the meal from 5pm until 6pm, and then clean up after. We're usually finished by 6:30. Don't forget to bring those desserts too!
Sunday Morning Baptism! This Sunday Doug Konves will be baptized. I had the privilege of hearing his testimony this past week. I can't wait for you to hear it too! We'll play it for you Sunday right before he is baptized.
We had originally planned to baptize Angie Henke also, but her mom suffered a small stroke this week. Consequently we have postponed Angie's baptism for one week - until September 28th.
We will continue our study of Ephesians with a focus on Eph. 4:11-13. The name of our talk Sunday morning is "The Game Plan." We'll learn God's plan for relationships and service within the church. Want a head start? Here are the online sermon notes.
Dave Johnson Leading Worship Sunday! We also have a very special treat in store at CR Sunday morning. Dave has been preparing for this worship set for several weeks. This morning I listened to the songs he will be leading, and I have to say I'm really excited. These songs are all new! I'm giving you links to the songs in case you want to get your worship singing started early!
KidsMin Team Plans For Fall Festival. Ten members of the KidsMin Team descended upon Tamira Barnes' home last night for instructions, mutual encouragement and double chocolate coca-cola cake! They kicked off their planning for a new GIANT event being planned for Saturday, October 25th. Our Fall Festival will take place outside in our parking lot for two hours, 1pm to 3pm, and will include fun-filled booths to celebrate KidsMin and Autumn upon us. This will be an all-hands-on-deck event. We hope our Fall Festival will attract even more children and families to Church Requel. Jennifer Carrick has already created a Fall Festival Volunteer Page on Facebook, so go check it out!
Speaking of KidsMin, Tamira has some awesome plans for our children on Sunday. The Pre-Ks are learning about the days of creation. They are on day five. We will feature these youngsters in our worship service on Sunday, Oct. 5th, when they recite what they've learned about creation!
The Elementary Kiddos continue to soldier one learning about the different parts of God's armor from Ephesians 6. Sunday they will arm themselves with the breastplate of righteousness. Last week they conducted a scavenger hunt of little green army men. Parents, did you find any army men in peculiar places???
Newcomers Meet and Greet Pizza Next Sunday! If you are new at Church Requel, plan on sticking around next Sunday, September 28th, after the morning worship service. We'll order in some pizza pies and enjoy some casual fellowship between you and the church staff and leadership. This will give you a chance to ask any questions you may have about our church. Should be a good time!
Our Condolences To The Frank Withrow Family. Cindy Thoman's father passed away this week. Many regular members of our congregation are grieving including Steve and Cindy Thoman, Brandi and Eddie Walker, Trish and Bryan Trubachik along with Haleigh Trubachick. Of course many of their extended family have been regulars at CR too. Calling hours will be from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. today at Werner-Gompf Funeral Home, 1106 Park Avenue East (St. Rt. 430E). Mansfield Freewill Baptist Church, 998 Laver Rd, will be the setting for funeral services at 12:00 p.m. on Saturday with calling hours starting at 11:00 a.m. Frank's obituary, photos, and tribute wall can be found here.
All The Latest... Here are just a few more items for you to pray about (and in one case, celebrate.) Jan Calendine is asking for your prayers for Ron Bolesky, who has been seriously ill all week. After a CT scan yesterday, we have learned Ron has pneumonia. Also keep Angie Henke and her mom in your prayers with her mom's brain illnesses.
Finally, some good news worth celebrating. Dinah Stanfield (who led our worship singing last Sunday) and Steve Mandusic have announced their engagement to be married!!! Congrats Dinah and Steve!
Every week as I sit down to type this letter to you, I promise myself that I will write less this week. Keep it short, Mark! Then every week I look at the word count and sigh. What could I have left out? There's just so much happening with our Church Requel family! I love being your pastor. Hope to see you - perhaps multiple times - this weekend. Blessings! Pastor Mark
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In our relationships unity does not demand uniformity. How do we see our differences as reasons to celebrate rather than as reasons for conflict? I share three reasons we are free to relate from Ephesians 4:7-10.
Follow along with the online sermon notes or download the fill-in-the-blanks PDF outline.
Podcast: Subscribe in iTunes | Play or Download in new window.
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In our relationships unity does not demand uniformity. How do we see our differences as reasons to celebrate rather than as reasons for conflict? I share three reasons we are free to relate from Ephesians 4:7-10.
140914FreeToRelate from Mark Pierce on Vimeo.
Follow along with the online sermon notes or download the fill-in-the-blanks PDF outline.
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Good Friday morning Church Requel!
I'm writing to you on this early Friday morning from my patio, dressed with a jacket and warming my hands on a warm cup of coffee. It's only 56 degrees out here, but I refuse to give up on summer. After all this is still the last full Friday of the summer season! Tell that to my glasses, which I've taken off because they are fogging over from the cold. Brrr...
We Are Free To Relate. This morning I want to tell you a little bit about the talk I plan to give this coming Sunday morning. It's one of the most unusual I've ever given in that the direction of the text and the direction of the sermon itself are not so immediately apparent. But after researching and praying over Ephesians 4:7-10, I believe God has given me a talk to share with you that is really special.
Relationships are a challenge for all of us. We were made to relate to one another. But let's face it - some people are easier to relate to than others. This is true even within the church, where we share the unity of one Savior, one Lord, and one Spirit among all of us. This week we're going to celebrate our differences and learn how and why we can also celebrate great relationships with each other.
Along the way we're going to learn about an ancient phrase: "He led captivity captive." (Eph. 4:8) I never knew what this really meant before my study and I'm truly excited to share it with you. If you find yourself locked into a negative relationship cycle, this passage will be especially valuable to you.
Yes, I know I'm always excited about the sermon. (What good pastor is not?) But this week God has given us something truly unique and I can't wait to share it with you. I hope you'll feel the same way.
Discover Your Serve. Last Sunday Brandi spoke to us about the opportunities we have to serve one another at Church Requel. I hope you are thinking seriously about where you might plug into ministry, if you're not already serving. In last week's program, there was an insert outlining the six service teams we have at CR. Each team will be having a meeting over the next two weeks. I'd like it if every adult at CR would try to attend at least one of these meetings. If you're already on a team, then you should attend the team meeting of which you are a member. If you're not already serving on a team, this is your opportunity to try out different teams to see where you might fit with your talents and abilities. You do not need to be a member of Church Requel to serve on one of these teams. Here's the list of teams, their meeting dates and times, along with an email link to their leaders. I know these leaders would LOVE to hear from you!
KidsMin - The Armor Of God. I love the excellent job Tamira has been doing leading our KidsMin program each Sunday. Last Sunday Tamira invited Sergeant Jesse Stocks to tell our children about preparing as a soldier. The kids wore face paint and actually went through a boot camp wearing a 20-pound back pack. (See the rest of the photos.)
I can't tell you all the details about this coming Sunday (it's a surprise!), but I can promise you that your kids will not want to miss out. How many different ways are there to teach our kids about putting on the full armor of God? According to Tamira, we have not begun to reach the end yet!
Baptism Service on September 21st. Two people will be baptized in two weeks: Doug Konves and Angie Henke. I know several others are still thinking about it. I love that our church is seeing new people being baptized. It's a sure sign of church health! Both Doug and Angie have told me they want to give a video testimony before their baptism too. If I were you, I'd get to church early that day. It's sure to be packed! And if you would like to be baptized, let me know. We always have room for one more!
S'mores Praise & Bonfire. Make sure to mark 6PM on Friday, September 19th on your calendars for another great Church Requel social and spiritual event. We'll make a bonfire, devour some hot dogs and s’mores, and sing praise songs together. Jack and Sheri Nichols have volunteered to host the event at their place. They live at 4565 Flowers Road in Ontario. Plan on bringing lawn chairs, hangers or spits for your marshmallows and hot dogs, and any musical instruments you want to play around the bonfire.
Feed The Hungry. Saturday evening, September 20th, will be our next opportunity as a church family to feed those in our neighborhood who could use a free meal. We need volunteers at 4pm. The meal begins at 5pm and lasts for one hour. Volunteers should plan to stay and clean up until 7pm. We also would appreciate you providing desserts for that evening. You'll find the sign-up sheet in the foyer for volunteers and desserts. I'm so proud of the way so many of you have already volunteered and signed up!
New Attenders' Meet & Greet. For all you who have recently begun attending Church Requel, please plan on sticking around after the worship service on September 28th. We will order in some pizza downstairs in our kitchen and hangout together. Brandi, Tamira and I look forward to getting to know each of you better and we hope we might be able to answer any questions you might have about our church.
This is turning out to be an awesome start to the Fall season at Church Requel. I hope you are as excited as I am about how God is moving in our church. If you know someone who could use some weekly encouragement and is not already attending a local church, why not invite them to come with you Sunday morning? You could start by forwarding this newsletter to them. They would thank you and so would I.
Hope to see you Sunday morning at 11! Pastor Mark
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What are the best attitudes we can have for ongoing, lasting, and fulfilling relationships in life? From Ephesians 4:1-6, we discover 5 attitudes that are sure to relate. Join me as we learn about relational basics from Scripture.
Follow along with the online sermon notes or download the fill-in-the-blanks PDF outline.
Podcast: Subscribe in iTunes | Play or Download in new window.
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What are the best attitudes we can have for ongoing, lasting, and fulfilling relationships in life? From Ephesians 4:1-6, we discover 5 attitudes that are sure to relate. Join me and the Church Requel congregation this morning as we learn about relational basics from Scripture.
Attitudes That Relate from Mark Pierce on Vimeo.
Follow along with the online sermon notes or download the fill-in-the-blanks PDF outline.
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Good Friday morning Church Requel!
What an amazing Fall season this is going to be for our chuch! Wow! I met with all our leaders - both on our board and our staff - last evening. I am so thrilled to tell you about all the good news. Be encouraged. God is doing great things in our church!
Wear That Armor! We are SO BLESSED to have Tamira Barnes as our children's director! She told me about the KidsMin's first week in their new "Armor of God" teaching series last Sunday.
They tried on a bunch of protective gear .. From straw hats and sunglasses .... To catcher masks and safety glasses .. Shin guards and other sports stuff this non-sports girl knows nothing about :) The point was for them to see the Bible speaks of a protective amour that we need to put on ourselves. We had a really good discussion about Jesus and Satan .. A few kids were not convinced that he really does exist ... It was a really good discussion and definitely a step forward in their spiritual development :)
We did an object lesson with oranges .... When the orange was put in water it floated ... When we started to peel the protective "amour " .. The peel off .. The orange continued to sink ..
When it was all peeled off the orange sank to the bottom ... This really clicked with a few of the kids ...
Obstacle Course and "Meet the Sarge." Tamira said this got her to thinking about soldiers and battles and boot camps. So what else would we expect from Tamira? This week she has created an obstacle course at Church Requel and the children of KidsMin will find themselves in training. She has also invited Sergeant Jesse Stocks to be our special guest to meet our children and affirm the need for wearing the right armor.
I draw two conclusions from all these cool developments from Tamira. First - if I'm a parent or grandparent (and I'm both!), I'd do everything I can to make sure my elementary age children never miss a Sunday at Church Requel! They are learning lessons they will always remember and take with them the rest of their lives.
Second, if you have any interest in working with children then you really should contact Tamira and let her know. She is not only teaching some great lessons to our kiddos, but she's also leading a great team of children's workers. What fun it must be to be on the KidsMin team these days!
Speaking of the KidsMin Team, Tamira is planning on inviting all the Nursery and KidsMin team members to her home on Thursday evening, September 18th at 6:30pm. Sounds like fun!
RELATE Begins Sunday! I don't mean to suggest that all the great news about Church Requel is about our children and KidsMin program. We adults have some great stuff going on too! For one thing, this Sunday will be the beginning of our new Fall sermon series we're calling RELATE. We're going to study Ephesians chapters 4 through 6 over the course of the next 3 months! Each week we'll study just a few verses, and in the process, we'll learn how to relate to one another, our families, our friends, our colleagues, as well as our enemies.
Here are just a few of the sermon titles to wet your appetite: "The Game Plan," "The Myth of More," "Both Feet In," "Fool or Friend?" and "The Truth About Submission!" By the way, on that last one - there is one version for wives and another version for husbands. Each week this Fall should be really special. I encourage you to come for each lesson. I've spend dozens of hours this summer on my patio writing out these talks and I can't wait to share them with you!
Brandi Talks Teams. Brandi Walker told me this week that she really believes God is moving in her life to help people in our church plugged into serve teams. Did you know that we have six main serving teams at Church Requel? Close your eyes. How many of the six can you name? Okay, open your eyes. (How many of you actually closed your eyes? If you did, raise your hand. [Ahem - how many of you actually raised your hand? LOL!]) Here's the list of our six serving teams at CR:
I love how much organization Brandi has already brought to these teams that serve the church. Have you noticed the 3 new leaders too? Lisa, Trish and Angie will bring some new blood to our leadership ranks. I'm so thrilled for them and their teams. Over the course of the next month each team will be meeting (and celebrating!) Look for your team insert in your program this weekend. Make sure to join up with your favorite team!
Kids Help Lead Worship. Speaking of Brandi - she's got some great plans for this weekend's worship service too! Joining her on the Praise Team will be Ian Jensen, Paityn Hall and Grace Miller! You've seen Ian play the bass guitar several times. But did you know he can sing too?! And you know that everything little Paityn and Gracie do, they do with panache and energy! I'm also pumped about my own grandson, Grayden Pierce, who will be giving our announcements this Sunday.
Baptism Service on September 21st. Two people will be baptized in two weeks: Doug Konves and Angie Henke. I know several others are still thinking about it. I love that our church is seeing new people being baptized. It's a sure sign of church health! Both Doug and Angie have told me they want to give a video testimony before their baptism too. If I were you, I'd get to church early that day. It's sure to be packed! And if you would like to be baptized, let me know. We always have room for one more!
S'mores Praise & Bonfire. Make sure to mark 6PM on Friday, September 19th on your calendars for another great Church Requel social and spiritual event. We'll make a bonfire, devour some hot dogs and s’mores, and sing praise songs together. And here's the great news! Jack and Sheri Nichols have volunteered to host the event at their place! They live at 4565 Flowers Road in Ontario. We'll have directions for you in this weekend's program! Plan on bringing lawn chairs, hangers or spits for your marshmallows and hot dogs, and any musical instruments you want to play around the bonfire.
Feed The Hungry. Saturday evening, September 20th, will be our next opportunity as a church family to feed those in our neighborhood who could use a free meal. We need volunteers at 4pm. The meal begins at 5pm and lasts for one hour. Volunteers should plan to stay and clean up until 7pm. We also would appreciate you providing desserts for that evening. You'll find the sign-up sheet in the foyer for volunteers and desserts. I'm so proud of the way so many of you have already volunteered and signed up!
More Fall Dates. This may be the longest newsletter I've ever sent out to you, but there's just so much going on! Get these other Fall dates on your calendar too so you won't miss out on anything:
WOWSER! Talk about great things happening! Anyone else pumped besides me? We are hitting this Fall with all pistons firing! Let's make this our best season yet! With great affection, Pastor Mark
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The greatest joy in life is experiencing unremitting love, when someone loves us no matter what. The greatest hurt comes when someone we thought would love us stops loving us. How do we find unremitting love? How do we give unremitting love? Join me as we discover 4 truths about love from 1 Peter 1:22-25.
Follow along with the online sermon notes or download the fill-in-the-blanks PDF outline.
Podcast: Subscribe in iTunes | Play or Download in new window.
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