Archive for March, 2008

Notes on a Bulletin…

March 25, 2008 · Filed under Notes on a Bulletin · Tagged

 

Wow…this is a nice looking bulletin!…

This Sunday is the most significant Connect to Mesa yet* – we’re gathering to do the work of prayer. I’m hoping for many to prioritize this day, ‘cause, without prayer, nothing of Kingdom significance is going to happen in our Area…

This is the big M25 week – Sunday the 30th is promotion Sunday, Friday the 4th is the Truck Rally (cars welcome!), and Sunday the 6th is the big delivery day on campus. Can we really break the record of 11,000 food items?…

The Official Mesa M25mobile

By the way, Jake Long has actually painted his truck in honor of the upcoming rally – check out the picture above!…

The weather forecast today said that highs in the 70s are behind us until fall…

Over 2,500 people came to our four Good Friday services at EVBC, and over 5,200 people on Easter Sunday…

The men of Mesa will be diving into the New Testament passages describing the post-resurrection appearances of Jesus…on Tuesday mornings at the Paradise café (6:30a, Val Vista & Baseline), and at our Saturday breakfast on 4/5 (Superstition Springs Golf Club, 7:00a)…

It was amazing to see an enormous front-page article in the Republic on Easter Sunday dedicated to Praxis Church in Tempe, a wonderful new church really making a difference in that city…

Josh Kass, our Director of Media Ministries, has been offered a job as a lighting technician at Walt Disney World, and will be leaving EVBC in May. He, his wife Cyndi, and their children Hallee and Haedyn, will be sorely missed….

EVBC is sending four teams to Morocco this summer, which feature eight from Mesa: Kim Robinson, Mark O’Brien, John & Joshua Bell, John Bryant, Carlos & Kathy Quintero, and Don Niehaus. I’m praying that we as an area will aggressively support these people who are giving their time and energy for lost people overseas…

My NCAA brackets looked great on day one, but fell apart completely during the rest of the opening weekend, dropping me from 1st to 17th place…

This week’s Pastors’ meeting had us discussing our love for people, and our heart to be a people who are truly advancing the Kingdom of God in our society. I wish you could all have heard the great discussion – and that you will be a part of the actions required to make this happen in the future…

EVBC’s maintenance staff is full of some of the most godly men I’ve ever known…

The Love and Respect class, offered through The Institute, has overflowed its registration capacity. This is a sign that people are being proactive to see their marriages grow in health and maturity…

A few weeks ago, we had more Home Groups than we needed for the demand. But that was last week – now, we need more Home Groups!…

Finally, from an article in the East Valley Tribune: “Mesa’s once politically powerful Mormon voting base may be edged out by the city’s fast-growing and diverse population…In Mesa, the most reliable voting bloc has been that of the civic-minded Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints…about 10 percent of Mesa’s population is Mormon, city officials say…the Mormon factor has created a particular buzz in this year’s mayoral race, in which two candidates – Claudia Walters and Scott Smith – are Mormon. Rex Griswold is a member of the Red Mountain Community Church, a Protestant congregation in east Mesa…Griswold said that when he posted a red, white and blue banner near the temple about a month ago, he was asked by a property owner to remove it…Don Evans (president of a Mormons Stake) thinks that there is a powerful connection between the spiritual beliefs of voters and the mayoral candidates. “I presume that the majority will vote for (Walters and Smith),” he said. “The (church) places a strong emphasis on family and family values”…

I wonder what we “protestants” are know for?…

Lord, you commanded us to be salt and light in our world. Yet, in many ways, we’re afraid of the world, we’re too busy for the world, and we prefer the little secluded worlds we have spent a lifetime to fabricate. Give us the heart, the boldness and the will to mix it up with the wonderful people all around us in Mesa. We know you have many in this city (Acts 18:10), and we long to be used by you to touch them. Forgive our shortcomings, and work in us in power! Amen.

 

* Connect to Mesa is our Area’s opportunity to meet on campus on Sundays to fellowship, brainstorm and do strategic planning for our ministries to Mesa, AJ and Gold Canyon (we also enjoy some very nice refreshments!)We meet most Sundays at 8:30a room 100.

 

 

 

 

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What a future awaits us in Mesa!

March 17, 2008 · Filed under Uncategorized · Tagged

 

 

Happy Holy Week to all of you. I truly am praying that all of you will experience an extra measure of closeness with and devotion to the Lord during this week’s focused times of worship.

I’ve been talking with many of you since Pastor Tom’s message on Sunday, March 9th, where he gave an update on the direction of the leadership at EVBC. Here are some key quotes from that message:

“Right now, if [EVBC] blew up and it all went away, the community would probably say, ‘Yah, we lost something.’ But I think five or ten years from now, they’ll say ‘we can’t afford for East Valley Bible Church not to be here.”…

“If there’s anything worth taking a risk for, it’s the expansion of the Kingdom of God.”

“Where do we want to be as a church in 5 years?…I am really confident that church planting is going to be a big part of what we do…I don’t mean ‘a church’ or two…we are not thinking small. We are dreaming big.”

Excited yet? In case you’re not yet, let me throw a little fuel on the fire with another quote I read this week from a national church planting website:

“In 1900, there were 27 churches for every 10,000 Americans. By 1950, there were only 17 churches and by 1985, this number had slipped to just 12 churches for every 10,000 people. In the year 2000, it is expected there will be just 10 churches per 10,000 people here in America. Part of the decline is due to the significant increases in population. We are not starting new churches as fast as the population is growing. But another reason is the fact that over 4,000 churches die and go out of business each year. In addition, 85% of existing churches are plateaued or declining. New churches must be started to replace those which die or which are no longer healthy.”

Imagine if Mesa had 27 churches for every 10,000 residents. We have over 400,000 people living in our city, so that would call for 1,080 churches! To even retain the lowest number listed in the quote, that of 10 churches per 10,000 people, Mesa should boast 400 churches. As I talk with friends, neighbors, and other church leaders in the city, many of us question whether or not there are even 40 churches in Mesa that are healthy, vital and which proclaim of the truth.

In short, EVBC wants to plant churches. Mesa desperately needs them. I wonder how many we can plant over the next 20 years…

Excited yet? Let’s toss this demographic information into the mix, from the city of Mesa website…

“In 2002, Mesa’s population was estimated to be 426,841, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. In fact, Mesa’s population grew by more than 37 percent between 1990 and 2000, much higher than the national average growth rate of 13 percent. With a progressive vision for the future, low cost of doing business, reasonable tax structure, well-educated workforce, low crime rate, superior schools, affordable housing and quality regional transportation system, Mesa is one of the fastest-growing cities in the nation.”

There’s no need to assume that the city’s growth will be slowing down…but let’s keep things modest by assuming Mesa’s growth slows down to half of its 1990s pace. If we grow by 18.5% over the next decade, that will mean an increase of over 78,000 people. At the low figure of 10 churches per 10,000, this will call for 78 new churches in the next decade, just to keep up with the growth! Do you suppose EVBC might be the mother of at least a few of these churches?

Back to Tom’s message…he said we can be doing these five things to prepare for this exciting future:

  1. Pray…
  2. Continue to love…
  3. Serve…
  4. Sacrifice…
  5. Be financially involved…”

Be praying about your part in all of this…and don’t be shy about sharing your heart and visions with me as we head into this future together!

(Don’t forget to share your thoughts on this blog!)

God’s best to all of us,

Bill

Bill Hartley, Mesa Area Pastor, East Valley Bible Church (billhartley@evbc.org)

 

 

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WANTED: Truth About God … (really?)

March 12, 2008 · Filed under Uncategorized · Tagged

I read an interesting article this morning in The Republic by Robert Robb called “Durability of Religion in America*.” Here are some interesting take-aways:

* 78% of of Americans identify themselves as some variety of Christian.

* Only about 10% classify themselves as religious skeptics (atheist, agnostic, or irreligious).

* 68% of Americans with post-graduate degrees identify themselves as Christian.

* Among adults under 30, 84% identify with religion!

* Half those raised in households of religious skepticism move to religious affiliation later in life.

Robb’s conclusion: “Despite the recent chic of religious skepticism, Americans remain a very religious people, at least in terms of self-identity.”

Personally, I find this VERY encouraging! Too often, I assume that people simply don’t believe in the divine. But, if most do (84% of those under 30…wow!), that changes the focus of our interaction from “if there’s a God” to “who I should believe.” And here, we as followers of Jesus have it made! Everyone loves Jesus (He was a hard man to dislike!), and most everyone embraces His ethics. Many struggle with his claims to deity and the exclusivity of His call to discipleship, but He backed these up with extraordinary miracles, the greatest of which is the resurrection from the dead. In short, if someone is looking for some sort of communication from “beyond”, is there anyone in history more trustworthy than Jesus for that information?

With Easter coming up next week, let’s be reminded of these basic realities: Jesus is wonderful, and His resurrection is history, not fable. A strong, followable lovable man, Jesus spoke clearly to people about spiritual realities — something about which MOST people are seeking clarity. We have come to understand His message, it has dramatically changed our lives for the better, and it can change theirs, too. And, finally…our lack of boldness is inexcusable! MOST are very interested in Jesus, but MOST are unclear about the particulars. So, don’t let the 10% who are anti-God get you down. Most people are very interested, and we’ve seen clearly the light they want to believe is theirs. The God they already claim wants us to stand in the gap, and help get that relationship completely restored. As Paul says, “We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God!” (2 Corninthians 5:20).

News and Notes:

Happy Birthday, Ellen! Our own Mesa Area Administrator turns (you don’t really expect me to tell you her age, do you?) today (Wednesday, March 12). Ellen, we love you, and you’re making our life together as a community much, much richer! Have a wonderful day!

Connect to Mesa this week will feature a meeting of the minds to discuss Community Ministry opportunities, with special attention being given to the M25 Truck Rally on April 4-6.

At Connect to Mesa on March 30th, we’re gathering to pray. This is SO important – I hope most of you will prioritize this time slot (8:30a – 10:00a, room 100) to come do what is truly the most critical work of our ministry — intercessory prayer!

MMM…Donuts! No, that’s not a Homer Simpson quote…it’s a clever moniker for the Mesa Men’s Ministry monthly breakfast! Men, please mark your calendars now: Saturday morning, April 5th, 7:00a, Superstition Springs Golf Club (Power & Baseline).

God’s best to you all, Bill

* To see Robert Robb’s entire article, go to http://www.azcentral.com/members/Blog/RobertRobb/19101.

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Let’s make this perfectly clear!…

March 6, 2008 · Filed under Uncategorized · Tagged

Greetings, Mesans, AJites and Cold Canyoners…

I’d like to begin this week’s blog with a few “points of clarity.”

Point of Clarity 1: On the second Sunday of every month, Connect to Mesa (8:30a in room 100) features a reception for everyone in Mesa!

We’ve been working hard to get this point across, but it is still not universally understood by everyone in our Area. Connect to Mesa used to be a short course for new people at EVBC who live in Mesa. Connect to Mesa now is an Area gathering each and every Sunday morning that takes different shapes – ministry training, fellowship gatherings, reception for new people, etc. What this means is you need to keep your eye on the Connect to Mesa schedule so you can know if the meeting on a particular week is for you.

But, you can count on this – the second Sunday of every month is designed to be an Area-wide gathering of everybody! (which, by the way, includes…you!). Now, we know that many of you come to church in the afternoon or evening, and others serve or attend worship at 8:30, and simply can’t make it to Connect to Mesa. Still, we’re hoping that those of you who have free or flexible schedules will start prioritizing this monthly time together. I can guarantee a few things for those who come: You’ll meet new friends, you’ll get the latest scoop on Mesa Area ministries, and you’ll be a real blessing to some people who very much want to connect with you and others in our Area.

So come out to Connect to Mesa this Sunday, March 9th!

Point of Clarity 2: The Mesa Blog is meant to be interactive!

This Blog has been publicized as a way to “get to know what’s on Bill’s mind.” I can tell you from experience that this will prove to be unfulfilling in the long run! What will make the Blog come to life is your additions, reflections, responses and ideas.

Below, you will see a button you can click if you’d like to make a comment/post (it says “1 comment” or “4 comments”, or however many have been made so far). Go for it! It will be sent to me first for approval, and then it will be pasted onto the Blog site. Thus, we will have a dialogue, rather than a monologue, and find ourselves getting to know each other on yet another level.

So, here’s a topic for discussion…which will relate directly to our growing attempts as an Area Ministry to more effectively reach out to the needy among us (e.g., the upcoming M25 Car Rally). Thought and question: I know that there are many poor people among us in Mesa…but I don’t know any personally, and am not sure how to look for them. How do we a) find those less fortunate, and b) effectively enter into their lives – with both our love, and our shared resources?

I look forward to hearing your thoughts…and then I’ll throw in some responses of your own.

Know that I love you all more and more with each passing day. God’s best to you,

Bill

Bill Hartley, Mesa Area Pastor — billhartley@evbc.org

 

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