Church Residency: Update from Carlos Ramirez

Photo by Marie Dufour

When I was a senior at Toccoa Falls College working on a double major in Music with a concentration in Worship Arts and Bible Theology, I was trying to discern what God wanted my wife Dania and I to do after graduation. I had heard about the Church Residency program at Christ Community Church and thought it would be a great opportunity for us to continue our education and get two years of hands-on ministry experience at a larger church. Dania and I had been serving at First Alliance Church in Toccoa, Georgia, with the youth ministry and the worship team before we joined the CCC Church Residency program in June 2018. We never thought that God would bring us to Omaha, Nebraska, but he did. We decided to trust him and follow his leading.

We serve as residents in the Worship Ministry. Since joining the team at CCC, we’ve had some great experiences that I don’t think would have happened outside of the residency program, like facilitating baptism and communion. In other churches, especially in the south, baptisms and communion are only done by the senior pastor. I am so thankful that I have gotten the opportunity to facilitate communion during the services. It’s something that I definitely would not have been able to do at this stage in my ministry career. I believe that practicing communion here at CCC has made me a better shepherd, pastor, and leader. This year at Baptism on the Green, I got the amazing opportunity to read and introduce each person getting baptized, and then ask all of them at once to answer “yes” to the question of whether they have trusted in Jesus and intend to follow him the rest of their life. It has been such a joy and a pleasure to participate in these different ministry opportunities!

In our second year in Church Residency, Dania and I have the amazing joy and privilege to help facilitate a new Journey Group for Hispanic families. We have been meeting once a month during the summer and hope to launch this new ministry officially during the fall.

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Photo by Eric Wendt

One of my favorite memories from my first year of the program was getting the opportunity to go to Cuba with a team from CCC. The church in Cuba is on fire for Jesus and we loved getting to go overseas with our CCC family. You don’t really get to know someone unless you’ve been on a mission trip with them. We were able to lead worship for the students at a pastors’ retreat in Cuba. I know we came back transformed by God’s presence while we were there.

The issue of your identity has been settled on the cross of Jesus Christ.

The Wright family, our host family, has been a huge gift from God. We love them so much! They have opened up their home to us and welcomed us to be a part of their family. Getting to know Mike, Diane, Joe, and Daniel has been such a blessing to us during the program. The Wrights have become like a second family to us, and even allowed Cooper, our dog, to live in their basement with us for these two years. The Wrights are incredibly generous, loving, patient, and kind. We love getting the opportunity to live with them during the residency.

In the past year, God has been revealing to me how important it is to have a healthy soul. Being a part of Church Residency and taking classes like “Spiritual Formation” have really helped me foster my desire for Christ and deepen my relationship with him. God has been removing all of the faulty foundations that I have been standing on—fear, doubt, insecurity, and disappointment—and replacing them with his perfect love.

One of my favorite quotes that has been significant to me all year was from Dr. Rob Reimer, who said, “The issue of your identity has been settled on the cross of Jesus Christ.” God has been teaching me that he is a good Father who knows how to give good gifts to his children. All we have to do is ask. Luke 11:13 says, “If you then who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?” He is always ready to pour out more of his Holy Spirit on us. All we have to do is ask and he will do it!

Carlos Ramirez is one of the 2018–2020 residents and works in the Worship Arts department at Christ Community Church.

An Inside Look at the CCC Governing Board: Q&A with Ken Dick

Photo by Austin Asay

For nearly 100 years, Christ Community Church has been an influential voice among churches in our city. Throughout that time, God has been faithful to provide great leadership—wise men and women who seek to hear from God and discern his voice in order to make the best strategic decisions that position CCC and its people to be in the center of the mission to which God has called us. In addition to a great pastoral staff and other leaders who serve in vocational roles, CCC is blessed to have another layer of leadership called the Governing Board of Elders. Jed Logue, CCC’s Executive Director of Ministry Arts, had the privilege of sitting down with Governing Board member Ken Dick over a cup of coffee to learn more about who they are and what they do.

Ken is a professor at the University of Nebraska at Omaha and serves there as a Research Fellow in Telecommunications. Ken has a PhD in statistics, a Master’s in counseling, and a Bachelor’s in math and physics. Ken has worked in a variety of environments, from teaching public school to directing an alternative school for dropouts, to twenty years in corporate life and now twenty years at UNO.

How long have you been coming to CCC? How many years have you served on the Governing Board (GB)?

We have been at Christ Community Church for thirty years. I’ve been on the Governing Board for almost twelve years, and the way that works is really interesting. You serve in three-year terms, and after two terms you have to take a one-year sabbatical, which I think is really healthy. It gives you some distance and then you can come back. I’m finishing my twelfth year on the board with a year off in the middle.

What is the role and function of the Governing Board?

The GB works on the strategic direction of the church—where we want to be, long-term. All of the strategic plans that come up through Pastor Mark and through the Management Team (a staff team of executives/directors) go to the GB, and we get to interact with them. We also are involved in financial review—long-term budgets and any expenditure above a certain amount has to be approved by the GB. So, we’re sitting there as an accountability layer representing the congregation in the governance of the church. We do the annual review on Mark. We are his boss. We determine his salary and set goals and directions for him. When a creative “winds of the Spirit” idea emerges, the GB helps to ask the right questions and to discern how those ideas fit into the larger vision and direction of CCC.

Photo by Marie Dufour

I hear a theme of oversight—oversight to Pastor Mark, to the health of the church and stewardship of our resources, and also to the overall vision. What role does the GB play in terms of spiritual oversight?

We take spiritual oversight very seriously. From a spiritual standpoint, we are always thinking about the health of the church and what we need to do in order to help our people grow and mature in Christ. We recognize that none of us have arrived. We are all in need of continuous progress in our spiritual walk. That’s the thing I love about the elders of our church. We are all growing, and we are seeking to support and create an environment in our church that allows people to grow in their relationship with Christ.

How do you even get on GB?

There is a process that involves a nominating committee made up of board members and other people in our church. Those being considered have an application to fill out that asks about theological and doctrinal beliefs, and there is also an interview that each person sits through. We are looking for people with a variety of skill-sets, but we are also looking for people who are doctrinally sound and who also have the grace to work with others. They really want mature, solid leaders in place. You’re not going to find someone on the GB who just joined the church last week. They need to have a history—a history of ministry and of being involved.

So these are people who love Jesus, have a depth of understanding in Scriptural and doctrinal truth, and they’ve shown themselves faithful to the CCC community?

Yes, and everyone on the GB is involved in different ministries at CCC. Some in the high school ministry, some in other ministries, but we’re all involved. I am the elder representative on the Management Team, so I get to bridge both the GB and the Management Team. We like that so there’s not just a single point of contact between the two. Pastor Mark wants another voice, so I get to go to all the Management Team meetings.

What are some of the reasons you continue to say “yes” to serving in this capacity? It obviously takes something of you in your schedule and commitment to consider these decisions in a prayerful way. Why do you keep doing it?

Meet CCC's Governing Board of Elders on our leadership page.

For one thing, I feel like God is calling me to it. I love the old expression that when God calls you, you’ve got to get off the couch and do it. Second, I feel like we all need to contribute to where God is calling. I also believe I bring something to the table in terms of a perspective that might be different. My biggest goal in life is to further the Kingdom and impact the next generation. I’m a firm advocate of developing the next generation of leaders. As a church, we have great resources, and we need to use those resources not just within our walls, but we need to use them to develop people and send them out. I feel strongly enough about it that I want to continue serving on the GB to make sure that happens.

Is there anything else you’d like us to know?

I would like to encourage everyone to interact with the GB. We need to hear from our people. That doesn’t mean we need to agree, but we need to have the grace to allow the elders to disagree. We don’t need to think the same, because that’s boring.

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Jed Logue is the Executive Director of Ministry Arts at Christ Community Church

Joy for Today

(Left to right) Caleb, Rachel, Tiffany, Megan, Paul, Nathan, and Shiloh (photos by Melissa Pennington Photography)

Step into their Omaha home and you’d think the Leaders’ life is like any other. Paul and Tiffany are parents to five kids, ranging from seventeen to six years old. Paul works as a police officer for the Omaha Police Department, while Tiffany is a stay-at-home mom who homeschools the kids: Nathan, Caleb, Rachel, Shiloh, and Megan. Their home is warm and friendly, a place where you sense that each person in the family is happy to be with each other. Dig a little deeper and you’d discover that their life is far from ordinary.

The Leaders’ story started many years ago when Paul was working as a teacher in China. On a break from school, Paul had returned to Omaha, which is when he met Tiffany, a second-grade teacher, at Christ Community Church. After dating for a month in person, they dated long-distance for a year. During that time, he and Tiffany wrote over 100 letters to each other. Paul and Tiffany married after he returned from working overseas. They both wanted to have a large family, and they also felt a pull to international missions. The two planned on having a few children and then moving overseas to work as missionaries. They also felt that perhaps adoption was in their family’s future. Their oldest Nathan was born, followed by Caleb a year later. Life seemed very normal. And then their daughter Rachel was born. 

At birth, Rachel didn’t look healthy. Her skin was yellow. She had trouble breathing. Rachel was very, very sick. At four hours old, Rachel was being prepped for emergency surgery for a blockage in her intestines. The doctor’s exact words were, “She might not survive the surgery!” The surgery was very difficult and the doctor was not sure how damaged her intestines were. If too much of the intestines were dead, Rachel would not be viable, despite the surgery. Tiffany shared there were several times where they almost lost her. When Rachel was only ten days old, Tiffany received an urgent phone call from the doctor, telling her to return to the hospital. Tears streaming down her face, she drove down Dodge Street. The doctor delivered the news: Rachel had cystic fibrosis.

Tiffany called Paul to tell him. At that moment, Paul sensed the Holy Spirit tell him that their family would not be going overseas to serve in China. The following day, Rachel experienced pulmonary heart failure and her lung collapsed.

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a genetic disorder that affects the lungs, but it also affects other organs including the pancreas, liver, kidneys, and intestines. A person with CF has difficulty breathing due to increased mucus production, which is thicker than the mucus of someone without the disorder. They experience frequent lung infections, as their bodies have a harder time fighting off bacteria, including bacteria that only affect people with cystic fibrosis. Those who have CF have a shorter lifespan than those without. And because a person with cystic fibrosis is more susceptible to illness, they must avoid people with colds and coughs, as well as others with the same disease. Even the family members of someone with CF must be careful to not shake hands with or hug people who are visibly sick—coughing, sneezing, blowing their nose.

Cystic fibrosis is a disease that is very socially isolating. Though there are treatments and new medicines being developed, there is currently no known cure.

Rachel spent six weeks of her first year in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). While Rachel was there, the baby of a couple who attended Paul and Tiffany’s Sunday school class was a patient in the same NICU. The two families shared their grief and prayed together. Rachel was finally released from the hospital. Paul and Tiffany brought her home, along with bags of nebulizer treatments and other supplies to keep Rachel alive. The supplies filled their living room. It was overwhelming. Yet on that day, the other family was burying their child. As Paul and Tiffany grieved for the other family, they also offered up this prayer: “OK Lord, whatever road you give us, we’ll take a hard road over no road.” 

Though the Leaders weren’t able to move overseas because of Rachel’s disorder, they still desired to adopt. God brought two daughters to their family, Shiloh and Megan. 

Today, Rachel is a teenager. Life with cystic fibrosis is challenging, and Rachel’s life looks different than the life of a teen without CF. Rachel’s day is filled with different treatments to manage the disorder. Consistency in treatment is key to maintaining better health for her. When she wakes up, she starts a feeding tube, which is a tube connected to a port that goes through her belly and into her stomach. Because CF doesn’t allow the body to absorb nutrients as well as it should, Rachel used to be malnourished. The feeding tube helped Rachel gain weight when she needed it. Now, it continues to provide the additional nutrition she needs. Afterward, Rachel begins breathing treatments, which can take up to two hours a day when she is well, and up to four hours a day when she is sick. These treatments often cause her to miss out on normal life, such as playing with siblings. Multiple times throughout the day, Rachel stops what she’s doing to take her medication. She currently has eighteen different medications that she must take every day. Preparing her medications take her and her parents about thirty minutes each week. Rachel has frequent doctor’s appointments with a variety of specialists. The medical challenges she faces are significant, but there are also social and mental challenges that come with the disorder. Not only must she avoid people who have coughs or colds, she also must avoid others with cystic fibrosis. While it would be wonderful for her to have friendships with others who have the same disorder and experience the same struggles, the bacteria of another person who has CF could make her very sick, and her bacteria could make someone else with CF very sick.

Despite this extremely difficult illness, Paul and Tiffany have taught their kids to trust and rejoice in the Lord. Paul shared, “We’ve definitely been blessed by the Lord through all this. Even in the tough times, we still praise him.” The Leaders have had many tough times when it’s hard to be grateful and actually mean it, yet they still choose gratitude. They choose to thank God for the hard things, like the eighteen medications, because without them, Rachel wouldn’t be here. They thank the Lord for the stomach problems Rachel experiences, because it means that her body is working. Even when Rachel was hospitalized last fall for treatment for a bacteria she had—the bacteria that causes the most damage to the lungs of a person with cystic fibrosis—they chose to thank God. While those with CF are typically hospitalized two to three times per year, this hospitalization was Rachel’s first since she was an infant. This was also an opportunity to share the love of Jesus at the hospital. Paul shared that the respiratory therapists loved coming into Rachel’s hospital room because of all of the cards and all the people who were visiting. They were able to see and feel the love and presence of Jesus through how the Leaders reacted to the situation and through the visitors.

Rachel sometimes feels anxious about getting sick or not meeting others’ expectations for her life. When she feels that anxiety, she’s reminded of her favorite verse, Matthew 6:34, which says, “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” She also has discovered encouragement and support in her small group at CCC. She shared that she can easily talk about CF with the girls in her group. While she was hospitalized, many of the girls sent cards to her.

As the Leaders family looks toward the future, they know life is uncertain. Tiffany shared that Rachel is just one cold away from becoming really sick. Yet the family looks to the future with hope—a hope that is placed firmly in Jesus. They trust God will use Rachel’s life to encourage others with the illness. While new medicines are being developed for the treatment of cystic fibrosis, they know to place their trust in God, whether that’s for today or for the future. They trust that God will guide them well, because he has never let them down.

Rachel Bebee is the Project Coordinator for the Creative/Communications Team at Christ Community Church

Refined Through Residency

Photo by Marie Dufour and Austin Asay

Ask Keagan Blancke about his background, and you’ll discover that this Minnesota native has traveled an unconventional path to Omaha, Nebraska. As a child, Keagan dreamed of driving a garbage truck. As a preteen, he changed his mind, settling on LEGO® design. And as a college sophomore at the University of Northwestern – St. Paul, he instead started with prayer—a decision that changed everything. “I asked God what I should do for the summer,” said Keagan, now 27. 

The next week at chapel, Keagan watched as different camp directors stepped on stage to spread the word about working as a camp counselor. Prayer answered. Keagan spent that summer on staff at a large Christian camp near Brainerd, Minnesota, enjoying the great outdoors with students while sharing the love of Jesus. “That was when I really discovered that I loved ministry,” he said. “It was the toughest, yet most rewarding job. I loved every ninety-hour week of it.”

After graduating with a radio broadcasting degree, Keagan expanded his camp experience, along with working a few other jobs. Before joining the CCC Church Residency, he coached men recovering from drug and alcohol abuse. “They were at rock bottom,” he said. “They were desperate for Jesus. I saw that, and it made me want to get desperate for Jesus.”

When Keagan learned about the residency and the opportunity to earn a master’s degree debt-free, he jumped at the chance. Accepted into the program, Keagan and his bride, Britt, moved to Omaha the summer of 2017 while expecting their firstborn, Roman, a few weeks later. It was a leap of faith, but it didn’t take long for them to feel at home. 

“I can’t thank CCC enough for the support they’ve given me,” Keagan shared. From hosting a baby shower and delivering meals to offering babysitting, “it really was the Church in action.” 

While Keagan was adjusting to fatherhood, he was also learning to juggle graduate coursework with his duties at church. In the months since, he has learned valuable leadership lessons, such as establishing healthy boundaries and empowering team members to excel. “My job is to equip those around me, not just do everything myself,” said Keagan, who has gained hands-on experience in church production as well as middle school and camp ministry. Fortunately, CCC carved out a special spot for him at Camp Rivercrest in Fremont, where he was able to contribute his experience, grow his knowledge, and confirm his passion for camp.

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Keagan’s favorite memory is his December 2018 trip to Palm Springs for the Christian Camp and Conference Association (CCCA) national gathering, where he was able to network and enjoy a reprieve from the winter weather. “It’s a conference I’ve known about for years, and I’ve always wanted to go,” he said. “I felt at home in that environment; I felt like these were my people.” 

Keagan also appreciates his fellow residents, noting that he always looked forward to their Thursday cohort meetings. “The relationships I’ve made here—they’re going to be lifelong friends.”

“The residency has absolutely changed my future for the better.”

Now a few weeks away from finishing the program and his master’s degree in Ministry Leadership, Keagan is looking forward, full of hope. “The residency has absolutely changed my future for the better,”
he said. “It’s put me on a path where I can see the bigger picture and take others along with me. It’s not just about me—it’s God’s economy. Things need to multiply.”

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Speaking of multiplication, the Blanckes are expecting a second child this summer. Together, they’re asking God, “What’s next?” Keagan suspects it may be different from what he initially expected. “We’ve grown a family here at CCC,” Keagan says. “As a single person, camp was my calling. But now as a family person, I’m asking, what is my calling and how does camp fit into that? Where is my family going to thrive?”

Looking back, Keagan can clearly see a theme: God led him to opportunities where he didn’t immediately feel qualified, whether it was saying yes to serving at his first summer camp or supporting addicts in their quest to get clean. 

In many ways, this residency is another example. Keagan pointed out that the program provides a unique “incubator” environment that encourages trial and error. “It’s a really formative time, and it’s also hard,” Keagan shared. “It’s hard to ask for support. It’s hard to balance school work on top of ministry work. As a millennial, it’s hard to stay committed to something for two years.” 

Yet Keagan acknowledges the deeper work that happens during hardships. “God has really refined me. Even though it’s hard, every day there is daily bread. He provides.” With faith in God’s provision, Keagan is ready to go wherever God calls his family. 

“The glory of God is man fully alive,” he says. “We are trusting God. He’s going to put us in a place where all of us can thrive.”

Chelsea Bailey is a Class of 2020 Women's Ministry Resident at Christ Community Church

When All Seems Lost

Photo by Stephanie Frenz Photography

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“The Lord gives and the Lord takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.”

Job 1:21

“The Lord gives and the Lord takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.” This verse, Job 1:21, was the one Dale Robinson quoted to me as he reflected on what happened to him and his family on March 16 and 17, 2019. Within 48 hours, their house and everything in it were completely under water. The reality quickly set in that they had lost everything. The devastation was tremendous. The displacement was real. Their lives were turned upside down and were changed forever. Blessed be the name of the Lord. Really?

For the Robinson family, the answer to that question is yes. How is that possible? How can you bless the name of God when he allowed such pain and destruction to take place? To understand the Robinsons’ response, you have to know their story.

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Photo by Stephanie Frenz Photography

A River of Grace

It was the spring of 2013. Dale and Angela’s marriage was falling apart. Their kids were struggling emotionally and relationally. Dale was battling an addiction to alcohol and other destructive habits. Angela was stressed, anxious, and depressed. The perfect storm had formed and picked up speed. In its path—the Robinson family. They were on the verge of giving up and giving in. Dale and Angela were ready to call it quits and throw in the towel. Then Easter happened.

They stumbled into Christ Community Church on Easter Sunday, March 31, 2013. They didn’t know exactly what they were getting into, but they were desperate. As the sermon was preached and God’s grace was proclaimed, Dale and Angela broke down. They were asked by Pastor Mark to submit and surrender the things that were holding them down and holding them back from experiencing the love of Jesus. They placed all of those things at the feet of Jesus, gave their lives to him, and never looked back.

Since then, it hasn’t always been easy, but they have never doubted God’s grace and love for them. He slowly but deliberately began writing a new story with their lives. Their marriage grew strong. Addictions were conquered. Joy was experienced. Deep and meaningful relationships developed. They grew as a family as they grew closer to Jesus. Everything seemed to be moving up and to the right. And then the levee broke.

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Flooding at the entrance to a neighborhood in Waterloo, Nebraska (photo by Nick Bradley)

Rushing Out, Rushing In

It was an ordinary Friday. Dale was off to work as usual. The kids made it to school. Angela, who works part time at Christ Community Church on the Facilities team, was enjoying a day off. She ran some errands and went to the grocery store. As she unpacked the groceries and began making plans for the weekend, the call came in—Evacuate. Immediately. You have three hours.

Like a whirlwind, Dale came home and they quickly packed up a couple changes of clothes and rushed out. There was a slight panic in their step but there were also words of comfort and assurance spoken. They were told they could return by Monday. Most likely, it would be some minor flooding but they had every expectation of returning in a couple days, cleaning up a bit, and returning to life as usual. 

A Nebraska Army National Guard helicopter carrying sandbags to a levee on March 18 (photo by Nebraska National Guard / Staff Sgt. Koan Nissen)

As the news images and pictures from neighbors in the area came in, the Robinsons quickly realized they would not be going home any time soon. And as Saturday night turned to Sunday, the image came across Angela’s phone that solidified that they would never be going home at all, ever again. Their house was almost completely submerged in the flood waters. The loss of everything they owned, two of their family cats, family photos, and letters Dale and Angela wrote to each other over years of their relationship—gone. This was when it became real and when it became too much to bear. Dale and Angela both broke down and cried. They experienced the pain of loss. They felt the reality of being displaced and homeless. They cried out to God in the midst of this terrible experience. God heard their cry.

God’s answer came to the Robinsons in a few different ways. First, they all said how they experienced the overwhelming, supernatural, loving presence of God. Their mourning turned to joy and grief to peace as they heard God tell them, “I have you. You’re in my hands. I’ll take care of everything you need. Just trust me.”

That’s what the Robinsons did. They trusted that God would provide. They didn’t know how or when. But they knew he would. And he did.

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Photo by Stephanie Frenz Photography

Angela’s phone started to blow up with calls and texts checking in on the family. People from Christ Community Church reached out, asking how they could help. Donations of clothes, supplies, and gift cards poured in. People all over the city rallied around them and overwhelmed them with love and generosity, so much so that they took in more than they could have possibly used for themselves. So they paid it forward and began passing those donations on to other families they knew lost their homes in the flooding as well. They were blessed and began blessing others.

Suddenly, the full meaning and purpose of this experience began to crystallize and make sense. Angela and Dale realized that God allowed this to happen to them so the love of God could shine through them to others who also experienced the same loss. Dale’s exact words: “If others can come to know Jesus through our story, then it’s worth it.”

The Robinsons wouldn’t have wished this on anyone in the world. They wouldn’t have wished this upon themselves if they had the choice. But they didn’t. The only choice they had was how they would respond. They chose to trust God and have faith. They chose to learn and grow from this crazy experience. They chose to bless the name of the Lord. Why? Because of how he had abundantly blessed them. Long before the flood waters rushed in, the living waters of God’s grace washed them clean and gave them a new start and a new life.

The waters will recede. Cleanup will happen with the help of Christ-followers and relief agencies all over Iowa and Nebraska. Homes and communities will be rebuilt. Life will go on.

For the Robinsons, life will go on, but it will never be the same. They will never be the same. God has changed them through this experience and will continue to transform them. Through the valleys and through the floods, from the mountain tops and green pastures, God is good and his love endures forever. Blessed be the name of the Lord.

Joe Jensen is the Director of Strategic Projects and Church Engagement for The Barna Group

Alive in Christ

Photos by Marie Dufour at Roast Coffeehouse in Aksarben, Omaha, Nebraska

Meet Kyle Doerr, a 21-year-old nursing student at the University of Nebraska Omaha. Kyle loves Jesus and is committed to reading and studying his Bible. He regularly and prayerfully yields himself to the leading of the Holy Spirit and confesses his sin and responds in repentance and faith. He immerses himself in the family of God and has gospel-centered, Christ-exalting relationships with men and women. Kyle is burdened for lost people, both locally and globally, who don’t know the everlasting joy of salvation in Christ. Kyle is following and becoming more like Jesus through the power of the Holy Spirit to the glory of God.

However, Kyle has not always been this man. It wasn’t long ago that Kyle was wandering and lost without a purpose and identity, and chiefly, without Jesus. Kyle grew up in a Christian home. He attended a local church, listened to sermons, sang songs about God, and closed his eyes and bowed his head. On the surface, like many Nebraskans, he lived the good life. He didn’t have much to worry about, didn’t fear about tomorrow, was an exceptional athlete in high school, was a good student, and had a semblance of faith in a higher power. 

For all of Kyle’s goodness and success, there was something tragically wrong. He was without hope in the eyes of God. He didn’t trust in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ to free him from the penalty and power of sin and grant him new life. He was oblivious, indifferent, spiritually dead, and bound for a Christless eternity. However, God looked upon Kyle and delighted in him. He chose him, sought him, and saved him. 

In the winter of 2017, Kyle reached a low point. “I had gone through a difficult breakup, felt a sense of worthlessness and emptiness, and knew I needed something more than myself. Something much bigger than me.” He reached out to his friend Morgan, who recommended Christ Community Church. Morgan connected him with Adam, an 8:08 College Ministry student leader. Adam connected with Kyle and they went to dinner and then a UNO hockey game. A friendship was born, woven by God’s sovereign grace. Despite all their similarities, Kyle noticed that he and Adam were fundamentally different. He shared, “Adam had a massive desire to chase after Jesus, while I didn’t.”

Adam invited Kyle to meet other students in the 8:08 College Community, where he was immersed in unfamiliar territory. He saw Christian students who lived as though they weren’t the most important person in their story. These students considered themselves as secondary characters in their own stories and God as the main character. Their lives showed that they trusted and delighted in Jesus Christ as their Savior and Redeemer and King. This was peculiar, but irresistible. Kyle didn’t run away, but rather found himself hungry to know more. 

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When I met Kyle after a Thursday night college worship gathering, I sensed an eagerness and anticipation in him. He was slowly but surely responding to the work of the Spirit in his heart. I could tell by his demeanor he wasn’t afraid to talk about God, engage in a real conversation about faith, and be honest. His hard heart was being softened, the scales were falling from his eyes. We later met in March 2018 at a coffeehouse, shared our stories, and found common ground. After some time, I asked Kyle what I ask every college student I meet. I asked him what every Christ-following, God-fearing, Spirit-filled believer should ask the people they form a relationship with: “My life has been changed by Jesus Christ—canI tell you why?” 

I will never forget what happened next. I was reminded that my calling to proclaim grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone is not dependent upon my goodness or sin, my charisma or stammering, my persuasiveness, my appearance, or my intellect. I proceeded to share what mankind has regarded as foolishness for thousands of years, but what God has regarded as wisdom and truth and salvation forevermore! I shared the good news with Kyle. Author and pastor Timothy Keller summed it up this way: “We are more sinful and flawed in ourselves than we ever dared believe, yet at the very same time we are more loved and accepted in Jesus Christ than we ever dared hope.” After two hours of conversation, I invited Kyle to respond in faith to the free gift of grace extended to him in the finished work of Jesus. 

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“In that very moment, my heart was screaming nothing but
to accept Jesus Christ as my Savior and lay down my life for him.”

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Kyle’s response was nothing short of miraculous: “In that very moment, my heart was screaming nothing but to accept Jesus Christ as my Savior and lay down my life for him. On that very afternoon, I prayed to God and surrendered my life to him. This was the greatest decision I have ever made in my entire life and I truly believe this is the best decision anybody can make in their entire life.” 

After much rejoicing in his new life, Kyle experienced the struggles of sin, the trials of life, relationships,  and academic performance which attempted to steal his joy. Shame and guilt were pervasive in his heart, and the default condition of Midwestern religiosity set back in. Kyle’s faith was tested and he was tempted to return to a church-attending, song-singing, head-bowing, good-feeling faith where he didn’t need constant rescuing, he was basically good if he tried hard, and God was “a little closer” than before, none of which solved his problem of spiritual death.

By his grace, God faithfully and gently ministered to Kyle’s heart in this season. He shared, “It is indescribable in words, but I realized the sufficiency of Scripture. I trusted two passages specifically. Ephesians 2:4–5 says, ‘But God, being rich in mercy because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved.’ Titus 3:4–6 says, ‘But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of the works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior.’ God has encouraged me abundantly through his Word in these passages. I’ve realized that Christianity is not people who make bad decisions making better ones. It’s not ‘bad’ people becoming ‘good’ people, or morally questionable people becoming morally flawless. No—Christianity is about God bringing dead people to life through the work of Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit.” 

Kyle Doerr was brought to life in Jesus Christ. To publicly declare his new life, he was baptized on November 25, 2018. His desires, plans, and worldview are completely different, and this is not because he pulled himself up by his bootstraps and took religion a little more seriously, but because he has been reborn, redeemed, and adopted by the King of Kings. To God be the glory!

Thank you, Christ Community Church, for your love, generosity, prayer, and participation in seeing 8:08 College Community obey the Great Commission here in Omaha.

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For more info about CCC's 8:08 College Ministry, visit cccomaha.org/college or follow 8:08 on social media @808CCC. If you've recently committed your life to Christ, or if you've never been baptized as an adult, learn more about baptism or sign up to get baptized at cccomaha.org/baptism.

Glenn Lawson is CCC’s former College Pastor and is now Lead Pastor with Roy Helu Jr. at Citylight Bennington

Answering the Call

Photos by Marie Dufour and Ian Willsey at The Grove Juicery in downtown Omaha, Nebraska

Sometimes obedience comes with a cost—relinquishing what is comfortable and certain to embrace the unknown. But Dan and Jocelyn believe that the incredible blessings one receives from knowing they’re walking securely in God’s will, and the divine intimacy that accompanies that, far outweighs anything lost.

Jocelyn first sensed God’s call to missions in college, but she didn’t know what that might look like. It was more a vague sense in the back of her mind, one that intensified when she began serving in various ways at a summer camp in Ashland.

“I discovered that God is kind of an endless journey,” she says. “The more I put in, the deeper I go and the more I discover. I love that we can give our entire lives to growing closer to God and still find out new things about him all the time.”

During those summers at the Carol Joy Holling Camp in Ashland, God stirred another love in Jocelyn’s heart—for her husband. “We served together for three or four summers,” she says, and as they did, God’s plans for their future began to take root.

But there was one problem. Initially, Dan didn’t share Jocelyn’s love for serving. “When I first became a Christian, I had no desire to be a missionary or do any missions work,” Dan shares. “It was hard for me to serve and give.” Through Jocelyn, God showed Dan what a life lived completely for him looked like, although at first, he didn’t understand. “It wasn’t natural to me,” he says.

God began softening Dan’s heart and helping him relinquish his hold on those things that were keeping him from fully living out his faith. Money and status had become his god. Then Dan experienced a roller-coaster humbling process. “God was like, ‘Hey, if you really want to be Christlike and follow me, you need to give up your pride and learn to have a servant’s attitude and mind. To think missionally.’”

Dan needed to find his identity, security, and fulfillment in Jesus alone.

He’s had to make this choice numerous times since answering God’s call to missions. The most recent occurred when Jocelyn’s employer offered her a sizable bonus to stay.

“That was a huge incentive,” Jocelyn says. “I realized how much we’re going to leave—the comfort of our jobs, security, our apartment, our friends and families.”

This financial opportunity caught their eye for a moment, but their love for God proved stronger. “We feel God is the most important priority,” Dan says. “When we’re doing his work and proclaiming the Kingdom, no matter if we’re rich or poor, so long as we’re in the circumference of his will, there’s joy in that. We could stay here in Omaha, start a family, and have a comfortable life here. But God is giving us the opportunity to trust him. When we choose to take that leap of faith—kind of like our first step—then later on, he’s going to allow us to do bigger things for him and experience more of his Spirit.”

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Dan is excited to see how God can use his love for sports and his multicultural experiences in new and eternally impactful ways. “God can use something as simple as a person’s background and playing with kids to create bridges for sharing the gospel. I grew up in a Spanish household and culture,” he says, “and I have a love for sports. As a result, I’m drawn to Hispanics and can communicate God’s message of grace and mercy to them. So when we first went to El Dorado, I felt at home relating to the kids and playing games. We played soccer at the beach, and I watched everyone and saw walls break down.”

Dan has learned a lot of lessons about God through this process, perhaps the most important of which is how clearly he communicates with us as we earnestly seek him. “When we take the time out of our day and go before him, he answers. He knows our hearts and minds, and as we grow closer to him, he draws us toward his will. Through prayer and reading Scripture, I became certain God wants Jocelyn and I to serve in missions. He’s inviting us to go beyond belief and trust him in this journey. So we’re moving forward.”

In June of 2019, they’ll move to Miami to serve as missionaries to the people in El Dorado and Miami.

To those wrestling with their own decisions, Dan shares how he has found peace with the uncertainties that accompany every choice: “A lot of can people get stuck. When they don’t know for certain something is God’s will, they won’t move forward. We don’t want to do that. So, if we think God is leading us toward something, we’re going to move forward in faith until he says otherwise. If something is not of him, he’ll show us through prayer, Bible reading, the Holy Spirit, and trusted friends.”

They still have preparations to make and things to learn before they leave in June, but they’re confident God is going before them. Perhaps the most exciting way they’ve seen him do that is through the encouragement and support he’s provided through others.

“I love watching God work!” Jocelyn says. “Seeing how he brings thousands of people together in miraculous ways.” God has done that through the Beyond Belief initiative. Thanks to everyone who generously contributed to Beyond Belief, Christ Community Church is able to give the Dan and Jocelyn $25,000 to launch their ministry.

“This shows how big God’s heart is,” Jocelyn says. “He sees each person’s story where they are and invites them to play a part in his redemptive story.”

Might God be inviting you to join in with Dan and Jocelyn in God’s mission? You can partner with them to bring spiritual and emotional freedom to the people in El Dorado. Contact Craig Walter for more information on how you can be involved in life change and use your earthly resources to leave an eternal impact!

Jennifer Slattery is a published author and a member at Christ Community Church

Through the Storm

Photo by Marie Dufour

I remember getting the call from our receptionist, who said, “A man who goes to the church is in need of a pastor to speak with.” As I went out to the CCC atrium, I immediately recognized John. He was one of our Access service usher volunteers. John is hard not to notice. He has a tough-looking exterior—shaved head, long white goatee, tattoos, a guy who looks like he owns a Harley (and he actually does). As I walked up to John that day, I noticed something was wrong. I could tell by his tear-filled eyes that something terrible had happened. We sat down. John opened his mouth but no words came out. He paused and then mustered up the little strength he had left to get out the most dreaded phrase any parent could ever have to say out loud: “My daughter Mary died the day before yesterday and I don’t know what to do now.”

Two days later I was conducting Mary’s funeral, laying her to rest at Westlawn-Hillcrest Cemetery. Family and friends put their arms around John and his wife Theresa. Prayers were prayed. Scripture was read. A eulogy was given. Memories were shared. And then, one by one, people went home as the graveside service concluded, and John and Theresa were left picking up the pieces of their broken hearts.

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Photo by Marie Dufour

Just a couple of days later I showed up to Sunday services at CCC, making my rounds about the church. I was surprised to see John and Theresa sitting in their usual spots in church. They had such a tough weekend that I surely thought they would be at home, closing themselves off from the outside world. On the contrary, after giving them both a hug and telling them I was a bit surprised to see them there, John leaned in and said, “There’s no other place we’d rather be during this time than with our church family.” That statement sums up the Fosters’ unwavering faith in the midst of the trials and pain they faced that year. It’s what sustained them through the storms of loss and grief and it’s what continues to give them strength today.

John and Theresa met in 1974, instantly fell in love, and got married three months later. Shortly after their wedding, John joined the Air Force, which sent them traveling the states and the world as John was stationed in places like Tuscon, Arizona, Sumter, South Carolina, and Rhaunen, Germany. Because deep friendships in the military lifestyle are hard to come by, they relied on their faith and connection with a local church to provide the relational community they both craved.

The last of John’s reassignments led them back to Omaha in July 1994. They struggled in their faith for a time and didn’t immediately get connected into a local church. However, one day their daughter came home from a church she went to with her friend and said, “Mom and Dad, you have to come check out Christ Community Church.” John and Theresa did and began attending and serving at CCC with their family on a regular basis. That decision changed the trajectory of their lives and family and had a huge impact on how they were able to face adversity, pain, and grief twenty years later.

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2016: Beyond the “Valley of the Shadow of Death”

Left: John in the hospital after the motorcycle accident (image provided by Theresa Foster).
Top Right: John & Theresa sharing their story at CCC's Advance Commitment Night in October 2017 (photo by Marie Dufour).
Bottom Right: Photos of the Fostersʼ late daughter Mary, who passed away in 2016 (photo by Marie Dufour).

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On April 14, 2016, John and Theresa were riding on John’s Harley heading west on Dodge Street in midtown when a car pulled out in front of them. They hit that car head-on going 40 mph. Theresa suffered a few broken ribs, along with many bumps and bruises. As the driver in front, John’s injuries were much worse. If it wasn’t for God using the trauma nurse who happened to be driving behind them, the praying woman eating at a restaurant nearby who was first on the scene, and a top surgeon who just so happened to be on-call, many at the hospital concurred that John probably wouldn’t have made it. After nine days in the hospital, John went home and continued to heal from his injuries.

And of course, as soon as he was able, he was back on a new Harley. “I was not going to give in to fear,” John said. That was a statement that not only got him back on his bike, it was one that defined their unwavering faith and trust in God as they endured the death of their daughter six months later.

“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me” (KJV). I read that verse along with the rest of Psalm 23 at Mary’s funeral. As John and Theresa found themselves in that valley, they held onto the same promise King David did: God was with them. Even in the darkest moments of pain and grief. Even when there were no words. Just tears. God was present. God was real. And God had a plan for their lives that brought them beyond mere belief to fully surrendered to him.

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Photo by Marie Dufour

2017: Beyond Belief

A year after Mary’s passing, which just so happened to be the same week as their wedding anniversary, John took a couple days off work to spend time with Theresa. Theresa described how hard the “firsts” without Mary were—the first birthday, the first Christmas, the first Easter, the first Mother’s Day and Father’s Day—all of them were excruciatingly difficult. Of course, the first anniversary of Mary’s death was no exception.

During that week, John answered a call from his boss letting him know that they were restructuring and thus eliminating his position. So, adding to an already difficult week, John and Theresa had to process the future with no job and the idea of early retirement. To complicate matters, the Fosters, as a part of the Beyond Belief initiative at CCC, decided days earlier to make a financial commitment based on John’s previous income. The Advance Commitment Night event, where hundreds of people from the church were the first to make their commitments, was just a couple days away and they had a choice to make. Should they change their commitment? Should they not make a commitment at all?

For John and Theresa, this was an easy decision. “God has been faithful to us our entire lives, especially over the last year. He’ll continue to be faithful in the future. So we decided to trust him with the commitment we already made.” They went to the Strategic Air and Space Museum on Friday, October 27, 2017, and dropped their Beyond Belief commitment in the container, trusting that God would provide. He has. He still does today.

God has provided for the Fosters more than just financially. He has provided them with his faithful presence. He has given them a depth in their understanding of him that they would have never had if they didn’t endure the pain of a near-death experience, the loss of a child, and the loss of a job. God brought them through the storm of 2016, pulled them out of the waves of grief and loss, and gave them a story to share: one of hope, one of love, and one of faithfulness.

Whenever you ask John and Theresa to sum up their story, they usually say three simple but profound words: God is faithful.

He is. He is indeed.

Joe Jensen is the Director of Strategic Projects and Church Engagement for The Barna Group

Our Last Eden

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“The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.” Mark 2:27–28

In a world as frenzied as ours, rest is a rare commodity. Worker bees race to the office for a barrage of meetings and tasks. Then they wrestle their way home through rush hour just in time to sit on the sidelines of a kid’s event before collapsing in a recliner like catatonic zombies until it’s time to repeat the cycle. We desperately need an exit off the treadmill.

Sabbath is the Only Eden We Have Left

As a culture, we are in crisis. We are so busy that we have no time for the things that matter most: worship, family, meditation, and emotional recharging. From the very beginning, God knew our need for rest and embedded a radical regulation to ensure we would enjoy it. It is called Sabbath, and we need it now more than ever.

Sabbath has its origin in Eden. Genesis 2:2–3 (ESV), “And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.” Clearly, God didn’t rest because he was tuckered out. He rested as part of the beauty of creation and embedded the Sabbath principle into our world. The principle is simple: creation’s greatest productivity is within a cycle that includes rest. For humans, that means that we will get more done in six days of work than seven. Our mind, emotions, and body need time to marinate, clear the clutter, dream, and reorganize. Without rest, our work is impeded because our creativity is stifled. Research shows that after fifty hours of work a week our productivity drops so low that the extra hours are virtually unproductive.

The only part of Eden we still have full access to is Sabbath. If we will return to the rest of Eden, the rest of our lives would rest less under the curse of Adam’s sin.

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Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath

Jesus had much to say about Sabbath. His most frequent fight with the Pharisees was over Sabbath regulations. The Jewish establishment took the simple command “Don’t work on the Sabbath” and turned it into a small encyclopedia of prohibitions. For example, an egg laid on the Sabbath was off limits. Now, you could hatch that egg and eat the chicken. Or you could eat the eggs laid by a chicken hatched from the egg that was laid on the Sabbath. But you couldn’t eat that egg laid on the Sabbath. Is it any wonder Jesus deliberately flaunted those rules that turned the blessing of rest into a fretful list of rules requiring us to walk on eggshells?

Jesus consistently rejected their Sabbath regulations: he healed a man with a shriveled hand one Sabbath (Mark 3:1–6), a woman bowed double (Luke 13:10–21), a man with dropsy (Luke 14:1–24), a lame man at Bethesda (John 5:10–18), and a man born blind (John 9:1–7). Taken as a whole, the point of each of these events could be simply summarized: humanity should be served by the Sabbath, not burdened by it. Or to use Jesus’ memorable phrase: “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.” Jesus reclaimed the Sabbath from religion and gave it back to humanity.

By healing people, Jesus showed not how to Sabbath but who is Sabbath. The Sabbath is a blessing to bring health and healing. That’s not a thing, it’s a person. Jesus is our health, our healing, our rest. As he said in Matthew 11:28, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”

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A Critical Warning About Sabbath Keeping

Under Judaism of Jesus’ day, God’s gift of Sabbath was turned into law through human regulations. These meticulous rules became a burden rather than a blessing because the principle of rest became a ruler to measure righteousness. The Sabbath is not another rule to be added to your spiritual discipline. Rather, it is a creational principle to be celebrated as a gift. This is why Paul gives this important warning about legal regulations which we should apply here to Sabbath keeping (among other religious rules): “If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the world, why, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations—‘Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch’” (Colossians 2:20–21). Paul’s shrewd insight in Colossians 2:20–21 uncovers the empty arrogance of legalism. What you avoid doesn’t make you righteous. Nor do the religious practices you observe. What makes us righteous is the blood of Jesus. Religious activities, such as going to church, prayer, tithes, Bible reading, are only valuable in as much as they train us for serving others.

So let’s be clear—keeping the Sabbath is God’s gift to us, not our gift to him. It is a gift we receive so that we can rest from work to refresh our souls, worship God with other believers to lift our spirit, and reconnect with family and friends so we can invest in our communities. When the rhythm of rest punctuates our work, we will experience more productivity at work and more connectivity at home. This is the life God wants for you.

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Mark Moore is an author and a teaching pastor at Christ’s Church of the Valley in Peoria, Arizona. If you'd like to read more of his work, visit markmoore.org.

On Mission

Photo by B-Twien Clicks Photography

In 2014, Christ Community Church began a partnership with international worker Becky to launch Hands of Honor, a ministry to teenage girls who work in a large West African city as house girls. These girls, some as young as twelve years old, are sent by their parents from small villages into the big city to work 24-hour days. The girls cook, clean, and care for their employer’s children, among other things. Some families employing these girls mistreat or abuse them. There have been instances where the girls are unpaid, raped, or kicked out of their employer’s home. Becky shares about one girl whose life has been profoundly affected because of the work of Hands of Honor.

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Is the Great Commission Dead?

I recently read an article by Greg Stier on The Christian Post titled “The Death of the Great Commission.” Stier referenced a recent survey conducted by the Barna Group which indicated 51 percent of American churchgoers do not know what the Great Commission is (see Matthew 28:18–20). “That's like a doctor who doesn't know what the word ‘medicine’ means,” he said.

Surely that can’t be true of our Alliance churches, I immediately thought.

Completing the Great Commission is at the Alliance core. Our mission statement says: “We desire to know Jesus Christ as Savior, Sanctifier, Healer, and Coming King and to complete His Great Commission.”

We Need Both

The article’s point was that those churches focusing on social justice issues have overshadowed the primary mandate Jesus gave his followers to “go and make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19). In the command to love our neighbors, some have not incorporated the importance of verbalizing the good news of Jesus.

As a thirteen-year veteran of CAMA—the relief and development arm of the Alliance—my work among vulnerable female child-laborers is a compassion and justice ministry. So this article gave me considerable pause. Am I a part of the Great Commission’s death in our Alliance churches?

Please don’t misunderstand me. My heart and God-given calling is to advocate for people facing injustices in this world. If you ever want to hear me up on my soapbox, just ask me about the realities women face in my region of the world.

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Aisha when she first entered the Hands of Honor program (photo provided by Becky)

Aisha’s* Story

Yet, if in my ministry and relationships I don’t move beyond acts of compassion to verbally proclaim the good news, the people I serve will never encounter Jesus and experience true transformation. Aisha is an example.

Her life was a mess when we first met. Aisha came from a broken home. Her father was an alcoholic. Her older sister had two children out of wedlock with two different daddies; hardly a good example for her little sister.

Aisha’s mother, a devout follower of the majority religion, came to our Alliance pastor’s wife asking for help. She’d heard our church-based Hands of Honor program worked with vulnerable teen girls. She was concerned about her daughter, who had recently started hanging out by the river at night. Everyone knew that meant Aisha was dabbling in prostitution.

As you can see from this picture, Aisha was sullen, angry, and bitter when she first joined us. Nothing worked to bring a smile to her face.

One day, she came to class with a black eye. We asked her about it, but she didn’t respond. My teammate, a nurse, was concerned that Aisha might have retinal damage. We talked her into visiting a doctor, but she never showed up for the scheduled appointment.

It took months of responding to her scowls with our smiles, caring for her, praying for and with her until we began to see a softening of her heart.

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“It took months of responding to her scowls with our smiles, caring for her, praying for and with her until we began to see a softening of her heart.”

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Before and After

The day arrived when Aisha was with our pastor’s wife and surrendered her life to Jesus. You would hardly recognize the “before Jesus” Aisha in the sweet, loving teen she is now. Today she is thriving in a girls’ vocational school—she even sang in the church Christmas choir this year. A life transformed through the power of the gospel!

We need to take the whole gospel to a hurting world. Did Aisha need us to demonstrate Jesus’ compassion? Are we biblically mandated to care for the brokenness in her life and family (see Matthew 25:31–46)? Yes and yes!

But only in encountering Jesus—and understanding salvation and forgiveness through a relationship with him—did Aisha find wholeness and healing.

We need to take the whole gospel to a hurting world.

Since coming to know Jesus, Aisha is thriving at the girls' vocational school (photo provided by Becky)

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Alliance Missions for Today’s World

The world needs Jesus like never before. There are people in our local communities and around the world who will never encounter Jesus unless we reach out to meet them at their point of need and demonstrate Christ-centered compassion. But they won’t understand how to have a life-transforming relationship with him unless we, his followers, explain it and model it for them.

Alliance family, let’s love our neighbors in every tangible way possible. Let’s take a stand against injustice, care for the widow and the orphan, serve the poor, and feed the hungry.

And, let’s not forget that the most life-transforming way we can love our neighbors is through sharing the gospel with them, testifying to how Jesus has changed our lives.

In the words of previous CAMA president Phil Skellie, “Why would we work tirelessly to see people’s lives on earth improved only to see them spend an eternity in hell?”

*Aisha's name has been changed for her protection.

Becky is an International Worker serving in West Africa with Compassion and Mercy Associates (CAMA).

Jesus. No Other Name.

Above image: Photo of art by Philip Cacka. Russian icon, Christ with hand raised, 19th Century (iStockphoto.com). Header/thumbnail image: El Greco. Christ Carrying the Cross. ca. 1577–87. Oil on canvas. Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC, New York.

No other name has formed governments, influenced leaders, and shaped culture like the name of Jesus. No other name has inspired as many artists, composers, and writers throughout history as the name of Jesus. You can’t walk through the Louvre or Library of Congress without seeing the fingerprints of Jesus stamped throughout. You can’t visit a hospital or step foot onto many of the world’s finest universities without seeing the marks of Jesus and his followers in the halls. You could say the name of Jesus has not only inspired history—it has defined it.

Unfortunately, there have been many who have taken this beautiful and precious name and twisted or tainted it for selfish gain. As a result, the name of Jesus has become a source of pain, suffering, and disbelief for some people. Some have waged war in the name of Jesus. Others have wielded the yoke of slavery in the name of Jesus. Many have hurled insults, labeled people, and cast judgment—all in the name of Jesus. Because of these acts, we find ourselves in a time of history where there is much confusion about who Jesus really was and is. Since the Jesus of the gospels doesn’t appear to line up with the Jesus they’ve seen portrayed in history and in the lives of those around them, many people have decided to give up on him altogether.

In fact, this reality is manifesting itself in the next generation. As Generation Z (born between 1999–2015) emerges into young adulthood, they are more confused and disillusioned with Jesus and Christianity than previous generations. According to the Barna Group, Gen Z “are the first truly ‘post-Christian’ generation. More than any other generation before them, Gen Z does not assert a religious identity.” As a result of this, Barna states, “The percentage of Gen Z that identifies as atheist is double that of the U.S. adult population.”*

So where do we go from here? Well, if we want to reverse the post-Christian trend and redeem the perception of the name of Jesus, we must first be reminded of what the name of Jesus truly is and what it represents. 

What’s in a Name?

When a name is used frequently, it’s easy to overlook its true meaning. Such is the case with Jesus, perhaps more so than with any other name.

The name “Jesus” is actually the Greek representation (Iesous) of the Hebrew name Yeshua, which in English is Joshua. In Hebrew, Yeshua literally means, “The Lord Saves.” In ancient Judaism, there was great significance to the name given to you by your parents. A name didn’t merely identify a person, but told a story of who the person was.

Names often communicated a blessing or a curse and were a proclamation of a person’s destiny. In Matthew 1:21, when we read what the angel said to Joseph, that “She (Mary) will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus (Yeshua), for he will save his people from their sins,” we see how from his very birth, Jesus was destined to be the Savior and Messiah. Just as Joshua would lead the Israelites into the promised land, Jesus would lead those who would choose to follow him into eternal life with God the Father. He did this by living the perfect life, performing divine miracles, dying a painful death on the cross, and then rising from the grave three days later. How Jesus lived on earth gave his name credibility. Matthew 1:21 wasn’t an empty proclamation, but it was prophetic fulfillment! His name wasn’t a cheesy bumper sticker, it was absolute truth: Yeshua, “The Lord Saves.”

Where Do We Go From Here?

So again, where do we go from here? If there is salvation and hope in the name of Jesus, how does that translate to a world that’s confused and often apathetic to it? The answer lies in those who carry and communicate the name of Jesus—you and me. In Philippians 2:5–8, Paul tells believers to “have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross!”

When we follow and imitate the ways of Jesus, we show people what the name of Jesus is really all about.

When we follow and imitate the ways of Jesus (love, humility, kindness, self-sacrifice), we show people what the name of Jesus is really all about. We demonstrate how Jesus gave up everything and endured death, even death on a cross, for the salvation of mankind. When the world sees us, may they see Jesus in us and through us. When the world hears us, may they hear the promises of Jesus ring true for their own lives. When this begins to happen more and more, we’ll see generational trends begin to reverse. Those with misguided ideas of who Jesus was and is will start to see him as he truly is: Lord and Savior.

Ultimately, the promise Paul gave next in Philippians 2 will become more evident in our world and in our lives: “Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:9–11). 

*Source: Barna Group, 2018. Full article available online at barna.com/research/atheism-doubles-among-generation-z

Joe Jensen is the Director of Strategic Projects and Church Engagement for The Barna Group

Yes, It's Legal to Be a Christian in Cuba

Photo by Ian Willsey

The title is my answer to the question I most often receive when people find out that CCC is embarking on a new ministry in Cuba.

Most of us Americans know surprisingly little about this beautiful, socialist, communist country just ninety miles south of Florida. Like many of you, I assumed that atheism was the state “religion” and that Christ-followers and churches would be secret. Yet to my amazement, after the revolution in 1959 that brought Fidel Castro into power, Cuba did not completely restrict religious practice. Only members of the Communist Party were not allowed to have any religion, yet even that has changed in recent years. 

In 1995, a Canadian missionary from the Christian & Missionary Alliance started the first C&MA church in Cuba. Since that time, the C&MA has been steadily growing, and today there are sixty-three churches spread from east to west. In the last few years, interest in Jesus has exploded in Cuba. The C&MA dreams of having 120 churches in Cuba by the year 2020.

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Churches That Plant Churches

In October 2017, I took a vision trip on behalf of CCC to Cuba to see what God is doing there and scope out opportunities for CCC to be engaged. As I visited eleven C&MA churches and met with church leaders, the only thing they wanted to talk about was their passion to start new churches. In fact, there are currently twenty-seven church plants that are ready to become independent churches in 2018. To become a recognized church, a church plant must:

• have twenty-five regular attenders

• have men capable of being elders

• support their pastor at a minimum of ten dollars per month

• have a small group already focused on becoming a new church

Read that last one again! They must have a small group of people working towards starting a new church plant with a location already determined for that church plant. One church of 200 people I visited has ten groups working toward becoming independent churches all around their city. I was genuinely moved by their passion to multiply and their passion to reach hurting people in their communities with the hope of Jesus.

“I Have Nothing, But I’m the Son of the King!”

Seventy-five percent of this little church of fifty-five adults plus children is illegal immigrants.

I want to tell you about a small church near Havana, the capital of Cuba located on the west side of the country, led by a young pastor who must remain nameless. It was towards the end of my week, I had already visited ten other churches, and I was a little burned out… ok, I was a lot burned out. When we visited the pastor, I was just going through the motions and ready for a break. But wow, did the Holy Spirit crash into my heart!

Seventy-five percent of this little church of fifty-five adults plus children is illegal immigrants. In their case, this means they are from the eastern part of the country and are not allowed to live in the west. The eastern part of Cuba is the poorest, so these people moved hoping to find work so they can provide for their families. Being an illegal immigrant means they can’t have a legal job, they can’t get food assistance from the government, they can’t receive medical care, and if they get caught, they get deported back to the east. And yet, here they are sitting in this little shack of a church with joy on their faces.

To say these people are poor is an understatement! They have almost nothing. They work making and selling goods in the underground economy, which is what almost everyone in Cuba does to survive. Yet as I met with a dozen of their key leaders, I was literally moved to tears as they talked about reaching their neighbors for Christ. They spoke of families struggling just to live each day and the opportunity they have to minister on behalf of Jesus. When I asked one man how they can do so much when they have so little, he replied, “I have nothing, but I’m the son of the King!”

“Do You Think Your Church Can Help Us Train More Pastors?”

I was blessed to spend a couple of days with the leader of the Cuban C&MA, talking about how CCC might partner with them. While there are many ways for us to help our brothers and sisters in Cuba, the question Do you think your church can help us train more pastors? is at the forefront of my mind.

There are many ways I anticipate CCC may come alongside the church in Cuba in the coming years, but I believe helping them find ways to train more pastors will be at the top of the list. How can they plant more churches without pastors? And how can they get more pastors unless they train them? There will be much on this in the coming months at CCC as we hope to be a part of the amazing work of the Lord in this beautiful country.

Craig Walter is the Director of Missions at Christ Community Church.

An Update on Beyond Belief

Photo by Felix Russell-Saw (Unsplash.com)

Living a Life Beyond Belief

God invites us into so much more than the typical American lifestyle can deliver. He invites us into a mysterious, dynamic relationship that profoundly intersects with his spiritual reality. He commissions us to draw close to Jesus as we study him, learn from him, and become like him. Through this amazing union with God himself, he sends us out to change the world by his strength and power.

YOUR COMMITMENT IS RESULTING IN MASSIVE IMPACT NOT ONLY IN OUR BACKYARD BUT AROUND THE WORLD.

When I think about this union with God, it is beyond belief. For Jesus, life in all its fullness never stopped with merely having the right beliefs. It's about knowing God in an amazingly personal, life-giving relationship! And if that wasn't enough, God wants to do supernatural things through us to accomplish his purposes on this planet. That concept itself is beyond belief!

CCC is currently in the middle of a series on disciple-making called Follow Me. Throughout this series, my prayer is that the teaching takes you one step deeper every week into the arms of Jesus, that you would develop all of the characteristics of discipleship: commitment, love, sacrifice, questions, knowing God’s Word, and making disciples yourself! In the upcoming message series Within Reach (3.4–3.25), we’ll focus on the Gospels and the life of Jesus so that we might keep Jesus in the forefront of our minds through the beginning of 2018. My prayer is that this focus, combined with an emphasis on spiritual disciplines in Journey Groups, will take you to new places in the depths of knowing Jesus.

God is doing amazing things in our city and our world through Beyond Belief! Let me give you some of the amazing highlights that are growing God’s Kingdom because of your faithfulness.

Beyond Our Walls:
The City

CCC is a part of a central leadership team with thirty-eight churches that are working together to create a synergistic movement of Christ in Omaha called Within Reach. We believe that this city is a reachable city if we work together! This group of churches is wrecking the curve as we inspire each other to reach one more person, plant one more church, and unleash unprecedented compassion on our city. In the past two years, we have seen over 4,000 baptisms, eight new churches, and 20% growth!

Our citywide celebration on February 25 will be groundbreaking. Thousands of people from the Within Reach churches will gather to pray and worship together. These people will be commissioned as lights in the darkness, missionaries to our city to be Jesus to those who do not yet know him. This worship service is symbolic of the unusual unity that God has brought between churches around the mission he is calling us into.

Mission Church and Providence Church are thriving. We co-planted these churches this past September. Both quickly filled their services and are now rocking two services per Sunday. People are coming to faith, getting baptized, and growing in their relationship with Jesus!

CityCare Counseling has twenty-three counselors who are helping hundreds of people find healing in Jesus through divine encounters, with a fantastic facility at The Porch that makes it all possible. The dream of combining outstanding counseling principles with a dynamic Christian worldview is bringing healing every day!

Beyond Our Borders:
The World

Michael and Amy Gilbert have been approved to be Christian and Missionary Alliance missionaries! They will go to Africa with Compassion and Mercy Associates (CAMA), the compassion and relief branch of the Alliance. The Gilberts will serve in Senegal with our friends Shawn and Becky. We’ll give them $50,000 from our Beyond Belief fund to get them started!

We are supporting the Great Commission Fund like never before. We will send monthly gifts to missionaries who are taking the best news ever to the least-reached places. Our giving this year alone will exceed one million dollars!

CCC will send scholarships to our school in West Africa that is training about seventy-five pastors. We are also adopting a second school in the same country and will provide scholarships for forty to fifty students. This year alone, forty students will graduate who will move into ministry roles or church planting. 

I went on an exploratory trip to Cuba in January to meet the national leaders of their movement and brainstorm how to best reach their island with the good news. Their dream is to plant fifty-three churches by 2020 and raise up a new generation of Christian leaders for the Cuban movement. We agreed to put our resources behind them to help make those dreams come true!

Friends, you need to know that your commitment to Christ Community Church and to Beyond Belief is resulting in massive impact not only in our backyard but around the world. God can do abundantly more that we ask or imagine! 

Mark Ashton is the Lead Minister at Christ Community Church.

Photo by Cagatay Orhan (Unsplash.com)

A New Identity

Photo by Jessica Logue

Three words: Who am I? These words play on a continuous loop as the background track in the life of a middle school student. Perceived answers to that question come from all different directions: school, social media, movies, relationships, entertainment, and other activities. As Christ Community Church's Student Ministry, we believe the answer to the question, “Who am I?” can only be found in knowing Whose you are: a beloved child of the God who created you and is crazy about you.

As students begin to discover that their identity is found in Jesus and they make decisions to trust in Him, we celebrate that! We also realize that such a big decision is always a culmination of scores of small decisions along the way. For many students at CCC, the first and most critical decisions are made by their parents. When a parent makes a decision to introduce their kids to Jesus at an early age and get them plugged into the church community, the chance of that student knowing Jesus dramatically increases.

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God."

Philippians 4:6

For Annie and Sophie DelSenno, their journey to knowing Jesus began at an early age. A mom and dad who made church a priority and brothers who modeled their faith led the sisters to place their faith in Jesus. As the girls became more familiar with the Bible in elementary school, they began to understand the relationship that Jesus was inviting them into.  Sophie shared, “I have known about Jesus and God all my life, and from an early age I would go to Sunday school and learn Bible stories. I knew that Jesus died on the cross and rose again.” In addition to the weekly church programming, special church events can also impact how a student understands the gospel. “At Summer U, I realized that a relationship with God is life-changing, and it was. That happened when I was in third grade. When I was about ten or eleven, I began to own my faith and take it seriously,” shared Sophie.

As students begin to own their faith and make decisions to place their trust in Jesus, we challenge them to take steps of going public with their new identity. One of those first steps is to follow the model of Jesus through public baptism. Seeing students make a courageous public statement about their identity in Christ is always incredible. 

Going public together with this new identity was a great experience for Annie and Sophie, who are identical twins. Annie said, “Getting baptized with Sophie was special because it was a special moment in our walk of faith. I got to be baptized with my twin sister and best friend by my side.” The girls were able to choose who baptized them—their older brother Josh and their Journey Group leader Erin. “I requested my brother Josh because he has been a huge role model to me and I look up to him so much, as well as my journey group leader Erin. I look up to them both—they have helped me grow closer to Jesus,” Sophie stated.

Photo by Kristin Polking Photography

The DelSenno twins were baptized September 10, 2017, at a huge all-church baptism party called Baptism on the Green. Over a thousand people showed up to witness Annie, Sophie, and over 100 other people get baptized. “Before I was baptized I was really nervous but also super excited, because I knew everyone would be cheering me on and that my friends and family were supporting me. When I came out of the water and everyone was cheering, I felt overjoyed because I knew at that moment my life would not be the same again.”

Since their baptisms, it has been a joy to witness God at work through Annie and Sophie in the midst of a difficult season in life. Annie has sensed that her trust in Jesus is making an impact in her life. “My trust in Jesus has really helped me in tough times. If ever I am going through a tough time or am struggling, I always pray and lift all my worries to God, like it says in Philippians 4:6. Jesus has helped me through lots of hard things. He shows me that I am not alone and I have Him and other people that will help me get through it,” she said. Annie shared how she has become more sensitive to hearing from God: “I notice that I hear God more and I feel Him leading me. I read my Bible more often and have grown a deeper relationship with Him. I also notice that He puts me in uncomfortable situations and teaches me so much out of every situation.”

As the background track continues to loop, both girls are continuing to discover that the answer to the question, “Who am I?” can only be found by knowing Whose you are. 

Alex Ehly is the Assistant Director of Discipleship—Young Adults at Christ Community Church.