Landmark: October 2007
Seeking God’s Leading
The 2007 Leadership Retreat was remarkable in many ways. I could describe how well the Pastors and Elders of RMCC worked together or how committed we were to supporting one another in prayer. In fact, there were many great moments of unity and decision-making we could celebrate. However, a specific "God-moment" of the retreat came about on Saturday morning as we were praying and discussing what mission-emphasis or focus the Lord might be leading us towards in 2008.
Leading up to the retreat, we had all been given the charge to pray and seek the Lord’s mind for us for the following year. We were to come to the retreat prepared to share the most important idea the Lord had impressed on our hearts. Often God guides us through a process where through discussion and searching the Scriptures, we figure out what His will is for us as a church (this same process is described in Acts 15:1-29). However, as I took note of each person’s impression of what our focus should be, we were all struck at the unanimity of the responses: continue going deeper in the 5 Things (outward focus, salvation, walking small, prayer, one page), and in particular pursue Outward Focus and reach out to our community.
Before the retreat, we had not spent time discussing vision for the next year, so this unity we were experiencing was Spirit–lead and inspired. We were all left in that moment smiling and comforted with the distinct sense that the Lord had spoken and we all, with excitement, began brainstorming as to how we can pursue His desire for us as a church in 2008.
We all know that the Lord leads us, but when we are allowed to sense that leading in a special way, it is a gift and a blessing! Here’s to what the Lord has for us next year!
Preston Hancock, Executive Pastor
Arizona?
I wasn’t quite sure how to answer that question. Do I tell God, "Oh, if only that were true, or have You ever lived there, or." So I decided on the incredibly profound, and said "really?" And I just listened to Him meander a little about the weather that June morning, and His view of living life as we both looked at the hose pumping the septic tank in my soon to be sold house in Ham Lake, Minnesota.
As my body began to wander through my backyard, so did my mind. I thought about moving my wife Christine, our children Nicole (19), Nate (18), Caleb (15), and Joshua (13) back to the desert. I thought about the last five years of ministry as the Pastor of Outreach Ministries, all of the local, regional, & global outreach events and missionaries. I thought about their dedication to the proclamation of the Gospel. I thought about their lives and some of the difficult situations and circumstances. I also thought about the stress on their family life, and the families in the local church, and why I was moving to Mesa, Arizona.
Over the last few years the Lord had continue to laying the burden on my heart to see the local church build strong families. I began to envision how that might look in a local church setting. At the same time Christine and I began to think about moving back to the place she grew up, and to the place we spent the first 10 years of our marriage. We left in 1990 and took the scenic route back. We spent time in Widflecken, Germany as missionaries proclaiming the Gospel to the U.S. Military stationed overseas. We lived in Morrison, Colorado as I pursued my M.A. in Biblical Counseling at Colorado Christian University. We spent years in Southern California in a very diverse community, as the Pastor of Discipleship & Missions. All of these opportunities provided our family to grow in the knowledge and grace of our Lord.
But that day in the backyard, my heart began to burst with the joy of the Lord leading me, and the local body at Red Mountain Community Church calling us, back to the desert as their Pastor of Marriage & Family, and Next Step Ministry. As a family we have been welcomed with open arms, and kind words. Over the past few months it has been a privilege to lock arms, and pursue ministry here. We are both humbled, and honored to be part of the RMCC family. We look forward to many years of fruitful ministry here at RMCC!
Tony Curtisi, Pastor of Marriage & Family
A Tool of God
Hi, my name is Ashleigh Klimke and this summer in Latvia I got to experience God in ways I had never experienced Him before. One of the most amazing things that I got to see in action was the joy of divine intimacy in relationships with people that God has brought into my life. From being able to go to Latvia in 2006 I got to build relationships with a group of girls, that only by God’s timing, I got to see them again this year. Over this past year I had been trying to keep my relationship strong with these girls as the majority were new believers, or not believers at all. I wanted to consistently love on them and encourage them.
I did experience some battles because I felt I wasn’t really helping them because I was physically not with them. I had to constantly remind my self that God is God, and these are His children, I’m just a tool, and He will use me in their lives in His timing. So keeping this in mind, off I went to our first summer camp with Vilandes Baptist Church in Riga. I couldn't believe my eyes, there at the camp were all my girls―we were together again!
The week I had reuniting with these girls was absolutely amazing because I could see the spiritual growth in their lives that could have only taken place by our God. I had very intimate conversations with most of them, and it was amazing to hear the questions that they were asking, and things they were figuring out that God had been doing in their lives. God used those past life experiences to get them where they are now. How grateful I was to get to grow even deeper with these girls. My heart was filled with joy and then humbled as again I was reminded that God is God and He used me as His tool.
Ashleigh Klimke, College Student
A Mission of Change
Mission. It’s such a full word. Is it an event or a mind set? For 16 of our High School students and five staff this past summer it was both. We drove up to Denver for a 9-day immersion experience in another city and more significant, another culture. We had to make many adjustments to our way(s) of thinking and doing life. It’s amazing what God does when we give Him our undivided attention and devotion. We lived in two small bedrooms with two small bathrooms for nine days and got to see and experience some amazing things.
None more amazing than when one of our students, TJ Bennett, after befriending a couple guys at the basketball camp we were hosting for the first two days, went up to them and innocently, yet with conviction asked them if they were to die today, would they be sure what would happen to them? That led into several discussions over the next several hours and days, and by the end, TJ had a new brother in Christ named Matt.
The other things that impacted our students were Kathy a homeless lady who connected with us while we were taking a tour of the homeless part of downtown Denver. She just wanted to hold onto someone and not be alone. We also got to impact the lives of over 60 K-3rd graders with a VBS style ministry. I don’t know who fell in love with whom more. And we got to serve. There’s something about serving with a group of people that gets you excited and we felt the joy of the Lord as we were able to serve the homeless by preparing them a meal.
Change. It’s what the Lord is about. We experienced change because we accepted the call of the mission God laid out before us. Now we’re excited about the mission God has us in here in Mesa, and only He knows what kind of change will happen now!
