Men's Recreational Outreach

Though the turnout was small, all were in good spirits as 4 men from New Life Church set off on a disc golf adventure last Saturday. After 18 "holes" and lots of fun, the conversation turned toward ministry. Josh Whitbeck and Jeff Brophy began to share their vision for hosting recreation based men's outings for the purpose of fellowship and outreach.

The idea is that men like to do things to get the competitive juices flowing. What if Christian guys started inviting their non-Christian friends to participate in fun recreational activities with their friends from church? They envision bringing non-believing men into the community of believing men at New Life Church so that they might see our lives and hear our talk about walking with God. They believe this recreational ministry could be a bridge to seeing men come to know Christ.

If you are interested in participating in this ministry or just have some good ideas, you can e-mail Josh Whitbeck at j_whitbeck@hotmail.com.

Guatemala Missions Team 2009 Holds Garage Sale!

Friday, August 1st and Saturday, August 2nd there will be a garage sale held at the home of Roger Beltz. All proceeds will go directly to help fund the Guatemala Missions Team for their trip with Food for the Hungry scheduled for February 2009. Please click here for directions to Roger's home in Oregon City. Hours of operation both Friday and Saturday will be 9:00 am - 4:00 pm. If you have questions or would like further information, please call Dianne Froode, 503.309.3483.

Where's Pastor Scott?

It's not exactly "Where's Waldo?" But, it will have to do in a pinch.

As most of you know, I am on a 3-month leave of absence to be the interim pastor at Light on the Hill Fellowship in Oregon City and to shepherd their impending merge with Maranatha Baptist Church. This is a unique opportunity that has come our way in part because I am a trustee for the local association of churches for CB Northwest.

My primary responsibilities will be preaching on Sundays, elevating and uniting their leadership, shepherding the congregations to a point they can join with one another. You can follow some of what I'm doing on their new blog I've called "Bless Oregon City".

I will still be available for "light duty" at New Life Church. I'll be in the office and meeting with the staff on Mondays.

Tonight I watched a spectacular thunderstorm in Fort Collins, Colorado. I am at the CBAmerica Summer Leadership Summit. One of the blessings is that I got to have lunch with Al Russell the supervisor of all CB Chaplains. He was able to encourage me that he is doing what he can to support Chuck Searl.

Italian Friends

Sunday evening, July 13th, the New Life Robinwood Campus was packed for a presentation of music and ministry with Dan & Alice Simmons and friends from their church in Ostia. The evening was a great encouragement to Dan.
Simmons led us in thanksgiving for the progress of the work in Ostia and encouraged us to pray for the harvest field there.

Giulio, Marco and Maria expressed their gratitude for our partnership. They also reminded us how hard it is to make a spiritual impact in their culture.

The Simmons did not ask you for financial support. I want to encourage you to consider supporting them in prayer and financially. They are undersupported and need to raise more before they return to Italy in August. You can give by going to the WorldVenture webpage and follow the menu until you get to the donate section where you will select their name.

I hope this blog post is better late than never!
They were here for three weeks while they traveled and did ministry in other churches. We miss them now that they are home.

Don't Waste [What's Left of] Your Summer!

New Life Church has an incredible number of exciting activities still happening throughout the rest of this summer, and we want YOU to be involved! Our online calendar has just been updated again, in an effort to keep you posted on what's happening. Please click here to be redirected to our online calendar, or from our website's homepage, you can select the "resources" menu, then select "calendar" from the drop-down list. If you have any questions about upcoming events, please call Julia at the church office: 503.656.8600.

Utah Mission Team Report/Potluck

Please don't miss this opportunity to hear what God did in and through this team on their mission. The report/potluck will be at noon after the services this Sunday, July 27 at the Riverfalls campus. It should last about an hour. Please bring a dish to share so that there is enough food for everyone who comes. Hope to see you there!

Ladies High Tea Event to be Held August 2nd

The ladies of New Life Church are invited to attend high tea on Saturday, August 2nd at 3 p.m.

This will be a great opportunity to enjoy each other's company, eat delightful treats, drink tea, and listen to beautiful music in a gorgeous garden setting in nearby Canby.

Tickets will be on sale at both New Life Church campuses on Sunday, July 27, which is the last day to purchase tickets. The cost is $10 per person. Ladies who would like to carpool to the event please meet at our Riverfalls campus at 2:20.

Milestone! 1000 posts!

This is the 1,000th post to the Treasure Chest. Whew! Makes me tired just thinking about it. As we enter the second thousand posts, it would encourage and help if you would suggest what post or posts have been your favorites. Thank you for your attention.

Lemonade in the Park

Here are a couple pictures from Saturday's Lemonade Backpacking at the Old Time Fair. A special thanks to New Life's Young Adults Group for running nearly all of the backpacking hours.

Old-Time Fair Community Worship Service Tomorrow

Don't forget. . . I know, it's too late to remind you. . .New Life Church hosts the Community Service at the Old Time Fair. The service will begin at 10:00. It is at Willamette Park off the 10th Street Exit in West Linn.

H2O Introduction

Lauren made this video for their presentation at Women's Camp this weekend. If you think about it, please pray for them.

Utah Mission Team Update #6

Well...we're home. We arrived at Riverfalls at midnight this morning. The ride home was relaxed and uneventful in a good way.

Let me briefly backfill what happened Saturday, Sunday and Monday.

Saturday we cleaned the entire church. Toilets, urinals, floors, carpets, weeding flowerbeds...you name it, we cleaned it. Not only that, each team member did their part with a smile. Later that night we went out to eat with our hosts Scott and Melanie Creps and Steve and Katie Bennetsen. Of course Micah, Luke and Abigail were there too.

Sunday we were acknowledged in the worship service. Scott Creps was preaching and introduced us before his sermon. Every time he mentioned that we pulled weeds the room burst into applause. They must not like pulling weeds and were VERY thankful. We later helped setup for the community picnic that we passed out fliers for and played soccer with some of the kids. We were also able to reconnect with a couple of the kids and families from Sports Camp who were at both the service and the picnic. Three of which were kids who indicated that they wanted to receive Christ at the end of Sports Camp.

Monday we decompressed after a long week. We went to the Lagoon Amusement Park near Salt Lake City. It was a great time. Students hung together and enjoyed a day of fun.

What an awesome trip! Thanks so much for your support and prayers. Lives were changed, both those we visited, those of us who went, and we pray those of you who followed our journey and those who will hear about it in the future. Pray that that change will continue to take root in our everyday lives.

Please continue to pray for the ministry of Alpine Church and for what God is doing in Utah...it is exciting! It is such a ripe mission field where less than a percent of the people are Evangelical Christians and the gospel of grace is challenging many burned by the LDS church to "go beyond religion."

For many, MANY more pictures, click here to visit the Ignite Gallery.

Evangelism in the Burbs

A couple of days ago I ran across a great new blog, sub•text. The tag-line for the blog in "the gospel in the suburban context." Among their many resources was an essay on evangelism by Joe Thorn. The essay offers five what you might call observations or suggestions on doing evangelism in the burbs (to read the entire essay click here):

1. Door to door evangelism is seen as an unwanted invasion.

2. Initiating conversation at Starbucks is welcome.

3. The evangescript is perceived as invasive and fake.

4. Showing how real-life concerns connect to the gospel is well-received.

5. The churched are often as clueless about the gospel as the unchurched.

Summer Schedule: River Baptism

New Life Church will have one opportunity for river baptism this Summer--

Date: Sunday, August 3rd
Time: 4:00-6:00 pm
Location: The home of the Haugen Famliy,
on the Clackamas River in Oregon City.

For further details, questions, or if you would like to sign up, please contact Julia at the church office by phone: 503-656-8600 or by e-mail: office@newlifenw.com.

Women's Ministries: Planning for the Future

WANTED: You and your great ideas!

Ladies, do you want to connect with other women here at New Life Church in a new way? A special event has been planned for all the women to share their great ideas for future ministries to women.

An RSVP is requested for this event.

Date: Thursday, July 17th from 6:30-8:30 pm
Where: At the Home of Gay Haugen, 14343 Clackamas River Drive, Oregon City
Refreshments will be provided.
If you have questions or would like to RSVP please call Lori Elliott at 503-650-5070 or Gay Haugen at 503-742-0858.

New Books For Kids!

RIVERFALLS CAMPUS: Children's Library

CD: Bible Songs (toddlers)Learning the Old and New Testament included

DVD: Friends and Heroes : Long Journey

Bible: The Jesus Storybook Bible

The Chronicles of Narnia
Prince Caspian: The Tail of Reepicheep
Prince Caspian: Fight for the Throne
Peter's Destiny:The Battle for Narnia
Susan's Journey : Step Through the Wardrobe

I CAN READ! Level 2 (reading with help)
Prince Caspina: This is Narnia
Prince Caspian: Lucy's Journey

Grandma's Attic Series; by Arleta Richardson
In Grandma's Attic
More Stories from Grandma's Attic
Still More stories from Grandma's Attic
New Faces, New Friends

Utah Mission Team Video #3 - Sports Camp verse

Here's the verse that the kids memorized in two days!

Utah Mission Team Update #5 - Sports Camp

How can I summarize our Sports Camp experience in Utah? First the facts: (1) there were on average about 25 kids each day, (2) we did soccer and basketball, (3) we talked about teamwork and sacrifice, culminating in the story of Jesus, (4) we had kids from a couple LDS families, as well as kids from the church and the community, (5) four kids wanted to believe in Jesus for the first time.

There were several transformations associated with Sports Camp. Kids were very cold towards the activities and their coaches in the beginning. You can see from the pictures that that clearly changed. Our team was also fractured and on edge after a stressful start to Sports Camp and the inevitable relational grind of having been in close quarters with one another for 5 straight days. Our debrief session tonight confirmed that God worked a miracle to unify us, not only for Sports Camp, but in everything else we did today. Thanks for your prayers! Lastly, Young kids lives were changed as they heard the gospel message of Jesus Christ. Four boys genuinely expressed an interest in trusting Jesus for salvation for the first time. There was also a young LDS girl who was wrestling (in a VERY good way) with the difference between the gospel we were preaching and the message she had been taught growing up. These were amazing results from a camp that only lasted two days. We praise God for his accelerated work in and through us!

Please pray for those who showed signs of being affected by the gospel message. Pray also that the seeds that were planted would bear longterm fruit. Continue to pray for love and unity amongst our team members, and that our presence at Alpine Church would enhance the ministry that God has already blessed them with. We are convinced that many are interceding for us because we see God's hand at work. Keep it up, and THANK YOU!!!

Utah Mission Team Video #2 - Slaughterball

This is SLAUGHTERBALL!!!

Utah Mission Team Update #4

Yesterday was all about getting ready for Sports Camp. We checked out the park we would be using, we passed out fliers in the neighborhoods surrounding the park, and we spent a good portion of the evening decorating our vans and making signs for publicity purposes, as well as doing any last minute work to prepare. We started the day by getting a lesson on how to engage LDS people from Scott Creps, which was very timely considering our door-to-door experience.

Please continue to pray for the energy and attitude of our team. Also, pray for the impact of Sports Camp on the ministry of Alpine Church.

Utah Mission Team Video - Car Ride with Micah

Here's a video of some Utah Team members in a car with little baby Micah Creps.

Utah Mission Team Update #3

Day 3 was hard work and a lot of fun all rolled into one. We spent a good portion of the morning and the afternoon in the hot Utah sun, going door-to-door and passing out fliers for Sports Camp and the Community Picnic on Sunday. We split up into 4 groups, and some had very positive experiences while others were met with mild hostility. All in all, we are thankful for God's protection and favor with the people we encountered. Please continue to ask God for these things as we will be passing out fliers today (Wednesday).

In the evening, we went to the Youth Pastor's house for swimming and a BBQ. We played an intense game, like Water Polo, called Slaughterball...which was awesome! The athletes walked away with bruises, cramps, bleeding scratches and even a broken tooth...it was the youth pastor...OUR HOST! I guess we were a little rough with him.

Our team continues to impress us with their unity and perseverance amidst some long days. Thank you so much for your prayers, and please don't stop.
Pray for:
-Good response at Sports Camp tomorrow
-We are able to pull our resources together to impact the families in this community for Jesus Christ
-God's empowerment and grace in us and in those we will be ministering to
-This trip continues to be an encouragement to Alpine Church--as it already has been
-Each individual on the team would continue to be shaped by this experience
-Appreciate even more the grace available to us in Jesus Christ--a concept that is foreign to LDS people
-The challenges of this trip press us to be more faithful as ministers and evangelists

Middle School Youth Retreat, June 27-28: The Invisible Shield taken from the life of David.

The Invisible Shield is the shield of faith. It is strengthened and enhanced by Godly character traits like courage, resourcefulness, honor, loyalty, mercy, purpose, service, sacrifice, preparedness, righteousness, prayer, and a desire to do great things for God.

THE LEAD OFF LESSON...was taken form the account of David’s battle with Goliath and illustrate how even though he shunned the shield and armor of the King he was protected by an “Invisible Shield” of his faith in God when he told Goliath that he was not afraid of him and that he would be defeated because he had defied God.

THE CORE ACTIVITY...was the construction of a functioning shield with a “coat of arms” made up from icons we used in the lesson series to represent the various character traits we taught about. The background colors of the shields also had significance and meaning. Each shield is a unique shape and design selected by the student. There is a “Legend” that has a wide selection of icons and traits and explains the meaning and key verse for each from David’s life. The wood for the shields was taken from materials salvaged, or “redeemed” from the church in what is now Pastor Scott’s office and this will be given special significance to teach about redemption and salvation.

TEAM-BUILDING GAMES...The team names in the games will also be taken from the icons, such as “Horses” – Ready for Battle vs. “Lions” – Loyal Leaders.

MEALS...The students enjoyed lots of good food including a meal of “wild bear meat” cooked over the open fire during the kick off lesson as Scott Haugen tells the story of David and his courage protecting sheep against a bear and a lion and his Invisible Shield that protected him.

Utah Mission Team Pictures

If you've enjoyed the pictures from the trip thus far, there is a lot more where that came from. Click here to stay up on the latest pictures of the Utah Mission Team.

Utah Mission Team Update #2

On day 2 we kinda got a late start, and understandably so, since we didn't get to bed until 2am.

Scott Creps briefed us on some key issues regarding LDS history and theology and took us into Salt Lake to tour the Temple Square. We encountered several young, female missionaries who shared with us the "restored gospel of Jesus Christ." You all would have been proud of our students by the way they respectfully and lovingly listened, asked questions and stood firm in their faith (1 Pet. 5:9). When our two missionaries passed us to some other ladies on the tour, they said "take care of these ones...they're a good group." I am confident that what these ladies saw was the love of Jesus, a love they don't fully understand yet. Please pray for them and other LDS people you know to encounter Evangelicals who truly understand the grace that is only available in Jesus Christ.

We also heard from a ex-LDS couple (Brian and Wendy) who shared their testimony of being wowed by grace. They are now at Alpine Church, and they helped us to think about what are the divides and opportunities for bridge-building between Evangelicals and LDS. This was very timely since we will be going door-to-door today to pass out fliers for Sports Camp. Please pray that we will exude the same love and firmness that our had at Temple Square, and pray that we would love, model and point to the grace that comes through the person and work of Jesus Christ alone.

Utah Mission Team Update #1

Well, 15 hours later...we arrived! We're safe and sound, and in pretty high spirits. However, we don't want this ultra late night to zap our energy for the week. Please pray that our bodies will be resilient and that we will have the energy we need to hit the ground running tomorrow. More to come, but good night for now.

Utah Mission Team Departure

If you want to see the Utah Team off, please be at NLC Riverfalls at 8:30am on Sunday, July 6. The bulletin last week said 7:00am, but that's a mistake. Please pray with us as we embark on our 12 hour drive. Also, please check the blog daily for updates while we're ministering.

MEGA Sports Camp 2008 Video

Here's a video that was made to feature youth working with kids at Sports Camp. Enjoy!

Pastor Don Trest from Pass Christian, Mississippi

Thanks to Nate Hanson for this report from Bible Fellowship Church, in Pass Christian, Mississippi. The Hanson family traveled through and stopped by. Here is what Nate says:

It was very neat to see the church and hear from Pastor Don. Bible Fellowship is having a big impact in this area and, as his wife said, "Bible Fellowship is known as the church that helps." The people and prayers from New Life have helped to make their work there possible.