re:Generation/5(hundred) Hours

re:Generation/5(hundred) Hours Promotional Video from New Life Church on Vimeo.

Week 1 - Leadership & Leadership Development

What is 5(hundred) Hours?

5(hundred) Hours is an ambitious, church-wide call to prayer aimed at spending five hundred cumulative hours in corporate and private prayer to prepare for the January launch of re:Generātion, a new Young Adults Ministry taking place Sunday nights.

Week 1 - Leadership & Leadership Development

A central element of the church’s mission is to develop and deploy new leaders in every generation. Paul described this process as “entrusting” to faithful men and women the message of the gospel with the purpose of enabling them to take that same message to others (2 Tim. 2:1-2). Everything rises and falls on leadership.

re:Generātion is committed to the production and re-production of leaders through training, mentoring, and ministry experience.

What to pray for as we ought . . .

There are two primary areas of prayer to focus on this week: (1) re:Generātion’s Leadership Team itself and (2) re:Generātion’s Leadership Development as a ministry.

re:Generātion’s Leadership Team

I pray, Father, for the leadership team of New Life re:Generātion—for Grant Blomdahl, John McKay, Aaron Orendorff and Taylor Reavely.

I ask first and foremost that these men would be blameless and above reproach; instruments of your own choosing, qualified and gifted.

Make them sober-minded, self-controlled and hospitable.

May they say with the Psalmist, “Whom have I in heaven but the Lord, and there is nothing on earth I desire besides Him.”

Make them gentle and honest, quick to listen and slow to anger; humble servants of your will and your people.

May you, O God, sanctify them through and through, keeping their whole spirit, soul and body holy for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

May they earnestly love what is good and hold firmly to the message of your Word, instructing others in sound doctrine and refuting those who oppose it.

Unify and guide them in all their decision-making.

Give them wisdom from above: wisdom that is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial, and sincere.

Give them a singular vision and unite them as one mind.

May their motives and decisions be governed by your Word and Spirit for the good of your people and the glory of your great name.

Cause them to keep a close watch on both their lives and doctrine, preserving them so that they might save both themselves and their hearers.

re:Generātion’s Leadership Team

Gracious Father, I pray that you would use the ministry of re:Generātion to produce and reproduce a new generation of godly leaders.

Raise up men and women passionately committed to the gospel of Jesus Christ; ready and willing to take up their crosses and follow him.

Give to these new leaders a spirit of wisdom and revelation in their knowledge of you.

Grip them with the truth of your word,
Shape them through the power of your Spirit,
Equip them through the ministry of the body,

Make them wise and discerning, trained and prepared, sanctified and faithful.

Do not take them out of the world, but protect them from the evil one.

Make re:Generātion a strategic, intentional, and powerful tool in the advancement of your kingdom.

Printable Prayers

For a printable version of these prayers to take with you throughout the week click on the following link.

5(hundred) Hours - A Call to Prayer

What is 5(hundred) Hours?

5(hundred) Hours is an ambitious, church-wide call to prayer aimed at spending five hundred cumulative hours in corporate and private prayer to prepare for the January launch of re:Generātion, a new Young Adults Ministry taking place Sunday nights.

How to Get Involved—Starting, November 29th

As a Life Group or Ministry Team Leader. . .

. . . you can get involved by pledging to spend a portion of your group’s time in December praying for this new ministry. Remember, the time is cumulative, meaning if eight people pray for one-half hour, that’s four hours all together.

As an Individual . . .

. . . you can get involved by pledging your own personal time in prayer, encouraging those you know to do the same and holding one another accountable.
To pledge, please fill out the response card included in this week’s bulletin (one card per person).

As a Church . . .

. . . you can get involved by attending weekly prayer events Sunday morning between services at Riverfalls or before service at Robinwood and by joining with us New Year’s Day to pray, worship and fast.

Guiding the Process

Throughout the month of December, there will be a different area of prayer to focus on each week.

Week 1—Leadership and Leadership Development
Week 2—Worship
Week 3—Mission and Outreach
Week 4—Community and Discipleship

In addition to these focuses, the Young Adults’ Team will also be providing updates on the launch along with practical tips to help your prayer times, both in private and in public.

Why 5(hundred) Hours?

Prayer exists for two reasons: to bring glory to God’s name (Jn. 14:13) and to bring joy to God’s people (Jn. 16:24).

John Piper explains it like this: “God aims to exalt Himself by working for those who wait for Him. Prayer is the essential activity of waiting for God—acknowledging our helplessness and His power, calling upon Him for help, seeking His counsel. . . . [God] will not surrender the glory of being the Giver . . . [because] the Giver gets the glory.”

Our primary aim, therefore, in calling for this unique and ambitious time of prayer is to see God’s glory and our joy brought together. Yes, we want young people worshiping God. Yes, we want a new generation of leaders trained and equipped. And yes, we want to seek and save the lost. But in and through all of this, what we want is for God to get the glory and for us to get the joy.

The only way for this to happen is through prayer.

Churches Must Be Feeling The Recession All Over

This map is compelling about the seriousness of the recession. No one appears to be unaffected.

Wilda Stevenson Memorial Service

Wilda Belle Stevenson

July 20, 1922- November 12, 2009

Wilda Belle Stevenson died on Nov. 12, 2009, at the age of 87. She was born Wilda Belle Shepherd On July 20, 1922, in Dora, Oregon, to parents Wilma D. and Harold E. Shepherd. She was raised in Dora and was a Myrtle Point High School graduate. She had been a waitress and bartender, but was retired. She was a member of New Life Church - Robinwood, and loved to collect "honey' Birds. She was dearly loved, not only by her family but also by her many friends. Our lives will all be a little grayer without the sunshine of her personality.

She is survived by: son, Elmer Lee Bennett; sister, Colleen Wilson; four grandchildren, Lenny, Bob, Josh and Steven; and three great-grandchildren, Elle, Seth, and Ashley. In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband, Walter Allen Stevenson, and her daughter, Kay Colleen Delory.

A memorial service will be held at 1 p.m. on November 28, 2009, at New Life Church - Robinwood, 19915 Old River Drive, West Linn. Internment location is Evergreen Memorial Gardens Cemetery, in Vancouver, WA.

Memorial contributions may be sent to: New Life Church - Global Outreach, PO Box 5, West Linn, OR 97068.

Hunter Haugen in India- Update #2

It's been two months, but I still feel as if I'm just brushing the surface of Indian culture. There are so many currents and motives moving beneath the obscuring surface of what appears to be normal life to a foreigner like me. I am building relationships with people, understanding their lives, seeing the work that God is performing through them in their community, and being able to work and fellowship with them all at the same time.

There is a desire in many of the people here to give up what they have and live under Jesus's admonition to "come, follow me." Just as it is everywhere else but especially here, to see the joy gained in the Holy Spirit is a great witness to the community of the truth of the gospel. To me, that is part of what makes this such a ripe field; there is a non-stop stream of people who are ready and willing to follow Christ and tend His field, and they are being enabled by the many different programs that have taken root in the recent years.

The Buhlers have been most hospitable, not just to me, but also to the community. This evening I went to their house to help with a Halloween party that they've set up for the local families with children that they've been able to reach out to. With the friendship of the family and Lavonne's gift for running events and designing parties, it was quite a hit. In the office with Brian too, many of the programmers are not believers but as they design the websites for many of the movements inside India, they see all the ways that the believing community desires to help. I'm very happy to be blessed to have been equipped to help as a part of this. Thanks for your prayers and support and allowing me to be here.

New Life Church Family is Invited to the Hanson-Wenzel Wedding

With joyful hearts, Mr. and Mrs. Mark Hanson invite you to share in the joy of the marriage uniting their daughter, Elizabeth, and Josh Wenzel, Saturday, December 19th at 1:00 in the afternoon at New Life Church, Riverfalls.  Cake and punch reception to follow.

An Awana Thanksgiving

Hope you enjoy these photos of our festive group of Pilgrims and American Indians! Last night 27 children heard about giving thanks to God. We celebrated God's goodness by dressing up, eating turkey and making crafts. Our older children even wrote their own Psalm / Praise to God using the accrostic, Thanksgiving. Here it is:

The Lord is good to all,

He is Almighty,

Amazing You are.

Nothing can destroy You.

Kneel down before Him.

Strong and mighty are You.

God, You are glorious.

I'm forever prasing You.

Victorious are You.

I love You.

No one is as strong as You.

God, You are good.

Hoping this post encourages you to forever praise God because He is indeed all the attributes mentioned above, HAPPY THANKSGIVING from Awana!

Family Forum -- November 22nd

Sunday evening at 6:00 at our Riverfalls campus we'll share dinner and then take a look at the AMAZING things God is doing in and through New Life Church. We are in an unusual season of God's blessing. We'll eat together, worship and gain the big picture of what God is up to here. Childcare will be provided. Please call the office with questions, 503.656.8600.

Resurrection

Here's a prayer from Valley of Vision that fits with our text on Sunday:

O GOD OF MY EXODUS,
Great was the joy of Israel’s sons
when Egypt died upon the shore,
Far greater the joy
when the Redeemer’s foe lay crushed in the dust.
Jesus strides forth as the victor,
conqueror of death, hell, and all opposing might;
He bursts the bands of death,
tramples the powers of darkness down,
and lives for ever.
He, my gracious surety,
apprehended for payment of my debt,
comes forth from the prison house of the grave
free, and triumphant over sin, Satan, and death.
Show me herein the proof that his vicarious offering is accepted,
that the claims of justice are satisfied,
that the devil’s sceptre is shivered,
that his wrongful throne is levelled.
Give me the assurance that in Christ I died, in Him I rose,
in His life I live, in His victory I triumph,
in His ascension I shall be glorified.
Adorable Redeemer,
Thou who wast lifted up upon a cross
art ascended to highest heaven.
Thou, who as man of sorrows wast crowned with thorns,
art now as Lord of life wreathed with glory.
Once, no shame more deep than Thine,
no agony more bitter, no death more cruel.
Now, no exaltation more high,
no life more glorious, no advocate more effective.
Thou art in the triumph car leading captive Thine enemies behind Thee.
What more could be done than Thou hast done!
Thy death is my life, Thy resurrection my peace,
Thy ascension my hope, Thy prayers my comfort.

First Monthly International Student Conversation Dinner

I was out of town on Friday and missed this. If you missed it, too, here's a video. . . and you may not want to miss next month!

Awana Update

After one month, the New Life Church Awana Clubs are blossoming. Last week 25 children memorized verses, played games, and heard engaging Bible Stories. We began this fall with Puggles (2-3 year olds) and Cubbies (3-5 year olds). We've played with pumpkins, had games in the dark, and you can never forget those yummy snacks.

We are getting all geared up for January, when we will be launching our Sparks (K-2nd grades) and TNT clubs (3rd-5th grades). Today the Awana circle was laid out on the sanctuary floor at New Life Robinwood. We will be using this game circle with lots of exciting games in the days to come.

Our leaders are trained and ready to engage children in having fun and learning the word of God. So, if you haven't done it already, be sure to get your kids registered to be a part of one our fantanstic Awana clubs. You can sign up by emailing Sara Pylate at sarapylate@juno.com.

Global Outreach Sunday

This Sunday is Global Outreach Sunday at New Life Church. Stephanie Rogers (daughter of Wes and Shelley Rogers) will be sharing a brief testimony in each of our morning services and at length during the evening service. Stephanie is planning to go out as a missionary with Josiah Venture to Slovenia in January, and is in the process of raising support. If you would like to find our more about Stephanie's missionary plans, click here.

Another exciting part of Global Outreach Night will be a live video interview with Hunter Haugen and Brian Buhler in India. Hunter has been in India for almost two months on a short term trip helping Brian in his crucial work among the Dalit people. If you have facebook, you can check out Hunter's latest pictures here.

Global Outreach Night will also include a touching video about the Middle School effort to raise money for Dalit Children, and a challenging testimony from a High School Student about the impact of a mission trip on a life. You won't want to miss this exciting evening. Global Outreach Night is this Sunday, November 8th at 6:00 PM at New Life Church Riverfalls.

Family News -- Family Forum

As I wrote last week, the church in Oregon City decided on a future that did not include New Life Church. Because of that, CB Northwest decided to pull us off the job. As of Sunday, 11/1 New Life Church is no longer serving the Oregon City congregation and CB Northwest has assumed direct leadership until the end of the year.

This is GREAT news. Not only am I finished with my responsibilities there, but Aaron and Amanda Orendorff are rejoining us back at New Life Church. In the words of one of our elders, "he received 10 years experience in one year." Now we have him back with an added decade of training! He’ll be preaching for me on 11/29 & 12/6. Be sure to welcome them back.

We are so excited about what the future holds and about what God is doing at New Life Church that we want to talk about it with you as soon as possible. Please come to a Family Forum at our Riverfalls campus on November 22 at 6:00 p.m. We’ll eat together. There will be childcare for the meeting.