Month: October 2018

Art, Apples and Aquariums

October 28, 2018 The Homeschool Ministry

Summer Events

Many people probably don’t know what the homeschool group has been up too recently, but we’ve had a busy few months! This summer we were able to go camping at the church campground together. Not only did Danielle Klatt do a short lesson on owls, but Andy and Laura came to teach the kids how to draw the nature treasures they found while on a nature hike. Sorry to the campground neighbors for all the hooting on Friday evening! It was also a nice time for the parents to fellowship together.

Fall Fun

September brought most of us getting back into learning, but who can object to a good old-fashioned visit to the Apple Orchard! We learned about apples and apple trees, took a wagon ride (of course) and raced pedal tractors!

School Picture Day

The end of September saw us get all dressed up for Homeschool Picture Day. Mandie Schug graciously took “School” Pictures for us and for the homeschool community in and around Menomonie. Nine families (not including any from our group) came down to get their picture taken. We have had several of those families join us for recess in recent weeks.

October Field Trip

Lastly, in October we piled into the church van (complete with four child car seats) and went to SeaLife Aquarium at the Mall of America. Sea Anemones were touched (by the brave kids), sharks and sea turtles were awed over and new facts about all the sea creatures were learned by both the kids and their parents. I mean have you ever heard of a Sawfish or a Seadragon? Check out this short video a Sawfish!

On the Horizon

Soon we will usher in November and the colder temperatures with a baking lesson from Becky and in December we look forward to a special holiday outing (more details yet to come). We will also continue our weekly recess on Thursdays at various parks around Menomonie, with only rain and subzero wind chills bringing us to church to watch creation videos. Baseball has been a hot trend with the kids lately, but I’m sure what they all really want is snow for sledding, which we will do from the time the snow flies until it melts.

If you know anyone who homeschools and needs a little more community in their life or if you know someone just thinking about homeschooling, please feel free to send them our way. homeschool@jfbelievers.com

-Tiffany

Two Years… Already?

October 25, 2018 Shofar Missions Cebu

Street Level Ministries Cebu

Three architecture students and some bungee cords… finally got the screen to hang straight!

At the end of September, we hosted a rooftop movie night at Teofel Hostel and had over a dozen students attend, as well as a few hostel guests. It’s always nice to host fellowship events like this because it gives the students an opportunity to serve and take some ownership within the ministry. Every time we host such an event, the group walks away more unified as a little community.

We meet every Friday for dinner and a bible study at Elicon House, right in the heart of the “university zone.” After we all have our fill of pancit canton, rice, and bananas, we have been digging into the Old Testament and learning about the life of Jacob. We’re following the same series as the SLM branches in the USA and have been encouraging the students in Cebu to stay up-to-date with what’s happening there. Every week, we discuss what sort of events are going on and pray for each group. I think it has inspired the students to dream big, pray big, and discover what God is doing at universities on the other side of the world.

Dropping off WOTS and a conference poster at the Baptist Theological College library… “They have *TWO* Believer’s Bible Commentaries!”

We’re also gearing up for a one-day conference at the end of November. It’s being held at Teofel Hostel and will be free for all university students to attend. We will be going through “The Thinking Series: Asking Life’s Biggest Questions.” We’ve invited churches, sent out mass texts and emails, and hung up posters throughout the city to promote the event.

Shofar Science Creation Curriculum

Laura recently finished teaching lessons at Southern Bethany, so at the beginning of October, she started teaching at the Visayas Wesleyan Christian School. She gets to teach three different age groups every Wednesday morning! Plans are also in the works for teaching at new schools next semester. So far, we have visited 3 new schools around the city to present the curriculum.

A Look Back

It’s hard to believe that October 31 marks two years since we said goodbye to life as we knew it. What a journey it has been… God has been so faithful and patient with us as we’ve adapted. I don’t know how He has time for anyone else! Some of my favorite memories were taking multiple trips across the island to promote Shofar Camp (once each with Orchids, Dyreen, and Yvea); hosting two large missions teams; installing the Street Level Radio stations; and celebrating SLM’s first anniversary in Cebu. It’s always good to stop and remember all that God has done. I think this quote sums up what I’ve learned in the past two years quite nicely: “Perhaps only when human effort had done its best and failed, would God’s power alone be free to work.” – Corrie ten Boom, The Hiding Place

Prayer Requests

For students to register for the SLM Conference, the behind-the-scenes prep, and ultimately that it will bear fruit for the Kingdom
Guidance and wisdom in planning and scheduling schools for next semester’s Science Creation Curriculum
An office/headquarters for SLM

– Brittany

Time flies when you’re having fun!

October 22, 2018 Blind Munchies Coffeehouse

Coffee Outreach Opportunities

Time flies when you’re having fun! We are sad to see the weather changing so fast but we have greatly enjoyed our summer. This summer we went mobile. We helped River Falls and Menomonie Street Level Ministries in their fundraising efforts for their mission trip. We enjoyed both events the Vintage Baseball game and the rummage sale. It was fun to serve the community and alongside SLM and BDR. This was our second year doing the Vintage Baseball event and we continue to build that relationship with them. The mobile coffeehouse also joined BDR a few times at music over Menomin. We enjoyed the music and getting to know more people from the community.

Fall Happenings

This fall we have hit the ground running with the UW-Stout students back! We were able to give free breakfast coupons for the UW-Stout Blu Rah event and UW-Stout care packages for students. With that being said we have been serving anywhere from 32-68 breakfasts a week. Because of it we asked Street Level volunteers to assist in the morning breakfast rush. We had the pleasure to bring the mobile coffeehouse to the Epic Moth Parties each week. Many students were served and different people got to learn the mobile coffeehouse set up. We also traveled to River Falls and joined Street Level with their free coffee and frities give-away. We served over 100 people!! The coffeehouse also joined Street Level in hosting Jon Bloom. He talked to college-age people about not following your heart. The mobile coffeehouse is going to be on UW-Stouts campus with WOTS and BDR. There we will be giving away free coffee!

We have been really blessed to come alongside other ministries and serve with them. Please continue to pray for the Coffeehouse as we continue to grow, serve, and reach out to students.

River Falls News / October 2018

October 19, 2018 River Falls Ministry

RF-News

We continue to meet on Tuesday evenings for Street Level for a meal and study. There have been a few students that are consistently coming around and becoming more involved. We pray that they will continue in their desire to follow God and find what he has for them. We also had the opportunity to participate in a few other events.

Outreach

On a Tuesday evening Street Level did an outreach on the UWRF campus. They were giving away coffee and Dutch frites to students. We are thankful to the Street Level Menomonie and The Blind Munchies Coffeehouse volunteers that helped us. The University gave us a great spot in the middle of campus. It was right outside of the University Center to set up the coffeehouse trailer. There were some good conversations with students and people hung out for a while. We gave away over 120 frites and 100 cups of coffee.

Guest Speaker

Also, on a Monday evening, a group of us piled in a couple of cars and joined Street Level Menomonie to hear Jon Bloom speak on his book “Don’t Follow Your Heart.” It challenged us to think counter culture. At the end of the month we are looking forward to the Street Level retreat with Menomonie and Duluth.

Study

On Sunday evenings, we recently started the book of 1 Thessalonians for the community study. We have been reading about how these believers followed God with so much passion that all the other towns new about them and their conversion- even though they have been going through persecution. Lately, we have been also doing a discussion on how we can apply the verses to our lives. We still end with a meal and fellowship (We are hoping to keep using the grill as long as the weather permits).

Street Level

The Street Level space has been open on Thursday and Friday evenings for people to come have coffee and hang out. A few people have stopped in to see what we are doing, and students have been using the place often to study. Also, Word on the Street has joined us from Menomonie for a few Thursday evenings working on the next publication with us.

Thank you for your prayers for the River Falls outreach. Please pray for the group that we grow in discipleship, and that we would continue to meet and engage with the people in our community.

November Calendar

Sundays: 5pm / JFBelievers Bible Study, 6pm / meal
Tuesdays: 6:30pm / Street Level Meal, 7pm / Bible Study

Online

October Pastor’s Notes

October 18, 2018 Believers Church

We’re Called to Make Disciples, Not Converts

Has a culture of convenience and consumerism changed the way we preach the Gospel?

(Tyler Edwards, Relevant Magazine, November 24, 2017)

What if I told you that Jesus didn’t want us to win converts? What if I said that in all of Scripture we are never told to convert anyone? What if I proposed that people accepting Jesus into their life does not fulfill our mission?

We may share the Gospel, but it’s not always the same Gospel Jesus shared. Our version can be a little softer. It can be easier. The message, too often, has been watered down. Many of us don’t want to be called radicals. Many of us take the message of Jesus, and we omit some of the more intense parts because they might scare people away.

An Inconvenient Truth

Out of our desire to win converts we’ve often tried to make Jesus more convenient. That’s what our culture is all about. So watering down the Gospel to reflect the culture can be an easy trap to fall into.

We often make following Jesus comfortable and easy, reducing the expectations: You don’t have to do anything different. Just believe.

Carrying our cross has been reduced from a radical relationship of self-sacrificing love and humility to cheap advertisements with bracelets, jewelry and bumper stickers. We turned following Jesus into little more than eternal “fire” insurance. In so doing we made Him something He is not: safe.

What happened to Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s idea of, “When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die”?

The Consumerism Gospel

When we sell people on a Jesus who is easy to follow, can we really blame them for bailing out or drifting off when things don’t go smoothly?

It shouldn’t be surprising living in a consumer-based culture, that many times people bring the same attitudes into church: It’s my way, my preferences, my desires that are important. If I don’t get my way, I’ll take my business elsewhere.

In watering down the Gospel we have taken what is all about Jesus and made it all about us.

Jesus is a part of our lives when He should be our life. He is life. Following Him requires all our life. The disciples ate, drank, sweat and slept ministry from when Jesus called them to the day they died. Jesus wasn’t a part of their lives. He was their life.

We all are guilty of putting things above Jesus. Whether it’s health, wealth, comfort, causes, dreams, hobbies or interests, we all come to Jesus with expectations of what He will do for us. We all have our passions and causes.

But Jesus didn’t come to take sides. Jesus came to take over.

Disciples vs. Converts

Many people come to Jesus thinking it is enough to believe, to stand on the sidelines and root for Him. Jesus isn’t looking for cheerleaders. He is seeking men and women who will follow Him whatever the cost. He is looking for radical devotion, unreasonable commitment and undivided dedication.

Jesus isn’t looking for converts. He’s looking for disciples.

Converts are new believers. We all start as converts. Too often we stop there. We make Christianity all about what we believe. Converts aren’t bad or wrong. They are like babies. There’s nothing wrong with being a baby. The problem comes when that doesn’t change. When a baby acts like a baby, it’s cute. When a 35-year-old does, it’s sad. As Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 13:11, “When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me.”

For years churches have worked to get people to make a decision to accept Christ, which is a great thing. It’s important. But what happens next? Where’s the follow up? How do we train up new Christians?

Our mission isn’t to win converts; it’s to make disciples. So what is the difference?

Converts are believers who live like the world. Disciples are believers who live like Jesus.
Converts are focused on their values, interests, worries, fears, priorities, and lifestyles. Disciples are focused on Jesus.
Converts go to church. Disciples are the church.
Converts are involved in the mission of Jesus. Disciples are committed to it.
Converts cheer from the sidelines. Disciples are in the game.
Converts hear the word of God. Disciples live it.
Converts follow the rules. Disciples follow Jesus.
Converts are all about believing. Disciples are all about being.
Converts are comfortable. Disciples make sacrifices.
Converts talk. Disciples make more disciples.

A disciple is someone who whole-heartedly follows the life and example of Jesus, who makes His mission their mission, His values their values, and His heart their heart.

A disciple is someone who desperately seeks to be like Jesus. A disciple is someone so committed to the cause of Christ that they would follow Him through the gates of hell and back.

A disciple is someone who finds their entire identity, purpose and meaning in Jesus. Jesus is the center of their lives. They are all in, fully committed.

Not only is a disciple willing to die for Jesus, but they are dedicated to living every day of their life for Him.

A Change of Heart

Jesus doesn’t call us to be converts or to win converts. Jesus calls us to make disciples.

Jesus offers us grace and love without condition, but not without expectation. When we try to water down the message by saying things like, You don’t have to give up sin. You don’t have to change. You don’t have to be transformed. You don’t have to die to yourself. You just need to believe. In doing this, not only are we depriving people of the truth. We are denying them access to a real, transforming relationship with the almighty God.

Christianity isn’t just a system of belief. It isn’t a lifestyle. It’s a life transformed by Jesus.

Jesus doesn’t call everyone to leave everything every day. He calls us to be willing to give up everything at any point.

His call for each of us is different. He has uniquely gifted every person to carry out a unique and valuable function in His kingdom. While what we are called to may be unique, the call is an extreme standard: Jesus must be greater than everything else.

Tyler Edwards is a pastor, author, and husband. He currently works as the Discipleship Pastor of Carolina Forest Community Church in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. He is passionate about introducing people to and helping them grow in the Gospel. He is the author of Zombie Church: breathing life back into the body of Christ. You can find more of his work on Facebook or you can follow him on Twitter @tedwardsccc.

Winter Already?

October 16, 2018 Co/Mission Couples Ministry

Recently

The Gnosko Families headed out this past Sunday to enjoy the fall colors and ended up driving around in a Winter Wonderland and enjoyed ice cream at the Nelson Creamery in Alma, WI

Over the Summer

This Summer we’ve had our fair share of outdoor and indoor fellowship and fun bowling first on Father’s Day and then in July at Jeremiah’s Bullfrog Fish Farm.

It was a gorgeous day full of steamy hot weather that Summer dished out and to complement it the most mosquitoes in one place I think many of us have ever encountered. They offered free music and as always the staff would cook you up your fish catch or just cook a plate up for you either way fishing or no fishing. We got to mingle with the Kindred folks there as well! We enjoyed the food, fishing, fellowship, and music so it was a great opportunity to be out in the community.

A return trip to Riverside Park in Eau Claire was another memorable time of fellowship in July where we enjoyed swimming and soaking in a wonderful Summer day here in WI. We teamed up with One Life and Kindred in August for a work day at the campground. We got to clean up the campground of leaves, sticks and cut wood for the campground.

Full group studies have continued throughout the Summer. It’s a great time connecting on the small group level which is really important as the church grows and in fellowship together. We recently got to do one outside with the full group at the Bowlin’s during Biking for Tacos event to cheer on the riders.

As Summer was coming to an end we got to work on the rocket stove at the campground. The goal is to have some heat out there when we all are utilizing the pavilion area when it’s cool outside. A barrel, straw, sandstone and clay were involved in the creation of a rocket stove.

What’s Coming

Fall has come to Wisconsin and Winter’s around the corner, we look forward to God’s plans for Gnosko in the coming seasons and covet your prayers for this ministry and all that are a part of it.