Month: December 2024

December 15, 2024 Co/Mission Couples Ministry

It’s been a year of changes for the couples ministry here at Believers City Church. First off, we changed our name this fall to Co/Mission Couples. The name of our couples ministry is reflective of the nature of our calling. The Great Commission is truly a co-mission. We are called to work together, grow together, and journey together. To this end, we meet together in both small and large groups with varying activities in our local communities as well as our homes.

In September we spent the day in Stillwater, MN, for a day retreat entitled “Dispute & Devotion”. The retreat primarily entailed teachings by Matt Chandler covering the book of Malachi with small group discussions about the dangers of comfort and a call to put Christ and Kingdom first in our lives.

This fall, we kicked off new small group book discussions. We’ve been enjoying meeting in one another’s homes twice monthly, sharing dinner and then reading through Intoxicated with Babylon by Steve Gallagher. It’s been a time of discipleship and growth in our friendship as we open up our homes to each other and talk over what we’re learning.

Most recently, we invited all couples to join in decorating the church sanctuary for the Christmas season. It was a festive time making wreaths (revealing many artists in the group), hanging garland, and eating cookies.

If you’re interested in learning more about our upcoming events, please email co-mission@jfbelievers.com.

December 12, 2024 Pastor Jesse Moss

Recently, as I have been preaching through the Gospel of Matthew, we covered chapter 20 and I noticed a jarring reality about the actions of Jesus’s closest, most devoted and beloved followers. It had nothing to do with their impressive or radical commitment, love, and care for Christ, but instead was marked by a severe disregard and careless attitude at a time when you would expect the very opposite.

Jesus has just finished giving an urgent warning to the disciples of the dire future that awaited Him. He explained to them the excruciating suffering and even death that He was about to experience. In return we see them respond with what can only be described as selfish indifference. You would expect them to react with care and concern for Him and His wellbeing and yet, instead of being overwhelmed by the words of Jesus, this significant topic is ignored because they are unable to take their attention off themselves.

Jesus says “I am going to be spit on, suffer, be tortured to the very edge of death, and then I will be killed. By the way, I am doing this for you.” With these words, you would expect the disciples to be overwhelmed — to focus their attention on Jesus’ unimaginable suffering. But instead, what do they do? The disciples hear this stirring warning and in response, they decide that it is a great time to start demanding their place of power and importance. And this is not the only time Jesus calls their attention to Him only to be ignored. Earlier in Matthew, Jesus gave the same warning only to be followed by the disciples’ all too common argument about which one of them is the greatest.

It seems absurd, doesn’t it? How could they be so foolish? How could they be so self-focused and self-consumed in the face of Christ’s suffering? We better be careful before we go pointing our fingers in accusation because the reality is, it is really not much of a surprise. Take a look around — we live in a world that constantly pushes us to focus on ourselves: from social media to self-help culture, it’s all about “me.” People are so self-focused and self-concerned that we see little concern or thought to those around us even including the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Jesus should not have to jump up and down screaming to get our attention. Our eyes should always be locked on Him, but that would require we take them off ourselves. That is an act most seem so unwilling to do these days.

People love to claim concern for Jesus and yet their actions prove otherwise. The reality is that many professing believers show more concern for what clothes they are going to wear on any given day than for Christ and His kingdom. The disciples ignored God in the living and breathing flesh right in front of them. We still do it now by our disregard for His Bride, the church. It’s all too easy to be consumed by our hobbies, careers, and comforts. We close our eyes to the things of greater importance because we have allowed ourselves to become self-important.

Let us become like John the Baptist and say not just with our words but with our lives “He must increase. I must decrease” In short, let us get over ourselves. It would be such a shame to waste our lives away concerned with things that will only prove in the end to have been fleeting and of no real significance.

Before Jesus even left this world, people began to close their eyes to Him distracted by their own self-obsession. Jesus suffered and died for us — is that not enough to shift our focus from ourselves to Him? Is that not enough to turn your concern and attention from your own cares, desires, and purposes to the ones that He holds as important?

December 10, 2024 Believers Church Duluth

At Believers Church Duluth, we’re part of a story. It’s the story of God bringing a bunch of sinners together, teaching them to love and serve, and inviting them to live lives of purpose. What you’re about to see are the newest pages that have been written. God has been very good to us the last few months, providing opportunity to engage each other and our local community. Keep scrolling to see what we mean.

FALL FEST

Chester Bowl, a local park and ski hill in town, holds Fall Fest each September. Around 10,000 people from the community attended the art and craft fair this year. There were also a handful of food trucks, including our coffee trailer. A group of us worked in shifts to take orders, pull espresso, steam milk, and serve a variety of drinks. By the end of the day we were all the good-kind-of-tired. Events like this teach us to work together as a team, help us make connections in the community, and raise money for missions.

YOUNG ADULT MINISTRY

Our young adult ministry is a group for those who are post-college but not yet over-the-hill. We took a trip on the Brule River and paired up for a total of 12 canoes. Some of us were veterans on the water, and some of us were not. Some folks got soaked and some got scraped. Needless to say, the four hour trip was a bonding experience because we made it to the end…together.

In October, our group set up a brunch tailgate at one of the UMD football games. We cooked pancakes, bacon, and eggs on a grill and camp stove in the parking lot. Later on, we closed up shop and headed over to the stands to watch the game. Hot breakfast + thrift store blankets + football = cozy Fall vibes.

CAMPUS OUTREACH

A new Fall semester means Street Level is back in session on Monday nights in Superior. Other than being physically located close to campus, we’ve been meeting students through JacketFest (an org. fair for students held at the beginning of the year), as well as regular tabling at the student center.

Across the pond, we’ve had a few tabling events at UMD. In the past, we’ve brought plant clippings for students to add a little green to their dorm rooms. It was a huge success, so we’ve turned it into an annual event. We brought as many plants as we could this year, pallets worth, and still ran out before the afternoon.

At our next UMD table, we gave out stickers instead of plants. It was incredibly eye-catching because it was fun to sort through them and look at all of the designs. There were stickers for every interest: star wars, hiking, animals, vintage, and more. We met a lot of new students as well as connected with some who knew us from the plant giveaway.

INTERNATIONAL POTLUCK

In November, we gathered at the Streel Level house and garage for a potluck to beat all potlucks. Some folks brought dishes from their home countries, and some others made dishes inspired by a country of their choice. The evening couldn’t have been better–enjoying good food and good friends.

LIFE TOGETHER

On occasional Sunday afternoons we gathered at a trailhead not too far from church. It’s a decent length to stretch our legs, but the best part is the new dairy store (with ice cream!) at the turnaround point. You know we spend a lot of time together when we start dressing alike.

Our game night brought out the diehard boardgame players and those more or less there for the junk food. Either way, we had a great (and late) night.

We are studying the book of Acts on Sundays, and we have a rotating schedule on Wednesdays: verse-by-verse through the Old Testament, men’s and women’s studies, and rewind small groups. Our Old Testament study is currently in the book of Daniel. The stage production group Sight and Sound recently released Daniel as a filmed version of the stage play. We watched it as a group, and boy did it inspire all of us. The quality was top-notch and truly brings history to life.

Last, but not least, we celebrated the 15th anniversary of our church being in its current building. So much has happened over that time, and God has been intimately working through it all.

If the last few months (and last 15 years) are any indication, God is writing a pretty great story. We are thankful for what’s behind and eagerly await what’s ahead.