Culturally, people in the United States are part of a gift giving/receiving culture. We have holidays that center around the giving and receiving of gifts; Christmas, Valentines Day, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, and of course, birthdays. Imagine what our culture would be like if we gave gifts but nobody ever opened them because they were afraid that the gifts that they received weren't what they wanted. Or worse yet, imagine a culture that received gifts but never used the gifts they were given. Consider a culture where people receive gifts but don’t use them because unwrapping them is too much work, and they are afraid that they might not like the gift. What about a culture where the people had an attitude of it’s better to let others that know what their gift is, use it, and I’ll just enjoy their gift as if it were my own. Unfortunately, many of these "cultures" could describe the church today.

We believe that God gives each believer a spiritual gift and that each person is expected to use that gift for the profit of all members of the body of Christ (I Corinthians 12:1-7). Christians must move beyond the come and see mentality that has penetrated the church. We must role up our sleeves and get busy using the gifts that God has given us for ministry. We have settled into a mindset that it’s the pastor’s job to do ministry- it’s not, and if the truth were known, it never has been. The command to “Go and make disciples”(Matt.28: 19) was given to all of us. The command to “teach them all that I have commanded you” (Matt.28: 20) was given to all of us. All believers have been given a spiritual gift that they are to use for the encouragement and building up of the body of Christ (the Church).

People often ask me “How do I know what my spiritual gift is?” Well, there are lots of ways of finding out the answer to that question. You could take a spiritual gifts inventory test and that might give you a good idea about what you gift might be, but I think the best way to determine your spiritual gift is to roll up your sleeves and get busy in ministry. If the church has a need that you think interests you or that you think you might be able to help- step up and step out. As you engage in ministry this God given gift will become apparent to those to whom you are ministering. It is true that you may have volunteered to be part of a ministry that doesn't fall within your gifting- that’s ok. We are committed to helping you serve in the areas where you are gifted and interested. We will work with you to help you use your gifts, talents and faith to the best of your ability so that the body of Christ is encouraged, built up and that God is glorified through your service.

 Gather and Go

 Pastor Dale

I have to admit that it's summer and now that I am in the office, I can catch up on all the blogs I didn't write this spring- bear with me, I'll slow down in a few days.

We have some great opportunities for serving Christ both here at Church Central and in the community. I thought that I would take a moment to share these opportunities with you.

On June 6, 2009 we have an opportunity for those of you who are good with your hands. We are having a church work day to put up the fence we had to move along the east side of the property. The playground on the east side of the church was actually encroaching on city property and, with the widening of Langley St., we had to move the fence and take out the playground. Now that the street work is nearing completion we will be replacing that fence.

We will also be painting the ceiling in the hall by the classrooms, kitchen and nursery. We would like to get this job done before school starts again in July.

Finally, on June 6th we will be cleaning the street median on Mann street between Golf Links and 38th Street. This is another opportunity for us, as a church, to communicate to the neighborhood that we care about the people who live in the community immediately around the church.

Another opportunity to serve is coming up in late June. Our annual Vacation Bible School will be happening June 22-26, 2009. I hope you plan to attend along with your family for this exciting adventure into the Rome of Paul and the Early Church.

Gather and Go,
Pastor Dale

Let me give you a visual image of ministry here at River of Life. Sometimes it’s easier to understand something when we have a picture of what we are talking about. We have two key words in our vision statement- We Gather and We Go. That is why we use the image of a river for our ministry rather than a lake or a pond. Rivers are on the move- lakes and ponds can stagnate and dry up.

The ministry of River of Life Baptist Church begins with "run-off." When we talk about the showers of blessing that God has bestowed upon us, we need to recognize that as individuals, those showers in our lives should translate into our lives impacting the lives of others around us- either intentionally or unintentionally. We recognize that the most effective form of evangelism is that which is done through relationships. Therefore, we believe that each individual member of the body of Christ is to be ready in season and out of season to share their faith and to be looking for opportunities to do so. We believe that God has appointed people in our lives to privilege us with the opportunity to share the Gospel.

From that trickle we believe that there are tributaries that are created from the run off. These are small groups where we gather together to share the community we have in Christ and make connections with other believers. There are special events and activities that we conduct that are also designed for this purpose, but all of them center on a two fold idea- evangelism and discipleship. As people who are blessed by God, struggling with God or just curious about God gather together, they begin to impact each other and generate a movement that draws each of them, individually and corporately together. 

Those tributaries then flow into the river, the corporate body of Christ. It is here that we gather for the purpose of corporate worship, and equipping the body for ministry.

Notice, that as in nature, there are a number of things that happen to the church; as the run-off joins the tributaries and as the tributaries join the river, the momentum, size and volume increase. The most difficult and awkward part of this journey is that of run-off. It is also the point at which we are the weakest and most vulnerable because it is the point at which we are alone.

However, the journey does not end with the collection of the water in the river, but in all the rivers of the world dumping into the ocean of the universal church, whose chief end is the glory of God.

It's funny, water is the most powerful force on earth to change the landscape, but only when it functions as water in the form of run off, tributaries and rivers- pounds, lakes, and other standing bodies of water do very little to change the landscape around them. Yes, there are surface changes but the kind of change that moving water brings is monumental. (By the way- erosion is created by friction and that's not always a comfortable thing. Sure some dirt is loose and easy to move, but water can change rock over time, but it is hard work and it's not always comfortable.) If the Church truly wants to change the landscape of our culture then she needs to start flowing and act like water and the changes will occur naturally.

We GATHER together for worship and equiping and we GO to take the Gospel of Jesus Christ back out into our community in our words, our deeds and our actions.

Gather and Go,

Pastor Dale

Welcome to my blog. I hope that you will find this blog encouraging, challenging and stimulating in your life in Christ and in our life together at River of Life.

Gather and Go,

Pastor Dale