From The Pastor’s Desk….

“And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out My Spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams. And on My servants and on My handmaidens I will pour out in those days My Spirit, and they shall prophesy.” Acts 2:17-18

We welcome Pastor Brown Yusuf Kiyimba from Kampala, Uganda to New Life Community Church of Hope. Pastor Brown was affiliated with United Pentecostals Church Int’l and, later, Reconciling Pentecostals Int’l in the past. He desires fellowship with RPI and has expressed interest in re-affiliation. He has come to the headquarters church today to share his message and to share his ministry and talk about the work in the African country of Uganda. As a spirit-filled, 21st century Apostolic church, we must be “mission minded.” Though we have much work to do right here in our own community, we must also remember those who labor across the world. It is our duty to pray for God to strengthen any church that preaches the whole gospel of inclusion. No one should ever be omitted from the opportunity to have the good news gospel presented to them whether on our own soil or lands far away. Please welcome Pastor Brown to our assembly as we open our hearts to hear what God would have us to do to be supportive.

Thank you for being here today.

Pastors Randy and Dan

Happy Anniversary, NLCCH

Twelve years ago 7 men gathered at the pastor’s home for the very first service of what would become New Life Community Church of Hope. We sat in a circle of chairs and shared. We sang a few songs. Pastor Randy preached and a new church was born. We’ve had some wonderful experiences and visitations of God’s power through the years. We have been blessed to hear some great preaching by evangelists, guest pastors and our own pastor/teachers from the home church. We have seen many people come and many go. Those who have remained have become the core group and pillars of NLCCH. Only eternity will tell the full story of the impact this little church in NW Indiana has had on the souls of men, women, boys and girls here locally and around the world. God has been with us every step of the way. We have been blessed to own our own property and church buildings. Very few in the GLBT fellowship have been so blessed as New Life. God has certainly been good to us.

We rejoice today to reach another anniversary. We still preach the only saving gospel of Jesus Christ. We are not ashamed of the gospel for it is the power of God unto salvation. Let us continue to serve the Lord with unity and love. There are many souls that are still to come into the doors of New Life Community Church of Hope.

From The Pastor’s Desk…

National Coming Out Day was October 11.

As an affirming & inclusive church, we endorse TRUTH
and transparency. We attempt to assist individuals in their
quest for acceptance of self and others.

First of all, it is imperative that we “come out” as Christians.

Jesus said, “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill
cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under
a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in
the house. Let your light shine before men in such a way that
they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is
in heaven.” Matthew 5:14-16

In the same way we guide the lost to reconciliation with their
Creator for salvation, we also want to help GLBT people be able to
reconcile to wholeness and well being. Therefore the church of the
living God must not hide out in a closet of any sort. We must be
visible for the sake of mentoring youth and the unreconciled of
our community and world.

It starts with self-acceptance and total trust in the Lord Jesus Christ.
“We are fearfully and wonderfully made.” Let’s act like we believe that—
not just for ourselves but for the sake of others.

The harvest is ripe, but the laborers are few. Why not reach out and
touch someone this week for the sake of eternity?

Pastor Randy

From The Pastor’s Heart…

It has been a joy this week to see the mighty hand of God at work among His people and in the world.

From the smallest detail to cataclysmic events, God’s Spirit is still moving in the earth and hovering above it. Even during our difficult times we must keep faith in action looking for the good and for God to bring the appropriate out-
come.

We are to be a people of faith, not fear.

The Bible reminds us of a time that mankind would trade faith for idolatrous ideologies. “For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools.” [Romans 1:21-22]

We must keep our eyes on Jesus and let the past be the past. I believe we have entered a new season of ministry, unity and growth. Together we can see the vision of the founders of our assembly come to pass.

One of the key elements that will catapult us into this new season of ministry is prayer. I believe we are seeing that prayer is the key. The past two Saturdays, we have come together as a church family and resumed our weekly prayer meetings. As a family, we are “connect-ing” through focused, serious, deliberate prayer and intercession. I believe we are going to see immediate and far reaching results because of this.

Thank you to those who have begun to attend and to Bro. Greg for taking the prayer “ball” and running with it.

From The Pastor’s Desk…

There is a nippiness in the morning and evening air. The most colorful of seasons is here! With the arrival of Fall our minds ponder many vibrant things: the changing of foliage into a hue of yellow, orange and red, pumpkins, varieties of mums, Indian Corn, and most importantly: the HARVEST.

These are the signs of Fall and the signs that the season of harvest is upon us.

There also seems to be an awareness and a reminder that the final harvest of souls is upon us. Many ‘signs’ were given to us by our Lord Jesus and by the writers of the New testament. If we are able to discern the signs of the times just as we do the changing of the seasons, then we should be cognizant of the signs of the prophetic last harvest of souls which is now upon the earth.

Matthew 16:3 (New American Standard Bible)
…Do you know how to discern the appearance of the sky, but cannot discern the signs of the times?

Luke 10:2 (New American Standard Bible)
And He was saying to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.

John 4:35 (New American Standard Bible)
“Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, and then comes the harvest’? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look on the fields, that they are white for harvest.

Revelation 14:15 (New American Standard Bible)
And another angel came out of the temple, crying out with a loud voice to Him who sat on the cloud, “Put in your sickle and reap, for the hour to reap has come, because the harvest of the earth is ripe.”

What part will you play in the final harvest?
Behold the fields are white; it’s harvest time.

Pastor Randy

From The Pastor’s Desk . . .

MSQ 2009 is now history. This time last week our sanctuary was overflowing with conference guests from across the nation. What a time we had! We are receiving numerous emails with extremely positive feedback from those who attended. Pastors and saints are returning to their home churches excited to do the Lord’s work. This is exactly what we like to hear.

Those of us here that worked so tenaciously should be proud of the accomplishments we have succeeded in doing. May God bless each and everyone that worked so hard by multi-tasking before, during, and after the conference. It takes lots of team work and everyone that is truly on board at NLCCH were here to do whatever task needed to be performed. Your pastors are very grateful for that.

This year we were very blessed to have tremendous outside financial support which enabled us to complete our goals and have no remaining deficit. To God be the glory.

Now we must continue on in the work of the Lord. “The harvest is ripe but the laborers are few.” Let us seek God and continue to do His will in our community of NW Indiana. There are still many souls to be won before Jesus returns.

Blessings to everyone today!
Pastor Randy

“Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.” 1Corinthians 15:58 [NASB]

Beware of the Crowd…

A group of frogs got together and arranged a running competition. The goal? To reach the top of a very high tower! A big crowd had gathered around the tower to see the race and cheer the contestants. When the race began, no one in the crowd really believed the tiny frogs would reach the top of the tower. You heard them saying, “Oh, WAY too difficult!” “They will NEVER make it to the top,” and, “Not a chance that they will succeed. The tower is too high!” The frogs began to collapse, but a few were able to keep climbing higher and higher. But that crowd continued to yell, “It’s so difficult! No one will make it!” More frogs got tired and gave up, but ONE continued higher and higher…this one wouldn’t give up! At the end of the race all of the frogs had given up climbing the tower – except for that one determined frog who after a big effort, was the only one to reach the top! Naturally all the other frogs wanted to know how this one managed to do it? How had he, against all the odds found the strength to succeed and reach the goal? It turned out, the winning frog was DEAF! He couldn’t hear the crowd working to bring down his confidence with all their negative talk. Never listen to other people’s negativity or pessimism. They will take your most wonderful dreams and wishes away from you – the ones you have in your heart! Words are powerful – everything you hear and read will affect your actions! Therefore ALWAYS be POSITIVE! And above all be DEAF to those who tell you that you cannot fulfill your dreams!

Pastor Randy

Pentecost – What’s That?

The day of Pentecost was observed in Jerusalem 50 days after the celebration of the Passover, which commemorated Israel’s deliverance out of Egypt. It is significant that this day was chosen by the Lord to begin the fulfillment of Joel 2:28 “I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh…” The Spirit came upon the waiting, praying disciples in an overwhelming manner. Their complete commitment to Christ and His commission evoked a mighty baptism of God’s power. This was evidenced initially by their speaking in tongues [Acts 2:4]. The Spirit was resident in their lives from that moment. The Spirit-filled early church witnessed many outstanding miraculous happenings [Acts 3:1-7; 4:31]. They were able to lead victorious lives as a result of their Pentecostal experience. Two baptisms were disclosed on the day of Pentecost. There was a baptism in the Holy Spirit, and in the Apostle Peter’s message that followed, water baptism in the name if Jesus Christ was commanded [Acts 2:38]. This outward, physical baptism mysteriously merges with that of the Spirit, and is the “one baptism” of Ephesians 4:5. This is what Jesus referred to as being “born again” in John 3:3-7 and how wonderful to be born into the family of God-changed, transformed, and made a “new creature in Christ Jesus”. Pentecost is not a denomination. It is a new birth experience. It is primitive Christianity made relevant to today’s world. The people referred to as Pentecostal simply believe, teach, and receive all that transpired on that birthday of the church…Pentecost, 33A.D. New Life is a church that embraces these basic Christian truths and experiences, and is intentionally inclusive of ALL people. We believe you can experience your own personal Pentecost. “For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.” [Acts2:39]

Pastor Randy

From The Pastor’s Desk…

We were privileged to attend Spirit Fest 2009 in Nashville, TN this past week. We gathered with other ministers and saints from across the country who were celebrating just as we do at MSQ. The theme was “Dare To Be Different.” It was a time of refreshing and re-focusing for us. The battle does wear us down – even in the ministry. We received new direction and encouragement. The Lord spoke directly to us that “He has everything in His control and in His eyesight.” It is important that we have these assurances from time to time to give us the courage and hope that our labor is not in vain. We are the people that God has called to deliver the message of hope to a community that mainline churches seem to overlook and ignore. But, God is using us—little ministries that are beginning to dot the globe. There is a shaking going on just like the earthquake that hit the Roman jail that loosed the chains that were binding Paul and Silas. The enemy may try to bind us and chain us—mentally, physically, financially, emotionally or spiritually. However, we must not contribute to his works. We must cooperate with God’s plan to get the job done before He returns. If we aren’t trusting God with all we’ve been given, we will give an account for the lack of action on our part. So, let’s get busy. Let us ALL do the Lord’s work. We are part of God’s kingdom on earth and Heaven.

God Bless You,
Pastor Randy

From The Pastor’s Heart…

New Life Family:

“The heart of the righteous ponders how to answer, But the mouth of the wicked pours out evil things. The LORD is far from the wicked, But He hears the prayer of the righteous. Bright eyes gladden the heart; Good news puts fat on the bones. He whose ear listens to the life-giving reproof Will dwell among the wise.” Proverbs 15:28-31

The King James Version says it like this, “A good report maketh the bones fat.” I do have a good report regarding the turnout of our fundraiser via Holy Macaroni Cafe.

First let me say “thank you again” to everyone that helped clean, prep and assist Pastor Dan in getting everything ready for the event. This includes the following people: Mike S., Sandy & Carol, Elders Halligan & Michele, Joe and Todd, Bret, Bill & Matt. Then the staff that came in to work the back of the house included: Daniel V., James K., Joe & Todd, Bill & Matt, Elders Michele & Halligan, & Al. Front of the house included: Chrissy, Chris, Greg, August, & Bret. (Also LaToya S. for helping us out on Friday night with bussing and assisting the waiters.)

What a crew! What hard workers. We joined hands and prayed each evening before we opened the doors. The teamwork was phenomenal and unity did abound. Again, it was amazing and made your pastors very proud of all of you. It was a success in so many ways.

(Dollar amounts omitted)

So, as you can see, our efforts were rewarded. The people came. They stayed. They ate. And, they enjoyed it all. Most everyone were quick to say how happy they were to see Holy Macaroni open again. Then, they were saddened to find out that was not the case. However, all promised to support any further fundraising efforts the church decided to put on as long as the food stayed the same.

So, here it comes! Our next NLCCH/Holy Mac Fundraiser will be the last Friday and Saturday of April. The dates will be April 24 & 25. So, let’s get the word out. We were advised to be consistent with our fundraiser dates, so the consensus seems to be that we will plan to do these fundraisers the last Friday and Saturday of the month through the summer up until Midwest SpiritQuest.

This fundraiser, along with our tithes and offerings, should definitely allow us to get caught up on past due bills, get ahead financially, and be able to raise our budget for MSQ 2009. I personally can’t think of an easier way to do what we’ve always struggled to do with our fundraising efforts. This is a well greased operation thanks to Pastor Dan and our volunteer staff.

The reputation of good food and good service along with a smoke free, friendly environment has followed us. Now God has made a way for us to help ourselves out of the financial stresses we’ve been under for awhile.

Let’s keep up the good work, saints of God. Let us continue to labor together in unity and love as we refocus our attention on evangelism and kingdom building.

May the Lord Jesus bless each and everyone one of our NLCCH Family & supporters!

I hope to see everyone at church this Sunday as we prepare for Easter services on Sunday, April 12.

Love and prayers,
Pastor Randy and Dan