“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

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.

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

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.

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

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]

I have spent the last couple of days pretty much alone. Dan is out west having a blast getting re-acquainted with his old high school classmates as they celebrate their 30 year class reunion. Burke has been with his maternal grandparents in South Bend.

I don’t like being alone, but there are times when God arranges it that way. I stubbornly submit! Having this time has brought me face to face with certain reality checks. I realize that being who I am has it’s consequences. When Jesus told His disciples, “Take up your cross and follow me,” there was more than just a directive being given. His statement to them was actually a clue for all future disciples.

There are certain crosses to bear in this Christian life and journey. Sometimes it will be lonely. Sometimes there will be sacrifice involved. Oftimes, friends will be scarce—depending on the weather. There are times when the Lord will want you to Himself. And, if we listen and cooperate, He will speak to us and give us exactly what we need to sustain us.

I feel I experienced some of that this weekend.

I’m not a loner and never will be. But, my weekend of solitude has given me a little more confidence and developed my character just a little bit more.

Blessings to you……Pastor Randy

“You’ve got to be willing to do the things today that others won’t do, in order to have the things tomorrow others won’t have”!
–Les Brown, Motivational Speaker

A nurse took the tired, anxious serviceman to the bedside.”Your son is here,” she said to the old man. She had to repeat the words several times before the patient’s eyes opened. He was heavily sedated because of the pain from his heart attack; he dimly saw the young uniformed Marine standing outside the oxygen tent. He reached out his hand. The Marine wrapped his toughened fingers around the old man’s limp ones, squeezing a message of love and encouragement.

The nurse brought a chair so the Marine could sit beside the bed. All through the night the young Marine sat there in the poorly lit ward, holding the old man’s hand and offering him words of love and strength.

Occasionally, the nurse suggested that the Marine take a break and rest awhile. He refused. Whenever the nurse came into the ward, the Marine was oblivious of her and the night noises of the hospital. Now and then she heard him say a few gentle words. The dying man said nothing, only held tightly to his son’s hand all through the night.

Along towards dawn, the old man died. The Marine released the now lifeless hand he had been holding and went to tell the nurse. While she did what she had to do, he waited. Finally, she returned. She started to offer words of sympathy, but the Marine interrupted her. “Who was that man?” he asked. The nurse was startled, “He was your father,” she answered. “No, he wasn’t,” the Marine replied. “I never saw him before in my life.”

“Then why didn’t you say something when I took you to him?” “I knew right away there had been a mistake, but I also knew he needed his son, and his son just wasn’t here. When I realized that he was too sick to tell whether or not I was his son, knowing how much he needed me, I stayed.”

The next time someone needs you…just be there. Stay.

Blessings to you……Pastor Randy

Did you ever ask yourself what significance, if any, will my life have after I’m gone? The following true story came my way. I’m passing it on to you…

The Little Woman Who Stopped Hitler
Empowering Generations We Will Never Know

Little is known of Sarah Barney Belcher. She was born in Taunton, Mass., June 26, 1771. Sarah married Benjamin Belcher on New Years Day, 1792. They had a son, Benjamin Barney Belcher. Sarah died October 14, 1867 at age 96. Though the details of her life are sketchy, if Sarah had never been born, WWII might have had a different ending. This remarkable woman was a common ancestor of Gen. Douglas MacArthur, President Franklin Roosevelt, and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill. Thus, Sarah, through her descendants, not only helped stop Hitler, but also Italy’s Mussolini and Japan’s Hirohito. With Sarah as a common ancestor, her great, great grandson, MacArthur, was an eighth cousin of Churchill and a sixth cousin of FDR. Sarah could not have known that three of her descendants would be prominent leaders in a global war. The Lord only knows what qualities and virtues Sarah passed on to these great men—we are all surely composites of our parents and grandparents, as they were of theirs. Singer and songwriter Sara Groves grasped this powerful generational concept in her profound lyric in her song, ‘Generations.’ (“Remind me of this with every decision—Generations will reap what I sow—I can pass on a curse or a blessing—to those I will never know.”) The choices we make in serving the Lord, or in not serving Him, may affect not only us, but also the eternal destinies of the generations that will follow us. We may never know our great, great grandchildren, but it has been proven many times that their chances of serving the Lord will be greatly enhanced by our continuing to live for Him today. Will you pass on a blessing or a curse? The choice is yours.

Blessings to you. Have a great week!

As we travel down the road on the journey called LIFE, we sometimes run into a fork in the road. It is not like the fork you find on the dinner table, though; usually this fork requires a decision. It is a place where we have to make a choice.

Sometimes choices are not as clear as we would like them to be. In fact, in most cases, the choices are very difficult. What has been discovered is that the road less traveled might just be the right road to take. Sometimes we have to take risk, we have to pave a new way. In some cases, it is for our best that we go down the road that is less traveled. It could possibly be a road that has some potholes and maybe a rickety old bridge that needs to be crossed. But, what we might discover could be greater than anything we ever imagined.

So next time you are confronted with a fork in the road in your life, check out the two paths. Just don’t always pick the one that looks like the best path. It might look and be “easy” but it may take you to “no where”! Trust God; He will lead you the right way on the right path.

Pastor Randy

“Lead me Lord, I will follow. Lead me Lord, I will go. You have called me, I will answer. Lead me Lord, I will go.”