March 24, 2008 Dear Church:

Remember to highlight your calendars, invite your friends, and complete your taxes early as we welcome back to Life CHRISTIAN CENTER the evangelistic, prophetic, and musical ministry of Eli & Kathy Hernandez over the following dates and times:

*Sunday, April 13, at 10:00 a.m.

*Monday, April, 14, at 7:00 p.m.

*Tuesday, April 15, at 7:00 p.m.

Please be in prayer for the Hernandezes and for these special services as we desire God to pour out His Spirit upon individuals who have yet to be filled with His powerful promise, and for the prophetic ministry to strengthen our assembly.  I am confident that their musical skill will be overshadowed only by the sincere praise of God that it inspires.

Let me again remind and promote our updated Christian Discipleship Class meeting Tuesdays at 6:45 p.m. in the church annex (fellowship hall/kidLife classroom).  It is extremely important for individuals who have been attending church a relatively short time (i.e., less than four years) and who have never fully completed our old Christianity 101 curriculum to root themselves firmly in the foundational teachings of the Biblical Christian faith.  I have met individuals (and even went to Bible college with some!) who may have been raised in a “Christian home,” but they never had the conviction of solid Christian doctrine cemented into their spirits, as it were.  I was stirred by a recent statistic I read that indicated from that such doctrinal discipleship classes were an enormous factor in the difference between a typical Christian being firm and productive in their faith versus spiritual weak and failing.  Furthermore, as we strive to minister to others – children, unbelievers, newer converts, etc. – it is so important to know how to communicate the basics of Biblical Christianity while appealing to the authority of Scripture rather than our subjective feelings about God.  I also want to admonish more and more people who faithfully attend Life CHRISTIAN CENTER to seek formal voting membership in order to be even more connected to our local assembly and family of faith.  The Christian Discipleship Class will conclude by encouraging two additional things aside from intentional spiritual growth: (1) membership in the local assembly, and (2) ministry to others in a specific and consistent manner.

Speaking of membership, I am please to welcome the most recent individuals who have completed the Membership Covenant of Life CHRISTIAN CENTER and have been approved by the Church Board for formal voting membership in our local assembly:  Anthony & Jennifer Martinez, and Elisa Garcia.  Many will fondly remember the Martinezes’ coming into our church not too long ago, and I am glad that their family is a part of our assembly.  Sis. Elisa recently transferred employment to Monterey County, and I received a glowing letter of recommendation from her previous pastor, Bishop Hoyer from Fresno.  She is a welcome addition to our local assembly.

For much of February and March, I taught from Scripture about the important concept of God’s harvest.  As we move into April there are three observations I would like to make in this regard…  First, I am excited about the evangelistic and disciple-making endeavors that we have kicked off, and I am confident that our efforts will bear good fruit.  From a formal Discipleship Class to an informal Spanish-language house meeting and all other labors focused on the harvest – it is imperative to do the will of our Father.

Secondly, after a year of broadcasting Bible teaching on KKMC, I – in conjunction with the Church Board – have decided that it is time to cease this particular ministry.  The only available time slot on this station was not maximizing the effectiveness of the medium to incorporate souls into our assembly.  Lord willing, if a more evangelistically-favorable radio opportunity arises, I would not hesitate to consider it in the future.

In addition to this, we discovered that many of our uninvited guests (meaning nobody from church directly invited them to come) found us via the Internet.  Because of this, in the very near future I hope to expand our evangelistic and discipleship ministries by making greater use of audio/video and our website.  Please pray for these efforts as well.  We will commence on Tuesday evenings by putting the material used for home Bible studies on video.  This way the material can be accessed as a teaching tool, training resource, or even as individuals discover and investigate our website.  I do not have a time table for implementation, but please be in prayer about these ministries.

Finally, and very unlike my typical monthly letter, I must note that it is imperative that God’s laborers not be distracted from the Scriptural clarion call to focus on His harvest of righteousness and of souls.  Faithful laborers reap God’s vineyard while little foxes spoil His vines.  Many are undistracted in their service to God while some must purpose not to be diverted, distracted, divided, or destructive in time of harvest.  I share these final thoughts from the Scripture… let he (and she) who needeth to hear, have ears to hear.

Proverbs 6:16-19 NIV

There are six things the LORD hates, seven that are detestable to him: 17 haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, 18 a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, 19 a false witness who pours out lies and a man who stirs up dissension among brothers.

1 Corinthians 3:1-9 NIV

Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly-mere infants in Christ. 2 I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. 3 You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere men? 4 For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not mere men? 5 What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe-as the Lord has assigned to each his task. 6 I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. 7 So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. 8 The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor.

1 Peter 2:17a NIV

Show proper respect to everyone: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God…

Pastor Max Manley