LOOKING FOR OPPORTUNITES TO SHARE OUR FAITH

Abundant Life Christian Center: Soul Searching: Abundant Life Christian Center: July 24 2012,  8:40pm Another great day at ALC!  ... : July 24 2012,  8:40pm Another great day at ALC!  ...


August 25th, Saturday evening:  Today as I was driving to the church I looked out my car window and saw the Flying J truck station!  At that moment the Spirit of God told me to GO tell the truckers about Joplin and Volunteer Village!  My mind was saying, "A lady at a truck stop, kind of different" but my spirit said GO!  Wisdom tells us in the gospels to go two by two!  I picked up a new lady friend at ALC and we went praying to the Flying J.  The parking lot was full with trucks so we just waited for truck driver get in and out from their trucks.  We than made our approach, shared our story and gave them information about Joplin still needing volunteers to come help our city!  We were so welcomed and many said they would get on their radios to spread the word!  They have come to our city many times to fuel and rest but did not know that people still needed help!  The funniest part of our journey was when we walked into the TV lounge room and many were watching TV.  I waited for the commercial and jumped in front of the TV to have a very captive audience. They welcomed us  and had many questions!  I felt like a fool for Jesus but I hope it brings much fruit for Joplin and the people I love!  Obeying God is fun so listen to him and enjoy the adventure!  GO, GO, GO harvest time is all the time!  In His Service, Judy
Share you love for Christ to others, you can do it, you have eternal life to offer, you have the answer, you have the truth!  Go into all the world and preach!  Some will plant, some will water but God will get the increase!  I rather have the rejection of a man/woman than people not hearing and going to hell!   LOVE is when you tell about your savior and the free gift He has given to all!  Church follow the Holy Spirit, let Him give you the words to a man/woman's heart and share the new birth!  I declare 2012 a year of one on one evangelism in the city streets, market places, houses and yes even truck stops!  He loves the just and the unjust! LOVE enough to talk about Jesus!

Soul Searching

Abundant Life Christian Center: July 24 2012,  8:40pm

Another great day at ALC!  ...: July 24 2012,  8:40pm Another great day at ALC!  Many guest.are in Joplin to volunteer and serve others.  Meeting people from all over the...

August 24th 2012  Friday
Each day is a gift from God even when we have struggles!  A man in our church once told me, " Everyday is a good day, some are just a little better than others."   Think about this!  Set time for God everyday for he longs to talk with you!  Follow Him every moment of the day being aware of the Holy Spirit inside of you!  Remember we need each other to be the "Body of Christ" on the earth.  Let God have your day, let God make your way, let the greatness, wisdom, love, peace, grace and mercy flow out of you.
Too much of our thoughts are spent on our troubles not the promises of God!  Open yourself to Him and stop saying no to what seems impossible for you to accomplish!  If God has put an idea, vision, or dream in your heart ask Him what the next step should be!  If you ask for wisdom...you have wisdom to move out for Him.  The word I have is greater, greater, greater!  Let His greatness flow out of you to others and all that He has asked you to do!  Faith is a requirement to establish Big things!  Trusting in the greatness of the Holy Spirit in you!  Start acting on the great things He has told you to do!  Let your vision, dream begin!  Many think, many have prayed but now is the time to step out and obey!
ALC is calling people back into their place!   The Spirit of God longs for you!  His voice has spoken so many times telling you to come home!  Great things are to be done but yes God has been waiting very patiently on you!  No more reasoning to stay away for His love will embrace you, celebrate you and get you back in your place.  You are not in this earth just to take up space!  I weep for your pain, your loneliness, guilt and shame!  It will be gone in the moment you choose to obey!  He loves you so much but get back with His plan!  Then the fulfillment in your life will be restored!  When you are doing what you came to this earth to do!  He has a reason for the local church!  His body united together, His body not hiding their talents, His body doing huge things in the world, His body winning the lost,  His body making disciples, His body taking care of the needs of one another, His body demonstrating love for Jesus to be lifted up!
We have 10 acres on our campus called to help people!   Many, many more buildings, much more ministry to love our neighbors and strenghten one another in the faith!
Don't fall away, don't fall back....lets take this city for God!  It is the goodness of a man/woman/teen/child that brings a person to repentance!
We have done a lot with so few but now is the time to keep in the press, no time to draw back, keep reaching out for more!  Don't let the enemy take any ground for He hates what we are doing spreading
Jesus all around the nation!
Greater things are on the horizon!  Get in, get blessed and get ready to see God move out of you!  So many lives to touch!  Boldness to share your faith!  He/she that wins souls is wise in God's eye!  Open your mouth it is time to share Jesus with others!  Do you care, do you care, do you care!  Passion for the lost like never before to hit people outside the church door!  You will do the catching, the church will do the cleaning and all in heaven will be singing, rejoicing for God desires all in His Kingdom!

My thoughts to you,

Judy Bjorklund

July 24 2012,  8:40pm

Another great day at ALC!  Many guest.are in Joplin to volunteer and serve others.  Meeting people from all over the USA with big hearts to give of time, talent and treasure to a complete stranger!  What great love!  I feel like I have tasted heaven and have eaten at the marriage supper of the lamb!  God's heros of  faith!  I invite you out to a free dinner to sit with wonderful people!
Keep talking and sending others to Joplin, Missouri!  Together we can get the city buildt and build God's Kingdom!  We have been born for such a time as this!
The core youth group is hosting a camp called "Inside Out" on August 10-12 at the volunteer village!  Check out cost and details on abundantlifejoplin.org and download regestration forms
As Pastor's Wife I have seen so many answered pray it is sooo exciting!   God is doing something greater than any man!  I look forward to what God is going to do next!   ALC we are going to committ ourselves to pray and strenghten the children's department to build a great church for the future youth!
WE together can make children's church one of the best hours in a child's week!  Step up and step in to children's ministry to change lives but to change you!  Here's to a great future!!

IN HIS SERVICE,
Judy

...come meet Jerrid from Bullhead City, Arizona

Jerrid and a group from his mother's church came to help in Joplin all the way from Bullhead City, Arizona.  Jerrid however, he has come a little further.  Jerrid is in the Army, and he had a little time off.  What better to do with your leave then come to Joplin for a week and slave in the sun picking up debris and humbly organizing a huge warehouse with food and necessities?

For Jerrid, the answer was nothing.  God has been bringing him on a journey that was made even deeper in Joplin.

We are so grateful that so many continue to come.  We are so grateful that God is in our midst.  We couldn't do a single thing if it weren't for God. We give him ALL the glory, and we stand amazed.

Please continue to pray for all the servants within our church body who give of their time day in and day out to serve the servants.  Pray that they will be blessed so that they can keep on being blessings.  Pray that they will have energy that is beyond reason.

We can use your help.  Physically, financially, prayerfully; even a high five "thank you so much" goes a long way to a volunteer.  If you are able to lend a hand or support financially please click the tab at the top to get connected.

Lord bless you this week!  Shake a hand, give a hug.

Your sister and ALCC family member,

Ronda

Protecting the sheep...night patrol

Meet ALCC family members Xavier “Xay-Xay” Beres, and his pops, Jeremy “The Heavy” Beres.

With all that is going on at church with so many people coming in and out all the time a few months ago a security detail was put in place to monitor the facilities through the night.  You might not have known that.

Jeremy has been walking the grounds, giving the ‘rules and regulations’ talk with new arrivals, and keeping a general eye on what God has entrusted to us, all...night...long.  Jeremy is a man of few words.  He has a commanding presence (6’6 feet of presence to be specific), he has bright yellow shirt that says “SECURITY” (although he wasn't wearing it for this picture), he has a deep voice; but what’s most important is Jeremy has a deep love and appreciation for the Lord.  And he is actually a really fun guy.

Keep ALCC and Jeremy in your prayers as we continue to funnel hundreds of volunteers through our facility, not just housing and feeding, but pushing in deep and ministering to hearts that God brought to our very doorstep.  We feel so blessed and honored.

Thank you Jeremy and all the others at ALCC that are serving with love and a sharp eye.

Here is a new song that we will be singing in church tomorrow morning.  We sang it back in THE Core Youth service on Wednesday night and it brought every heart in the room that desired to be close to God, right to his feet as we sang and worshiped his most holy name.  I listened to it just a few moments ago and I wept.

I wept because of the depth of his love, and the beauty of this gift.  See you at Church!

ALCC Family Member,

Ronda

Wall to Wall...Heart to Heart

Wall to wall, heart to heart; this is where we find ourselves.  Hallways lined with tarps, tarps filled with names, names with real people behind each scribble.  This is where we find ourselves; serving the servants.

Pastor Larry walked with me through the halls, excitedly pointing out several works of art that jump off the "Hero's of Joplin" wall hangings.  You could see he was in awe of all the people that have come and that the names keep getting added.  More and more are coming through to help with the relief effort.

Do you want to know where else names are getting added?  The Book of Life!

People are coming from all over the country.  When you take a minute and you talk to a volunteer you see their face light up.  This has become their experience too as they see the damage, toil in the hot sun, and when they get back to church they get served; food for the body, and food for the soul.  So many volunteers have already accepted Christ as their personal savior.

This is a rare opportunity, and we are so grateful that God is allowing us to be a part of growing his kingdom.  It is what he called us to do.

I hope you have an extra minute to pray with me...

Heavenly Father, you see our hearts and you know our thoughts.  You have put this vision before the leaders of our church to serve the servants, to house the homeless, to feed the hungry, to be hospitable... But even more than just that word hospitable, you are calling us to minister to all those who are walking through the doors at Abundant Life, where right now the field ready to be harvested.  Thank you for entrusting us with these people.  Thank you for sustaining us in every regard as we continue on in this purpose.  We pray that you will continue to pour out your grace and mercy upon us during this time of great need.  We thank you for helping us to build Joplin, Abundant Life, and each soul that comes to serve: Bigger, Better, Stronger...It is all about you Jesus.  Amen.

Happy Friday!  Thank you for taking a few minutes out of your busy day to stay connected with us and all that is going on.  I get really busy at my job during the week and it can be hard at times to remember that at church, they are going nonstop.  If you want to help, ask...we can use you!

And if you are unable to physically come and help serve, but would like to help we could greatly use any financial support you could send as we continue to run the facilities 24/7, and serve over a hundred people daily.

Lord bless you! Have a great day.

ALCC family member,

Ronda

...come meet Derek and Rachel from San Antonio, Texas

When I arrived at church our youth band was having a quick practice back in The Core.

It wasn't "practice" to anyone else as the few of us in the room worshiped the Lord right along with them.  It was amazing.  The music was loud and gelled together with a beautiful melody and a simply put chorus that said it all:

Oh! How He loves us!

And this is the mood of the room when I met Derek and Rachel.

Derek and Rachel are youth ministers from 1st Assembly of God in San Antonio, Texas.  They brought 11 of their youth up here to Joplin to help with the relief effort.  They told me about how a friend of theirs from Tulsa had driven through Joplin about 7 minutes after the tornado had gone through and so Joplin has been on their hearts for a few months now.

When the media coverage faded they assumed that Joplin must be covered.  But then their friend told them otherwise.  That there was still SO MUCH to be done.  They told me they were blown away at all there was to do and that at times it seemed overwhelming.  They pick up at somebody's house and then look around them and it looks like they did nothing.

We are so grateful they have come to help us.  It was amazing to worship next to them last night.  Their youth and our youth intermingled and we praised the Lord together.

They told me one last thing before I shook their hand and said see ya, and that was, they were amazed.  Amazed at how connected they felt to Abundant Life and that our church was able to not only accommodate them and all the other groups staying there, but that the connection went deeper.

Derek and Rachel, San Antonio, Texas

And you know why?  God.

Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray.  Is anyone cheerful?  Let him sing praise.

If you feel led to help support the crew the Lord is sending to Joplin you can click the tap at the top for donations.  We appreciate you so much. Have a wonderful blessed day!

Your friend and fellow family member of ALCC,

Ronda