No Regrets – 2012

By: Ron Sweet

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I had the privilege of reading through the feedback forms from the No Regrets conference held here at Christ The Rock on February 4, 2012. The responses were overwhelmingly positive. I was stirred by the first time decisions for Christ, men asking for help in taking next steps in their journey with Christ and men asking for help with addictions and marriage problems.

I’d like to share the story of one of the men who asked for follow up on his decision to follow Christ.

Stories from Christ The Rock’s Christmas Musical 2011

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An “In House” Mission Trip                                                                                                           By: Peter Leschke

My thanks to everyone who supported this year’s Christmas musical, A “What If” Christmas. Over 150 people volunteered as cast members, crew members or support volunteers to put the event together. What a great team!

Around 3,500 people saw the production. Over 150 people raised their hands to indicate a commitment to Christ, and 92 people of all ages took home an “I Said Yes” gift bag. On Wednesday, our Family Night was our largest ever audience for an opening night. On Thursday, 75 international students and their host families attended, representing 66 different countries!

Cast members Jennifer and Joel Johnson, along with three of their children (Grace, Luke and Nathan) shared with me how the musical was like an “in house” mission trip. Last year, their family went on the Mexico mission trip, and they said many things were similar about the two experiences:

Convoy of Hope 2011

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2011 Fox Cities Convoy of Hope By: Steve Nickel (Fox Valley Christian Fellowship)I want to thank you for your involvement in our 2011 Fox Cities Convoy of Hope that was held at Fox Valley Technical College on Saturday, October 8, 2011. Here are some of the results. We had 1,500+ volunteers who served in some capacity. We served 3,810 guests. 410 received haircuts. 410 received family portraits. 1,000 pairs of feet were washed and 1,000 pairs of shoes were given out. 201 received Mary Kay makeovers. 2226 received prayer in our prayer tent. 25 first-time decisions for Christ were made in our prayer tent and many more in our Kids’ Zone Ministry area. 236 people received dental attention. The podiatrist and dermatologist were extremely busy. The following is one of emails I received from one of our volunteers. I think it speaks volumes about the day.

Oaks (Organized Acts of Kindness and Sacrifice)

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OAKS VOLUNTEERS IN ACTION!

Are you are serving Jesus on a regular basis? Do you feel that serving others is an unnecessary use of your time? Well, Matthew the tax collector gives a record in Matthew 25 that might blow you away. Matthew was talking about the final judgment when Jesus separates the sheep from the goats.  Jesus says to the sheep (believers) “Come you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.  For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.” Then the righteous will answer Him saying, “Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothed you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?” And the King will answer them, “Truly I say to you as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.” 

Listening and Doing

By: John Slotten

It was a little less than two years ago that some of us were at the CTR Thanksgiving meal listening to stories of hardship in our bad economy.  We heard there was some real hardship occurring in our community occurring and so many people feeling hopelessness.  As staff we heard, listened, and responded.  We started discussions with Convoy Of Hope leaders about offering a local outreach. 

A New Perspective

Have you ever been disillusioned with a person you looked up to at church or even the local church itself? I think we can all say we have at one time or another. In my 20+ years of attending local churches, I have been disillusioned, mentored, loved, snubbed, prayed for, and even betrayed. I have seen people leave their local church because of some of the negative things mentioned above. I have wrestled in my own mind about the imperfections of the local church and have asked myself the question, “Should I stay in it”?

Sowing Seeds In Most Unlikely Places…

By: Janet Lenz

Eleven years ago I stumbled (in a God-orchestrated way) into a “field” where it was not apparent that any news of Jesus had been sown before…at least not as far as I was aware.  As a seed-sower, I planted some seeds with the people I began to meet in an arid Desert field. But the seeds (truths of Jesus) were viewed as very foreign, strange, and often… threatening and dangerous in the eyes of the people who lived in that barren field.  It was a place of hard, rocky sand.  And the climate was so harsh that it seemed an impossible place to sow seeds of Jesus that had not been invited nor considered valuable. There were just too many obstacles across those sands. The ground had to be prepared…