cool story from last night

We had first time visitors at midweek worship. They stopped by to share their story. They are members of another local church in the area. They have been wrestling with a call to full time ministry and its implications for their lives. The mental/financial jump from stable/successful career to full time seminary and a future ministry is a big one--especially with little kids in the mix. They have been really struggling.

They listen to our sermon podcasts. They were listening to an Esther sermon a few weeks ago and heard the testimony of one of our layman who recently, at financial cost to his family, changed jobs so he could make his family a priority with his time. The testimony so moved last night's visitors that they sat down and wrote out a plan to transition into God's call on their lives and they are off and running.

You never know how the Lord is moving in people's lives through NEHBC. Our job is to serve the Lord faithfully. He is changing lives through NEHBC.
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Thank you to those who continue to pray for residual pledges to come in. The Lord is answering your prayers. A steady stream of pledges continues to come in each day. This morning someone turned in a $50,000 commitment! The Lord is in this.

These two weeks following pledge day (3.25.12) are very, very crucial for residual pledges. Please continue to pray for 100% participation by NEHBCers.

Pray for The Horn

Months ago, April was set aside by Christian orgs worldwide to pray specifically for the Horn of Africa: Eritrea, Somalia, Ethiopia, Djibouti, and NE Kenya.

It is known as one of the spiritually darkest places on the planet. Incredible resistance to the gospel. Very dangerous for believers. Tremendous persecution. Desperately need spiritual breakthrough.

The goal is to have 1,000,000 Christians worldwide pray during the 30 days of April for the 100,000,000 people who live in The Horn.

You can get info, prayer requests, and stories here: http://prayforthehorn.com/get_involved/

They are also on Twitter: @PrayForTheHorn

I'm in. Join me in praying for The Horn.
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Financial Update

I'll give some specifics this coming Sunday in the services. One thing is for sure: the pledging todate shows the Lord is in this and we were definitely ready for another building campaign.

The way these financial campaigns play out, generally 20-30% of the pledge total comes in during the two weeks AFTER pledge day. So while pledge day has passed, we are still in a critical window for pledging. Which means we need to keep praying earnestly for the Lord to move and for families who haven't pledged to do so. Pledges have been coming in daily. Just this morning, we received a $100,000 pledge!

Please make this a serious matter of prayer over the next two weeks. Pray those who haven't pledged yet will do so--we need participation from all NEHBCers. The Lord is in this, let's pray His will into reality.

Midweek Worship

Tomorrow evening we'll continue our journey through Esther. From a woman who kept her identity as a Jew a secret, willingly assimilated into the pagan culture, and lived in fear, to becoming a woman who risked her life to openly challenge the culture and was subsequently used mightily by the Lord for His Kingdom agenda. Can we identify the change that brought this transformation to Esther? And if so, can that change happen in us also?

Midweek worship, Wed, 7-8pm. I hope you join us for a worship service designed so we can meet with Christ together in the middle of the week. We'll sing, discuss things going on at NEHBC, talk missions, pray, learn from the Scriptures, and be challenged.
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Farrington Mission: New Brother in Christ

Last night, at the weekly ministry of the clothing closet, volunteers willingly stayed past the regular hours of operation to serve in the ministry. As a result, the gospel was shared with a man who subsequently invited Jesus into his life as his Lord and Savior. The Lord is changing lives through the ministries of NEHBC. Thank you, NEHBC, for loving the people of our city so much. Glory to God.
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Today's Baptisms

I thought our baptisms were extra special today. The last Sunday in February, the Lord really seemed to move in the services as Hebrews 8 forced us to think about the evidence of salvation in our lives. We had a few members come to the realization they were not born again or come to the realization that their baptism and true salvation experience were out of order. A couple of ladies had the courage to deal with the baptisms today. I am so proud of them and baptizing them was very special for me.
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This Morning

I thought we had a fantastic morning today at NEHBC. And this isn't about the financial pledges; I won't know anything about that until tomorrow.

There was a lot of excitement and energy this morning in our body. The worship was alive. So many people were telling me how excited they are to pledge. The vote to sell our excess property was enthusiastically unanimous. I sensed the Spirit of God was moving in our midst.

I will get preliminary numbers on the pledge total tomorrow. However I won't announce the results for two weeks because we can expect 10-20% more money to come in via residual pledges over the next couple of weeks.

If you hear someone asking if they can still pledge, the answer is yes. They can pledge on-line or get a pledge card from the info booth in the lobby and turn it in. They can also call the business office directly at 281-812-8688, ext 208.

I will call for residual pledges next Sunday in the services. Let's continue to pray that we get total participation from our church family.

Like you, I'm anxious to see the results. These are exciting days at NEHBC.

Big Day

Tomorrow we will gather for our main weekly worship services. In some regards, it will be like the other 52 Sundays of 2012: we will worship, proclaim the gospel, teach the Scriptures, minister to one another, and serve our body. But in another regard it will be unlike the other 52 or any of the next 104 Sundays. Tomorrow we are set to make a decision that could set the course of our church for the next 4-5 years. Tomorrow we find out if we are ready to take another big step forward. I believe we are ready and that the Lord is in this.

More than anything, I desire for us to join the Head of our church and the Head of the Church, Jesus Christ, in bringing glory to God. Now to Him who is able to do abundantly more than we could ask or imagine, according to His power at work within us, to Him be the glory in NEHBC and in Christ Jesus both in this generation and forever and ever, Amen.

The Vision Continues...
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Life Change Thru NEHBC

This week a 32 year old man prayed to receive Christ at Jitters with Pastor Greg!

Here is the scoop: Mark graduated from the University of Georgia. He works at the Lake Houston YMCA. An NEHBC lady teaches kickboxing at the Y. She has been inviting him to NEHBC. Her persistence paid off and he showed up for a worship service. Enough NEHBCers touched him that day that his guest status was discerned in the lobby and his info collected and put in the right hands. All that led to the coffee appointment with Pastor Greg. Mark is now our brother in Christ.

It happened by the grace of Jesus Christ alone. But His grace worked through an NEHBCer living on mission. "As you are going", make disciples. this is NEHBC's local evangelism strategy--NEHBCers living on mission. To whom is your life a pipeline of Christ's grace?
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