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[ "Great Are You, Lord" begins ]
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>> History tells us that
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in ancient times,
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if it was possible, soldiers
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would spend careful time
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in preparation prior to battle.
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A host of things,
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if time allowed, would be done.
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Armor, for instance,
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would be repaired.
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If there was the proverbial
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"chink in the armor,"
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they would fix it.
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They would polish their armor
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so as to look good
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on the day of combat.
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Arrows might be made
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and put in their quivers there
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near at hand.
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Swords, for many years,
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the universal weapon of war,
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would be sharpened
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to a durable yet fine edge.
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And, of course,
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historically so prevalent
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was the use of the sword
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that swords not only were merely
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tools of the average soldier,
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but they also became a metaphor
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for the ability of a leader
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to wage war at all.
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And thus we find phrases
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in the Bible.
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Exodus chapter 18, "the sword
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of Pharaoh."
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Or in Judges, chapter 7,
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"the sword of Gideon."
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Ezekiel 21, "the sword
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of the King of Babylon,"
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etcetera, etcetera.
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Now, here's the thing.
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None of those phrases referred
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to the actual specific sword
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of that individual ruler.
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It was instead emblematic
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of that ruler's ability
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to successfully wage
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war through his army.
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In fact, even God is described
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in these terms.
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Again, Judges 7 speaks
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of a "sword for the Lord."
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And I guarantee you,
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there's not a sword big enough
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physically to fit in God's hand.
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This is a metaphor.
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It's talking about God's ability
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to successfully defeat
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His enemies through His army,
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which I think brings up
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an interesting question.
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Wouldn't it be fantastic
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if God was victorious in
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and through our ministry for Him
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in this next ministry year?
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Is this mic on? I'm not sure.
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There seemed
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to be a drop in there.
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[ Laughter ]
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What I said was,
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wouldn't it be fantastic
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if God was victorious in
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and through our ministry for Him
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in the next year?
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>> Amen.
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>> Oh, amen! Yes. All right.
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If the devil were sent packing
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over the next ten months,
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would that be a good thing?
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>> Yeah.
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>> Yeah! Amen. Absolutely.
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God would be victorious.
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But if that is to happen,
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the sword of the Lord
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here at Pioneer
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and on this campus
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needs to be sharp.
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Now, as we mentioned last week,
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we're not talking about actual
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physical, you know,
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bloodletting warfare here.
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We're talking about much more
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important battles than that --
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spiritual battles, battles
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with eternal consequences.
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And one of the key factors
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in us having "a sharp sword"
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is having a clear sense
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of where this army is going.
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You know, my Bible tells me,
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1 Corinthians 14:40...
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"Let everything be done decently
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and in" -- what's that last
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word?
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>> Order.
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>> ..."and in order."
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In other words, be orderly.
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Be orderly.
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As a part of God's mighty, vast
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army, we are to be orderly.
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Let us work together.
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Let us head in the same
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direction.
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Now, I've only been here
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for just over a year,
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so I do not claim to be
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an expert yet on all things
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Pioneer and Andrews, etcetera.
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But I do nonetheless
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this morning
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want to share with you
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the best of what I know
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so far about the answer
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to this directional question.
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Lord, what would you
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have as our goals
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for the next ministry year?
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And with that in mind,
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to the best of my 13-
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or 14-month ability,
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here are the top four priorities
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that I know to recommend
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that we give special attention
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to in the 2024-2025
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ministry year.
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There are other priorities.
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We're going to talk about those,
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as well.
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But these are the four
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that I would put at the top
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of my list.
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A first priority
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that I strongly recommend
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has to do with a distance
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that needs to be shortened,
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a divide
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that needs to be destroyed,
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a gap that needs to be bridged.
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In fact, that's the verbiage
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that I would use here for
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the first part of this priority.
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A first priority here --
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we need to bridge the gap.
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You say, "Well, the gap
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between what?"
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The gap
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to our university students.
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In fact, that's what I would
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put here, the first priority,
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to bridge the gap
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to our students.
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Now,
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when I think about students,
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I'm not thinking here primarily
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about our elementary-age
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and our high-school-age
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students.
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Now, I'm not saying
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that we're perfect.
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We don't always bat a thousand.
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I'm sure there are
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some that feel the distance
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between Pioneer and themselves.
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I understand that,
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but by and large we do a pretty
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good job of bridging this gap.
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We have two schools
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that we support with hundreds
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of thousands of dollars a year.
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We have Pastor Ben
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and Pastor Lindsey.
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They're over there many, many,
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many hours every week helping to
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lead and guide.
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On the weekends,
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we've got Sabbath-school
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programs and vespers programs
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and all kinds of activities
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in the summertime
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and Pathfinders, etcetera.
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Pioneer does a pretty robust job
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of bridging the gap to that age
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bracket of young people.
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And, after being here
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for just over a year,
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I think that bridging the gap
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with our university students
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is one of our major challenges.
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Now, to be fair, this gap
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is not one of hostility.
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In other words, this gap doesn't
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exist because they hate us.
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That's not it at all.
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In fact,
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I don't think I've heard that
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from anybody in the last year,
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okay?
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Pioneer members
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are not out running around
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chasing down students, you know,
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trying to do bad things
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in their lives.
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No, no, no, no,
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that's not it at all.
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It's not a gap of hostility,
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but there is a gap
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of engagement.
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Moreover, you need to understand
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that this gap is not
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our challenge alone.
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This is a fairly well-researched
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part of Adventism.
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You know, research tells us
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that student engagement
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in the life of the church
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is a challenge across the board
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in the 13 Adventist colleges
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and universities
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in the North American division.
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And if you're a prospective
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parent listening right now,
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if you're considering
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Andrews University,
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you should know that here
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at Andrews,
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research shows that
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our percentage of engagement
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is equal to or exceeds
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that of our sister institutions.
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No one's brave enough
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to say an amen.
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[ Laughter ]
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Oh, come on, you chickens.
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Yes! Yeah, yeah.
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Amen, amen.
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In other words,
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we here at Pioneer,
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the Center for Faith Engagement,
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our dormitory dean and housing
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staff, other religious leaders,
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and influential faculty
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and staff on campus,
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we are doing a number
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of things correctly here in our
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portion of the Lord's field.
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Parents,
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if you're looking for a place
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that will engage your son
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or daughter spiritually,
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we are on the sharp end
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of that spear.
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And there is still more
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good news.
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If our assessment is correct,
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one measure
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of Andrews University's
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student spiritual engagement,
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church attendance here
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at Pioneer solidly
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increased last year.
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[ Laughs ]
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>> Amen.
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>> Thank you, brother.
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I appreciate that.
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Lead the charge back there
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in that half of the church.
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They're a little slow, right?
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Bring them in with it.
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That's a great thing!
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Praise the Lord.
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We had an increase,
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a very noticeable increase,
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in student engagement
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here at our worship services.
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Amen?
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>> Amen.
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>> Amen. Yes.
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And if we're honest, there still
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remains a stubborn fact that
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there are many A.U. students,
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both in the undergrad
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and graduate programs,
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that we here at Pioneer can
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and must do better at reaching
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with the love of Jesus.
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For as best we can tell,
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there remain many students
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that are not only not
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a part of our fellowship here,
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they're not a part of fellowship
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anywhere.
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To the best of our knowledge --
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and we're not judging --
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to the best
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of our understanding,
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there are many students that do
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not appear to have a place
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that they personally value
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in the visible body of Christ.
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And yet they are right here.
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They are in our courts,
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as it were.
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They're literally
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right next door.
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And still they do not
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engage here with Pioneer.
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There is a gap.
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Praise the Lord.
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That must, and I believe,
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can be changed.
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I think the gap can be bridged.
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And the answer to how do
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we bridge that gap is not
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primarily about music styles
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or worship times or formats.
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I mean, all of those things have
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their place in this discussion,
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but not first place.
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In fact, if you want to know
00:18:00.04\00:18:01.14
a little bit more
00:18:01.24\00:18:02.28
about my thinking on this,
00:18:02.38\00:18:03.58
I write a monthly column
00:18:03.68\00:18:05.05
for The Adventist Review.
00:18:05.15\00:18:06.65
How many of you knew that?
00:18:06.75\00:18:07.68
I'm just curious.
00:18:07.78\00:18:08.48
How many of you?
00:18:08.58\00:18:09.85
Okay, both of us, okay,
00:18:09.95\00:18:11.05
knew about that, all right?
00:18:11.15\00:18:11.92
[ Laughter ]
00:18:12.02\00:18:13.89
Okay. So, you need to read it.
00:18:13.99\00:18:14.69
All right?
00:18:14.79\00:18:15.92
If for no other reason, you'll
00:18:16.02\00:18:17.16
see what your pastor is thinking
00:18:17.26\00:18:18.16
in between Sabbaths, okay?
00:18:18.26\00:18:20.90
So, they have allowed me,
00:18:20.96\00:18:22.43
perhaps against their better
00:18:22.53\00:18:23.53
judgment, to give me some space
00:18:23.63\00:18:24.20
regularly.
00:18:24.30\00:18:25.40
So, I write that column,
00:18:25.50\00:18:26.37
and it varies between
00:18:26.47\00:18:27.94
in print and online.
00:18:28.04\00:18:29.17
In August of last year,
00:18:29.27\00:18:31.21
August 23rd of 2023,
00:18:31.31\00:18:33.14
I wrote an article entitled
00:18:33.24\00:18:34.54
"How Not to Keep Young Adults
00:18:34.64\00:18:36.21
in the Church."
00:18:36.31\00:18:37.68
If you're interested in
00:18:37.78\00:18:38.78
how I think about this and how
00:18:38.88\00:18:39.85
my leadership works on it,
00:18:39.95\00:18:41.32
feel free to read the article.
00:18:41.42\00:18:44.95
But to the point -- rather than
00:18:45.05\00:18:46.76
music style, scheduling,
00:18:46.86\00:18:48.22
etcetera being the first line of
00:18:48.32\00:18:50.19
action in bridging this gap,
00:18:50.29\00:18:52.19
that first place belongs
00:18:52.29\00:18:54.10
instead to two things --
00:18:54.20\00:18:56.50
knowing and belonging.
00:18:56.60\00:18:59.13
Knowing and belonging.
00:18:59.23\00:19:03.97
You tell me. Do we want
00:19:04.07\00:19:05.64
every student to personally know
00:19:05.74\00:19:07.71
and belong to Jesus Christ?
00:19:07.81\00:19:09.01
>> Yes.
00:19:09.11\00:19:10.08
>> Absolutely. Of course.
00:19:10.18\00:19:10.91
That's why we're here.
00:19:11.01\00:19:11.78
Jesus is the answer
00:19:11.88\00:19:13.31
to our and their great need.
00:19:13.42\00:19:16.18
But many of them
00:19:16.28\00:19:17.32
will not come to know
00:19:17.42\00:19:18.59
Jesus and belong to Him
00:19:18.69\00:19:20.42
until they know us
00:19:20.52\00:19:21.99
and belong here.
00:19:22.09\00:19:24.76
And, in my opinion, there are
00:19:24.86\00:19:26.39
few ministries better equipped
00:19:26.49\00:19:28.10
to make this happen than Belong.
00:19:28.20\00:19:30.37
Now, I'm going to get
00:19:30.47\00:19:32.00
real specific here this morning.
00:19:32.10\00:19:33.60
There are other ways
00:19:33.70\00:19:34.47
that we also reach out
00:19:34.57\00:19:35.54
to our university students.
00:19:35.64\00:19:36.64
Belong Ministries, I think,
00:19:36.74\00:19:38.24
is one that's just running on
00:19:38.34\00:19:39.77
high-octane stuff,
00:19:39.87\00:19:41.48
and you need to be a part of it.
00:19:41.58\00:19:42.74
Belong Ministries, for those
00:19:42.84\00:19:43.81
of you that don't know,
00:19:43.91\00:19:44.85
this is one of our newest
00:19:44.95\00:19:45.65
ministries here at Pioneer.
00:19:45.75\00:19:46.68
It was started last fall,
00:19:46.78\00:19:47.68
fall of 2023.
00:19:47.78\00:19:49.68
Mari Bowerman, you may have seen
00:19:49.78\00:19:50.72
her up here at the beginning,
00:19:50.82\00:19:51.49
announcement time.
00:19:51.59\00:19:52.12
She's our director.
00:19:52.22\00:19:53.09
She's doing a great job.
00:19:53.19\00:19:54.12
She's got a newly expanded
00:19:54.22\00:19:55.79
leadership team for this year.
00:19:55.89\00:19:57.39
Belong Ministries
00:19:57.49\00:19:58.26
does a variety of things.
00:19:58.36\00:19:59.66
I mean, for instance, we hold
00:19:59.76\00:20:01.06
special events throughout
00:20:01.16\00:20:02.13
the year for our students.
00:20:02.23\00:20:03.43
You may remember last year we
00:20:03.53\00:20:04.57
held one at Thanksgiving time.
00:20:04.67\00:20:06.23
We had about 30
00:20:06.33\00:20:07.87
or 40 students that we thought
00:20:07.97\00:20:08.97
would come to our meal.
00:20:09.07\00:20:09.84
More than 320 showed up.
00:20:09.94\00:20:12.11
There is a need, you know,
00:20:12.21\00:20:13.21
that Belong is beginning
00:20:13.31\00:20:14.21
to fill here.
00:20:14.31\00:20:15.71
Belong also provides treats and
00:20:15.81\00:20:17.81
care packages during test week.
00:20:17.91\00:20:19.05
You know,
00:20:19.15\00:20:19.85
to give a caloric boost
00:20:19.95\00:20:20.72
and to let them know
00:20:20.82\00:20:21.82
that we're thinking about them.
00:20:21.92\00:20:22.58
We're praying for them.
00:20:22.68\00:20:23.65
We have these tables set up
00:20:23.75\00:20:24.82
in various places around campus.
00:20:24.92\00:20:26.22
One of the ministries
00:20:26.32\00:20:26.82
of Belong
00:20:26.92\00:20:27.59
that I'm most excited about
00:20:27.69\00:20:28.96
is the adopt-a-student program.
00:20:29.06\00:20:30.59
That ministry,
00:20:30.69\00:20:31.49
I think, is excellent.
00:20:31.59\00:20:32.93
Students sign up
00:20:33.03\00:20:33.93
for this of their own accord.
00:20:34.00\00:20:34.73
Those of you that
00:20:34.83\00:20:36.06
are new students, you're here
00:20:36.16\00:20:37.10
for First Stop, on Monday,
00:20:37.20\00:20:38.33
Belong will have a booth,
00:20:38.43\00:20:39.40
and we encourage you
00:20:39.50\00:20:40.34
to sign up for this.
00:20:40.44\00:20:41.57
If you sign up for that,
00:20:41.67\00:20:42.94
people will give you food.
00:20:43.04\00:20:44.27
[ Laughter ]
00:20:44.37\00:20:45.94
People will care for you.
00:20:46.04\00:20:47.48
They will be praying for you
00:20:47.58\00:20:48.74
because that's what the adoptive
00:20:48.84\00:20:49.98
families here at Pioneer,
00:20:50.08\00:20:51.95
they're assigned to a student.
00:20:52.05\00:20:52.75
We match up students
00:20:52.85\00:20:53.68
and families here at Pioneer,
00:20:53.78\00:20:54.55
and throughout the year
00:20:54.65\00:20:55.52
they're praying for you.
00:20:55.62\00:20:56.32
They greet you
00:20:56.42\00:20:57.22
on Sabbath mornings.
00:20:57.32\00:20:58.12
If you want to,
00:20:58.22\00:20:59.15
you can sit with them at church.
00:20:59.25\00:20:59.92
They'll invite you home for
00:21:00.09\00:21:01.39
for lunch on Sabbath.
00:21:01.49\00:21:02.66
You can come to vespers
00:21:02.76\00:21:03.59
at their house if you want to.
00:21:03.69\00:21:04.56
Students, all of this
00:21:04.66\00:21:05.53
is voluntary, but we want you
00:21:05.63\00:21:06.66
to know we care about you.
00:21:06.76\00:21:09.06
We long for you to know Christ
00:21:09.16\00:21:10.50
as we do, and so we love you.
00:21:10.60\00:21:12.40
Whether you ever make a decision
00:21:12.50\00:21:13.23
for Jesus or not,
00:21:13.34\00:21:14.20
we're going to love you and do
00:21:14.30\00:21:15.27
our best to take care of you.
00:21:15.37\00:21:17.07
By the way,
00:21:17.17\00:21:18.84
if you're a Pioneer family,
00:21:18.94\00:21:20.01
and you've not yet signed up
00:21:20.11\00:21:21.34
to be a part of the
00:21:21.44\00:21:22.48
adopt-a-student ministry,
00:21:22.58\00:21:23.88
you need to do it.
00:21:23.98\00:21:24.98
It is one of the best
00:21:25.08\00:21:26.58
opportunities to quite literally
00:21:26.68\00:21:27.82
make an eternal,
00:21:27.92\00:21:29.22
positive difference in the life
00:21:29.32\00:21:30.79
of a university student.
00:21:30.89\00:21:32.52
This is tremendous stuff.
00:21:32.62\00:21:34.16
At the end of the service today,
00:21:34.26\00:21:35.59
I'm going to give you
00:21:35.69\00:21:36.59
an opportunity to check a box,
00:21:36.69\00:21:37.89
and we'll make sure that you get
00:21:37.99\00:21:38.89
more information about becoming
00:21:38.99\00:21:40.20
a part of Belong Ministries.
00:21:40.30\00:21:42.10
Anyone that's a part of Pioneer
00:21:42.20\00:21:42.66
family here,
00:21:42.76\00:21:43.90
you can be a part of
00:21:44.00\00:21:45.67
Belong Ministries.
00:21:45.77\00:21:48.20
And here's the thing.
00:21:48.30\00:21:50.47
Belong Ministries does this
00:21:50.57\00:21:53.41
because we are convinced
00:21:53.51\00:21:55.24
that there are many
00:21:55.34\00:21:56.01
of our university students
00:21:56.11\00:21:57.31
that will not make a decision
00:21:57.41\00:21:58.71
to know and belong to Jesus
00:21:58.81\00:22:00.32
until they know and belong
00:22:00.42\00:22:01.35
with us.
00:22:01.45\00:22:03.69
Pioneer Memorial Church,
00:22:03.79\00:22:05.35
we are the campus church
00:22:05.45\00:22:07.09
for Andrews University,
00:22:07.19\00:22:09.39
and that is a privilege.
00:22:09.49\00:22:11.09
It is also a responsibility, and
00:22:11.19\00:22:13.03
we need to rise to the occasion.
00:22:13.13\00:22:15.13
It is our responsibility
00:22:15.23\00:22:15.93
to reach out
00:22:16.03\00:22:17.10
to as many students as we can,
00:22:17.20\00:22:18.30
welcoming them into our homes,
00:22:18.40\00:22:19.40
into our fellowship,
00:22:19.50\00:22:20.37
into relationship with us,
00:22:20.47\00:22:21.74
that they might see Jesus
00:22:21.84\00:22:22.94
and come to belong in Him.
00:22:23.04\00:22:26.78
Bridge the gap to our students.
00:22:26.88\00:22:29.34
That is a first priority.
00:22:29.44\00:22:34.18
A second one...
00:22:34.28\00:22:35.62
And this second one
00:22:35.72\00:22:37.09
I'm only going to be able
00:22:37.19\00:22:38.19
to brush the surface with.
00:22:38.29\00:22:39.29
It requires
00:22:39.39\00:22:40.09
a much deeper treatment.
00:22:40.19\00:22:40.92
I'm just going to
00:22:41.02\00:22:42.36
give you a little taste
00:22:42.46\00:22:43.93
of it here this morning.
00:22:44.03\00:22:45.26
And it's found
00:22:45.36\00:22:46.13
in Acts chapter 2.
00:22:46.23\00:22:47.03
Let me put it up here
00:22:47.13\00:22:47.83
on the screen.
00:22:47.93\00:22:49.03
"They" -- and this refers to the
00:22:49.13\00:22:50.87
3,000-plus believers that just
00:22:50.97\00:22:52.13
got baptized into the first
00:22:52.23\00:22:53.47
stages there of the Christian
00:22:53.57\00:22:54.07
church.
00:22:54.17\00:22:55.27
By the way, any word in yellow?
00:22:55.37\00:22:57.24
Would you read that out loud
00:22:57.34\00:22:58.47
when we come to it?
00:22:58.57\00:22:59.94
It says, "They devoted
00:23:00.11\00:23:01.14
themselves to the apostles'
00:23:01.24\00:23:01.84
teaching and to..."?
00:23:01.94\00:23:03.31
>> Fellowship.
00:23:03.41\00:23:04.61
>> "...to the breaking of bread
00:23:04.71\00:23:05.31
and to prayer.
00:23:05.41\00:23:06.45
Everyone was filled with awe
00:23:06.55\00:23:07.95
at the many wonders and signs
00:23:08.05\00:23:09.22
performed by the apostles.
00:23:09.32\00:23:10.75
All the believers were..."?
00:23:10.85\00:23:11.62
>> Together.
00:23:11.72\00:23:13.15
>> "...and had everything in
00:23:13.25\00:23:13.66
common.
00:23:13.76\00:23:14.49
They sold property
00:23:14.59\00:23:15.26
and possessions
00:23:15.36\00:23:16.12
to give to anyone who had need.
00:23:16.22\00:23:17.63
Every day they continued
00:23:17.73\00:23:18.43
to meet..."?
00:23:18.53\00:23:19.26
>> Together.
00:23:19.36\00:23:20.46
>> "...in the temple courts.
00:23:20.56\00:23:21.26
They broke bread in their homes
00:23:21.36\00:23:22.53
and ate..."?
00:23:22.63\00:23:23.16
>> Together.
00:23:23.26\00:23:24.33
>> ..."with glad and sincere
00:23:24.43\00:23:25.23
hearts, praising God and
00:23:25.33\00:23:26.67
enjoying the favor of all the
00:23:26.77\00:23:27.40
people.
00:23:27.50\00:23:28.40
And the Lord added
00:23:28.50\00:23:29.47
to their number daily
00:23:29.57\00:23:30.77
those who were being saved."
00:23:30.87\00:23:32.84
Now, I got to tell you.
00:23:32.94\00:23:33.71
This is one of the most pregnant
00:23:33.81\00:23:34.98
portions in all the Bible.
00:23:35.08\00:23:36.88
There are so many things
00:23:36.98\00:23:38.28
that can be drawn out of just
00:23:38.38\00:23:39.38
these few short verses here.
00:23:39.48\00:23:40.35
I'm just going to
00:23:40.45\00:23:41.65
pull out one thing, and that is
00:23:41.75\00:23:43.05
this -- genuine, deep,
00:23:43.15\00:23:45.52
transforming community was to be
00:23:45.62\00:23:47.89
the church's reality from the
00:23:47.99\00:23:49.86
very beginning of Christianity.
00:23:49.96\00:23:53.50
It was not an addendum.
00:23:53.60\00:23:54.76
It's not like, you know,
00:23:54.86\00:23:55.73
God started out perfect.
00:23:55.83\00:23:56.70
And then, you know,
00:23:56.80\00:23:57.70
we kind of messed it up,
00:23:57.80\00:23:58.63
and we got lonely.
00:23:58.73\00:23:59.87
He said, "Okay, we'll find
00:24:00.04\00:24:01.07
somebody that you can hang out
00:24:01.17\00:24:01.57
with."
00:24:01.67\00:24:02.77
No, no, no, no, no, no.
00:24:02.87\00:24:03.61
It is the essence of
00:24:03.71\00:24:04.64
Christianity that
00:24:04.74\00:24:05.77
Jesus in me has a tie
00:24:05.87\00:24:07.98
with Jesus in you.
00:24:08.08\00:24:10.25
Jesus is the source,
00:24:10.35\00:24:11.25
the foundation of our community,
00:24:11.35\00:24:12.55
and it is intended to be a deep,
00:24:12.65\00:24:14.08
trusting, abiding,
00:24:14.18\00:24:15.58
genuine community fellowship
00:24:15.68\00:24:17.39
that we enjoy in the body
00:24:17.49\00:24:19.02
of Christ.
00:24:19.12\00:24:22.86
And so I believe that at Pioneer
00:24:22.96\00:24:24.26
this next year,
00:24:24.36\00:24:25.73
this must also be one
00:24:25.83\00:24:26.96
of our top priorities.
00:24:27.03\00:24:28.46
We need to deepen our ties
00:24:28.56\00:24:29.93
with each other.
00:24:30.03\00:24:32.07
We must deepen our ties
00:24:32.17\00:24:32.93
with each other.
00:24:33.03\00:24:33.70
Now, over the last year,
00:24:33.80\00:24:36.47
it has been my privilege
00:24:36.57\00:24:37.61
to meet hundreds and hundreds
00:24:37.71\00:24:38.64
of wonderful Pioneer people.
00:24:38.74\00:24:40.21
You've been very welcoming to
00:24:40.31\00:24:41.28
me, to my wife, to my family.
00:24:41.38\00:24:43.14
I thank you for that.
00:24:43.24\00:24:45.88
And I also have heard from many
00:24:45.98\00:24:47.78
of those same wonderful Pioneer
00:24:47.88\00:24:49.32
people a sad refrain.
00:24:49.42\00:24:52.32
And it goes something like this.
00:24:52.42\00:24:54.29
"I don't know many people here.
00:24:54.39\00:25:00.63
This is a big church.
00:25:00.73\00:25:01.66
It's easy to get lost here.
00:25:01.76\00:25:04.77
I wish I had more friends
00:25:04.87\00:25:07.30
here at Pioneer."
00:25:07.40\00:25:11.81
I want to be clear about this.
00:25:11.91\00:25:14.48
This challenge to community
00:25:14.58\00:25:16.95
is not unique to us.
00:25:17.05\00:25:19.55
This is not because Pioneer
00:25:19.65\00:25:20.42
has some special problem.
00:25:20.52\00:25:21.45
No, no, no, no, no, no, no.
00:25:21.55\00:25:22.78
In fact, every large church
00:25:22.88\00:25:23.95
that I've been a part of
00:25:24.05\00:25:24.72
over the last 30 years
00:25:24.82\00:25:25.89
has had to deal with this issue.
00:25:25.99\00:25:27.26
Why? Because research tells us
00:25:27.36\00:25:29.69
that once you get past around
00:25:29.79\00:25:30.99
the 300-member mark,
00:25:31.09\00:25:32.79
it becomes very difficult
00:25:32.89\00:25:34.03
to maintain a deep sense
00:25:34.13\00:25:35.36
of community
00:25:35.46\00:25:36.67
unless the church is intentional
00:25:36.77\00:25:39.33
about making it happen.
00:25:39.43\00:25:42.40
And the answer to how
00:25:42.50\00:25:44.27
we can deepen our ties
00:25:44.37\00:25:45.34
with one another --
00:25:45.44\00:25:46.27
to me, generally speaking,
00:25:46.37\00:25:47.48
again, this is a very light
00:25:47.58\00:25:48.34
touch on this topic,
00:25:48.44\00:25:49.04
more on it later.
00:25:49.14\00:25:50.48
But generally speaking,
00:25:50.58\00:25:52.88
there's two solutions to this.
00:25:52.98\00:25:53.88
And if you do these
00:25:53.98\00:25:54.65
two solutions, great things
00:25:54.75\00:25:56.02
can happen in deepening
00:25:56.12\00:25:57.09
your ties in this community.
00:25:57.19\00:25:58.69
Those two things are get
00:25:58.79\00:26:00.22
involved in a ministry
00:26:00.32\00:26:01.56
and join a GROW group.
00:26:01.66\00:26:04.13
Now, at the risk of sounding
00:26:04.23\00:26:05.13
horribly practical,
00:26:05.23\00:26:06.59
let me explain that "get
00:26:06.70\00:26:07.86
involved in a ministry" means
00:26:07.96\00:26:08.93
that you get involved in a
00:26:09.03\00:26:10.00
ministry.
00:26:10.10\00:26:11.07
[ Laughter ]
00:26:11.17\00:26:12.37
Genius, huh? Yeah.
00:26:12.47\00:26:13.54
Pretty good. Right?
00:26:13.64\00:26:15.60
You know, many times, I think
00:26:15.70\00:26:16.84
when pastors make these appeals,
00:26:16.94\00:26:18.71
people that are listening think,
00:26:18.81\00:26:19.57
"Oh, okay, the pastor
00:26:19.67\00:26:20.54
wants me to join this ministry
00:26:20.64\00:26:21.64
so that other people
00:26:21.74\00:26:22.81
will be reached for the Lord
00:26:22.91\00:26:23.85
and blessed to that ministry."
00:26:23.95\00:26:24.85
Yeah, guilty as charged.
00:26:24.95\00:26:25.75
That's true.
00:26:25.85\00:26:27.28
And did you know that
00:26:27.38\00:26:29.98
when you join a ministry,
00:26:30.09\00:26:32.39
you will meet other people?
00:26:32.49\00:26:35.49
Ah, yes. Aha! See? See?
00:26:35.59\00:26:39.16
And you'll probably meet people
00:26:39.26\00:26:40.46
that you could have
00:26:40.56\00:26:41.20
otherwise never met.
00:26:41.30\00:26:44.13
Who knew that reaching out
00:26:44.23\00:26:45.63
to others just might deepen
00:26:45.73\00:26:46.80
your social life?
00:26:46.90\00:26:48.47
Many a marriage has happened
00:26:48.57\00:26:49.47
in Create a Role.
00:26:49.57\00:26:50.94
Okay? Many a marriage
00:26:51.04\00:26:53.64
has happened in this ministry
00:26:53.74\00:26:54.64
or in that ministry.
00:26:54.74\00:26:55.71
People meet friends,
00:26:55.81\00:26:56.78
whether you marry them or not.
00:26:56.88\00:26:57.61
I can't promise -- I'm sorry.
00:26:57.71\00:26:58.48
New students, I can't
00:26:58.58\00:26:59.45
promise you that you will meet
00:26:59.55\00:27:00.48
your wife in Create a Role,
00:27:00.58\00:27:01.05
all right?
00:27:01.15\00:27:01.85
I can't say that, but
00:27:01.95\00:27:02.82
I can promise you this.
00:27:02.92\00:27:04.15
If you join a ministry,
00:27:04.25\00:27:06.02
if you become part of a ministry
00:27:06.12\00:27:07.02
here at pioneer,
00:27:07.12\00:27:08.09
you will meet people.
00:27:08.19\00:27:09.49
You will find new people
00:27:09.59\00:27:10.49
that have a common cause
00:27:10.59\00:27:11.33
because you joined
00:27:11.43\00:27:12.09
that ministry,
00:27:12.19\00:27:13.19
I assume, for a reason.
00:27:13.29\00:27:14.30
And there are few relationships
00:27:14.40\00:27:15.13
that endure and go deeper
00:27:15.23\00:27:16.56
than those that are built around
00:27:16.67\00:27:17.67
service for Jesus Christ.
00:27:17.77\00:27:20.10
You say, "Well, Pastor,
00:27:20.20\00:27:20.90
I don't know what to join."
00:27:21.00\00:27:21.74
Not a problem.
00:27:21.84\00:27:22.57
At the end of the service today,
00:27:22.67\00:27:23.34
I'm going to give you
00:27:23.44\00:27:24.44
an opportunity to check a box.
00:27:24.54\00:27:26.17
And it's just a box that says,
00:27:26.27\00:27:26.98
"Yeah, I want to become
00:27:27.08\00:27:28.01
involved in ministry here."
00:27:28.11\00:27:28.88
You may not know what it is.
00:27:28.98\00:27:29.78
Good news --
00:27:29.88\00:27:30.95
we have a volunteer-engagement
00:27:31.05\00:27:31.98
committee, the VEC, that will
00:27:32.08\00:27:33.62
help you to find a spot.
00:27:33.72\00:27:34.75
And in so doing,
00:27:34.85\00:27:35.98
you will find new people
00:27:36.08\00:27:37.05
to become friends with.
00:27:37.15\00:27:39.22
And, secondly, very practical
00:27:39.32\00:27:40.62
thing, join a GROW group.
00:27:40.72\00:27:42.32
GROW groups
00:27:42.42\00:27:43.16
are our small-group ministry
00:27:43.26\00:27:44.49
here at Pioneer.
00:27:44.59\00:27:45.63
Jesus had a small group.
00:27:45.73\00:27:47.30
The apostles had a small group.
00:27:47.40\00:27:48.70
As best we can tell,
00:27:48.80\00:27:49.90
the entire New Testament church
00:27:50.00\00:27:51.37
was essentially
00:27:51.47\00:27:52.03
built of small groups.
00:27:52.13\00:27:53.44
Who makes himself an exception?
00:27:53.54\00:27:55.54
You may need
00:27:55.64\00:27:56.30
to join a small group.
00:27:56.40\00:27:57.67
You may need to become a leader
00:27:57.77\00:27:58.81
in a GROW group.
00:27:58.91\00:27:59.64
Now, last year
00:27:59.74\00:28:01.44
we did not have much publicity
00:28:01.54\00:28:02.78
about GROW groups -- my fault.
00:28:02.88\00:28:04.38
Okay? New kid on the block.
00:28:04.48\00:28:06.05
It didn't get on my radar.
00:28:06.15\00:28:07.68
We're going to change that
00:28:07.78\00:28:08.32
starting right now.
00:28:08.42\00:28:10.59
GROW groups are going to launch
00:28:10.69\00:28:12.19
here in the next 1 to 2 months.
00:28:12.29\00:28:13.69
Pastor Jacob Gibbs,
00:28:13.79\00:28:14.92
he's new on our staff.
00:28:15.02\00:28:15.92
I'm so glad that Pastor Jacob
00:28:16.02\00:28:16.79
is here.
00:28:16.89\00:28:17.66
One of his major duties is
00:28:17.76\00:28:18.99
to oversee GROW groups for both
00:28:19.09\00:28:20.40
the university and Pioneer.
00:28:20.50\00:28:22.36
He's going great guns.
00:28:22.46\00:28:23.77
He loves small-group ministry.
00:28:23.87\00:28:25.47
If you would like to become
00:28:25.57\00:28:26.37
a part of a GROW group,
00:28:26.47\00:28:27.40
or if you would like to lead
00:28:27.50\00:28:28.34
a GROW group,
00:28:28.44\00:28:29.37
at the end of the service today,
00:28:29.47\00:28:30.34
I'm going to give you
00:28:30.44\00:28:31.67
an opportunity to do just that.
00:28:31.77\00:28:33.91
You do these two things -- join
00:28:34.01\00:28:35.64
a ministry, join a GROW group --
00:28:35.74\00:28:37.51
and they will go a long ways
00:28:37.61\00:28:39.08
towards helping you find deep,
00:28:39.18\00:28:40.15
abiding Christian community,
00:28:40.25\00:28:41.75
even in a large church
00:28:41.85\00:28:43.02
like Pioneer.
00:28:43.12\00:28:44.39
Which brings us to priority
00:28:48.39\00:28:49.32
number three.
00:28:49.42\00:28:52.16
Bridge the gap to our students,
00:28:52.26\00:28:52.93
number one.
00:28:53.03\00:28:53.80
Deepen our ties
00:28:53.90\00:28:54.96
with each other, number two.
00:28:55.06\00:28:56.73
And number three is found here
00:28:56.83\00:28:58.03
in 2 Corinthians 9:6-8 and 11.
00:28:58.13\00:29:01.17
Paul says this.
00:29:01.27\00:29:02.34
A third priority around
00:29:37.11\00:29:38.54
which I pray we can unite
00:29:38.64\00:29:40.94
is this -- fund the mission.
00:29:41.04\00:29:45.08
Fund the mission.
00:29:45.18\00:29:48.65
I just want to thank the dear
00:29:48.75\00:29:49.85
sister that said amen to that.
00:29:49.95\00:29:51.15
We'll meet afterwards.
00:29:51.25\00:29:52.15
We can talk. We'll celebrate
00:29:52.25\00:29:53.19
together the good things
00:29:53.29\00:29:53.96
that are happening here.
00:29:54.06\00:29:55.39
Some of you are afraid that
00:29:55.49\00:29:56.56
I'm about to talk about money.
00:29:56.66\00:29:57.89
Your fears are about to be
00:29:57.99\00:29:58.76
realized, okay?
00:29:58.86\00:30:00.20
[ Laughter ]
00:30:00.30\00:30:01.50
Because money is a deeply
00:30:01.60\00:30:03.20
spiritual topic.
00:30:03.30\00:30:05.23
Jesus,
00:30:05.33\00:30:06.47
as I'm sure many of you know,
00:30:06.57\00:30:07.67
Jesus talked more about money
00:30:07.77\00:30:09.37
than any other topic
00:30:09.47\00:30:10.71
while He was here
00:30:10.81\00:30:12.54
because Jesus knows the effect
00:30:12.64\00:30:14.74
that how we use our money
00:30:14.84\00:30:16.21
or don't use our money,
00:30:16.31\00:30:17.41
the deep effect that it will
00:30:17.51\00:30:18.65
have on our relationship
00:30:18.75\00:30:19.78
with Him to say nothing
00:30:19.88\00:30:21.55
of the ability for the Gospel
00:30:21.65\00:30:22.62
to go to the whole world.
00:30:22.72\00:30:24.32
Now, to my way of thinking,
00:30:24.42\00:30:26.15
after one year here at Pioneer,
00:30:26.25\00:30:27.96
this funding of the mission
00:30:28.06\00:30:29.79
needs to take at least
00:30:29.89\00:30:30.79
two forms.
00:30:30.89\00:30:31.89
First of all, church budget.
00:30:31.99\00:30:34.30
Now, this is easily
00:30:34.40\00:30:35.63
the sexiest part of talking
00:30:35.73\00:30:37.23
about church ministry, isn't it?
00:30:37.33\00:30:39.13
Some of you woke up this morning
00:30:39.23\00:30:40.20
and said, "I sure hope he talks
00:30:40.30\00:30:41.47
about church budget today.
00:30:41.57\00:30:42.60
That would just make my day,"
00:30:42.70\00:30:43.44
right?
00:30:43.54\00:30:44.94
Well, good news -- here we are,
00:30:45.04\00:30:45.64
right?
00:30:45.74\00:30:46.84
Here's the truth about
00:30:46.94\00:30:48.34
church budget.
00:30:48.44\00:30:51.51
Pioneer, we're all friends.
00:30:51.61\00:30:53.75
We're amongst family here,
00:30:53.85\00:30:54.52
all right?
00:30:54.62\00:30:56.75
As I mentioned a few months ago,
00:30:56.85\00:30:58.29
we have done a stellar job
00:30:58.39\00:31:00.66
with large projects that have
00:31:00.76\00:31:01.79
required directed appeals
00:31:01.89\00:31:02.89
and directed giving.
00:31:02.99\00:31:04.19
Renovate 2.0, which I got in
00:31:04.29\00:31:05.53
just on the tail end of it,
00:31:05.63\00:31:07.10
that is just one of the most
00:31:07.20\00:31:08.50
recent examples of a long litany
00:31:08.60\00:31:09.96
of tackling large,
00:31:10.07\00:31:11.53
targeted projects.
00:31:11.63\00:31:13.30
You all do great at those.
00:31:13.40\00:31:15.24
I mean, to the tune literally
00:31:15.34\00:31:16.20
of millions of dollars
00:31:16.30\00:31:17.14
over the years.
00:31:17.24\00:31:18.17
Praise the Lord. Amen.
00:31:18.27\00:31:21.91
It is also true that I have been
00:31:22.01\00:31:25.05
a part of some difficult
00:31:25.15\00:31:26.28
conversations on various
00:31:26.38\00:31:27.75
committees over this last year,
00:31:27.85\00:31:29.08
and those conversations
00:31:29.18\00:31:30.32
have gone something like this.
00:31:30.42\00:31:32.95
"Well, Pastor, we'd like to do
00:31:33.05\00:31:34.26
this for children's ministries,
00:31:34.36\00:31:37.16
but we don't have the money."
00:31:37.26\00:31:39.03
"Pastor,
00:31:39.13\00:31:40.43
we'd like to honor this request
00:31:40.53\00:31:41.73
for assistance to this person
00:31:41.83\00:31:43.10
or this organization in need,
00:31:43.20\00:31:45.57
but we don't have the money."
00:31:45.67\00:31:48.24
"Pastor, we'd like to do this
00:31:48.34\00:31:49.34
outreach to our campus or to
00:31:49.44\00:31:50.97
the wider Berrien community,
00:31:51.07\00:31:52.21
but we don't have the money."
00:31:52.31\00:31:56.34
Now, again, I want to be
00:31:56.44\00:31:57.31
very clear here.
00:31:57.41\00:31:58.35
I'm not leveling blame.
00:31:58.45\00:31:59.51
I'm not pointing fingers at
00:31:59.61\00:32:00.18
anybody.
00:32:00.28\00:32:01.35
In fact, if there's any blame
00:32:01.45\00:32:02.12
to go around,
00:32:02.22\00:32:03.12
it needs to be on me,
00:32:03.22\00:32:04.19
because I did not make
00:32:04.29\00:32:05.25
those needs clearer to you
00:32:05.35\00:32:06.29
over the last year.
00:32:06.39\00:32:07.56
So, rest assured, our financial
00:32:07.66\00:32:09.12
reporting is going to be
00:32:09.22\00:32:10.29
improving over this next year.
00:32:10.39\00:32:12.73
And we will continue
00:32:12.83\00:32:13.63
to do targeted giving.
00:32:13.73\00:32:15.23
There's going to be
00:32:15.33\00:32:16.33
some big projects coming out.
00:32:16.43\00:32:16.90
I'm sure
00:32:17.00\00:32:18.03
it's going to happen in there.
00:32:18.13\00:32:19.00
And I want to invite you to join
00:32:19.10\00:32:22.54
Darlene and I in every month,
00:32:22.64\00:32:24.57
setting aside substantial money,
00:32:24.67\00:32:25.97
whatever the Lord lays
00:32:26.07\00:32:27.04
on your heart,
00:32:27.14\00:32:27.91
to help support the church
00:32:28.01\00:32:29.18
budget here at Pioneer.
00:32:29.28\00:32:31.11
You know, almost all of the good
00:32:31.21\00:32:32.18
stuff that you appreciate
00:32:32.28\00:32:33.31
and enjoy about Pioneer falls
00:32:33.42\00:32:34.58
under that umbrella
00:32:34.68\00:32:35.38
of church budget.
00:32:35.48\00:32:36.72
I mean, children's ministries,
00:32:36.82\00:32:37.52
Pathfinders, the money
00:32:37.62\00:32:39.15
that we give to
00:32:39.25\00:32:40.19
Andrews Academy and to
00:32:40.29\00:32:41.06
Ruth Murdoch,
00:32:41.16\00:32:42.06
etcetera, etcetera, etcetera,
00:32:42.16\00:32:43.26
etcetera, etcetera, etcetera,
00:32:43.36\00:32:44.26
all that ministry happens under
00:32:44.36\00:32:46.13
the umbrella of church budget.
00:32:46.23\00:32:47.50
We need you. Please don't
00:32:47.60\00:32:49.23
ever say, "This is a big church.
00:32:49.33\00:32:51.50
They don't need my money."
00:32:51.60\00:32:54.04
Big churches have big potential
00:32:54.14\00:32:56.81
if we work together to fund it.
00:32:56.91\00:32:58.91
And there is a second way
00:33:02.88\00:33:07.05
that I would suggest
00:33:07.15\00:33:08.32
we fund the mission,
00:33:08.42\00:33:10.29
and that is support
00:33:10.39\00:33:12.92
Pioneer Media.
00:33:13.02\00:33:16.66
Let me tell you a little bit
00:33:16.76\00:33:17.29
about Pioneer Media.
00:33:17.39\00:33:19.76
Being a part of Pioneer here
00:33:19.86\00:33:21.33
locally is a great blessing,
00:33:21.43\00:33:23.47
okay?
00:33:23.57\00:33:24.70
Those of you that watch online,
00:33:24.80\00:33:26.37
you do not get all of
00:33:26.47\00:33:28.20
the blessings that we have here.
00:33:28.30\00:33:28.94
There's people
00:33:29.04\00:33:29.70
from all over the world.
00:33:29.80\00:33:30.44
We're working together.
00:33:30.54\00:33:31.41
We're seeking to educate young
00:33:31.51\00:33:32.51
people, etcetera, etcetera.
00:33:32.61\00:33:33.58
It is marvelous to be here.
00:33:33.68\00:33:36.08
And you also get
00:33:36.18\00:33:37.88
to have some of that blessing,
00:33:37.98\00:33:39.48
even if you don't live here,
00:33:39.58\00:33:41.08
because of Pioneer Media.
00:33:41.18\00:33:43.79
We are a local church
00:33:43.89\00:33:45.32
with a global reach.
00:33:45.42\00:33:48.92
Now, let's give credit
00:33:49.02\00:33:49.66
where credit is due here.
00:33:49.76\00:33:51.23
He doesn't know I'm going to say
00:33:51.33\00:33:52.16
this, and he would not like it
00:33:52.26\00:33:53.23
if I was going to say this,
00:33:53.33\00:33:53.83
but that's okay.
00:33:53.93\00:33:54.66
I'm sitting here,
00:33:54.76\00:33:55.60
and he's sitting there, okay?
00:33:55.70\00:33:57.40
Pastor Dwight Nelson
00:33:57.50\00:33:58.57
did a stellar job in creating
00:33:58.67\00:34:00.74
this global media footprint
00:34:00.84\00:34:02.30
over the last 30 years.
00:34:02.40\00:34:03.94
[ Applause ]
00:34:04.04\00:34:06.37
Amen and amen.
00:34:09.71\00:34:13.21
And I am pleased to say
00:34:13.31\00:34:14.92
to Pastor Dwight,
00:34:15.02\00:34:17.79
"I didn't break it."
00:34:17.89\00:34:19.15
[ Laughter ]
00:34:19.25\00:34:21.19
Now, Pastor Dwight's been
00:34:21.29\00:34:22.66
very supportive, right?
00:34:22.76\00:34:23.73
Nothing but supportive, okay?
00:34:23.83\00:34:25.39
But I can't help but think in
00:34:25.49\00:34:26.56
my mind if I were in his shoes,
00:34:26.66\00:34:28.46
you know, it's kind of like
00:34:28.56\00:34:29.03
handing the keys
00:34:29.13\00:34:29.83
to the family car
00:34:29.93\00:34:30.73
to your 16-year-old
00:34:30.83\00:34:31.83
that just got their driver's
00:34:31.93\00:34:32.57
license, right?
00:34:32.67\00:34:34.04
"Here, son. Take it.
00:34:34.14\00:34:36.14
Don't break it." Right? Okay.
00:34:36.24\00:34:38.27
Well, praise the Lord.
00:34:38.37\00:34:39.71
Through the hard work
00:34:39.81\00:34:40.48
of our Pioneer Media
00:34:40.58\00:34:41.68
employees and volunteers,
00:34:41.78\00:34:42.98
the Christ-centered,
00:34:43.08\00:34:44.11
Gospel-focused outreach of our
00:34:44.21\00:34:45.88
church has managed to both
00:34:45.98\00:34:47.55
maintain and expand over the
00:34:47.65\00:34:49.32
last year.
00:34:49.42\00:34:50.92
Did you know
00:34:51.02\00:34:52.52
that every day of every week,
00:34:52.62\00:34:53.99
there is a pretty substantially
00:34:54.09\00:34:56.56
large number of people
00:34:56.66\00:34:57.99
that access the material
00:34:58.09\00:34:59.39
produced by Pioneer Media?
00:34:59.49\00:35:01.60
In fact, those of you that are
00:35:01.70\00:35:03.13
statistics nerds, you don't have
00:35:03.23\00:35:03.90
to raise your hand.
00:35:04.00\00:35:04.97
You know who you are, all right?
00:35:05.07\00:35:05.83
There's help for you.
00:35:05.93\00:35:06.90
We can also get along together,
00:35:07.00\00:35:07.47
right?
00:35:07.57\00:35:08.37
Listen carefully,
00:35:08.47\00:35:09.40
because I'm going to give you
00:35:09.50\00:35:10.41
very quickly here a slew
00:35:10.51\00:35:11.44
of statistics that are all
00:35:11.54\00:35:12.94
from the last 368 days.
00:35:13.04\00:35:16.14
I think this was Thursday that
00:35:16.24\00:35:17.18
I got the report from Gaddiel.
00:35:17.28\00:35:18.31
These are actual stats.
00:35:18.41\00:35:19.08
We have
00:35:19.18\00:35:20.52
the paperwork to back it up.
00:35:20.62\00:35:21.72
Let me just briefly run through
00:35:21.82\00:35:22.78
this here for how
00:35:22.88\00:35:24.32
Pioneer Media is received in the
00:35:24.42\00:35:25.79
broader world.
00:35:25.89\00:35:27.32
Our website, pmchurch.org,
00:35:27.42\00:35:28.82
Pioneer Media
00:35:28.92\00:35:29.52
is in charge of that.
00:35:29.62\00:35:30.76
Over the last year, we had
00:35:30.86\00:35:31.83
1.4 million minutes watched.
00:35:31.93\00:35:34.13
Have you done
00:35:34.23\00:35:35.53
1.4 million minutes of anything?
00:35:35.63\00:35:36.40
I don't know if
00:35:36.50\00:35:37.57
I've ever sat down to --
00:35:37.67\00:35:38.60
That's a lot of minutes.
00:35:38.70\00:35:39.73
That's tens of thousands
00:35:39.83\00:35:40.54
of hours.
00:35:40.64\00:35:41.64
30,000 stream views,
00:35:41.74\00:35:43.04
12,000 unique viewers.
00:35:43.14\00:35:44.51
Facebook -- now, we've been
00:35:44.61\00:35:45.24
working on
00:35:45.34\00:35:46.07
trying to boost
00:35:46.17\00:35:47.14
our Facebook presence.
00:35:47.24\00:35:48.38
1.2 million minutes
00:35:48.48\00:35:50.05
watched over the last year.
00:35:50.15\00:35:51.58
Our reach is about 210,000
00:35:51.68\00:35:53.31
users, and we had 25,000
00:35:53.42\00:35:55.62
content interactions.
00:35:55.72\00:35:57.35
Now, that's what you're looking
00:35:57.45\00:35:58.02
for on social media.
00:35:58.12\00:35:59.32
You want people to interact.
00:35:59.42\00:36:00.36
You want them to comment.
00:36:00.46\00:36:01.29
You want them to like, etcetera,
00:36:01.39\00:36:02.42
those kinds of things,
00:36:02.52\00:36:03.69
to share your content.
00:36:03.79\00:36:04.39
25,000 of those
00:36:04.49\00:36:05.43
over the last year.
00:36:05.53\00:36:06.83
Vimeo is a platform we've
00:36:06.93\00:36:08.06
been on for quite some time.
00:36:08.16\00:36:09.10
2.1 million minutes
00:36:09.20\00:36:10.90
watched over the last year,
00:36:11.00\00:36:12.10
5,700 unique viewers.
00:36:12.20\00:36:14.30
New this year is putting
00:36:14.40\00:36:16.17
our livestream on YouTube.
00:36:16.27\00:36:17.37
Some of you watching right now
00:36:17.47\00:36:18.41
are probably watching
00:36:18.51\00:36:19.24
on YouTube.
00:36:19.34\00:36:21.01
We had some things on YouTube
00:36:21.11\00:36:22.08
before for many years, actually.
00:36:22.18\00:36:23.58
This is the first year that
00:36:23.68\00:36:24.51
we put our livestream on it.
00:36:24.61\00:36:26.88
How did we do in the first year?
00:36:26.98\00:36:28.42
Not bad -- 300,000 views,
00:36:28.52\00:36:31.99
5,000,000 minutes watched,
00:36:32.09\00:36:35.19
and just in the last 90 days,
00:36:35.29\00:36:36.89
18,000 unique viewers.
00:36:36.99\00:36:39.09
That's good.
00:36:39.19\00:36:40.06
Those are strong numbers.
00:36:40.16\00:36:42.06
You know, Instagram.
00:36:42.16\00:36:43.50
Instagram is one that really
00:36:43.60\00:36:44.67
just we've had it for a couple
00:36:44.77\00:36:46.40
of years is my understanding.
00:36:46.50\00:36:47.30
We really tried to focus
00:36:47.40\00:36:48.37
this year on seeing
00:36:48.47\00:36:49.27
how we could boost Instagram.
00:36:49.37\00:36:50.54
There's a lot of Instagram users
00:36:50.64\00:36:51.94
in the world, right?
00:36:52.04\00:36:53.81
We have right now our reach
00:36:53.91\00:36:55.08
is about 1.1 million users.
00:36:55.18\00:36:57.61
It's not, you know, compared
00:36:57.71\00:36:58.88
to some others out there,
00:36:58.98\00:36:59.68
maybe it's not the biggest,
00:36:59.78\00:37:00.52
but this is substantial --
00:37:00.62\00:37:01.58
1.1 million users.
00:37:01.68\00:37:03.25
And let me just give you one
00:37:03.35\00:37:04.12
example of how social media
00:37:04.22\00:37:05.32
can help to spread
00:37:05.42\00:37:06.82
the good news of Jesus Christ
00:37:06.92\00:37:07.92
and biblical teaching.
00:37:08.02\00:37:09.82
Pioneer Media last fall
00:37:09.92\00:37:11.89
put together
00:37:11.99\00:37:12.63
a high-quality short clip
00:37:12.73\00:37:14.20
from one of my marriage series
00:37:14.30\00:37:15.13
presentations
00:37:15.23\00:37:16.53
that I did last October.
00:37:16.63\00:37:18.20
Some of you may remember that.
00:37:18.30\00:37:18.90
It was called
00:37:19.00\00:37:20.07
"How to Stay Married Forever
00:37:20.17\00:37:20.97
and Like It."
00:37:21.07\00:37:22.07
It was a three-part series,
00:37:22.17\00:37:23.61
and the Pioneer Media team said,
00:37:23.71\00:37:24.47
"Okay, let's do
00:37:24.57\00:37:25.51
some experimentation here.
00:37:25.61\00:37:26.57
We'll put this short together,
00:37:26.68\00:37:27.51
just one, and we'll put it on
00:37:27.61\00:37:28.84
Instagram."
00:37:28.94\00:37:30.18
I was at a holiday party,
00:37:30.28\00:37:32.25
and it was a lot
00:37:32.35\00:37:33.88
of Andrews University
00:37:33.98\00:37:34.98
students that were there.
00:37:35.08\00:37:36.25
And one of the students
00:37:36.35\00:37:37.05
said to me.
00:37:37.15\00:37:38.35
He said, "Hey, Pastor Shane,
00:37:38.45\00:37:39.29
you went viral with that clip."
00:37:39.39\00:37:40.19
And I actually didn't know
00:37:40.29\00:37:40.86
that it had
00:37:40.96\00:37:41.96
been published at that point.
00:37:42.06\00:37:42.79
I said, "Oh, really?"
00:37:42.89\00:37:43.73
He said, "Oh yeah, it's got like
00:37:43.83\00:37:44.43
half a million views
00:37:44.53\00:37:45.13
or something like that."
00:37:45.23\00:37:45.79
"Really? Wow.
00:37:45.89\00:37:46.86
That's good news."
00:37:46.96\00:37:47.83
As it turns out,
00:37:47.93\00:37:48.93
the student was wrong.
00:37:49.03\00:37:50.93
It was actually a million views.
00:37:51.03\00:37:52.83
And today I think the last count
00:37:52.93\00:37:54.57
was 1.6 million views,
00:37:54.67\00:37:57.24
60,000 likes, 480 comments.
00:37:57.34\00:38:00.61
That's gold,
00:38:00.71\00:38:01.51
ladies and gentlemen,
00:38:01.61\00:38:02.74
because that means people
00:38:02.84\00:38:03.51
are engaging with the clip.
00:38:03.61\00:38:04.58
It's not just,
00:38:04.68\00:38:05.28
you know, a millisecond,
00:38:05.38\00:38:06.15
and they go to the next one.
00:38:06.25\00:38:07.02
They are engaging
00:38:07.12\00:38:07.95
with the material there.
00:38:08.05\00:38:08.82
There are 480 comments,
00:38:08.92\00:38:09.98
38,000 saves, and 48,000 shares.
00:38:10.09\00:38:13.66
In fact, that one clip alone
00:38:13.76\00:38:14.79
gave a real boost
00:38:14.89\00:38:15.76
to our Instagram followership.
00:38:15.86\00:38:17.13
We added over 5,500 followers
00:38:17.23\00:38:19.89
in the space of the next month.
00:38:20.00\00:38:22.96
Some people think that
00:38:23.06\00:38:24.43
you can't use social media
00:38:24.53\00:38:25.77
to spread the Gospel.
00:38:25.87\00:38:26.53
Ladies and gentlemen,
00:38:26.63\00:38:27.40
it's just not true.
00:38:27.50\00:38:29.74
You know, the demographic
00:38:29.84\00:38:30.97
that viewed that video
00:38:31.07\00:38:32.47
overwhelmingly, overwhelmingly
00:38:32.57\00:38:33.94
is young adults.
00:38:34.04\00:38:35.64
Overwhelmingly, yes.
00:38:35.74\00:38:36.41
Praise the Lord. Amen.
00:38:36.51\00:38:37.25
That's what
00:38:37.35\00:38:38.11
we're looking to do here.
00:38:38.21\00:38:38.81
And here's where
00:38:38.91\00:38:40.08
perhaps the deepest gold of all.
00:38:40.18\00:38:40.82
This number is going
00:38:40.92\00:38:41.98
to sound a little small,
00:38:42.08\00:38:42.75
perhaps to some of you,
00:38:42.85\00:38:43.69
compared to the hundreds
00:38:43.79\00:38:44.49
of thousands
00:38:44.59\00:38:45.49
and millions we mentioned.
00:38:45.59\00:38:46.35
But I'll tell you.
00:38:46.45\00:38:47.29
This is solid.
00:38:47.39\00:38:48.56
234 people so far have asked for
00:38:48.66\00:38:51.13
and received the link to the
00:38:51.23\00:38:53.13
entire marriage presentation.
00:38:53.23\00:38:55.30
Okay,
00:38:55.40\00:38:56.63
that's what you want to do.
00:38:56.73\00:38:57.53
You want to matriculate them
00:38:57.63\00:38:58.53
from social media from these
00:38:58.63\00:38:59.60
short clips onto your website
00:38:59.70\00:39:01.04
so they can get the full
00:39:01.14\00:39:01.90
experience of what happened,
00:39:02.00\00:39:03.04
what the presentation was.
00:39:03.14\00:39:04.01
Praise the Lord
00:39:04.11\00:39:04.67
for those 234 people.
00:39:04.77\00:39:06.47
But wait. There's more!
00:39:06.57\00:39:11.18
Our services are also
00:39:11.28\00:39:12.41
broadcast and rebroadcast
00:39:12.51\00:39:13.58
all over the world
00:39:13.68\00:39:14.42
through such outlets as, and
00:39:14.52\00:39:15.88
these are in alphabetical order,
00:39:15.98\00:39:17.39
3ABN, Better Life Broadcasting,
00:39:17.49\00:39:19.79
Blue Mountain Television,
00:39:19.89\00:39:20.59
Hope Channel,
00:39:20.69\00:39:21.62
which broadcasts in places
00:39:21.72\00:39:22.76
such as India, Canada, Africa,
00:39:22.86\00:39:24.09
Fiji, Romania, North America.
00:39:24.19\00:39:25.83
It Is Written TV, radio station
00:39:25.93\00:39:27.66
KLRF, radio station LSQD,
00:39:27.76\00:39:30.23
LifeTalk Radio,
00:39:30.33\00:39:32.20
ShareHope Radio,
00:39:32.30\00:39:33.44
our own WAUS, of course.
00:39:33.54\00:39:35.64
And our services are sometimes
00:39:35.74\00:39:36.64
also broadcast
00:39:36.74\00:39:37.94
on Greenville College Station in
00:39:38.04\00:39:39.34
Texas and Whitewater
00:39:39.44\00:39:41.21
Community Television, WCTV,
00:39:41.31\00:39:42.91
in Richmond, Indiana.
00:39:43.01\00:39:44.48
Many of these places also have
00:39:44.58\00:39:46.08
their own proprietary apps
00:39:46.18\00:39:47.32
on which you can access
00:39:47.42\00:39:48.52
Pioneer Media material.
00:39:48.62\00:39:50.09
And because of this,
00:39:50.19\00:39:51.45
because of this,
00:39:51.55\00:39:52.95
people quite literally
00:39:53.05\00:39:53.99
from across the country
00:39:54.09\00:39:55.16
and around the world tune
00:39:55.26\00:39:56.86
into our worship services.
00:39:56.96\00:39:59.49
I mean, just one example
00:39:59.59\00:40:00.66
of this multinational audience
00:40:00.76\00:40:01.50
out there.
00:40:01.60\00:40:02.70
60% of our Instagram followers
00:40:02.80\00:40:04.73
are not in the United States,
00:40:04.83\00:40:06.70
60%!
00:40:06.80\00:40:08.14
They're from countries
00:40:08.24\00:40:08.80
like India, Nigeria,
00:40:08.90\00:40:09.97
etcetera, etcetera.
00:40:10.07\00:40:11.81
Some of our viewers are,
00:40:11.91\00:40:12.94
of course, already Seventh-day
00:40:13.04\00:40:13.98
Adventists,
00:40:14.08\00:40:15.44
but many of them are not.
00:40:15.54\00:40:17.45
In fact, many of them are not
00:40:17.55\00:40:18.71
Christians of any sort.
00:40:18.81\00:40:19.68
They have no church family
00:40:19.78\00:40:20.72
to speak of, but they found us
00:40:20.82\00:40:22.15
through an online search,
00:40:22.25\00:40:23.02
a share,
00:40:23.12\00:40:23.79
a friend sent them a link
00:40:23.89\00:40:24.85
or something like that.
00:40:24.95\00:40:26.32
And it is through Pioneer Media
00:40:26.42\00:40:28.09
that many of them hear about
00:40:28.19\00:40:29.66
Jesus for the first time.
00:40:29.76\00:40:32.09
They hear about Bible prophecy
00:40:32.19\00:40:33.26
for the first time,
00:40:33.36\00:40:34.20
the three angels' messages
00:40:34.30\00:40:35.20
for the first time.
00:40:35.30\00:40:37.43
I got to tell you, every week
00:40:37.53\00:40:38.53
we receive, you know, mail
00:40:38.63\00:40:39.83
and e-mail and phone messages
00:40:39.93\00:40:41.44
that say how pleased people are,
00:40:41.54\00:40:43.07
the blessing that Pioneer Media
00:40:43.17\00:40:44.47
has been to them.
00:40:44.57\00:40:45.97
What a privilege!
00:40:46.07\00:40:47.71
What a privilege we here
00:40:47.81\00:40:49.08
at Pioneer have in not
00:40:49.18\00:40:51.21
just sharing the Gospel
00:40:51.31\00:40:52.35
with Berrien Springs,
00:40:52.45\00:40:53.25
but with the world!
00:40:53.35\00:40:57.65
Would you consider
00:40:57.75\00:40:58.75
joining us in supporting
00:40:58.85\00:41:00.89
this important ministry?
00:41:00.99\00:41:02.76
Those of us here
00:41:02.86\00:41:03.79
in our local congregation,
00:41:03.89\00:41:05.19
yes, this invitation is to you.
00:41:05.29\00:41:06.53
Those of you
00:41:06.63\00:41:07.30
that are watching us online,
00:41:07.40\00:41:08.40
yes, this invitation is to you.
00:41:08.50\00:41:09.50
You know, the budget
00:41:09.60\00:41:11.43
for Pioneer Media,
00:41:11.53\00:41:12.53
depending on the year,
00:41:12.63\00:41:13.57
only about a third to a half
00:41:13.67\00:41:15.30
of it comes from within Pioneer.
00:41:15.40\00:41:16.84
There are still
00:41:16.94\00:41:18.07
hundreds of thousands of dollars
00:41:18.17\00:41:19.04
that are needed beyond that,
00:41:19.14\00:41:20.38
in order to have Pioneer Media
00:41:20.48\00:41:21.68
be able to do what it does.
00:41:21.78\00:41:23.78
You know, we do an amazing
00:41:23.88\00:41:24.81
amount on very little coin.
00:41:24.91\00:41:26.31
We make every one of those
00:41:26.41\00:41:27.25
dollars stretch.
00:41:27.35\00:41:28.85
We've got three full-time
00:41:28.95\00:41:29.78
employees that help to make
00:41:29.88\00:41:30.75
Pioneer Media run.
00:41:30.85\00:41:32.12
They're doing a great job.
00:41:32.22\00:41:33.22
We have this small army
00:41:33.32\00:41:34.19
of volunteers that
00:41:34.29\00:41:35.76
run cameras and switch switchers
00:41:35.86\00:41:36.99
and advance slides
00:41:37.09\00:41:37.83
and mix lighting
00:41:37.93\00:41:38.66
and sound and all of that.
00:41:38.76\00:41:39.69
They do an excellent job
00:41:39.79\00:41:40.86
of getting the word out about
00:41:40.96\00:41:42.16
Jesus to the world, and we need
00:41:42.26\00:41:43.93
your support to make it happen.
00:41:44.03\00:41:45.87
Giving is very easy.
00:41:45.97\00:41:47.24
You go to pmchurch.org.
00:41:47.34\00:41:48.44
That's our website,
00:41:48.54\00:41:49.07
pmchurch.org.
00:41:49.17\00:41:50.51
Click on the "giving" tab up top
00:41:50.61\00:41:52.34
and then click on
00:41:52.44\00:41:53.07
"media ministry,"
00:41:53.17\00:41:54.04
and you'll see the instructions
00:41:54.14\00:41:55.01
needed to be able to donate.
00:41:55.11\00:41:56.64
Together, together we can
00:41:56.75\00:41:59.48
and will do our part
00:41:59.58\00:42:01.42
to reach the world for Jesus
00:42:01.52\00:42:02.98
before He returns.
00:42:03.08\00:42:06.15
So, church, budget giving
00:42:06.25\00:42:08.29
and supporting Pioneer Media --
00:42:08.39\00:42:09.22
two very tangible ways
00:42:09.32\00:42:11.09
that we can fund the mission,
00:42:11.19\00:42:14.36
which brings us to a fourth
00:42:14.46\00:42:16.26
and final priority.
00:42:16.36\00:42:18.77
And I've saved the best,
00:42:18.87\00:42:20.47
I think, for last.
00:42:20.57\00:42:24.47
A story...
00:42:24.57\00:42:27.74
Many years ago, when Darlene
00:42:27.84\00:42:29.84
was only my girlfriend
00:42:29.94\00:42:31.28
and not yet my wife,
00:42:31.38\00:42:33.58
we both worked at Sunset Lake
00:42:33.68\00:42:34.38
Summer Camp, and it was
00:42:34.48\00:42:36.42
the end of the season.
00:42:36.52\00:42:37.39
We were both driving our cars
00:42:37.49\00:42:38.62
down the mountain
00:42:38.72\00:42:39.25
to head back to home
00:42:39.35\00:42:40.26
and get ready for college.
00:42:40.36\00:42:41.82
She was in her 1981
00:42:41.92\00:42:43.93
Ford Escort, one of the worst
00:42:44.03\00:42:46.03
vehicles ever conceived by man.
00:42:46.13\00:42:49.23
It was an absolute wheezer.
00:42:49.33\00:42:50.17
There were
00:42:50.27\00:42:51.07
two hamsters for an engine.
00:42:51.17\00:42:52.53
One of them was sick, and the
00:42:52.63\00:42:53.37
other one was dead, okay?
00:42:53.47\00:42:55.24
You could not get anywhere
00:42:55.34\00:42:56.40
quickly in that vehicle.
00:42:56.50\00:42:57.61
I did not like working on it.
00:42:57.71\00:42:58.91
I was glad when we sold it.
00:42:59.01\00:43:00.94
Maybe we pushed it off the edge
00:43:01.04\00:43:01.71
of a cliff.
00:43:01.81\00:43:02.48
I don't remember.
00:43:02.58\00:43:03.68
I was driving, however, a fine
00:43:03.78\00:43:05.48
machine, my 1971 Datsun 240Z,
00:43:05.58\00:43:08.88
and, I mean, agile, lithe.
00:43:08.98\00:43:11.22
It was a great car.
00:43:11.32\00:43:12.55
And so, she's in front.
00:43:12.65\00:43:13.69
I'm behind.
00:43:13.79\00:43:14.42
We're going down through
00:43:14.52\00:43:15.22
a little town
00:43:15.32\00:43:16.66
called Bonney Lake, Washington.
00:43:16.76\00:43:17.79
Now, where
00:43:17.89\00:43:18.89
this story takes place,
00:43:18.99\00:43:19.96
since then,
00:43:20.06\00:43:21.10
there's lots of shopping malls
00:43:21.20\00:43:22.06
and all this building, etcetera
00:43:22.16\00:43:23.20
has come up.
00:43:23.30\00:43:23.83
In those days,
00:43:23.93\00:43:25.03
it was still fairly country.
00:43:25.13\00:43:25.97
We came to this stoplight,
00:43:26.07\00:43:28.10
and we were approaching it.
00:43:28.20\00:43:29.30
I don't know, maybe we're,
00:43:29.40\00:43:30.17
you know, 800 feet away, doing
00:43:30.27\00:43:31.67
about 40, 45 miles an hour.
00:43:31.77\00:43:33.81
And the light turns yellow.
00:43:33.91\00:43:36.88
Now, easy question.
00:43:36.98\00:43:39.21
What does that mean when
00:43:39.31\00:43:40.28
the light turns yellow?
00:43:40.38\00:43:42.52
[ Laughs ]
00:43:42.62\00:43:46.45
A bunch of Adventist lead feet.
00:43:46.55\00:43:48.09
"Speed up! That's right.
00:43:48.19\00:43:49.52
Downshift. Gun it!"
00:43:49.62\00:43:50.69
So, my wife,
00:43:50.79\00:43:53.06
she sees the light.
00:43:53.16\00:43:54.20
My girlfriend at the time,
00:43:54.30\00:43:54.73
Darlene.
00:43:54.83\00:43:55.53
She sees the light.
00:43:55.63\00:43:56.50
She presses on the brake.
00:43:56.60\00:43:57.53
The brake lights come on.
00:43:57.63\00:43:58.47
I am behind her.
00:43:58.57\00:43:59.60
So, I thought, "Ah, she's going
00:43:59.70\00:44:00.94
to stop for the stoplight."
00:44:01.04\00:44:02.54
So, I put the brakes on
00:44:02.64\00:44:03.47
in my car, too.
00:44:03.57\00:44:05.77
And then I look up again, and
00:44:05.87\00:44:06.91
her brake lights have gone off.
00:44:07.01\00:44:09.51
She's going to make
00:44:09.61\00:44:10.61
a run for it, right?
00:44:10.71\00:44:12.45
So, I take my foot off my brake,
00:44:12.55\00:44:14.08
and I push on the gas.
00:44:14.18\00:44:16.38
And then, being a 1971
00:44:16.48\00:44:18.49
Datsun 240Z,
00:44:18.59\00:44:19.75
there are some things
00:44:19.85\00:44:20.66
that you just have
00:44:20.76\00:44:21.46
to regularly keep tabs on.
00:44:21.56\00:44:22.29
So, I looked down
00:44:22.39\00:44:22.96
at the oil gauge
00:44:23.06\00:44:24.06
just as a matter of course.
00:44:24.16\00:44:25.69
Looking down at the oil gauge.
00:44:25.79\00:44:27.66
And when I looked up,
00:44:27.76\00:44:29.20
her brake lights were on,
00:44:29.30\00:44:32.30
and they were on like this on,
00:44:32.40\00:44:33.50
okay?
00:44:33.60\00:44:34.87
So, the back end
00:44:34.97\00:44:35.80
of this very softly
00:44:35.90\00:44:36.77
sprung 1981 Ford Escort
00:44:36.87\00:44:38.14
was like this, stinkbug
00:44:38.24\00:44:39.27
fashion, right?
00:44:39.37\00:44:40.28
She is slamming on her brakes.
00:44:40.38\00:44:41.64
Aah! And I put my foot
00:44:41.74\00:44:42.81
on the brakes there.
00:44:42.91\00:44:43.71
The front brakes lock up,
00:44:43.81\00:44:44.48
and I slide
00:44:44.58\00:44:45.31
right into the back of her.
00:44:45.41\00:44:48.38
[ Sighs ]
00:44:48.48\00:44:50.52
I get out of the car.
00:44:50.62\00:44:52.69
There's steam rising from my
00:44:52.79\00:44:53.89
very crumpled hood and fenders.
00:44:53.99\00:44:55.56
The back of her car is
00:44:55.66\00:44:56.59
kind of folded under like this.
00:44:56.69\00:44:58.03
Okay?
00:44:58.13\00:45:00.30
The rear fenders are bulging out
00:45:00.40\00:45:01.40
a little bit, and I get...
00:45:01.50\00:45:01.93
[ Groans ]
00:45:02.03\00:45:03.47
And, of course, you know,
00:45:03.57\00:45:05.53
these were different times.
00:45:05.63\00:45:07.30
I began to give a little lecture
00:45:07.40\00:45:08.30
about how one should go
00:45:08.40\00:45:09.27
through an intersection,
00:45:09.37\00:45:10.24
you know, just communicating
00:45:10.34\00:45:11.41
my poignant thoughts
00:45:11.51\00:45:13.04
at that point, right?
00:45:13.14\00:45:14.44
And long story short, we pulled
00:45:14.54\00:45:17.01
the cars off to the side.
00:45:17.11\00:45:18.21
Mine was still drivable enough.
00:45:18.31\00:45:19.15
And, you know, there's water
00:45:19.25\00:45:20.12
all over the ground,
00:45:20.22\00:45:21.02
antifreeze, etcetera.
00:45:21.12\00:45:22.32
And we spent the next
00:45:22.42\00:45:23.89
2 1/2 hours or so by the side of
00:45:23.99\00:45:25.09
the road.
00:45:25.19\00:45:25.85
I'm trying to fix the holes
00:45:25.95\00:45:26.92
with what I have and getting
00:45:27.02\00:45:28.06
some water back in the radiator
00:45:28.16\00:45:29.02
so we can drive home.
00:45:29.12\00:45:30.33
The highway patrol shows up.
00:45:30.43\00:45:32.46
He thought it was really amusing
00:45:32.56\00:45:33.83
that we were dating.
00:45:33.93\00:45:34.96
[ Laughter ]
00:45:35.06\00:45:36.87
"Oh, you two are together. Ha!"
00:45:36.97\00:45:37.93
You know, "That's right."
00:45:38.03\00:45:39.63
And then he gives a lecture.
00:45:39.73\00:45:40.57
He doesn't give me a ticket,
00:45:40.67\00:45:41.60
right?
00:45:41.70\00:45:42.64
Usually the person
00:45:42.74\00:45:43.74
that runs, you get the ticket.
00:45:43.84\00:45:44.67
He doesn't give me a ticket.
00:45:44.77\00:45:45.71
He gives her a lecture.
00:45:45.81\00:45:47.44
Yeah.
00:45:47.54\00:45:48.78
She's forgiven him, but it's
00:45:48.88\00:45:49.64
still kind of a sore point.
00:45:49.74\00:45:50.68
So, after the service, you may
00:45:50.78\00:45:51.71
want to go lightly on that one.
00:45:51.81\00:45:52.58
All right?
00:45:52.68\00:45:54.32
So, he gives her this lecture,
00:45:54.42\00:45:54.85
right?
00:45:54.95\00:45:56.28
And, you know, we get things
00:45:56.38\00:45:57.42
back together enough,
00:45:57.52\00:45:58.39
and we make it home.
00:45:58.49\00:46:00.16
Here's the thing.
00:46:00.26\00:46:01.42
Months later, months later,
00:46:01.52\00:46:06.06
I am underneath my 240Z,
00:46:06.16\00:46:08.80
as I often was,
00:46:08.90\00:46:10.53
and I took off the rear
00:46:10.63\00:46:13.03
drums on the rear brakes,
00:46:13.13\00:46:14.34
and I looked at the brake shoes
00:46:14.44\00:46:15.44
there and they looked brand-new.
00:46:15.54\00:46:17.54
I thought, "Well, that's
00:46:17.64\00:46:18.54
strange.
00:46:18.64\00:46:19.57
I replaced those months ago."
00:46:19.67\00:46:22.18
And then it's like this
00:46:22.28\00:46:23.88
epiphany came over me.
00:46:23.98\00:46:25.68
No, no, no. Could it...
00:46:25.78\00:46:28.22
Oh, no!
00:46:28.32\00:46:32.02
So, before the accident,
00:46:32.12\00:46:33.99
I had been working on my car,
00:46:34.09\00:46:35.92
and I replaced all the brakes,
00:46:36.02\00:46:37.56
all four corners, brand-new.
00:46:37.66\00:46:41.23
And when you put new brakes
00:46:41.33\00:46:43.20
on most cars of that vintage,
00:46:43.30\00:46:44.53
when you put new brakes on,
00:46:44.63\00:46:45.50
after you put the drum on,
00:46:45.60\00:46:46.33
you have to adjust them
00:46:46.43\00:46:47.20
so that when you push
00:46:47.30\00:46:48.27
on the brake pedal,
00:46:48.37\00:46:49.27
they'll actually contact
00:46:49.37\00:46:50.01
the drum.
00:46:50.11\00:46:51.77
I had forgotten to adjust
00:46:51.87\00:46:55.04
the rear brakes at all,
00:46:55.14\00:46:58.18
so when I slammed on the brakes
00:46:58.28\00:47:00.48
at the intersection,
00:47:00.58\00:47:01.88
the fronts were the only ones
00:47:01.98\00:47:03.39
getting any pressure.
00:47:03.49\00:47:04.79
They locked right up, and I slid
00:47:04.89\00:47:06.52
smack into the back of Darlene.
00:47:06.62\00:47:09.59
It wasn't her fault.
00:47:09.69\00:47:11.16
It was mine...
00:47:11.26\00:47:14.83
a pattern that was to be
00:47:14.93\00:47:15.80
repeated many times
00:47:15.90\00:47:16.77
in our relationship.
00:47:16.87\00:47:17.87
[ Laughter ]
00:47:17.97\00:47:20.14
You see, you can seemingly do
00:47:22.47\00:47:25.17
everything else right,
00:47:25.27\00:47:28.81
but skipping one key step
00:47:28.91\00:47:31.55
can quickly turn success
00:47:31.65\00:47:33.65
into failure.
00:47:33.75\00:47:37.69
A fourth
00:47:37.79\00:47:40.02
and most important priority,
00:47:40.12\00:47:41.56
the one that I believe
00:47:41.66\00:47:42.79
needs to be adopted
00:47:42.89\00:47:43.83
by Pioneer, and, frankly,
00:47:43.93\00:47:45.26
by every other church out there,
00:47:45.36\00:47:47.23
it's one that we've already
00:47:47.30\00:47:48.20
talked about, one that ties
00:47:48.30\00:47:49.40
all the others together.
00:47:49.50\00:47:50.93
It is simply this.
00:47:51.03\00:47:53.34
Relentlessly
00:47:53.44\00:47:55.24
pursue revival and reformation.
00:47:55.34\00:47:59.24
Never give up. Never stop.
00:47:59.34\00:48:01.24
Keep pursuing revival
00:48:01.34\00:48:03.18
and reformation
00:48:03.28\00:48:06.01
because we can do all the other
00:48:06.11\00:48:07.58
priorities that we have.
00:48:07.68\00:48:08.48
We can seemingly
00:48:08.58\00:48:09.22
do them perfect.
00:48:09.32\00:48:10.92
But if we don't have the
00:48:11.02\00:48:12.52
Holy Spirit within, transforming
00:48:12.62\00:48:13.76
and empowering and leading us,
00:48:13.86\00:48:15.46
we cannot succeed
00:48:15.56\00:48:16.89
in this greatest intersection
00:48:16.99\00:48:18.26
here at the end of time.
00:48:18.36\00:48:20.53
Now, again,
00:48:20.63\00:48:21.50
we've talked about this before,
00:48:21.60\00:48:22.83
but this time I want to share
00:48:22.93\00:48:23.77
with you a new development.
00:48:23.87\00:48:26.10
While it is definitely
00:48:26.20\00:48:27.37
the Lord's desire that we ask
00:48:27.47\00:48:28.74
individually for the filling
00:48:28.84\00:48:29.84
and the transformation
00:48:29.94\00:48:30.74
of the Holy Spirit
00:48:30.84\00:48:31.47
each day, individually
00:48:31.57\00:48:32.54
in our own time with God,
00:48:32.64\00:48:33.74
there also comes a point
00:48:33.84\00:48:35.14
when it is absolutely crucial
00:48:35.24\00:48:36.51
that we join together
00:48:36.61\00:48:38.31
in praying for and planning
00:48:38.41\00:48:40.25
for those great corporate
00:48:40.35\00:48:41.58
outpourings of God's Spirit.
00:48:41.68\00:48:43.69
And to that end,
00:48:43.79\00:48:44.92
in March of 2025,
00:48:45.02\00:48:46.82
we are going to have
00:48:46.92\00:48:48.12
a very special event here
00:48:48.22\00:48:49.79
at Pioneer that I think
00:48:49.89\00:48:51.36
you will not want to miss.
00:48:51.46\00:48:53.33
March 1 through 9, 2025,
00:48:53.43\00:48:55.96
that's just before spring break.
00:48:56.06\00:48:57.07
March 1 through 9 -- put it
00:48:57.17\00:48:58.17
on your calendars, please.
00:48:58.27\00:48:59.80
March 1 through 9, 2025,
00:48:59.90\00:49:02.24
Pioneer will be hosting a very
00:49:02.34\00:49:03.41
special series of meetings
00:49:03.51\00:49:05.04
learning about revival
00:49:05.14\00:49:06.11
and reformation,
00:49:06.21\00:49:07.21
praying for the filling
00:49:07.31\00:49:08.54
of the Former and Latter Rains
00:49:08.64\00:49:09.78
of the Holy Spirit.
00:49:09.88\00:49:11.55
Now, Don MacLafferty,
00:49:11.65\00:49:13.01
many of you know Don.
00:49:13.11\00:49:14.42
Don is a treasure
00:49:14.52\00:49:15.15
in the Adventist Church.
00:49:15.25\00:49:16.28
He's most known in his earlier
00:49:16.38\00:49:17.35
part of his career
00:49:17.45\00:49:18.12
for his excellent work
00:49:18.22\00:49:20.42
with children's ministries.
00:49:20.52\00:49:21.09
I mean,
00:49:21.19\00:49:22.16
Don was the guru for many years
00:49:22.26\00:49:23.16
that you would go to for help
00:49:23.26\00:49:24.09
with children's ministries.
00:49:24.19\00:49:25.33
Recently, Don has done
00:49:25.43\00:49:26.96
some tremendous work in the area
00:49:27.03\00:49:28.86
of revival and reformation.
00:49:28.96\00:49:30.73
The book that's available
00:49:30.83\00:49:31.63
for you at the door
00:49:31.73\00:49:32.27
when you go through,
00:49:32.37\00:49:33.27
that's just a sample of how
00:49:33.37\00:49:34.20
the Lord has been leading
00:49:34.30\00:49:34.90
in his life.
00:49:35.00\00:49:36.60
And Don's going to be the main
00:49:36.71\00:49:37.54
instructor during those days,
00:49:37.64\00:49:39.11
March 1 through 9 of 2025.
00:49:39.21\00:49:41.48
There's basically going to be
00:49:41.58\00:49:42.14
two tracks
00:49:42.24\00:49:43.35
that you can take advantage of.
00:49:43.45\00:49:45.11
The first one is that there
00:49:45.21\00:49:46.31
will be meetings in the morning
00:49:46.41\00:49:47.32
and the afternoon.
00:49:47.42\00:49:48.35
Anyone is welcome
00:49:48.45\00:49:49.05
to attend those.
00:49:49.15\00:49:49.85
They will be specifically
00:49:49.95\00:49:51.02
targeted for pastors and elders
00:49:51.12\00:49:52.79
in the Lake Union
00:49:52.89\00:49:53.99
that wish to learn
00:49:54.09\00:49:54.86
how to facilitate revival
00:49:54.96\00:49:56.29
and reformation in their area.
00:49:56.39\00:49:58.03
I'm very grateful
00:49:58.13\00:49:58.93
to the Lake Union
00:49:59.03\00:50:00.03
and the North American Division
00:50:00.13\00:50:00.93
for helping to fund
00:50:01.00\00:50:02.13
this very special event.
00:50:02.23\00:50:03.23
Thank you for helping make it
00:50:03.33\00:50:04.17
possible for those pastors
00:50:04.27\00:50:05.03
and elders
00:50:05.13\00:50:05.93
to be able to be here.
00:50:06.03\00:50:07.64
And the second track, there will
00:50:07.74\00:50:09.04
be meetings in the evening,
00:50:09.14\00:50:10.31
each one of those evenings.
00:50:10.41\00:50:11.34
Obviously, that's going to fit
00:50:11.44\00:50:12.14
most of your schedules
00:50:12.24\00:50:12.91
a little bit better.
00:50:13.01\00:50:14.08
We want you to be able to come
00:50:14.18\00:50:15.51
and to hear this teaching.
00:50:15.61\00:50:16.91
Any District 9 church is
00:50:17.01\00:50:18.15
going to be welcome to join us
00:50:18.25\00:50:20.18
that wishes to learn how to
00:50:20.28\00:50:21.25
facilitate revival and
00:50:21.35\00:50:22.72
reformation in their own lives
00:50:22.82\00:50:24.05
and in their churches.
00:50:24.15\00:50:25.75
And to prepare for this special
00:50:25.85\00:50:27.12
event, beginning next month,
00:50:27.22\00:50:29.56
our own local elders
00:50:29.66\00:50:31.26
and a handful of invited leaders
00:50:31.36\00:50:33.06
are going to be meeting together
00:50:33.16\00:50:34.36
to go through this material
00:50:34.46\00:50:35.33
ahead of time
00:50:35.43\00:50:36.40
so that they can help
00:50:36.50\00:50:37.40
be teachers and leaders
00:50:37.50\00:50:39.23
in the March 1 through 9, 2025,
00:50:39.33\00:50:40.90
effort.
00:50:41.00\00:50:42.44
You're going to be hearing
00:50:42.54\00:50:43.51
more about this in the days
00:50:43.61\00:50:44.47
ahead as the schedule
00:50:44.57\00:50:45.37
continues to flesh out.
00:50:45.47\00:50:46.44
We'll have more details for you,
00:50:46.54\00:50:47.58
but until then, please join me
00:50:47.68\00:50:49.78
in praying that God
00:50:49.88\00:50:51.38
will pour out His Spirit
00:50:51.48\00:50:52.78
on our humble efforts
00:50:52.88\00:50:54.22
to see revival and reformation
00:50:54.32\00:50:55.92
in our lives
00:50:56.02\00:50:57.12
and in the lives
00:50:57.22\00:50:57.95
of our churches.
00:50:58.05\00:50:59.79
I mean, you tell me.
00:50:59.89\00:51:01.36
Haven't we been on the planet
00:51:01.46\00:51:02.79
long enough?
00:51:02.89\00:51:04.79
Yes! I want to go home.
00:51:04.89\00:51:07.50
I don't want to be here any
00:51:07.60\00:51:08.33
longer.
00:51:08.43\00:51:09.93
It is time to sharpen
00:51:10.03\00:51:11.93
our swords.
00:51:12.03\00:51:14.17
Yes, to bridge the gap
00:51:14.27\00:51:15.20
to our students,
00:51:15.30\00:51:15.97
to deepen our ties with each
00:51:16.07\00:51:17.27
other, to fund the mission,
00:51:17.37\00:51:18.47
and, yes, to relentlessly pursue
00:51:18.57\00:51:19.81
revival and reformation.
00:51:19.91\00:51:21.24
We need to sharpen our swords
00:51:21.34\00:51:23.04
that the sword of the Lord
00:51:23.14\00:51:24.61
will have maximum effectiveness
00:51:24.71\00:51:25.98
in and through us.
00:51:26.08\00:51:28.88
May the Lord richly bless us
00:51:28.98\00:51:31.22
as this part of His mighty,
00:51:31.32\00:51:33.42
vast army prepares
00:51:33.52\00:51:35.99
for the final battles ahead.
00:51:36.09\00:51:38.83
[ Applause ]
00:51:38.93\00:51:43.73
[ "Stand Up!
00:51:50.74\00:51:52.91
Stand Up for Jesus" begins ]
00:51:53.01\00:51:55.44
I want to give you
00:54:21.52\00:54:22.26
an opportunity
00:54:22.36\00:54:23.16
to very tangibly respond
00:54:23.26\00:54:25.13
to what we've been chatting
00:54:25.23\00:54:25.89
about here this morning.
00:54:25.99\00:54:27.50
If you have a device
00:54:27.60\00:54:29.16
that can send a text message,
00:54:29.26\00:54:30.83
you can send the word "sharp" --
00:54:30.93\00:54:33.57
s-h-a-r-p, sharp, to the number
00:54:33.67\00:54:36.04
that you see here on our screen,
00:54:36.14\00:54:37.74
(269) 281-2345.
00:54:37.84\00:54:40.74
That is our Pioneer Ministry
00:54:40.84\00:54:42.01
texting service.
00:54:42.11\00:54:42.94
And if you do that,
00:54:43.04\00:54:43.85
if you text the word "sharp,"
00:54:43.95\00:54:44.91
you will receive back a form.
00:54:45.01\00:54:46.82
It asks for your contact
00:54:46.92\00:54:47.55
information,
00:54:47.65\00:54:48.28
and then it talks about
00:54:48.38\00:54:48.88
"next steps."
00:54:48.98\00:54:50.49
If you click on that, there are
00:54:50.59\00:54:51.52
six things you can choose from.
00:54:51.62\00:54:52.69
And very briefly let me
00:54:52.79\00:54:53.39
just show you.
00:54:53.49\00:54:54.56
Number one, "My Decision..."
00:54:54.66\00:54:55.02
Belong needs to expand.
00:55:01.93\00:55:03.33
We're off to a great start.
00:55:03.43\00:55:04.73
We need you to help
00:55:04.83\00:55:05.77
and join the team.
00:55:05.87\00:55:06.80
Number two...
00:55:06.90\00:55:07.47
Maybe you don't know.
00:55:12.21\00:55:12.94
Is it Belong?
00:55:13.04\00:55:13.58
Is it something else
00:55:13.68\00:55:14.44
that you'd like to be a part of?
00:55:14.54\00:55:15.61
Check that box. We will make
00:55:15.71\00:55:17.05
sure that someone from the VEC
00:55:17.15\00:55:18.15
gets in touch with you
00:55:18.25\00:55:19.38
so that we can help you get
00:55:19.48\00:55:20.18
involved in ministry.
00:55:20.28\00:55:21.65
Number three...
00:55:21.75\00:55:22.25
We need to get this a-running,
00:55:26.12\00:55:27.69
and Pastor Jacob is going to be
00:55:27.79\00:55:28.72
looking for our participation.
00:55:28.82\00:55:30.29
Check that box. Somebody will be
00:55:30.39\00:55:31.86
in touch with you regarding
00:55:31.96\00:55:32.69
that possibility.
00:55:32.79\00:55:34.10
Number four...
00:55:34.20\00:55:34.93
Church budget is calling.
00:55:38.20\00:55:39.43
Please answer the call.
00:55:39.53\00:55:41.44
Number five...
00:55:41.54\00:55:42.07
It's truly
00:55:47.18\00:55:47.98
a unique opportunity we have.
00:55:48.08\00:55:49.18
Join us as we help
00:55:49.28\00:55:50.45
to finish the work.
00:55:50.55\00:55:51.95
And lastly, number six...
00:55:52.05\00:55:52.75
This is not a registration.
00:55:57.99\00:55:58.92
If you click on that,
00:55:59.02\00:55:59.72
you're not registering for it.
00:55:59.82\00:56:00.89
It's simply saying
00:56:00.99\00:56:01.66
that you'd like to be kept
00:56:01.76\00:56:02.49
on the inside loop as
00:56:02.59\00:56:03.96
information continues to flow,
00:56:04.06\00:56:05.33
so that you can be ready
00:56:05.43\00:56:06.49
and prepared
00:56:06.59\00:56:07.40
when those meetings come.
00:56:07.50\00:56:08.86
Let's pray together.
00:56:08.96\00:56:11.43
Jesus,
00:56:11.53\00:56:12.80
you have been so good to us.
00:56:12.90\00:56:15.60
We're just on the cusp here,
00:56:15.70\00:56:16.60
Lord, of a new ministry year,
00:56:16.71\00:56:18.11
and we long to be a very
00:56:18.21\00:56:19.84
sharp sword in your hands.
00:56:19.94\00:56:22.01
Help us, Lord. Equip us.
00:56:22.11\00:56:23.95
Fill us with the Former
00:56:24.05\00:56:25.01
and the Latter Rains
00:56:25.11\00:56:25.75
of your Holy Spirit
00:56:25.85\00:56:27.42
that this ministry year might be
00:56:27.52\00:56:30.15
one completely for your glory.
00:56:30.25\00:56:33.42
Bless us, Lord, in this way,
00:56:33.52\00:56:35.02
for we ask it in your name.
00:56:35.12\00:56:36.73
Amen.
00:56:36.83\00:56:38.49
¤
00:56:38.59\00:56:40.50
¤
00:56:40.60\00:56:46.87
>> I'm Shane Anderson,
00:56:50.97\00:56:52.51
the lead pastor here at
00:56:52.61\00:56:53.51
Pioneer Memorial Church.
00:56:53.61\00:56:56.08
At Pioneer Media, we have been
00:56:56.18\00:56:57.75
blessed by the financial support
00:56:57.85\00:56:59.55
that comes from our viewers
00:56:59.65\00:57:00.82
like you that enable us
00:57:00.92\00:57:02.62
to continue this ministry.
00:57:02.72\00:57:05.05
We've made a conscious decision
00:57:05.15\00:57:06.45
not to continually appeal to you
00:57:06.55\00:57:07.89
for that support.
00:57:07.99\00:57:09.62
However, keeping this ministry
00:57:09.72\00:57:10.83
going takes money to support
00:57:10.93\00:57:12.66
our staff and technology needs.
00:57:12.76\00:57:15.30
If God has blessed you,
00:57:15.40\00:57:16.90
and you would like to further
00:57:17.00\00:57:17.77
the work of this ministry,
00:57:17.87\00:57:19.43
we invite you to partner
00:57:19.53\00:57:20.40
with us.
00:57:20.50\00:57:22.07
You can donate on our website,
00:57:22.17\00:57:23.51
pmchurch.org.
00:57:23.61\00:57:25.87
Then click "giving" at the top.
00:57:25.97\00:57:28.21
Then select "media ministry."
00:57:28.31\00:57:30.95
Or call the number
00:57:31.05\00:57:32.31
877-HIS-WILL.
00:57:32.41\00:57:35.02
Again, that number is 877,
00:57:35.12\00:57:37.22
the two words, "His will."
00:57:37.32\00:57:39.99
My prayer is that the God
00:57:40.09\00:57:41.72
who has blessed you will
00:57:41.82\00:57:43.39
continue to pour into your life
00:57:43.49\00:57:44.76
the gifts of His joy
00:57:44.86\00:57:46.16
and His hope.
00:57:46.26\00:57:47.83
Thank you and I'm looking
00:57:47.93\00:57:49.50
forward to seeing you right here
00:57:49.60\00:57:50.70
again next time.
00:57:50.80\00:57:52.03
¤
00:58:00.11\00:58:01.94
¤
00:58:02.04\00:58:11.95
¤
00:58:12.05\00:58:21.93
¤
00:58:22.03\00:58:26.87