Every-Member Ministry

Several couples from church attended the tenth annual Hand of Hope fundraising banquet on November 5. Close to 300 people attended the dinner in support of Hand of Hope's ministry. Pam Tebow served as the banquet's guest speaker this year, and the evening was filled with encouraging stories from Pam and several Hand of Hope volunteers and clients of God's power and mercy and goodness working through the prayers and activity of his people.

I would like to share with you a little bit about my beloved home country, Japan. I am mostly Japanese with a mix of Chinese and Caucasian. I was born in Japan and grew up there until I was 11 years old. Although I had always had a special love for Japan, I had very little contact with the Japanese community and the culture after I moved to the states. Even after I became a believer and I began praying for and reaching out to unbelievers, I did not have any special focus on the Japanese. It was not until I heard about the tsunami in Fukuoka in 2011 that the Lord put a special burden on my heart for Japan and it’s people.

This Sunday we launch both a new ministry team and a new element in our corporate gathering. The new team, Sunday Scripture Readers, will be devoted to the task of reading the Bible for our sermons. That is, instead of having the preacher read his main text, these men and women will read from the stage.

A quote from The Trellis and the Vine: The Ministry Mind-Shift that Changes Everything, by Colin Marshall and Tony Payne.

What do these have in common? All three will converge this Sunday morning at SGC. At least, that's our hope as we have been talking to Jermaine Powell about the possibility of creating some pieces of art that could embellish our auditorium but also capture some of the essence of what we are preaching.

"Not all of us are eloquent or engaging. Not everyone can think on their feet. Some people are simply not good at speaking to strangers and forming new friendships. One of the practical benefits of the three-strand model of evangelism [building relationships, sharing the gospel, introducing people to community] is that it gives a role to all of God's people. By making evangelism a community project, it also takes seriously the sovereign work of the Holy Spirit in distributing a variety of gifts among his people. Everyone has a part to play--the new Christian, the introvert, the extrovert, the eloquent,…

In June two of our families, the (Joby) Ruhls and the Greguses, went to the Agua Viva Children's Home in Guatemala. Here is a letter from the Ruhls.

Dear Friends,

Below is a family update and a praise report from our mission trip to Guatemala. We are continually grateful for the friendship and support from each of you as we walk through life together. We look forward to continued growth in our relationship with each one of you as we walk through life together here at our new "home" in NC.

Family Update

We moved into our new…

This Sunday Mike Noel and John McLeod will be ordained as elders at Sovereign Grace Church. But what does it even mean to be “ordained”? Aren’t they basically elders now? What will change after Sunday? We want to take a minute here and think about these questions and a few others. 

This past Sunday John McLawhorn shared about his family's involvement in the Scott Moonen home group. What he said painted a vivid picture of the benefits of living life with other Christians in this kind of setting. I hope it inspires you to get involved in a group if you're not currently in one, and to get even more involved in your group if you do attend one.

My name is Joy Sasser, and I was one of the 32 from SGC that recently ventured down to Agua Viva Children’s Home in Guatemala. Speaking for the team is tough because everyone took something different away from the experience and of what God did through us and in us. There are a few things I can confidently say from the group.