Equipping Lunch for Church Planters Aug. 19th

Acts 29 will host its quarterly event for church planters, pastors and their teams on August 19, 2008.  The location will be at The Journey, 2801 S. Kingshighway, St. Louis, MO  63139.  An RSVP to churchplanting@journeyon.net is required.  The Journey’s pastor, Darren Patrick, and his wife Annie will speak on “Living With Priorities”.  A brief description of the session follows:

There are ministry needs constantly pulling at the schedules and hearts of church leaders.  Whether we are leading in a church plant or even an established church, we can find that our lives become focused on the incoming needs and issues of ministry.  How does the pastor lead the church effectively and still live within the boundaries of God honoring priorities?  How do we serve the gospel through leading and loving our wives and families well?  How do we pour out our lives for the gospel, without killing ourselves or our families?

These have been quality events that church planters would find helpful.

Eureka!-New Church Plant Opportunity in Eureka-Fenton

εὑρίσκω (heur-is’-kō) - “to find…to come upon something either through purposeful seach or accidentally.”  The English word “Eureka” is derived from this Greek word.  The term is used 176 times in the New Testament (e.g. Mt. 7:7 - “…seek and you will find…”)

 Why the Greek lesson?  Eureka is an exclamatory term uttered upon discovery of something exciting.  The ancient Greek scholar Archimedes reportedly first cried “Eureka” when he discovered principles of volume displacement.  During the California Gold Rush the term “Eureka!” was uttered upon discovery of gold.  It became the state motto of California where a city was even named Eureka.

Missouri has its own city of Eureka.  And……Eureka!  We have our own exciting discovery - the opportunity to plant an Evangelical Free Church in southwest St. Louis County in an area spanning the cities of Fenton, High Ridge and Eureka

Reach Missouri / Reach Arkansas

You may have noticed that the EFCA has recently renamed some of its ministries: The EFCA International Mission is now ReachGlobal; the EFCA Compassion Ministry is TouchGlobal and the EFCA’s National and Urban/Intercultural Ministries are now ReachNational.  I have adopted similar terminology for the church planting initiatives in Missouri and Arkansas and started this blog site - http://ReachMoAr.WordPress.com to keep you informed on Reach Missouri / Reach Arkansas.

Easter Greetings

He is risen! He is risen indeed! What incredible joy and hope are expressed in this traditional church greeting and response! The Apostle Paul considered everything in life – upbringing, status, reputation, education, credentials – all these were worthless compared to “knowing Christ and the power of his resurrection” (Phil. 3: 7-11). Pam and I wish you a joyous Easter as we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Spring Newsletter on the Way

The March/April newsletter will be distribted by post and e-mail in the coming days.  The cost of regular mail will cause me to rely more-and-more on e-mail distribution of newsletters and this blog site to communicate with you.  The migration from physical to electronic distribution will begin in April.  If you receive both electronic and physical mailings please bear with me in the transition.  If you receive neither, would you please e-mail me at rschumacher@efcacentral.org.