What's happening with the missio Dei @ LFC?
missio Dei News @ LFC
Dear Mission Minded Friend,

Have you ever prayed for God to bless you for the sake of others? This is the prayer in Psalm  67:1-2:

May God be gracious to us and bless us;
look on us with favor - Selah -
so that Your way may be known on earth,
Your salvation among all nations.

God's blessing upon us, his people, is meant so that others may know God and find salvation in him. When we pray for God to bless us, heal us, help us, do we do it with the heart that it will be ultimately not for ourselves? If we have been blessed because of God's grace and generosity, then that blessing will become a sign and a witness to the whole world. When God has blessed us, do we respond by becoming more generous and servants of others? Serving and giving is where true abundance and blessings come. For "it is more blessed to give than to receive" (Acts 20:35), and "you will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way" (2 Cor. 9:11), and in being generous you will also "lay up for yourself treasures in heaven" (Mat. 6:20).

Be a blessing, for God has blessed you infinitely in Christ Jesus!

In this newsletter:
  • Celebrate with Caribbean Youth Network in Cornelius
  • GO Lunch for LFC missionaries Doug and Abby Vinez
  • Homefront Week - GO with your Family in Our Own Backyard
  • Be a Reading Partner for a CMS Student
  • Ada Jenkins LEARN Works Drop In Opportunity
  • Live Missionally with Apartment Life
  • Foster/Adoption Community at LFC
  • missio Dei Leadership Teams @ LFC
Yours in Christ,
Andy Muhich, Lake Forest missio Dei Team Leader
and the missio Dei Team
Come Celebrate Lives Changed with Caribbean Youth Network

You're invited to join Gabe and Jan Swing on Thursday, May 12th at 6:30pm at Port City Club (Cornelius). 

Enjoy heavy appetizers as missionaries Jan and Gabe Swing will host a conversation about impacting teenagers, young adults and families for Christ in the Bahamas.

RSVP to Karen Poppen by Monday, May 9th  [email protected]

For more on CYN visit:   http://www.caribbeanyouthnetwork.org/ 
You're Invited to a GO Lunch!

Come eat lunch with us and be encouraged by ministry partners of LFC who are missionaries in Zambia! Doug and Abby train, mentor, and equip mission-minded pastors and leaders in Zambia who have no access to formal Biblical training. They are co-founders of the Inyambo Mission Center with Zambian pastor Percy Muleba and his wife, Muyunda.

Doug and Abby have witnessed inspiring works of God among the church in Zambia. On one occasion, they saw a young pastor go to a small village to share the gospel. The witch doctor of the village and the entire village turned to Christ! The church is exploding in Zambia, and that means God needs to raise up pastors and leaders within the church. Training leaders who multiply leaders is their work.

Come and hear their stories and support these new LFC ministry partners and missionaries.

Lunch will begin at 12:30 p.m. on Sunday May 15th in the Quad at LFC-Huntersville.  

RSVP by Thursday, May 12 to Karen Poppen at [email protected] to make sure we have food for you.

For more on the Vinez's mission work visit:  http://www.dougandabby.org/ 

LFC's Homefront Week

Want to ignite or reinvigorate your family to love others in Jesus' name? Join other families within the LFC tribe as we focus on mission in our own backyard. Each day, we will serve with local ministries with whom LFC partners throughout the year. 

Examples of some of what we did last year include sorting clothing at a ministries center, visiting the elderly and disabled in an assisted living community, and helping put on a soccer camp for the Huntington Green Latino community. Get a look at different groups and cultures in Lake Norman and see how God's heart beats to reach them through His church's mission. Families will be encouraged to envision together what God's mission looks like in their lives at home. We will encourage one another to be intentional about reaching and inviting those in our immediate communities into relationship with us and Jesus.

Homefront Week
Tuesday July 26 - Sunday July 31

Interested? E-mail  Melissa Alvarez [email protected] and ask to be added to our Homefront Week interest list. We will send you the application and more information as it is available.
Be a Reading Partner for a CMS Student

I went to an event recently (this is Andy Muhich speaking), where the CMS superintendent Anne Clark specifically asked churches to help our community schools by partnering in their Northstar Reading Partner program. She said this is one of the primary ways the school hopes to see churches partner to care for the kids in our community.
"We are asking the community at large, local and regional businesses and other organizations to join us in nurturing literacy. For some students, school is a seamless journey where one success builds the support for another, and another. Some students need extra help...W orking together, we can help each student become a stronger, more confident reader.  We are asking you to become mentors and reading buddies - to make a commitment to one child for one hour once a week. Your time and your care can make a tremendous difference to one student, so please become a North Star Reading Partner."
Would you consider becoming a reading partner? In particular, would you consider becoming a reading partner at a higher need school?
Click here for more information about the program and how to sign up. 
Ada Jenkins Center Drop-In Opportunity

Come and drop in to LEARN Works to assist teachers and students in the classrooms helping with homework, skill building, and social skills. The minimum age to volunteer is 14 years old.

Any or all days Mon.-Thurs. May 9-12th.

Drop in either at 2:30pm or 3:30pm in the upstairs classroom  for elementary students. It will run 2:30-5:15 or 3:30-6:15.

Drop in at 4:00pm in the gym to work with middle schoolers. It will run 4:00-6:15pm.

Live Missionally with Apartment Life

A Message From Apartment Life:

Are you interested in doing community outreach while receiving a significant discount in rent (approximately 75% off)? Apartment Life is an outreach organization that places CARES Teams (two friends, couples or families) into a local apartment community to engage residents through monthly events and visits, and love them in practical ways. Apartment Life has beautiful communities in Northlake and Mooresville that are waiting for great CARES Teams!
 
If you or someone you know is passionate about building community and living a missional life right here, and could benefit from a reduced-rent apartment, please click on this link to watch a quick video that can inspire change in a local community. If you are interested in finding out more or applying to be a CARES Team, click here . Questions? Email Jackie Ratzlaff at   [email protected].

Foster/Adoption Community of LFC Families

Are you an LFC family who has fostered or adopted? Or are you interested in fostering or adopting? 

God has been connecting families who foster and adopt in our LFC community to encourage and support one another. We had our first lunch to connect families and gather information on who is fostering and adopting in our church community. If you missed it and would like to be included in communications and opportunities in the future. Please  email Andy Muhich ([email protected]) and let him know.
Lead on the missio Dei through Teams @ LFC

Are you a LFC ministry partner who has a passion for missions and would like to help lead our church in its missions initiatives and partnerships? As Lake Forest grows, so do our missions. We are actively building up special missio Dei Teams who lead our church in missions. Here are some of the teams we are looking to build:

Westlake missio Dei Team - leads our Westlake campus on the missio Dei

Asia's Hope Partnership Team -  leads our church to love orphans in India

Short Term Missions Team - leads our entire mission trip process

Missions Training Team - training through courses, conferences, books, etc.

If you are interested in serving on one of these teams or know someone who might, then e-mail Andy Muhich for more information.

LAKE FOREST CHURCH
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