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The Power of Prayer
Pray for something big that gives God the glory
 I know of a couple who had been praying for a baby girl to adopt. They have 3 boys, but after three c-sections, natural birth was not recommended. They decide to go through the foster care system with the possibility of adoption. They were told that getting a baby would be a slim possibility. They finished all the paper work, waited and prayed. One day, the mom got a call from the social worker. A newborn baby girl was in the hospital and was she interested? She said she would have to talk to her husband, how long would they have to decide. The social worker said within hours, if not, the baby would go to a county orphanage. Long story short, they said "yes" and had a newborn baby girl! God always answers prayer. Yes, no, or wait, he answers.
"The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results."
James 5:16.
That mother is my daughter. Keep praying!
 Have a great day,
Jim Smith
President
Pacific Church Network
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Baptisms
Public testimonies of the grace of God
We are excited about some of the baptisms we have heard about recently. Faith of Christ Church in Simi Valley baptized 7, Cornerstone West LA baptized 8, Armenian Evangelical Brethren Church in Glendale baptized 6, Norwalk baptized 7, Mission 316 in San Marcos had 4, and at 6:30 am on Easter, Daybreak Church in Kailua, Hawaii, baptized 9 at the beach! We know many others have had baptisms as well. We will send out a survey soon to get that exciting news from our network member churches.
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Innovation Workshop
Hear what church planters have learned
On Monday, May 8th, come learned some practical ideas of how to reach your community from three of our recent church planters. Our presenters will be
Thien Doan from CityLights church in Fountain Valley, Joaquin Garcia from Uptown Church in Whittier and Joel Webbon from The Response Church in San Diego. Hear from three seasoned church-planting pastors as they share from their experiences on how they attracted people to their new church. There are many ways to present the Gospel, and this timely workshop will serve as a springboard for church leaders scratching their heads and asking themselves, "What should we do next?" By learning from a few different churches, church leaders can become more intentional about exploring new directions and reaching more of the world for Christ. register here.
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Mountaintop Service
Easter Sunrise in the Eastern Sierra's
In the little community of 500 people off US395, on Easter morning, 20 people from Sierra Baptist church in Independence, hiked up a mountain trail in the dark to hold a sunrise service on a hill overlooking the Owens Valley! Later that day, at their regular worship service, one person received Christ as his Savior and a family of five said that plan to attend regularly after visiting on Easter! For a small church, that is super exciting! Pastor Dave Bancroft is thankful that Jesus is alive and is still drawing people to Himself! He is glad to be a part of that mission.
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Growing Chaplaincy Impact
2017 Goal of 200 is nearing
CBAmerica's Chaplaincy Director, Andy Meverden, is hoping to have 200 CB chaplains by the end of 2017. We currently have 186 endorsed chaplains, including 8 new endorsements so far this year. Our chaplains serve around the world in active Duty Army and Navy, Army Guard, Civil Air Patrol, and also
include VA, Prison, and Hospice.
Additionally, we have 30 seminarians and applicants in the "pipeline." Pray that the process will yield gifted chaplains, called by God.
Each month, with the faithful donations of our member churches, Pacific Church Network financially supports CB Chaplaincy.
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Ran Out of Room!
157 women show up for a morning celebration
On Saturday, April 8, 157 women came for the Pacific Church Network's Spanish Language Spring Breakfast held, this year, at Norwalk Missionary Baptist Church in Carmenita. Unfortunately, 20 women had to be turned away because of a lack of room! They had a great breakfast and time of encouragement and inspiration.
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Administrative Assistants
A luncheon for admin assistants day
On Wednesday April 26th, Pacific Church Network hosted a special lunch at Maggiano's in Costa Mesa, to celebrate our church administrative assistants. The luncheon was attended by 25 and was a great time to show appreciation to our administrative assistants for all they do!
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Congrats Dr. Thien Doan
Thien completes his oral defense
This past month Thien Doan, pastor of Citylights Church, completed his oral defense for his doctoral dissertation from Biola University. Thien describes it as
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250 soul-robbing pages of my blood, sweat, and tears!" Congratulations to Dr. Thien Doan!
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Reviving the Sunrise Service
After a decade break, people came
After years of having an outdoor service around 8 am, San Antonio Heights Community Church decided to revive their Sunrise Service this Easter. They were not sure if anyone would get up that early, but they had over 102 people attend, many of them from their community! The gospel was presented and Christ was proclaimed. It looks like Easter next year, April 1, 2018 will again be starting outside at Sunrise.
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Protect Your Children
Resources to screen volunteer workers
As you focus on picking the best and brightest to help shepherd your flock, take advantage of
ChurchWest's downloads, like their Youth Ministry Protection Guide Kit.
It's full of things you can use to keep your ministry's kids safe, including:
- ChurchWest's Church Child and Youth Protection Program template & checklist
- The CDC 's Preventing Child Sexual Abuse Within Youth-Serving Organizations: Getting Started on Policies and Procedures
- ChurchWest's Mandated Reporter Guide for California Churches
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Pray for their Families
Chaplains sometimes deployed far from families
Sometimes, our military chaplains deploy to far away places, leaving their families behind. CB America Director of Chaplaincy Andy Meverden, was honored to have lunch with
Suzanna Uyboco
(Chaplain Jon's wife) and their four beautiful children at the restaurant of their choice - Smash Burger! I got to play long-lost grandfather, helping the kids get their meals and chatting over lunch. Though our chaplains need our prayers when deployed, their families do, too. Geographically separated "Solo-moms" like Suzanna need our prayers as much or more than their husbands. I thank God for nearby grandparents who help fill the gap left by Chaplain Uyboco deployed in the Pacific. Pray for those deployed.
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Global Summit Discount
Global Leadership Summit in August
We are excited to offer a discount through CBAmerica to this worldwide conference. Started in 1992, the Global Leadership Summit exists to transform Christian leaders around the world with an injection of vision, skill development and inspiration for the sake of the local church. On August 10th and 11th, 2017 the Summit will be telecast live in HD from the Willow Creek Campus near Chicago to over 500 locations nationwide.
It is our pleasure to offer you a $139/registration rate for the 2017 Summit - available at any U.S. Satellite Host Site (not available at Willow Creek Community Church, South Barrington, IL).
The Priority Code is: 17TGLSCRFT. Register
here. Follow the registration instructions and then, when requested, put in the priority code.
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Secure Your Sanctuary
Important Security Training Workshop
We all pray that no church will have to go through a tragedy, but the reality is that there is evil in the world and we should be prepared to protect our congregations and offer a safe environment for worship. Bring your key decision makers, safety teams and interested volunteers to this potentially lifesaving seminar.
Affordable ($15) one day workshop afford by Church West Insurance Group, Monday, June 29th at EV Free Church in Fullerton. Topic's covered include:
- Active Shooter Training and Utilizing Volunteers on Your Safety and Security Team in the Ministry Environment
- Protecting Kids from Abusers and Pedophiles: Practical Steps on Raising the Bar in Your Ministry
- Understanding Domestic Violence and How it Can Affect Your Church
- Safety and Security at the Church Monday through Friday
- And more ...
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Free Workshop
Developing Healthy Congregations
If you missed the one we had last year, Transformation Ministries is hosting this event again. This workshop is designed to resource and train pastors,
leaders and staff members.
Healthy congregations consistently attract people to the
gospel of Jesus Christ.
Let's learn to do these things even better!
Date: Thursday, May 11
Time: 9:30 AM - 2:30 PM
Location: Christ First Baptist Church, Covina
Speaker: Paul Borden
(Retired Executive Minister of Growing Healthy Churches)
Registration: FREE to pastors and staff of TM and PCN churches
$35.00 for all other interested pastors, ministry leaders and staff
Refreshments and lunch included. Paul Borden will be leading at PCN workshop in August which continues to build on this workshop.
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Hottest Thing At Church 
New Gallup Poll
People who show up on Sundays are looking for the
same thing that has long anchored most church services;
preaching centered on the Bible. "Sermons that teach about
Scripture" are the #1 reason Americans go to church,
according to a new Gallup poll. 82% of Protestants and 76%
of all regular worshipers consider sermons' biblical lessons as
a major factor that draws them to services. They're also
looking for application, as 80% of Protestants and 75% of
worshipers valued sermons that connect faith to everyday
life. Preaching on Scripture and its relevance ranked above
factors like kids programs (68%), community outreach
(61%), and social activities (49%). People in the pews also
care far more about what's being preached than who's
preaching it. Only half of Protestants (53%) and Americans
overall (54%) said they attend because of "dynamic religious l
eaders who are interesting and inspiring." (CT Gleanings 4/18/17)
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