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Easter
Easter is coming early this year.
The earliest calendar date on which Easter can fall is
March 22, so March 27 is pretty early.
As some may know,
Easter is always the 1st Sunday after the
1st full
moon after the Spring Equinox.
There are many additional special event dates that correspond around Easter.
There is Palm Sunday,
Tenebrae
, Maundy Thursday, and Good Friday.
To find Palm Sunday (the 6th Sunday of Lent) you start with the date of Easter and back up one week.
To find Ash Wednesday, you start with the date of Easter Sunday, back up six weeks (that gives you the first Sunday of Lent), and then back up four more days. Mardi Gras, which is French for "Fat Tuesday," is the last day of a season called "Carnival," which is the day before Ash Wednesday. It seems like even the party-going crowd in New Orleans revolves around Easter. In fact, that is true of the whole world, isn't it? We all are affected by Easter. It is a big deal, so we should celebrate in a big way! It is the resurrection of Jesus Christ, "the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation, for through him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can't see-such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world. Everything was created through him and for him. He existed before anything else, and he holds all creation together. Christ is also the head of the church, which is his body. He is the beginning, supreme over all who rise from the dead. So he is first in everything. For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ, and through him God reconciled everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ's blood on the cross." (Col 1:15-20 NLT)
Happy Easter
Jim Smith
President
Pacific Church Network
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PCN Spanish Workshop
Ethical success or failure can make or break a pastor's ministry. With a desire for pastors to make sound ethical decisions and to flourish, Pacific Church Network is offering a free* Spanish-language workshop on
Saturday, March 12, 2016. Led by
Dr. Wally De Smet, the training event will be held at Norwalk Missionary Baptist Church from 10 am to 2 pm. Lunch is included.
*Free for PCN, TM and Acts 29 members. Non-members, $25.
Registration.
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Larry Osborne Workshop
On
Monday, April 11,
Pacific Church Network is offering a free (
to all PCN, TM and Acts 29 members
) training workshop with Dr. Larry Osborne called
Sticky Church
. It will be held from 10 am to 2 pm (lunch included)
at Pacific Coast Church in San Clemente.
Dr. Osborne will discuss the importance of closing the back door of your church, which is even more important than opening the front door wider. Come learn about a time-tested strategy for doing so that enabled his congregation to grow from a handful of people to one of the larger churches in the nation---without any marketing or special programming. Plan on coming and bring a pile of church leaders with you.
Registration.
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Installation in Honolulu
On Sunday, February 7, 2016, Scott Custer was installed as the new pastor of
International Baptist Church in Honolulu. Scott and his wife, Fiona, have three daughters and one more on the way. The installation was the culmination of a weekend-long celebration of their church's 50th anniversary. Scott and Fiona were prayed for by several during the service.
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Dr. Jim Cook's Visit
Fifty years ago, Jim Cook planted International Baptist Church in Honolulu and saw it grow to over 2,500 in his 16 years as pastor. Last month, IBC invited him back for their 50th anniversary.
Dr. Cook has been a missionary in the Philippines and Sri Lanka and has traveled the world as a missionary statesman. He was born to missionary parents serving in India. While living there, he learned to speak a number of local languages. Dr. Cook also played semi-professional basketball in the US. His book is filled with great stories, and it was a great treat to have him back in Hawaii.
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Independence Installation
On Sunday afternoon, February 14, 2016, Dr. Dave Bancroft was installed as the new pastor of Sierra Baptist Church in Independence. Special guest speakers included Rev. Dennis Ahern from WorldVenture, Pastor Rick Klug from Calvary Baptist in Bishop, other members of the church and area pastors. Special thanks go to Larry Clark, who diligently served as the search team chairman. More photos on
Facebook.
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Going to Two Services
On Sunday, February 14, 2016,
Daybreak Church added an additional service each Sunday, now meeting at 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. Daybreak Church is the new name for two churches that have joined together as one: Tradewinds Church, a
Pacific Church Network church plant in 2014 in Kailua, Oahu; and Faith Kailua Church, which has been in the area for over 35 years. Pastor Sean Palmer is very excited about their growing outreach
as they display God's love on Oahu and around the world.
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Third Service Added
Cornerstone West LA has added a third identical service on Sundays to make room for their growth. Starting on Valentine's Day, February 14, they added a 5 p.m. service to
their Sunday 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. services. Last year they had seen their community groups double. Their worship services are running out of room with over 400 attending, and this new service is one more avenue for worship with the Cornerstone community.
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Sunday Morning is Better
Dane and Liz
Tokushige planted a church called Victory Aiea in Aiea, Oahu, Hawaii with the help of Pacific Church Network in 2015. Recently they were able to relocate to an elementary school where they now can have a Sunday morning service. This new time has brought in many more families. The Sunday morning move was a tremendously good change for them, and was strongly recommended by other PCN church planters.
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Burial at Sea
It was the most beautiful funeral I have ever led.
Moving along the waters just outside of San Diego at just four knots, the ocean sprayed up, surrounding the casket with a halo of sea spray and prismatic color in the morning sunlight. The sailors came to attention rendering one final silent salute as the water slowly enveloped the casket. As it tilted up and peacefully sank into the deep, every sailor present fought back more than one salty tear.
This was closure for a crew who had been mourning the loss of a well- known, well-loved, influential Master Chief. T
hrough this ceremony, people heard the message of hope of eternal life taken from Romans 8. As a US Navy chaplain, I am honored to help bring this into the lives of those who sacrifice so much for our nation.
read more
Aaron C. Carlton,
Chaplain,
LCDR CHC USN
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Evangelicals in America
From 2007 to 2014 the number of evangelicals in America rose from 59.8 million to 62.2 million, according to Pew. While it should be noted that evangelicals' share of the overall U.S. population dropped by 9 percentage points over the 7 years based on denominational affiliation, the percentage of U.S. adults who self-identify as evangelical or born-again rose from 34 to 35% over the same period. Don't miss that: More than 1/3 of Americans call themselves evangelical.
And despite what many are saying, evangelicals are attending church more than ever. The latest (2014)
General Social Survey
found that in the last two years of the study a greater percentage of evangelicals are attending church than in any other time of the last 40 years. Currently, 55 percent of evangelicals attend church at least nearly every week.
This is part of the growing "evangelicalization" of American Christianity in which the church in the U.S. is increasingly taking on the attributes of evangelicalism. According to Pew,
half of all Christians self-identify as an evangelical or born again.
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Palm Springs Conference
Palm Springs Baptist Church is holding a two-day conference for women called Biblical Women's Conference on Friday, March 18 through Saturday, March 19. Guest speakers will be Martha Peace, Carlynn Fabarez and Carolyn McGuire. Cost is $60 which includes lunch.
More Information.
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