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Harvey had just dumped four feet of rain on Texas, and now hurricane Irma was heading directly toward Florida. My son Andy, and his wife Anna, just moved to Coral Springs, near Miami, to teach at a Christian school. Anna grew up in
Minnesota and Andy in California, so neither were familiar with hurricanes. Fires, blizzards and tornadoes, but not hurricanes. Andy called me, but I'm not use to hurricanes either. I asked what locals were saying, what the meteorologists were saying and what his school recommend. Most were saying, evacuate. Run. I agreed. Go as soon as you can. Flight prices out of Forida at the time were ridiculously high, so they packed up their car, drove to Atlanta, ahead of the crowds, and flew to
Minnesota days before Irma hit. Thankfully, no major damage had occurred to their apartment when they returned later. There is a time to run, to not stay too long, to get out when you can. Most of us know the story of Joseph, when tempted by Mrs. Potiphar, "he ran from the house." (Genesis 39:12) Run. Paul wrote that, "
When you are tempted, he will show you a way out...." (I Cor. 10:13) When the angels told Lot to leave, he hesitated and they physically moved him! Get the facts, look around, evaluate and then....RUN.
Look for a way out. Leave, turn it off, get out now, change it now, it's time to go, and don't hesitate. There are times to stay, endure, finish it...and then, there are times to run.
Jim Smith
President
Pacific Church Network
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Faith Groups Deliver Bulk of Disaster Recovery
USA Today (9/12/17)
"About 80% of all recovery happens because of non-profits, and the majority of them are faith-based," said Greg Forrester, CEO of the National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster. The money is "all raised by the individuals who go and serve, raised through corporate connections, raised through church connections," and amounts to billions of dollars' worth of disaster recovery assistance. "FEMA cannot do what it does so well without the cooperation of faith-based non-profit organizations and churches," said Rev. Jamie Johnson, director of the Department of Homeland Security's Center for Faith-Based camp; Neighborhood Partnerships.
Samaritan's Purse, an evangelical aid group run by Rev. Franklin Graham, has trucks at the ready in Florida with chainsaws and debris removal experts to help clean up houses. After initial cleanup, the group has contracting services available to help the needy rebuild their homes. The group has responded to 20 disasters already this year, said Luther Harrison, vice president of North American Ministries for Samaritan's Purse.
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Man Camp
COMING UP SOON: October 6-8
It's not too late to
sign up for this year's MAN CAMP at PIne Summit in Big Bear Lake. This
is designed to ignite passionate, godly living in men
through activities, great food, engaging worship, and messages of conviction. The weekend serves as a reminder that every man is called to be a man of strength in all areas of life.
$159 for the weekend (bring your own bedding).
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Israel Trip
November 28 - December 8
In two months, we are taking off for a trip of a lifetime. We still have limited space available, in case you have been wondering if there is still room. Call us at 909.944.5900 or sign up
online if you've been wanting to go, but just haven't signed up. Sign up now. You'll remember this trip for a long time. $3738 for airfare, hotel, most meals and just about everything.
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Spanish Men's Retreat
COMING UP: October 13-15
Soccer, engaging worship, challenging messages, good food and mountain air. Plan on attending yet another wonderful weekend getaway to renew your spiritual life. Sign up here or call 909.944.5900.
$159 for the weekend (bring your own bedding)
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Transformation Ministries Conference
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Steady Growth in Goleta
Pastor Bobby Grossi, one of our featured speakers at our upcoming MAN CAMP, recently baptized two people at his church, Goleta Valley Church! It's wonderful to celebrate everyone's faith in Jesus. Bobby says most of his visitors hear about their church from the
website.
Bobby is not only seeing spiritual growth in his church, but he is making some impressive physical changes in his church: new woodwork, shelving, tile and cry-room massive window. Bobby is a talented pastor and general contractor! He is also a good tour guide, showing Jim Smith a great view of Santa Barbara from the top of the courthouse!
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Books Needed in China Seminary
Henan Seminary in Zhengzhou trains leaders and pastors for
the province which has the greatest number of
Christians and churches in China! They now have been
approved to
begin offering a
Bac
helors degree if they can
secure the requisite number of volumes in their l
ibrary.
How often do you have a chance to influence the Chinese leaders of tomorrow? Now you do. We have been asked to help. If you or your church can donate books you believe would benefit the Seminary students, please contact Pacific Church Network at 909.944-5900 or laura@pacificchurchnetwork.com. Donations of books must be completed by December 2017. Thank you for helping fellow believers.
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New Pastor in Palm Springs
On Sunday, September 10, Palm Springs Baptist voted Perry White to be their Pastor. Perry and his wife, Sally, are excited about leading this diverse church near the heart of Palm Springs. PSBC also voted to accept the Spanish-speaking congregation, that was meeting at their church for years, as a ministry of Palm Springs Baptist; and voted Mario Flores, the former Spanish Pastor, as their Associate Pastor, helping Pastor Perry with many of the duties at the church. Congratulations to all involved in this 9-month process.
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New Pastor in Lake Elsinore
In September, members of Lakehills Community Church in Lake Elsinore voted to call Jonathan Hornkohl as their new pastor. During the transitional time, they appreciated the ministry of Ted Martinez, from Interim Pastor Ministries, who led the church. Prior to his appointment at LakeHills Community Church, Jon served as a secondary Bible teacher in the North San Diego County Area and most recently as an Assistant Principal. Jonathan is a proud graduate of Biola University, where he met his beautiful wife, Lindsey, whom he partners with in raising their three children, Jeremiah, Paisley, and Jubilee.
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Serving in Independence
With about 600 people living in Independence, Pastor Dave Bancroft is excited that he almost has a good 5% of the town regularly attending their church! Located on US 395, about 40 miles south of Bishop, Dave and Suzy have been in Independence since January 2016. They host a local Kids Club on Tuesday afternoons twice a month, Dave's involved in the local Lions club and the church had three baptisms in the last two years. Jim and Vicki stop in to say, "hi," every time they are passing through.
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Encouraging English Women's Retreat
149 women gathering on a cool weekend up at Pine Summit in Big Bear Lake. The best news is that at least two women accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior. Lanette Whitaker and Vicki Smith spoke on believing in God for all hope, joy and peace. Besides the encouraging messages, the women enjoyed uplifting singing, good meals and a chance to renew relationships with God and others.
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Fantastic Spanish Women's Retreat
180 women attended the Spanish women's retreat with the theme, "A Selfie With God," at Murietta Hot Springs near Temecula this past month. They enjoyed the special music, great food and spiritual enrichment. Several women accepted Jesus as their Savior and many more commitments were made to be more intentional in their walk with Jesus. Thanks to Patsy Mazariegos, Mali Reguerin, Norma Bustos and their leadership team for making this weekend a huge success.
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PCN Transitional Team hands off Leadership to Elders
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Pastor Israel Gomez
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On Sunday, September 17, Branches Church in Fullerton elected new Elders to take the leadership role from the PCN transitional Elders. The church voted to allow PCN to install transitional Elders to lead during the year of transition. Pastor Israel Gomez appreciates the help and direction given to him during this year of learning, transition and adjustments. Branches looks forward to continuing to reach people in the Fullerton area. Thanks to the team of Ed Reingrover, Joaquin Garcia, Emilio Nunez, Brian Howard and Jim Smith for their many hours of service as the transitional Elders.
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WorldVenture Missionaries Affected by Drug Conflict
The Philippines is in the midst of a brutal war on drugs sanctioned by President Rodrigo Duterte and has seen almost 3,000 killings in a matter of weeks at the hands of law enforcement, vigilante groups and civilians.
With the impact of the drug conflict comes a unique opportunity for WorldVenture Missionaries, Brent and Chris Ralston, to work closely with the International Justice Mission and the Philippines' government. The mayor of Mandaue City asked Chris to personally attend a seminar with many government agencies on how to tackle the problem of rehabilitating more than 2,000 former drug users.
"Our church will be involved in helping to rehabilitate some of these drug users and pushers who have surrendered," Brent said. "At this point, we don't know exactly what that will look like, beyond determining how high of a risk an individual is."
All those determined "moderate" cases will be handled by the churches, making this "a tremendous opportunity for us to have a significant impact on our immediate society," Brent said. Read more
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Loving Linguistics, Surfing and family.
Congratulations to Pastor Jon Bones of Mapleview Baptist Church in Lakeside, CA, near San Diego, who just completed his Master's Degree in Christian Ministry from Southern California Seminary. Jon also has a B.A. in Theology/Music from San Diego Christian College, and another M.A. in Linguistics from San Diego State University. He loves to study languages and is proficient in English, Spanish, and Portuguese, for a start. He also enjoyed studying Greek and Hebrew. Jon and his wife Karen, have two children and enjoy seeing God grow Mapleview Baptist. He also enjoys spending time outdoors, surfing, and hiking.
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