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OUR NEWEST CHURCH PLANT

Divine House of Deliverance, Dallas, TX

We are excited to announce the newest Pacific Church Network church plant, Divine House of Deliverance, in Dallas, Texas. Pastor Daniel Gray worked through the church planting process with JD Pearring, our church planting director, and is excited to join PCN. Daniel founded DHOD and became the pastor in February of 2022. They currently rent from a church with two meeting areas, allowing them to meet at 11:15 AM on Sunday mornings. Daniel is attending the Open Bible Academy, which is affiliated with Dallas Theological Seminary. He is married to De’shambriel, and they have four lovely children. Extra inside information... even though Daniel has lived in the Dallas area all his life, he is a Philadelphia Eagles fan. Welcome DHOD, Daniel, De’shambriel, and family!

NEW TRIP

HIGHLIGHTS OF ITALY 2024 TOUR

$2,799 (plus airfare) Rome, Florence, Pisa, Venice and more

For a number of reasons, we changed our trip this next year from Greece and Turkey to beautiful Italy with an option to see Austria. During the Covid years, we had to cancel our tour of Italy three times. This time, it's "go time."

Join Pacific Church Network's President Jim Smith, his wife, Vicki, and Rick and Carolyn Koole, on a 9-day tour of Italy. Starting in historic Rome, we will see the catacombs, the Mamertine Prison exterior, where tradition says the Apostle Paul was imprisoned, the Coliseum, the Vatican, and much more. After three nights in Rome, we’ll make our way through scenic Tuscany before touring Verona, Pisa, Florence, and Venice. The price of $2,799 includes all ground transportation, local guides, excellent 4-star hotels, entrance fees, visas, taxes, tips, and most meals. For those who are interested, we’re also including an optional 5-day extension into Austria, where we’ll go to Salzburg (home of the Sound of Music), Innsbruck, the Neuschwanstein Castle in the Black Hills of Germany, and finally, the Imperial city of Vienna—all of this for just an additional $1,499. Travelers can arrange their own airfare or use the group rate ($1,400) we’ve gotten from Pilgrim Tours.

Already, 25 people have signed up for this trip. Hurry, space is limited.

Questions? Contact our office at: laura@pacificchurchnetwork.com.

PASSION CHURCH COMING SPRING '24

Palm Springs, CA

They had planned on a Christmas Eve launch but believe that God is leading in a slightly different direction. After prayerfully seeking guidance from trusted and godly people, the launch team at Passion Church has "pressed the pause" button and put three green lights they'd like to get in place before starting their new church, prayerfully late winter/early spring.

Here is what you can join them in prayer about:

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• A minimum of 40 people on their launch team (still praying for 50-75)
• The chapel and the kids' building to be ready for a basic worship service
• A worship leader

When they see a green light in these areas, they will move towards launching their Sunday Worship.

CHURCH PLANT ON GUAM UPDATE

Gospel Life Church

Pastor Mel Hennegan and his family have set up home on the island of Guam and have begun meeting in their house, with already about 30 people. After weeks of praying for a larger place of worship, they have been blessed to connect with a Christian couple who operate an after-school and daycare facility on Guam. They generously offered the use of their building on Sundays for minimal rent. This space will comfortably accommodate 80-100 people, complete with children's classrooms, a playground, and a nursery, serving as a stepping stone to finding a more permanent building.

As they journey to the official launch of Gospel Life Church, they have been praying for another couple to join them in the endeavor. James and Vanessa Cross live on the island and are considering joining their church planting team. Pray for them as they consider this option. Pastor Mel says, "Rachel and I are immensely grateful for your prayers and support. It is evident that God is building His Church on Guam, and we appreciate your partnership."

CHURCH PLANTING TRAINING

Los Angeles, December 11 | San Diego Area, December 12

Monday, December 11

Church planting pastors and leaders, you are invited to an Excel Leadership Network Connection Event on Monday, December 11. We will meet for an early dinner at 2:30 PM, then head to the Clippers 7:30 PM game. This should be a great time for connecting and learning.

Dinner location: TBD

Crypto.com Arena: 1111 S Figueroa St, Los Angeles, CA 90015

REGISTER

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Tuesday, December 12 in San Diego

You are invited to Excel Leadership's Network Connection Event for church planting pastors and leaders on Tuesday, December 12. We will meet for lunch at 11 AM! Join us for a great time of connecting and learning.

Lunch location: Chicken Pie Shop

2633 El Cajon Blvd.

San Diego, CA

REGISTER

HEALTH INSURANCE FOR CHURCHES

ChurchWest Insurance Services

ChurchWest Insurance Services are all about churches! Did you know in addition to excellent church insurance, they can also help your church find the best health insurance plan for your staff? With health insurance rates averaging double digits in 2023, you may want to obtain some competitive quotes for your employee benefit program. ChurchWest has exclusive access to ministry-specific programs. In addition, they offer a free program for pastors that is provided to ministries that partner with them on their employee benefits. 

Last year ChurchWest was able to assist several groups in keeping dollars IN the ministry! Here’s just a handful of the success stories:

Client Testimonials (2022)

• A ministry in San Clemente saved over $8,000 annually (10% savings)
• A ministry in San Diego saved a combined 12% on their non-medical package
• A ministry in Bakersfield saved 19% on their dental and vision coverage
• A ministry in San Diego reduced cost of their package by 18%
• A ministry in Vista enhanced coverage and reduced cost by over $10k
• A ministry in Covina saved 22% on their Life and Disability coverage
• A ministry in Norwalk received unique plan offerings that other carriers declined
• A ministry in Las Vegas significantly enhanced their coverage for the same cost

For more information, contact:

Ryan Lucht | ChurchWest Insurance Services

800.843.6054 | ryan@churchwest.com

FREE MEDIA FOR CHRISTMAS

Venture Church Network

Venture Church Network’s communication partner, Keenly, has made some great Christmas resources available for VCN/PCN churches. Keenly has a great heart for the local church, so they’re giving these to you for free!

Use them as you lead your congregation in remembrance of the Savior’s entrance into our broken world. You can find them at https://keenly.org/landing-page/vcn/christmas-vcn-churches/. The resources include:

• 6 Still Backgrounds
• 5 Motion Backgrounds
• 3 Video Countdowns
• 2 Video Illustrations

CB GLOBAL PHILIPPINES

500 gather for biennial conference

Five hundred pastors and church leaders from 12 regions throughout the Philippines are currently attending the biennial conference on the beautiful island of Boracay. This is the Conservative Baptist Association of the Philippines' 20th Biennial Conference. CBAP has close to 900 churches throughout the Philippines and 264 ongoing church plants. Their church plants become official after baptizing 25 new believers. Rey Avante is the General Director of CBAP and Pacific Church Network's Pastor-at-Large, retired Chaplain Johnny Cometa, is representing us at the conference.

PREACHING WORKSHOP

Save the Date - April 11, 2024

We are all set for this year's workshop. Last year, Don had some health issues, and we had to postpone this workshop. Praise the Lord, Don is healthy and ready to speak—plan on coming out.

Don says, "Relevancy occurs when the listeners “see” how a biblical truth applies to a specific situation. Until they get a mental “picture” of some real-life person, event, or circumstance in their everyday world, the biblical truth remains an abstraction—vague and unhelpful."  Through four pages of outline notes and extensive audience interaction, this training will increase your ability to connect biblical truth to contemporary life. Spend a day with Don Sunukjian, who taught preaching for years at BIOLA. Includes lunch. Free for PCN, TM, and ACTS29 members.

CENA DE NAVIDAD

This Saturday - December 2, 2024

We are sold out, with close to 200 set to attend this annual time for our Spanish-speaking church leaders to fellowship and celebrate the birth of Jesus together. We are grateful to one of our newest PCN member churches, Iglesia Fortaleza, Whittier, who will be hosting us this year.

CHURCH AND POLITICS

February 27, 2024

Our Northern California Venture Church Network is hosting this workshop on Tuesday, February 27, 2024 from 10 AM - 3 PM at Church on the Hill in San Jose, CA. You can livestream this seminar.

Dr. Todd Miles from Western Seminary in Portland, OR, will speak on navigating differing political views while finding unity in Christ. As the Professor of Theology at Western Seminary, Dr. Miles desires to help equip local church leaders in ways for our theology to bear weight on both The Church and State.

• Date: Tuesday, February 27, 2024
• Location: Church on the Hill | 500 Sands Drive | San Jose, CA 95125
• Time: 10 AM – 3 PM (Lunch will be provided)
• Livestream Cost: $25 | In person cost $40
• Discount for Western Seminary students, alumni, and staff

ANNUAL MEETING

February 18, 2024

At our 2024 PCN Annual Meeting, we will vote on a change to our statement of faith (as part of our constitution). In March of 2013, we adopted the CB Global Statement of Faith to strengthen our global connection with CB regions worldwide and help unify us as an international community of believers focused on the core beliefs of our faith. However, our statement on complementarianism, previously included in our statement of faith, was not included in the CB Global statement. After discussion and prayer, our PCN board has unanimously recommended to our membership that we reinstate complementarianism back into our statement of faith: "We believe only biblically qualified men are to serve in the position of Lead Pastor or Elder."

AB-506 DEADLINE FOR ALL REQUIREMENTS

Coming January 1, 2024

Required AB-506 for Pastors & Youth Workers in California

California law requires pastors and those who work with youth to take child abuse mandated reporter training. You may take the free training provided online by the government (2 hours for regular volunteers, 4 hours for staff/admins, 6 hours for clergy).

But we have an alternate choice for your consideration. PCN has worked out a deal with Kingdom One so you can take their shorter course (60 minutes for volunteers, 90 minutes for staff/admins /clergy) for a small, discounted rate through Kingdom One Academy. Use the code (PCN). Their courses do satisfy the legal requirements for AB-506 training.

Go Here for Kingdom One Courses

Do you need help figuring out AB-506's three requirements for your church: LiveScan, Training, and Policies? ChurchWest will help you for FREE. Contact Dr. Ralph Neighbour: ralph@churchwest.com, 909-519-4308.

Learn more about AB-506.

RESOURCES FOR PCN CHURCHES

Venture Church Network has directly partnered with Brotherhood Mutual and Guidestone in an effort to help VCN churches access a greater set of affordable services. Click the link below to learn about these resources and more!

That's all for now!