Ramadan

All over the world Muslims are celebrating Ramadan (the holy month of fasting in Islam) from August 22nd through September 20th. This is a great time for Christians to set aside 30 days to pray daily that God would reveal himself to Muslims through dreams, through visions and through Christ followers willing to engage in conversation about the grace of God incarnated in Jesus Christ.

It's not the intention of this prayer focus to disparage Islam or Muslim sentiments in any way but to inform ourselves, pray for and support respectful opportunities to make God's grace known among Muslims.

Did you realize that the Qur’an talks about Jesus (Isa) as the Messiah and as the Son of God in surah 3:45 and surah 21:91? Or that the Qur'an in surah 3:50 instructs us that our duty to Allah is to obey Isa (Jesus)? Most Muslims just don’t understand it completely or have never been shown these verses. Even so, more Muslims are coming to faith in Jesus Christ now than at any other time in history.

Will you join me and take the time to pray for our Muslim cousins during the month of Ramadan? Will you interceed on their behalf that Islam would be infiltrated with the love of God and salvation through Jesus Christ? Remember, Jesus said "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." Are our ideas and attitudes toward Muslims shaped by this commandment or are they shaped by prejudice and ignorance? Let's commit to prayer during the month of Ramadan and see how God moves among our Muslim cousins.

Go '09 Went

Well, Go '09 came ......and went. But before you know it, it will be time for Go '010 or just Go '10 or something like that.

What a sight it was as over 1500 green shirts took on over 148 different projects in Holmes and Tuscarawas counties. We even had a number of projects in Louisville where we will open a NewPointe campus on September 13th. The stories and pictures are still coming in and the Thank You's are overwhelming.

The Food Drive collected 1262 boxes of food that was distributed to five food pantries in Dover/Phila, Urichsville, Newcomerstown, Millersburg and Louisville. We were told that the four pallets of food delivered to the Dover/Phila location was distributed THAT DAY. It is a tough time for many in our area, so let's continue to be generous and help all we can.

NewPointers also got the chance to meet the sixteen (16) Ministry Partners that our church works with on a regular basis. The first ever Missions: Possible Missions Fair saw well over 500 people get to know how their church is involved locally, nationally and globally and how they, their family and their small group can serve.

I want to take a moment and thank EVERYONE that took part in Community Impact Day, The Food Drive or Missions: Possible. Your efforts are having a lasting impact by showing people the love and grace of Jesus Christ here in our local area and around the world. Keep serving, keep loving and let's help NewPointe to be known as an outwardly focused church.

I thought you might like to see the Go '09 re-cap video that we showed on August 9th. Here's the link, enjoy.