In college I heard someone once say, “two-thirds of God’s name is GO!” so we must GO. “GO” refers to the commandment that Jesus gave His followers to take his message of love and life to all the nations of the world (Matthew 28:18-19)
This past weekend we had the treat of hosting a world class missionary named Fred Markert at our church. It was a blast! Fred leads YWAM’s Network for Strategic Initiatives, which identifies and coordinates long-term projects for YWAM bases, missions organizations and churches worldwide. We were absolutely blown away by all the things he shared with us. There is so much we must do as a church in the next 15-18 years to reach the world. He challenged us to be a GOing church, a sending center. This is something that has always been in the heart of our pastor and still is. This time with Fred fueled the fire for the world even more.
The core of the unreached people of our world live in window that extends from W. Africa to East Asia. This region of the world has become known as the 10/40 window. Incredibly, 97% of the least evangelized peoples live in the 10/40 window. Every one of us must play a part of this GOing. We can do it either by Sending or physically Going ourselves. We have the greatest mission on earth.
Fred shared with us that there are six areas that are key for us to target as the “Church”. These 6 areas include some countries/regions in the 10/40 window and some other strategic areas. The six areas are:
1. Northern India & Himalayas (Nepal/Tibet)
2. Northern Africa (above the “Sahel Line”)
3. The Eastern Seaboard of China
4. Central Asia (all the “…stans”, ie. Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan…)
5. Europe (specifically Germany)
6. Iran
We are called to reach every nation, tribe, and tongue. Together we can do it, but we must be strategic in how we do it.
After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. -Revelation 7:9
The picture above is a little fuzzy. That is how I feel about deciding on a name for our baby. When you are having a baby one of the most pressing things, believe it or not, is deciding on a name. The last thing you want to do is give your child a name that he or she will regret. Once people know that you are having a child, everyone wants to put in their two cents about what you should name your child. It is a an tiring game. It’s the game I call, “The Name Game”. Along with the names, you get all kind of advice. Before we were expecting a child everyone always told Amanda and I to not share our thoughts for a name and I didn’t understand. I think I am beginning to understand why. It is because you don’t want to hear everyone’s opinion for 9 months:)
In a moment of excitement during a sermon I was preaching at church I mentioned that I was going to name our baby “Maximus” if it was a boy. BIG mistake. I have always loved that name. It was the name of the general in the movie Gladiator. Awesome! But my beautiful bride shot that name down pretty fast. It didn’t even have a chance. So we continue to play the name game. I think I’ll stick to our original plan after many rounds of the “name game”……….. PRAY! Amanda and I are believing that God will give us wisdom on what we should name our baby boy. Oh what fun games we play in life. I am so thankful that we’re in this season of expecting our first child. Thank you Jesus!
In just a couple of weeks our church will be hosting Hillsong United with Pastor Brian Houston and Rueben Morgan on Thursday, November 15 at 7p. We will have the service at the Orpheum Theatre. It is going to be amazing night. Check out our church website for updates: thelifechurch.com
Today we went to the doctor to find out what we are having. I have been saying that it is a boy and Amanda has been saying it is a girl. Well, we have some pictures so you can see for yourself. We’re having a …………..
A first look at our babe
a face and head shot
full body shot
ok, ok, here is the big reveal!
Since everyone thought it was a girl, including Amanda, we have no name. Our baby is nameless………..for now.
Thank you Jesus for the gift of a SON!
To all our family and friends, we’re having our first baby sometime in March. Pretty amazing when you think of the miracle that it is. We find out this Thursday, October 25, 2007 what we are having and will announce it right here on our website. I am so thankful to have such an incredible wife that will be a great mom. It has been our desire to be parents for a while now, but as the Bible says, there is a time for everything. This is our time. The Bible says that if we trust in God, He will give us our desires.
Psalms 37:3-4
Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Take delight in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.
This was the first glimpse of baby Meneses
Stay tuned for the big reveal………………..
