“The movement in our relationship to God is always from God to us. Always. We can’t, through our piety or goodness, move closer to God. God is always coming near to us.” ― Nadia Bolz-Weber
Join us as we pray for our congregations around the world.
To download the full January Prayer Guide and participate in corporate prayer, visit here.
On November 19, Grace Communion Cleveland held a wonderful outreach event. We served our neighbors Thanksgiving dinner with all the traditional Thanksgiving dishes and pies.
For this engagement, we partnered with another community organization, the Heights Emergency Food Center. The event was advertised in advance with a poster at the Center, inviting their clients to receive a free dine-in or take-out meal. We also provided take-home flyers, and a sign-up sheet helped us keep track of how many were planning to eat with us.
Another church in Cleveland Heights where the Center is located allowed us to borrow their commercial kitchen with an attached fellowship hall. GC Cleveland members cooked the food items at home. Then we used the commercial kitchen to keep the food warm as we distributed the meals. Although very few people stayed to dine in with us, we had many good conversations and prayer requests with our take-out clients. We also delivered nearly 30 meals to nearby apartment residents. There were lots of smiling faces that day, not only from the recipients but the servers too!
We only planned food for 96 people, but we served 149 meals in total. Jesus saw to it that we could actually serve many more meals than projected. A true “loaves and fishes” event was witnessed that day!
By Pat Shiels, Love Avenue Champion
Cleveland, OH, US
Discover the transformative power of Christ’s love in our new series GCI Testify. Join us as members from our global fellowship share testimonies of their experiences with Jesus through GCI congregations and ministries. Don’t miss the opportunity to witness firsthand the impact of the Spirit in and through GCI.
For many, Christmas includes the tradition of giving gifts. Have you ever watched someone open a gift and recognized that it wasn’t what they wanted? Is it wrong to want more?
We are often admonished to be grateful for what we have. Can we be both? Can we be grateful and still long for more?
We are in the season of Epiphany. It is the time in the worship calendar when we celebrate God manifesting as the baby Jesus and revealing Godself to the world. Jesus came into the world because the world needed more.
Is it wrong to want more?
In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, magi from the east came to Jerusalem, asking, “Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star in the east and have come to pay him homage.” Matthew 2:1-2
The Magi are also remembered in this Epiphany season. What can we learn from their story? How deep was their longing for more to seek the Messiah, to risk this journey?
“Their courage gives our questing hearts a voice
To seek, to find, to worship, to rejoice.” — Malcom Guite, from the sonnet, The magi
May we be grateful that light has come into the world and reconciled all. May we seek the light, as we long for more to walk in the light.
Prayer
Beautiful, triune God, we are grateful for the Incarnation, for the way you are manifested in Jesus. Thank you, Jesus, for revealing the Father. Thank you, Spirit, for stirring in us a longing for your kingdom. May your kingdom come in all its fullness. And wrap your hope around our weary hearts when we grow tired of waiting for the world to be good and beautiful and kind. Amen.
By Elizabeth Mullins, Update Editor
Durham, NC, US
Please join us for a weekend of training, appreciation, and worship. Everyone is invited.
See flyer below or visit our website here for more information.
Registration opens February 2024.
Registration Fee:
The Home Office will cover the registration fee for one pastor/facilitator per congregation and their spouse to attend a regional gathering. A coupon code will be sent with instructions on how to register in mid-February.
Lodging:
Each pastor/facilitator will need to book their own lodging for the gathering.
Hotel courtesy block links will be made available after registration opens. You may also consider booking other accommodations that work best for you (examples: hotel, Airbnb, VRBO, or accommodation with friends/relatives).
After the gathering, the Home Office will send a subsidy to your congregation via the send/draw to help offset the cost of one pastor/facilitator’s housing for the regional gathering. The amount will be set based on the average cost of the discounted hotel rate we were able to obtain for three nights.
One aspect of my role as editor of Update is to recruit people to contribute stories. I attempt to engage contributors from a diverse range of backgrounds, ages, and locations. Yet one of the common responses I receive is, “oh, I’m not a writer.”
It reminds of when someone says, “I’m not creative.” Perhaps they are thinking of a literal artist, like a painter. But here’s what I say to that. You are made in the image of a creative God, so yes, you are creative. Writing is telling a story, putting it into words. And you are made in the image of the greatest storyteller.
So yes, you are a writer because everyone has a story. Every congregation has a story.
I engage folks, requesting they write for Update. I assure them they will be equipped to tell their story because I can help by editing and refining the writing structure. I empower them by convincing them that they don’t have to be the pastor to tell the story, and their unique perspective is needed.
You, the reader, help with the final “E” in the 4 Es. When you leave a comment, affirming what the contributor has written, you are giving them much needed encouragement. We’re grateful.
Here’s a special mention for the members who left the most comments. Thank you for cheering us on!
By Elizabeth Mullins, Publications Coordinator
Durham, NC, US
Here are the top 10 GCI resources from 2023.
1. 2023 Denominational Celebration: Gathering and worshipping with our members from around the world is always a highlight. Relive the joy and camaraderie — or experience it for the first time — with recordings featuring GCI stories sessions, GCS graduation, and keynote sessions, including worship services. During the keynote sessions, we experienced some technical challenges. We did our best to improve the final product for a better viewing experience.
2. Faith, Hope, and Love in Action: This year the theme “Faith, Hope, and Love in Action” guided our efforts, propelling us to make disciples through deliberate engagement, vibrant worship, and living and sharing our Christian faith. Check out these articles on workshops equipping our leaders around the world to embody this theme:
3. Jesus’ How-To: Don’t miss the opportunity to explore the most popular lead article from Equipper. It explores the challenges of adhering to the Great Commandments and introduces Jesus’ new commandment as a transformative shift in focus.
If you are looking for resources on ministry practices and more articles like this, subscribe today!
4. Devotional—A Shining Blessing: In Ordinary Time, we welcomed young authors to offer their insights on the theme, “God is in the streets.” We were blessed by the perspectives of the next generation of emerging GCI leaders as they shared their encounters with God outside of the walls of the Sunday church gathering. Don’t miss the chance to read the most popular devotional by Tongli Panuve in GCI-Fiji.
5. Surprise the World: In relationship with our Triune God and in community with one other, we engage in our neighborhoods shining the light and sharing the love of Christ. A book that has shaped missional living across all six GCI regions is Surprise the World by Michael Frost. In this quick read, Frost provides a framework that helps us develop missional habits in everyday lives.
6. Culture of High Support, High Challenge: In this letter, President Greg Williams explores the culture of GCI, emphasizing its foundation in the person of Jesus and characterized by the philosophy of “High Support, High Challenge, Grace Always.” Stay tuned for more insights and updates in the upcoming January 2024 issue as we continue to pursue GCI’s vision of Healthy Church.
GCI-US Home Church: Many of our faithful and longtime members no longer have a local GCI congregation where they can attend. We recognize that the church is wherever the body gathers and encourage your active participation in the Church in a local setting. Understanding that this may not always be possible, to provide high support we provide weekly sermons to help you stay connected with our fellowship. Click on the link to subscribe and receive our weekly messages of hope.
7. Healthy Church Challenge: Witness the dynamic talent of our youngest members as they share the good news of Jesus and how they experience his love.
8. Faces from the Home Office: The primary purpose of our Home Office is to offer support. Get to know some of our dedicated staff members who were highlighted in profiles this year.
9. Defining the 4 Es w/ Gavin Henderson Podcast: The 4 Es are the foundation for ministry development in the Avenues. Catch up on this episode to learn how practically to live out our theology in Healthy Teams.
10. President’s Video—3 Year Plan: In the January 2023 update, President Greg Williams highlighted the focus on leadership in the 6 Global Regions, urging pastors to build teams for the Ministry Avenues of Faith, Hope, and Love. Look back with this video, and reflect on our theme, “Faith, Hope, and Love in Action,” guiding us to make disciples through intentional engagement and vibrant worship. Stay tuned for an update on the culmination of our 3-Year Plan in our first January 2024 issue.
Amazing Grace is a hymn that is sung by many, but only fully understood by some. Have you meditated on the grace that is being sung about in this hymn?
What Jesus did through the Incarnation, out of his grace and unconditional love for all of us, is beyond our comprehension. Jesus was willing to be born a human baby for a chance at a relationship with us.
The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:9-10,14
Experiencing that level of love always leaves me in awe and brings me gratitude knowing that God loves us all so much! We are made in his image. Why wouldn’t we want to unconditionally love others and give them the grace that is shown to us?
As you celebrate the birth of our Savior this month, may you reflect on the amazing grace he demonstrated to you and to all people.
Prayer:
Our graceful and loving Father in heaven, thank you for loving us. Thank you that we have a glimpse of what is in store for us by your grace. Help us love others as you do and be a reflection of your grace to those around us. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.
Charissa Panuve
Suva, Fiji
