Live The Great

Many months of planning and preparation become a reality on Sunday, March 1, as The Summit begins. For the past two months we have been making our way through the Book of Esther leading up to this day. And now, we have arrived at The Summit, For Such a Time as This.

If you are here in Kansas City, there is still time to be with us each evening at 7:00pm, March 1-6. We are asking God for more than just a conference. We are asking him for a divine encounter that will transform our lives and our church. We have been praying that each of us would be secure in our life purpose, the reason we are here For Such a Time as This. And, we are asking God to lead us step by step in forming an alliance of churches to minister to the Kurdish people.

There is also time to be with us on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings for training in making disciples of Jesus Christ, the story behind the Directions study. On Thursday morning I invite you to join us as we discuss the formation of a Kurdish Alliance. Saturday morning you are welcome to be part of the New Missionary Workshop. Details about all this and more can be found here, or you can link there from kcbt.org. There is no charge for any of these morning sessions, but we do ask that you register online so we can do the logistical preparations.

Another Day Is Dawning!

Before we know it, another long-awaited day will be upon us. In fact, we have been waiting for this day for about a decade. On Sunday, March 15 we break ground for our campus expansion. What a journey this has been! I can’t begin to express how excited I am about this! The actual groundbreaking will take place between our two morning services, and you can always follow the details here on our newly renovated kcbt.org.

“Wait!” you say, “There’s a recession going on out there.” There sure is! These are tough times and many people are hurting. But, this is also a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. If you are not a regular blog reader, you might want to check out my take on building in a time of economic distress in my post of February 10. You can read it here.

The Men Behind the Wall

“So what are we going to study next?” I always hear that question as we finish one series and prepare for another. Actually, we are going to go back and examine a favorite portion of scripture that we studied a decade ago as we first began to talk about the need to expand our campus – Nehemiah.

However, it will be quite a bit different with the perspective of a ten-year journey. As we have said from the beginning, this is not primarily about a new building; this is about building people, making disciples, perfecting the saints, taking the Gospel to the peoples of the world and all that. Nehemiah is often the object of study during a building project because he supervised the building of the walls of Jerusalem following the Babylonian captivity. There are some wonderful lessons to be learned there to be sure! However, what is often overlooked is the fact that building the walls occupies only a relatively small portion of the book. The most important feature of this book is to observe that Nehemiah was a great builder of men. This will be the focus of our study: The Men Behind the Wall.

Nehemiah is a fairly large book and it will take us some time to cover it and do justice to the very important content. To make it interesting, we are going to break it up into several portions. The first segment we will study revolves around the first two chapters of Nehemiah, and I have called this study Choosing Inconvenience. What an appropriate name for what we are getting ready to experience!

After the ceremonial breaking of ground on March 15, there will come a day within the few weeks following that large equipment will appear on our property and most of our parking lot on the north side of 55th street will disappear (we’ll get some of it back after construction). Everything is ready to go and we will only be waiting on the city of Kansas City to do the necessary processing of papers. We do not anticipate any problems, but I am sure you understand that the city must process all the plans, and there is no way to predict how quickly that will happen. When it inevitably does happen, we will wake up to discover overnight that we will all be inconvenienced in some significant way.

I am not fearful of being inconvenienced. In fact, I believe that this is going to be quite healthy and even exciting for all of us. Nehemiah’s example will illustrate biblical truth about choosing inconvenience. Nehemiah intentionally chose to leave a very powerful and comfortable position in Persia in order to return to Jerusalem and be inconvenienced for the sake of the kingdom. On the other side of the temporary inconvenience, Nehemiah emerged a much stronger individual. Not only that, along the way he built an entire generation of men to be strong leaders – The Men Behind the Wall.

Get ready to embrace inconvenience!

Muchos meses de planificación y preparación se tornan realidad el domingo 1º de marzo, con la inauguración de La Cumbre. Por los últimos dos meses hemos estado avanzando por el Libro de Ester, conduciendo a este día. Y ahora, hemos llegado a La Cumbre, Para Esta Hora.

Si se encuentra en Kansas City, todavía tiene tiempo para acompañarnos cada noche a las 7:00 pm, del 1 al 6 de marzo. Estamos pidiéndole a Dios que nos dé más que sólo una conferencia. Le estamos pidiendo un encuentro divino que transforme nuestras vidas y nuestra iglesia. Hemos estado pidiendo nos sintamos seguros en el propósito de nuestras vidas, la razón por la cual estamos aquí Para Esta Hora. Y le estamos pidiendo a Dios que nos guíe paso por paso en la formación de una alianza de iglesias que ministren al pueblo kurdo.

También hay tiempo para que nos acompañe en las mañanas del martes y del miércoles para recibir capacitación sobre hacer discípulos de Jesucristo, la historia tras Direcciones. El jueves en la mañana le invito a que nos acompañe en la discusión de la formación de una Alianza Kurda. El sábado en la mañana también le invitamos a que participe en el Taller Nuevo Misionero. Puede ver los detalles sobre esto y más en www.thenewmissionary.com, o puede usar el enlace desde kcbt.org. No hay cargos de inscripción por ninguna de estas sesiones matutinas, pero sí le rogamos que se inscriba vía Internet para que podamos hacer los preparativos del caso.

¡Otro día alborea!

Antes de que nos percatemos de ello, otro día muy esperado nos llegará. De hecho, hemos estado esperando este día por aproximadamente una década. El domingo 15 de marzo iniciaremos la obra de construcción de la ampliación de nuestras instalaciones. ¡Qué trayecto más largo hemos recorrido! ¡No puedo ni empezar a expresar el entusiasmo que siento al respecto! El inicio de obras tendrá lugar entre nuestros dos servicios matutinos, y siempre podrá enterarse de los detalles en nuestra recién renovada página web www.kcbt.org.

«¡Un momento!», dirá usted, «Estamos en una recesión». ¡Seguro que sí! Esta es una época difícil y muchos están sufriendo. Pero esta también es una oportunidad única. Si usted no lee mi blog regularmente, tal vez le gustaría ver mis ideas sobre construir en una época de aflicción económica, la cual aparece en la edición del 10 de febrero. Puede leerla aquí.

Los hombres tras el muro

«¿Y qué vamos a estudiar después?» Siempre escucho esa pregunta cuando terminamos una serie de estudios y nos preparamos para iniciar otra. En realidad, regresaremos a examinar una de mis porciones favoritas de las Escrituras que estudiamos hace una década, cuando empezamos a hablar de la necesidad de ampliar nuestras instalaciones: Nehemías.

Sin embargo, la perspectiva será bastante diferente luego de nuestro recorrido de diez años. Como dijimos desde un principio, esto no se trata principalmente de tener un edificio nuevo; sino que se trata de edificar a personas, hacer discípulos, perfeccionar a los santos, llevar el evangelio a los pueblos del mundo, y cosas semejantes. Nehemías frecuentemente es tema de estudio durante un proyecto de construcción porque él supervisó la construcción del muro de Jerusalén, luego del cautiverio en Babilonia. ¡Sin duda hay lecciones maravillosas que se pueden aprender! Sin embargo, un hecho que a menudo se pasa por alto es que la edificación del muro ocupa una porción relativamente pequeña del libro. La característica más importante de este libro es observar que Nehemías fue un gran edificador de hombres. Éste será el enfoque de nuestro estudio: Los Hombres tras el Muro.

El Libro de Nehemías es bastante extenso y nos tomará cierto tiempo abarcarlo y hacerle justicia a su contenido tan importante. Para hacerlo más interesante, lo dividiremos en varias porciones. El primer segmento que estudiaremos gira en torno a los primeros dos capítulos de Nehemías, y he titulado este estudio Escogiendo la Incomodidad. ¡Qué nombre más adecuado para lo que estamos a punto de experimentar!

Luego de la ceremonia de inicio de obras el 15 de marzo, en las semanas siguientes llegará el día en el cual equipos pesados aparecerán en nuestra propiedad, y la mayor parte de nuestro estacionamiento en el lado norte de la 55th Street desaparecerá (recuperaremos una parte después de la construcción). Todo está listo para empezar y sólo estamos esperando que el municipio de Kansas City tramite los papeles del caso. No anticipamos tener problemas, pero estoy seguro que usted comprende que el municipio deberá procesar todos los planos y que no hay manera de anticipar la rapidez con la cual eso sucederá. Cuando suceda, despertaremos para descubrir que de la noche a la mañana seremos incomodados de algún modo significativo.

No temo incomodarme. De hecho, creo que esto será una experiencia saludable y hasta alentadora para nosotros. El ejemplo de Nehemías ilustrará las verdades bíblicas en cuanto a escoger incomodarnos. Nehemías intencionadamente escogió dejar un cargo muy poderoso y cómodo en Persia para volver a Jerusalén e incomodarse por el bien del reino. Después de haber salido de su incomodidad temporal, Nehemías emergió como un individuo mucho más fuerte. No sólo eso, sino que en el camino edificó a una generación completa de hombres que fueran líderes fuertes – Los Hombres Tras el Muro.

¡Prepárese a recibir la incomodidad!

Bring in the bulldozers, jack hammers and dump trucks.  Tear up that parking lot.  Rip it to shreds.   How exciting will that be?  It is almost here.  As the countdown clock ticks away, the fruit of 15 years of praying and planning will begin to take shape where you and I used to park.    It will be an extremely large fruit of metal and glass and concrete and less convenient parking.   Entering the building is going to be radically different for about a year.  We need your help to make the transition as smooth as possible.  On Ground breaking Sunday, March 15 we will be handing out a map of the property detailing the traffic flow.

Please consider helping us in the following areas…we need you.

WATCHMEN

These men and women provide aid and security on Sunday mornings and for special events.  They have been certified in several security areas in order to qualify.  If you have law enforcement experience, armed forces training, or just generally enjoy protecting people, this position is for you.  Please prayerfully consider joining this crew.  We need you.

EVENING PATROL

These individuals will patrol our parking lots on the weeknights between the hours of 5:00-9:00 making sure all is in order for our guests and members during the week nights.  This will become very important as we will be asked to park further from the building.   We need you.

TRAFFIC FACILITATORS

Seeking men and women to help direct traffic on Sunday mornings with a bright orange vest and whistle.  Traffic flow will be all important when our main parking lot goes away.  We will need help directing, and educating our members and guests where they can drive, park and drop off.  We are looking for thirty members to help us in this area.  We need you.

PARKING LOT AIDS

We will begin transporting those with physical challenges from Parking Lot A, next to Temple Heights, to the building.  We will have two golf carts to help with this process.  We are asking for two to four people each week to assist in this area.   We need you.

SHUTTLE DRIVERS

Without any real parking opportunities in our main parking lot, the upper lot, near the ball fields will be used much more.   We are in need of more drivers to help keep up with the demand.  There will be at least five shuttles running on Sunday morning.  We need you.

It was not possible to include all the details of each area.  If you would like more details or have any questions, please contact Chris Ruzicka at 816.358.0988 x 2041.  Include your name, phone number, area of interest, any related skills and, of course, questions.

Other areas in need:  facility cleaning, mowing, on-call weekday drivers, snow removal, Sunday greeters, vehicle cleaning, flower garden maintenance, kitchen cleaning, floor cleaning, powerwashing, painting and Sunday EMTs.

As spring approaches, images of baseball spring to mind. The smell of fresh cut grass, the warmth of leather gloves, and the crack of a bat connecting to ball evoke strong memories in many of us. What better way to meet other KCBT members and reach out to our community than joining us at the KCBT ball park this spring? Leagues for children and adults are forming now; space is limited so sign up today! Our leagues are designed to be enjoyable for those of all skill levels.

Prefer to watch games rather than play? Why not signup to help keep score and do both! You can also help serve food and beverages in our concession stand, keep our grounds tidy between games, help prepare the fields for games, or help umpire games. You’ll find more information on areas of service on our league pages, or you can contact Scott Gates if you’d like more information.

This article was written by KCBT staff member Erin Coleman.

Do you see the field? I see it too, but the field I see is one full of the potential of a mission, one that reaches across an entire community and one that can impact the future of the schools and workplaces of the community for the better.  This field is one that brings hope and love to dysfunction and confusion.  It provides opportunity for making a difference and it provides it at the most basic and foundational core of humanity: relationships.  These are not forced and awkward relationships full of agenda and distrust but natural relationships found on common ground.  Without this common ground, how can we as the church relate?  How do we meet the people who are God’s heart?  How to we enjoy each other and minister to each other as part of the same community?

The answers are on the field.  Right now it is covered in leaves and sticks and the grass is dried and brown.  Surely the answers do not lie here.  We have been given a vision and a mission, but surely this is not the right place to act on it.  It is too easy, it is too close, it doesn’t cost us much more than a Saturday morning and a few blisters.  But I say, if we can’t meet here, if we can’t change this field, what can we change?  So, an invitation has been given, a challenge has been cast.

Find your mission on the field, clean it up and let it be the start of a season of growth.  KCBT Ball Fields Workday is Saturday, March 28, 2009.  For more information or to signup, click here or contact Scott Gates at 816.358.0988 x 2137.

After much hard work and toil, we’ve managed to get the new kcbt.org site up and running.  We are excited about what this new layout will do for communicating to our church body, and the community at large.  I wanted to take a moment and review a few key points about the redesign that I thought you’d all like to know.

The first thing you’ll definitely notice other then the new look and feel, is that we’ve drastically cut down on a lot of the content that was on the old kcbt.org site.  This intentional shift to streamline our content was done to simplify the information we are communicating and try to help our members and our visitors find the information they are looking for quickly.  As we reviewed the old site we found too often we were repeating the same information over and over again, or sending mixed signals about what is really important to us here at KCBT.  I hope you find the new layout easier to navigate and friendlier to find the info your looking for.

In an effort to make the data you want to reach quicker we’ve enabled quite a few “shortcuts” to help you get to where you want to go.  Obviously the audio / video of our main service and our ministry fellowships generate a lot of traffic on our site.  So we wanted to make it easier for you to find the audio/video that your looking for.  Of course you could always navigate to FELLOWSHIPS > Then your ministry fellowship name.  However, we’ve created shortcuts to all of the ministry fellowships, which I have listed below:

• http://kcbt.org/career (Career Ministry Fellowship)
• http://kcbt.org/core (Core Ministry Fellowship)
• http://kcbt.org/crossover (Crossover Ministry Fellowship)
• http:/kcbt.org/focus (Focus Ministry Fellowship)
• http://kcbt.org/godview (Godview Ministry Fellowship)
• http://kcbt.org/grounded (Grounded for life Ministry Fellowship)
• http://kcbt.org/hispano (Hispano Ministry Fellowship)
• http://kcbt.org/wayoflife (Way of Life Ministry Fellowship)
• http://kcbt.org/media (Main Service)

We’ve also created shortcuts to a few other sections of our site that you may want to be aware of:

• http://kcbt.org/skykids (Children’s Ministry)
• http://kcbt.org/staff (Our Staff)
• http://kcbt.org/brsa (Youth League)

I also wanted to take a minute and discuss a couple of ways you can get kcbt.org to deliver the information you want directly to you! We’ve used podcasting for quite some time on KCBT.org, however we wanted to make it a little more noticeable on our site this time around.  If your using a program like Itunes or another podcatching software, you can subscribe to any of our podcasts and have the content delivered to your media player anytime your online, so that you can listen to it at your convenience.  We’ve also included an online player of our audio/video files, and now a new download link so you can grab a single message that you want, and listen to it later.

The second way you can take KCBT.org with you is through RSS.  If your not familiar with RSS I won’t take the time to try to explain it here, but you might find the video below of great help from the folks at Common Craft.  We’ve integrated RSS feeds for almost all of the sections of KCBT.org.  For example on our Events or Classes page, you’ll see an RSS link image on the sidebar.  Using this link in your favorite RSS reader you’ll get the latest Events or Classes delivered to you via RSS whenever you want them.

The Summit is coming. You won’t get this for a few days yet, but I am writing these words from the airport in Zurich, Switzerland. I am on a mission of discovery and I have a lot of thoughts bouncing around in my head. My current trip has to do with surveying the situation of the Kurdish people both in Turkey and Iraq, and looking for ways we can serve them in the name of Jesus Christ. I know that The Summit is coming March 1-8 and I want to share some firsthand experiences with you. All the while this phrase rings in my mind – for such a time as this, from Esther 4:14.

Our Student Mission Council prayerfully selected this phrase as the theme for The Summit and I have been trying to develop it fully as we are going through a study of the book of Esther during January and February. As I think about this phrase and our study of Esther, a couple of principles stand out:

• We all have a divine destiny. Despite Esther’s secular, non-practicing Jewish background, God had a purpose for her greater than herself. When the time came, such a time as this, she was ready to embrace God’s purpose for her.
• Providence. This word dominates any analysis of Esther, a book in which God’s name does not appear a single time. Even in those times when we cannot see God or fully understand what he is doing, he is there nonetheless and his providence quietly goes before us, controlling people, events and even kings to provide, protect and prepare us for our mission of destiny.

One month from today The Summit begins. In our normal Sunday morning services on March 1, I will try to prepare our hearts for what is to come. That evening we begin in earnest and services continue through the following Friday night March 6 each evening at 7pm. This will be different. We are asking God to engage our entire church as a missionary. On Friday night I will challenge us to commit to pray for the Kurdish people and specifically to pray about how God would use us to be a channel of his love to them.

I invite you to join us on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings for a brief course on making disciples in our contemporary world. On Thursday morning I will meet with any visiting pastors and leaders and discuss forming an alliance of churches to reach the Kurds. We are anticipating a good number of our Latin American friends to be with us and the goal of this alliance is specifically to unite efforts between English speaking and Spanish speaking churches to make a difference in our world. For years through Live the Great Commission, I have been challenging Latin American churches to engage in mission to other languages and cultures. It has been a long, and at times a lonely road. I can’t help but think, though, that all of this effort has been guided by God’s providence for such a time as this. Saturday morning is a workshop to introduce people to the “new missionary” by having several of the new missionaries share their lives with us as to how God is blessing those who think creatively. On March 8, Dr. Paul Nyquist of Avant Ministries will challenge us to follow through with what we will have experienced during the week. Be sure to check out www.thenewmissionary.com.

Ground-breaking is coming. For years we have been praying, planning and preparing for such a time as this. It’s almost here! Just the other day I saw some of the final artistic conceptions of what this is going to look like. Wow! I knew it would be good, but I have to say that what I saw was very encouraging.  Not only am I thrilled to think what this means for our Children’s Ministry, I am also encouraged to think that we have some gifted men in our church who will now have some space to utilize their gifts in adult education as space in our current facility becomes available. I don’t think we yet fully understand just how much this is going to impact our ministry and outreach and it has come for such a time as this.

Youth League is coming. This year we are asking God for at least 600 youth to participate in our youth league. Maybe this is your destiny – to be used of God to touch the life of a child who one day will be mightily used of God for a destiny of his or her own. I am continually amazed at how God uses athletics to touch lives. Just last month we sent our third baseball team to the Dominican Republic to build relationships, make disciples, touch lives and weave networks of people whom God has brought together for such a time as this.

Finally. I hope you see how this all connects – for such a time as this. The Summit, ground-breaking for the campus expansion, youth league, missions and missionaries – it’s all about making disciples of Jesus Christ among all the peoples of the world, beginning right here in Kansas City and extending even to the often forgotten and oppressed Kurdish people on the other side of the globe. It’s destiny, our destiny – for such a time as this.

We can only ensure an accurate year-end contribution statement when you use your pre-numbered envelopes. Please use only pre-numbered envelopes with a 2009 date and include your name as well as the amount (including any designations) directly on the envelope. Should you forget your pre-numbered envelope, blank envelopes are available at the back of the pews in the church auditorium. Those envelopes should be completed with name, address, and amount.  As a suggestion, write your envelope number inside your Bible or checkbook and include the number on the blank envelopes.  Don’t forget – please print!

The IRS requires substantial documentation of any gift over $250.00 that will be claimed as a tax deduction. Cancelled checks are no longer acceptable as proof of donations in the event of an audit; therefore, it is imperative that you use church provided envelopes if you plan on claiming contributions to the church as deductions on your tax return. For those of you mailing in your offering via your on-line banking system, make sure to include your envelope number (similar to a vendor account or invoice number).

For donations less than $250, the IRS will still require proof. That proof must be in the form of a cancelled check or a written statement from the charity itself.

The church accounting office provides annual giving statements only to those individuals or families who use offering envelopes. The staff will make every effort to make sure that “stray checks” – such as those submitted for special offering during services – will be posted to accounts of those individuals who have been issued offering envelopes or if the gift is $250.00 or more. The accounting office must record contributions on a contemporaneous basis. This means we will not be able to reconstruct a giving statement at year end.

Your 2008 giving statement will be mailed by January 31, 2009.

Please remember that designations should be made on the offering envelopes and not on your check.  The following is a current list of acceptable designations for 2009:

• Regular Giving
• Campus (Building) Fund
• MARS (Missionaries are Really Special)
• Missionaries (those sent out and supported by our church)
• Short Term Missions
• Special Offerings (announced from the pulpit)

If you are looking for an easier way to give, check out our website for information about online giving.

Every set of parents hears, “ You must take time for each other.  Never quit dating your spouse…”  Although we all know this is a wise piece of advice, the reality is that finding time in a busy world to set aside for such an “indulgence” is just not always a priority for many couples.  Also, one cannot overlook the expense involved in a true date night.  The cost of a babysitter and then dinner and movie can easily cost in the ballpark of $75.  This can be very hard on the budget!

The SkyKids Children’s Ministry would like to extend an invitation to all parents in need of a night out.  On February 20, 2009, the first church-wide Kids’ Night Out will be held here at KCBT.  Your children, birth to 5th grade, will enjoy a themed evening (“Carnival!) that will include dinner and a rotation of activities.  The kids will love the magician, balloon-twisting class, interactive team games and a movie with snacks and popcorn while you and your spouse are out on the town!

As you are planning your evening away from the children, consider making this night an evangelistic one.  Invite another couple to go out with you and bring their children to Kids’ Night Out.  This is the perfect opportunity to get to know your neighbors or a co-worker and begin to share your life with them.

Space is limited to the first 100 children.  Registration is required; sign-up on-line today! The cut-off date for registration is February 18.  The cost for each child is $3 and will be paid at the door.  Questions should be directed to Summer Montgomery at 816.358.0988 x 2016.

La Cumbre se acerca. No recibirá esta carta por algunos días, pero escribo estas palabras desde Zurich, Suiza. Estoy en una misión de descubrimiento y tengo muchos pensamientos surcando por mi mente. Este viaje tiene que ver con estudiar la situación de los kurdos en Turquía y en Irak, y buscar maneras en las cuales podamos servirles en el nombre de Jesucristo. Sé que La Cumbre viene del 1-8 de marzo y quiero compartirles algunas experiencias de primera mano. Todo esto mientras una frase resuena en mi mente; para esta hora, de Ester 4.14.
Nuestro Consejo Estudiantil de Misiones seleccionó esta frase luego de mucha oración como tema para La Cumbre, y he procurado desarrollarlo a plenitud mientras avanzamos por un estudio del libro de Ester en enero y febrero. Al pensar en esta frase y en nuestro estudio de Ester, un par de principios sobresalen:

• Todos tenemos un destino divino. A pesar del fondo secular y judío no practicante que Ester tenía, Dios tenía un propósito para ella que iba más allá de su persona. Cuando llegó aquel momento, esta hora, ella estaba lista para abrazar el propósito que Dios tenía para ella.
• Providencia. Esta palabra domina todo análisis de Ester, un libro en el cual el nombre de Dios no se menciona ni una sola vez. Aun en los momentos en los cuales no podemos ver a Dios ni comprender plenamente lo que está haciendo, él está allí de igual modo, y su providencia va calladamente delante de nosotros, controlando a personas, eventos y aun a reyes para proveer, proteger y prepararnos para nuestra misión de destino.

En un mes a partir de hoy se inicia La Cumbre. En nuestros servicios normales de la mañana del domingos 1 de marzo, procuraré preparar nuestros corazones para lo que vendrá. Esa noche iniciaremos de lleno y los servicios continuarán hasta el viernes 6 de marzo, cada noche a las 7:00 pm. Esto será algo diferente. Estamos pidiéndole a Dios que use a toda nuestra iglesia como misionera. La noche del viernes desafiaré a nuestra congregación a comprometerse a orar por el pueblo kurdo y específicamente a orar que Dios nos use como canal para transmitir el amor de Dios a ellos.

Les invito a que nos acompañen las mañanas del martes y del miércoles para un curso breve sobre cómo hacer discípulos en nuestro mundo contemporáneo. El jueves por la mañana me reuniré con los pastores y líderes que nos visitan para discutir la formación de una alianza de iglesias dedicada a alcanzar a los kurdos. Anticipamos la llegada de un buen número de amigos de América Latina, y la meta de esta alianza será específicamente aunar esfuerzos entre iglesias de habla inglesa e hispana para marcar una diferencia positiva en nuestro mundo. Por años, a través de Vive la Gran Comisión, he desafiado a iglesias latinoamericanas a involucrarse en misiones a pueblos de otros idiomas y culturas. Este camino ha sido largo, y algunas veces solitario. No obstante, no puedo dejar de pensar que este esfuerzo ha sido guiado por la providencia divina para esta hora. El sábado por la mañana celebraremos un taller para presentar a personas al «nuevo misionero», por medio de pedir a varios de nuestros nuevos misioneros que compartan sus vidas con nosotros y nos muestren cómo Dios bendice a aquellos que piensan de modo creativo. El 8 de marzo, el Dr. Paul Nyquist de Avant Ministries nos desafiará a que sigamos con lo que experimentamos durante la semana. Asegúrese de visitar www.thenewmissionary.com.

El inicio de obras se acerca. Por años hemos estado orando, planificando y preparándonos para esta hora. ¡Casi está aquí! El otro día pude ver algunas interpretaciones artísticas finales de cómo se verá la construcción terminada. ¡Vaya! Sabía que se vería bien, pero tengo que decir que lo que vi me alentó mucho. No sólo me entusiasma saber lo que esto significa para nuestro Ministerio a los Niños, sino que también me alienta pensar que tenemos hombres talentosos en nuestra iglesia que tendrán espacio para utilizar sus dones para la educación de adultos al ampliar nuestras instalaciones actuales. Opino que aún no comprendemos plenamente cuánto impactará esto a nuestro ministerio y alcance, y ha llegado para esta hora.

La Liga Juvenil de Béisbol se acerca. Este año estamos pidiéndole a Dios que por lo menos 600 jóvenes y niños participen en nuestra liga juvenil. Tal vez este es su destino: ser usado por Dios para tocar la vida de un niño que un día será usado poderosamente por Dios para cumplir su propio destino. Continuamente me siento asombrado al ver cómo Dios emplea actividades atléticas para tocar vidas. Apenas el mes pasado enviamos nuestro tercer equipo de béisbol a la República Dominicana para edificar relaciones, hacer discípulos, tocar vidas y forjar redes de personas que Dios ha unido para esta hora.

Finalmente, espero que pueda ver cómo todo esto está conectado, para esta hora. La Cumbre, la expansión de nuestras instalaciones, la liga juvenil, las misiones y los misioneros; todo tiene que ver con hacer discípulos de Jesucristo entre todos los pueblos del mundo, empezando aquí mismo en Kansas City y extendiéndose hasta el pueblo kurdo, frecuentemente olvidado y oprimido, en el otro lado del planeta. Su destino, nuestro destino, para esta hora.