Sunday, August 25, 2013

Following God's Call

To most of us faith seems strange. There is a mystery to faith. We at times struggle with doubts and fear that can override faith. But we as believers in Christ are called to walk by faith and not by sight (2 Cor. 5:7). Scripture tells that it is by faith that we stand (2 Cor. 1:24) and that without faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6). But how can we really live this life by faith? I believe what we need is a faith mentor. Scripture provides one for us in a man who is just like us, his name is Abraham. All throughout Scripture, God points to Abraham and says, "If you want to know what faith looks like....if you want to see faith with flesh and bones...look to him." Hebrews 11: 8 says, "By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.”

It is so reassuring to know that Abraham was a person just like us. He had bad days, he had setbacks....he was even known to tell a lie every now and then! But there was always one thing that was consistent with Abraham....he trusted God.....a trust that demonstrated itself in unwavering obedience to God.

Now, the verse from Hebrews that I mentioned earlier refers to an encounter Abraham had with God in Genesis 12:1-4:
"Now the Lord had said to Abram: “Get out of your country, from your family and from your father’s house, to a land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” So Abram departed as the Lord had spoken to him, and Lot went with him. And Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran."
If you think about it, God’s call on Abraham’s life was a pretty scary thing. I mean, Abraham was no spring chicken when God spoke to him about leaving! He was 75 years old! When was the last time you heard about a 75-year-old man packing up his family and moving away somewhere?
But notice what Abraham’s response was! He went out… not knowing where he was headed. All he knew was that he was being obedient. This is what the Bible calls faithSo, will our lives be characterized by the biblical faith we see in Abraham?
God is calling our family to plant True Life Church in Princeton, IN. This will be our second church plant. The first was when I was little bit younger (22 years ago to be exact!). So, I can somewhat identify with Abraham. I am certainly not a spring chicken! But one thing that should not change with age is God's strong sense of calling. God's calling upon my life to serve Him is as strong today as it was then! What an awesome God we serve!
The purpose of this blog and this first post is to introduce the work that God is calling us to so that you can partner with us through prayer, by serving with us, or by committing to become a financial partner.
What is the mission of True Life Church? We are committed to planting a church because there are many people who need to be reached with the gospel of Jesus Christ. Our mission is simple....we want to see those who are far away from God experience Jesus and become His fully devoted followers who reproduce themselves to make a greater impact in their world. We want to change the way people think and feel about church. Church should be a place of transformation not stagnation!
How can you pray for True Life Church? I believe that prayer is our greatest resource.
  • Pray that God would provide the funding/flexible employment for Pastor Paul so that he will be able to leave his current job at Toyota and have more time to cultivate relationships in the Princeton area.
  • Pray for our family. For my wife and ministry partner Laura, our kids Elizabeth, a senior at Oakland City University and our son Joshua, a senior a Castle High School. Pray that God would put a hedge protection around us as we minister in His name.
  • Pray that the Holy Spirit would "go before" as we share the gospel with the people of Princeton.
  • Pray that God would raise up a minimum of 100 prayer partner to pray for the start of True Life Church. Please e-mail Pastor Paul at pastorpw716@gmail.com to become one of our prayer warriors.
  • Pray that God would raise up financial partners so that the True Life vision can be realized for God's glory.
  • Pray that God would call more co-laborers to join us in His kingdom work.
  • Pray for the growth of our current partner churches, New Covenant Baptist Church of Princeton, IN and First Southern Baptist Church of Evansville, IN and other partner churches that God will bring aboard to help launch True Life Church.
  • Pray for our first outreach event which will take place during the Princeton Golden Heritage Festival September 20-22, 2013.
How can you serve with True Life Church?

We will have a booth at the Golden Heritage Festival in downtown Princeton, IN September 20-22, 2013. The main goal is to talk to as many people as possible through the means of a survey, which will lead people to see their need for Christ and enlistment in our first Bible Study. We will provide free of charge, bottled water, popcorn, and either cotton candy or sno-cones. PLEASE COME AND HELP US!

WE NEED THE FOLLOWING:
  • People to help give the surveys. The hours of the festival will be 9am-9pm Fri./Sat. 12-5pm Sun. We must have someone in the booth at all times during the festival.  My family will be extremely exhausted if we don't have help!
  • People to help make/serve bottled water, popcorn, sno-cones, cotton candy
  • Donations of coolers, bottled water, unpopped popcorn, popcorn bags, ice to cool bottled water, ice to make sno-cones, sno-cone syrup, sno-cone cups, supplies to make cotton candy, or financial donations to help cover/offset the cost.
  • If you can help email Pastor Paul at pastorpw716@gmail.com or call him @ 812-449-1018.
How can I become a financial partner with True Life Church?

It is our goal to be a self-sustaining church by the Spring of 2017. We will need to raise financial support for the operating cost of being a missional church plant. We need to raise most of our support through partnering churches and individuals. The bulk of our resources will be used to fund outreach, small group development, administrative expenses, and salary support.

Prayerfully consider how God might lead you to partner with us in His kingdom work. Please consider partnering with us at one of the following levels:

$10,000 - one time
$5,000 - one time
$1,000 - one time
$250 - monthly/3.5 years
$100 - monthly/3.5 years
$50 - monthly/3.5 years
$25 - monthly/3.5 years

Financial contributions for the work of True Life Church can be sent to:
First Southern Baptist Church
25 S. Cullen Ave.
Evansville, IN 47715

Trusting Him for all,

Pastor Paul Wellinghoff
True Life Church


2 comments:

  1. What a blessed way to start Sunday morning. And it looks like I have the privilege of writing the first comment. May the Lord continue to lead you even as He led Abraham, and may He grant you many souls as you share the Messiah Jesus in Princeton. ><> + <><

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  2. How great is our God ? I will faithfully pray daily, and trust God to supply all the needs. Only God knows what all the needs are.
    Let our "awesome God" lead the way.

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