All ABFs meet in our building on Sunday mornings, and each ABF ranges in size from 20 to over 50 people. Whatever your age or background, you’ll probably find one that fits your needs. Since registration isn’t required, feel free to sample a group’s composition, format or topic of study. If you would like assistance in locating a room on Sunday morning, please ask a member of our Hospitality Team at the Welcome Desk either in the front lobby or the Portico.

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What Should You Expect in an ABF?

The meetings focus on community life, teaching and prayer. An ABF is a place where you can share your concerns and know that people will care. You can ask questions and not feel foolish. You’ll learn how to apply biblical truth to the issues of everyday life.

Each ABF also sponsors periodic activities to help you grow. Through picnics, parties, and other social events, you’ll get to know other Christians and develop lasting friendships. Through service and outreach projects, you’ll find ways to use your spiritual gifts in helping others.

8:30 am - Life Trainers - Room 106 (Parlor)

We are parents who desire to love the Lord our God with all our heart and soul and mind (Matt. 22:37) and in so doing positively impact our marriages and our children. Our class meets weekly to fellowship and pray with one another, study God’s Word, and receive instruction and encouragement in topics related to personal holiness, marriage and parenting. We also meet outside of class for small group Bible studies, social events and service opportunities.

For more information contact: Brent and Jodi Rieger

10:00 am - 2 by 2 – Gym

Two by Two is a class of mostly newly married and engaged couples. We focus on strengthening life-long, Christ-centered marriages through videos, lessons, and active learning discussion groups.

For more information contact: Brian and Donna Ondracek

10:00 am - Cornerstone - Room 104 (Heritage Room)

Cornerstone is an Adult Bible Fellowship  for folks of all ages.  You'll find a diverse group of singles and married couples doing interactive Bible study together.

For more information contact: Terry & Madge Laitala

10:00 am - FaithBuilder’s - Room 208 (Choir room)

FaithBuilders is a fun group that's comprised of adults from all stages of life but most are parents of teens and college age students.  Topics include studies of books in the Bible, marriage, parenting and the Christian Life.

For more information contact: Dwight & Betty Nelson 

10:00 am - Friendship Class - Room 108 (Dining Room)

Friendship class is comprised primarily of those in their “golden years” of life, but all are welcome. We seek to help people gain a deeper understanding of God’s Word through in-depth study.

For more information contact: Pastor Howard Duncan

10:00 am – Potter’s Wheel - Room 22

We are a diverse group of single and married adults ranging in age from 40's to 60's.  Our class time is divided roughly into 2/3 bible study and 1/3 prayer and intercession.  We use inductive bible study methods in small table groups to read, understand and apply the Scriptures. We usually study books of the Bible, alternating between the Old and New Testaments with occasional forays into topical and character studies.  

For more information contact: Steve and Mary Newberg

10:00 am - Running the Journey - Room 106 (Parlor)

Running the Journey is a class of varied ages praying and studying God's Word together.

For more information contact: Ted and Lois Griffin

AWANA starts on Wednesday, September 15. Pre-Register NOW! Sign your child up early this year and receive a FREE Brookfield Zoo ticket for every child registered. Two ways to register:

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at the church office (708.386.3900), or email our AWANA Team. We look forward to serving your children in AWANA this year!

We’re delighted to present to you Gerald Hiestand as our new Senior Associate Pastor! We clearly see God’s calling for Gerald to serve here at Calvary. We look forward to his strong leadership, heart for discipleship, and depth of pastoral experience. He is excited to be a partner in ministry with us.

Gerald was born in Fremont, Nebraska, but grew up in Des Plaines, where he attended Des Plaines Bible Church. Gerald is the second of three brothers and a third generation pastor. His wife Jill grew up in Mount Prospect and Palatine, and also attended Des Plaines Bible. Both Gerald and Jill were raised in Christian homes, and came to faith at a young age. Gerald and Jill met for the first time in Jr. Choir while they were in the 6th and 3rd grade, and began dating while Jill was in high school. They married shortly after college, and now twelve happy years later have three children: Jake (8), Nate (5) and Ella (2).

After graduating from Moody Bible Institute in 1997 (and Jill from Trinity in 1998), Gerald and Jill moved to Fremont, Nebraska where he served as an Associate Pastor of Student Ministries and Adult Education. They moved back to Chicago in 2002 where Gerald completed a masters degree in Christian Thought at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. In 2005 he was hired as an Associate Pastor of Adult Ministries at Harvest Bible Chapel in Rolling Meadows, Illinois. Beyond the “normal” pastoral duties, his responsibilities at Harvest included teaching adult education and marriage classes, pastoral counseling (marriage and individual), oversight of home groups, and leading Harvest’s adult Christian education program.

Gerald has a passion for the Great Commission, and a desire to help Christians understand discipleship that extends beyond a sanctified version of the American dream. He enjoys reading and writing on a broad range of topics, and is also the author of Raising Purity: Helping Parents Understand the Bible’s Perspective on Sex, Dating, and Relationships (Iustificare Press, 2009). He is also the author of the forthcoming book, Pure Relationships: What Every Christian Single Needs to Know about Sex, Dating and Relationships (Crossway). Also, Gerald is an avid blogger for the Harvest Bible Fellowship. 

Gerald’s primary responsibilities will be in the areas of ministry and discipleship. In addition, he will ensure we have a biblically compelling vision for discipleship spanning cradle to grave. More specifically, Gerald will also have responsibilities in the following areas:

• Direct oversight of Adult and Family ministries, including: Adult Bible Fellowships, Life Groups, Women’s Ministries, and Men’s Ministries
• Supervise Ministry Staff who oversee Children’s, Youth, and Senior ministries
• Direct new church-wide ministry initiatives, like church planting.
• Assist in pastoral care, and preaching and teaching

Meet Pastor Gerald on Sunday, August 29th (11:30am) at the Calvary Block Party!

You might wonder, how does the elder board's praying with individuals or families who request it fit it into all this? The elders are more than willing to entertain such prayer times at any of their meetings as well as at other prearranged or spontaneous times. The elders consider such prayer occasions one of their most important and valued privileges as leaders at Calvary.

The elders continue to have a sense of spiritual adventure as Calvary moves forward and seeks God's leading in the worship and service of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

In recent months I have prayerfully considered interim leadership in our contemporary services, much the same way Patrick Baker leads and supports our traditional service. In this process, God has brought together a couple to help fill this need. I’m pleased to let you know that Randy and Debbie Birkey will begin serving as the Interim Contemporary Worship Directors.

In this role, Randy and Debbie will be responsible for the oversight of contemporary services. Their responsibilities will include weekly collaborating and planning of worship services, and building up and encouraging the entire contemporary worship team. They will work with our entire team to share privilege and responsibility of leadership. This is an interim role, and they look forward to serving through the remainder of the Worship Pastor search process.

Randy and Debbie’s heart is firstly centered to see God’s glory be magnified in our worship services as well as their leadership of this ministry. I believe we will all benefit from their creativity and leadership in our services!

As this announcement focuses on our contemporary services, I would also like to thank our traditional worship team and choir, led by Patrick Baker. We have truly been blessed by their ministry. Above all, may we seek to every day live lives of worship, to the glory of God!

Serving Him Together,

Pastor Todd

You can reach our interim worship service directors by email:

Patrick Baker: patrickbaker@calvarymemorial.com

Debbie Birkey: debbiebirkey@calvarymemorial.com

Randy Birkey: randybirkey@calvarymemorial.com

Don’t miss our VBS song this Sunday at the 11:30 service!  VBS children are invited to sing on stage during the service.   Children, come and meet Miss Heidi in the downstairs children’s choir room at 11:20.  Don’t forget to wear your green VBS t-shirt for the performance.

Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.

We are happy to pray with and for you in this way on a Sunday morning or during an elders' board meeting (first and third Tuesdays each month) or whenever. You can call any of the elders or email the elders at elders@calvarymemorial.com or an individual elder at firstlastname@calvarymemorial.com—for example: chrisjahns@calvarymemorial.com or tedgriffin@calvarymemorial.com). We consider this one of our most important ministries. No request is too small; every individual or family is important to us. And of course all prayer matters are kept confidential.

We want to encourage all of us to make Calvary Memorial Church a house of prayer!

The evening will begin in the Sanctuary with a service that will celebrate Bob and Jean's ministry at Calvary and will comission them for their future work in the Kingdom. Through worship and song and Scripture, we will honor Bob and Jean for their 23 years of faithful service among us.

Immediately following the service, everyone is invited to a light dessert reception in the Dining Room where Bob and Jean will be available. We trust that you will be able to join us for the entire evening and help us express our gratitude and love to Bob and Jean.

 Contact the church office if you would like to volunteer.

Not registered yet? Sign up now! Are you bringing friends? Sign them up too!

Ready to volunteer? We still need volunteers for a variety of needs. Contact Heidi Wolfe, or contact the Children's Ministries Office (708.386.3900 ext. 7015)

This drive was organized in honor of Eden Salem, Luciano and Nathalie Salem's 2 year old daughter, who was diagnosed with leukemia in January. She has needed multiple transfusions throughout the past few months of chemotherapy.

Many thanks to all of you who participated! The collection expectations for the day were far exceeded! Praise be to God that we graciously gave of ourselves in this way. Here is a portion of the thank you letter we received from LifeSource:

On behalf of LifeSource and area patients in need of blood products, THANK YOU for all of your support, marrow registry participation and blood collections for the Blood and Marrow Registry Drive at Calvary Memorial Drive on Sunday, June 6, 2010

A total of 49 people presented to donate at the blood drive. This resulted in 43 pints of blood collected!!! Since one blood donation can save up to 3 individuals, the units collected at this drive will save 129 lives!  Also, a total of 40 people signed up for the Bone Marrow Registry!! What an amazing accomplishment!!!!

Thank you so much for helping in making this drive a complete success!! It was truly a pleasure working with you!

Everyone who volunteered to donate their time and blood at this drive should know that their efforts will help save cancer patients, critically ill newborns, severely burned patients, accident victims and many more who have illnesses requiring blood products. This blood will be distributed with in the community but please know that LifeSource distributes to all the hospitals and trauma units in Illinois. If anyone was not able to make the blood drive…they can go to any of our donor centers and use the group code 705A.

NOTE: All grades for the summer are the ones just finished this Spring 2010.

•  4 years through 4th Grade – Children’s Ministries

           *Classroom location may be different than the school year

           4 year olds and Preschool (just finished)… Kdg Room, 2nd Floor

           Kdg (just finished) through 1st Grade… 1st Grade Room, 2nd Floor

           2nth Grades… Children’s Choir Room, Basement

• 5th through 12th Grade - Student Ministries

          5th Grade (just finished) – 7th Grade… Power Connection Room, 3rd Floor, Above Gym

          8th Grade (just finished) – 12th Grade… Allied Force Room, 3rd Floor, Above Gym

We look forward to seeing you!

Here was my itinerary for the morning:

5:30    Alarm goes off a half-hour later than normal; get up and shower; read Bible, pray, eat a quick breakfast.

6:30    Pick up Stann Leff who also lives in Wheaton; commute to Oak Park.

7:00    Arrive at Calvary at the usual time; prepare for the morning.

8:00    Pray with several elders and Staff for the church and the services and the preacher, this morning, Pastor Darin.

8:20    Head to the sanctuary; greet congregants; prepare for the service.

8:30    “Good morning and welcome to Calvary Memorial Church . . .”

8:40    Go to Life Trainers Adult Bible Fellowship, mingle for a few minutes over tasty baked goods and coffee.

8:50    Enjoy fifty minutes of Q & A with a full class; great time and great questions: everything from “Have you gotten over the Colts losing the Superbowl?” to “What do you do for family devotions?” to “What’s going to be most beneficial about living in Oak Park?”

9:35    Wrap up time with Life Trainers and begin to head out to Lake Street.

9:50    Greet a bus of Moody Bible Institute students, whom we pick up in our bus; shared with them how grateful we are for their investment in the life of Calvary; asked them to let me know how we as a church can better serve them.

10:00    “Good morning and welcome to Calvary Memorial Church . . .”

10:10    Meet with Allied Force, our high school ministry; one of the student’s, Taylor Bryant, interviews me, asking questions about my personal background and theological development; I ask them to get back to me with thoughts on the following question: “What would you like to hear preached on in a future sermon series?”

10:35    Brian Ondracek escorts me from the Allied Force room down a flight of stairs to the gym, where the 2 X 2 Adult Bible Fellowship meets; enjoy thirty minutes or so of Q & A with them; another great time and good questions, like “What’s been the biggest surprise about being a Senior Pastor?” and “What does the leadership expect of those of us in our twenties in terms of leadership in the church?”

10:50    Head down to the sanctuary for the third service; greet people along the way and enjoy several brief interactions with folks.

11:00    “Good morning and welcome to Calvary Memorial Church . . .”

11:05    Find a place to sit near the back of the sanctuary; enjoy a perspective from the pew on a Sunday morning.

11:47    “Amen. Preach it Pastor Darin. Yes, and amen!”

12:18    “Amen. Preach it Pastor Darin. Yes, and amen!”

12:36    Receive the Benediction; greet people after the service; pray with and for several individuals.

1:30    After wrapping things up, head for home.

I want to thank the Elders for agreeing to allow me take a two week study leave and therefore be out of the pulpit both this Sunday, April 26, and next Sunday, May 2. In addition to not preaching, I’ve cleared my schedule of most other commitments for these two weeks, so that I can focus on the study and writing I need to do.

What will I be working on these two weeks, if I’m not meeting with congregants, working with the Ministry Staff, tending to leadership responsibilities, or preparing sermons?

Good question!

Let me say, first of all, that my schedule for these two weeks will largely be like any other week: up before 6:00AM, time in the Bible and prayer, connect with the kids over breakfast, then around 7:30AM, rather than heading to church, I’ll head up to my nook in the corner of our bedroom to begin work. I’ll try to wrap up around 5:30PM (or a bit earlier to get in a quick jog), just in time for dinner and a relaxing evening with the family. (By the way, for those of you who wonder how I’m able to work from home with five small children in the house, here’s been the key: Sony’s noise-cancelling headphones! Invest in a pair! Well worth it!)  

During these two weeks, I’ll primarily be working on two writing projects. The first is a book I’m coauthoring with Leland Ryken, Professor of Literature at Wheaton College, and his son, Philip Graham Ryken, Senior Minister of Tenth Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia and newly appointed President of Wheaton College. The book is entitled, Pastors in the Classics: Perspectives on Life in Ministry from World Literature, due to be published in 2011 with Baker Books. Our aim with the book is to give readers an insight into the realities of a minister’s life, and the Christian life in general, as portrayed in literary classics like Nathaniel Hawthorne’s Scarlet Letter or Sinclair Lewis’s Elmer Gantry or T. S. Elliot’s Murder in the Cathedral.   

The second project is to write a brief review of a book on preaching entitled, Sharper Than a Two-Edged Sword: Preaching, Teaching, and Living the Bible. The review will appear in an online-journal called Themelios, an international evangelical journal aimed at theological students and pastors.   

In addition, I’ll do some other reading and ministry planning, including sketching out plans for the Fall and developing future sermon series possibilities.

I’m tremendously grateful for the opportunity to step back from my regular ministry responsibilities in order to focus more intently, and for this short season, on reading and writing – two of my great passions! Though, as many of you will appreciate, intense study, and especially writing, can be surprisingly exhausting, both mentally and emotionally.

So, please pray for me – for clarity of thought, focus and energy – as I seek to honor Christ with my offerings and serve his church with my gifts. Pray, as well, for Pastor Darin, who will be filing the pulpit for the next two weeks. And be assured of my consistent prayers for you.

I’ll look forward to being back in the pulpit on Sunday, May 9, taking up where we left off in our study of 1 Peter.

Partnering with you,

Pastor Todd  

“The principal emotional component of boredom is a feeling of uninvolvement, lack of concentration, absence of motivation, a feeling of emptiness and, above all, no excitement or enthusiasm for what is happening.”

I think we have all experienced this sensation of boredom, but how many of us could apply this definition to our spiritual lives? Whether we’ve been a believer for 2 years or 20, it is probably safe to say that we have all felt the effects of spiritual boredom. Without even realizing it we can, at times, find ourselves living out our faith out of stale routine rather than a passionate pursuit of Christ.

It would seem that even David lost the joy he once had as we see him pray in Psalm 51 “Restore to me the joy of my salvation”.

Spiritual boredom can lead to complacency and apathy in our faith and it seems to be a favorite weapon of the enemy against us.

Yet, spiritual boredom can be overcome when we realize and embrace our role in God’s epic story. Scripture is God’s epic story and we have a role in His divine plan! Over the next two weeks we are going to look at God’s epic story, discover our role within that story, and pull out some principles from Scripture on how to combat spiritual boredom by immersing ourselves in God’s story.

What's the commitment? Just 6 gatherings, many of which will be discussion and application of the Elect Exiles: I Peter sermon series. Following 6 weeks, each group member is free to step out, or continue.

Joel and Dorothy Ayres will lead this new group, and they invite you to join them in the Heritage Room for an informational lunch this Sunday, March 21, following the 11:30 a.m. service (about 12:45pm). For more information, please contact the church office, or email Life Groups. //

Don't live in the Harwood Heights / River Grove area, and want to connect to a Life Group? We want to connect you! Email Life Groups, and someone will be in touch with you.

As we celebrate One in Worship in our worship services this Sunday, come early and join us at 6pm in the Dining Room for dessert. Please consider providing a dessert that reflects your ethnic heritage and label the ethnic origin of the dessert.

Each service will have the same format and will include music and worship forms that recognize some of the many people groups represented in the body of Calvary.

Click here for more information

In this sermon, Pastor Todd addressed issues such as: What is the listener's role in preaching? What does it mean for the listener to encounter Christ in the pew?

Click here for more information about last week's sermon.

Pastor Todd addresses these issues in his February 28 sermon, "The Mystery of Preaching."

Don't miss next Sunday (March 7), Pastor Todd will address the listener in the pew. What is the listener's role in preaching? What does it mean for the listener to encounter Christ in the pew?

The link to Calvary's sermons is available here.

Take advantage of one of these opportunities!

We enjoyed a great time of fellowship and learning during our Winter Retreat. Joel Willitts, our retreat speaker, helped us to see Jesus in his context and then pushed us to think about following Jesus in our context. The last night of our youth group gathering, we further discussed what it would look like to follow Jesus as a high school student.

A number of great thoughts and questions were shared, so please continue to pray that the message from the retreat will have a continuing affect with our group.

For entrepreneurs and business professionals interested in:

• Starting or expanding a business on the mission field

• Working for an existing company on the mission field

• Partnering with tentmakers and nationals in Kingdom business initiatives

• Coaching tentmakers and national businessmen while continuing to live in North America

Contact missions@calvarymemorial.com for more information.

Whether you are single, married or engaged, this course is excellent for anyone! If you are struggling with debt and living paycheck to paycheck, then this class will teach you how to get control of your finances.

Contact Nicko Sahlas for more information at // nsonline@sahlas.com or 708.699.8627. Course cost is $93.00 (which includes FPU Workbook, Audio CD library, budgeting forms, two FPU bonus CDs, Dave Ramsey's book "Financial Peace", FPU envelope system, tip cards, and debit card holders).  Click here to discover more about the Financial Peace University.

Life Groups are small group communities where we seek and serve God.  Connect with fellow believers from diverse backgrounds, age groups, and life experiences.  Grow your relationship with Christ and learn to apply God's truth to life through biblically based studies.  Serve the local community and fellow believers by extending compassion to others in need.  Share your faith, telling others the good news of the Gospel.

As Life Groups continue to grow, we are looking to create more groups, but need more leaders. If becoming a small group leader is of interest to you, please email the Life Groups ministry, or call the church office (708.386.3900) and ask for Keith Steiner.

If you're looking for a great way to get connected at Calvary, visit the Life Groups web page, call the church office (708.386.3900), or simply email lifegroups@calvarymemorial.com

Dr. David Fisher, one of Calvary’s 2009 short-term missions associates, has connections to a Christian organization in Haiti, El Shaddai Ministries International.  It is a leading evangelical, grassroots organization in Haiti.  ESMI has organized an “orphan village” just east of Port-au-Prince in a safe location, and they are calling for medical teams to minister to hundreds of medically needy children who are victims of last week’s earthquake.  Medical supplies are also needed.  If you have medical training and you have interest in traveling to Haiti for a 5-7 day trip sometime in the next 2-3 weeks, please contact Laura Lange, or Hans and Mary Jane Svebakken. Dr. Fisher has worked with ESMI in Haiti and can vouch for their trustworthiness in providing safety for short-term missionaries, even in the current conditions.

All are invited to a Sunday afternoon concert by renowned Christian Artist Ken Medema. This is a great opportunity to invite your friends and experience his incredible music and talent. Ken will also be participating in the worship services that Sunday morning.

Born almost completely blind, Ken began learning piano at the age of five. In 1973 he began his performing and recording career, singing in every venue imaginable for 50 - 50,000 people, from churches to conventions to colleges to corporations. Married for 44 years, Ken is the father of two grown children.

A freewill offering will be taken at the concert.

Would you join us, as we come together with confidence, drawing near to the throne of grace, and pray for the people and the country of Haiti? Pray for the relief effort, that lives will be spared, land will be restored, and for God to work mightily in the lives of many people.

First and foremost, please pray. Also, please consider how God has laid this disaster on your heart, and how you may respond. Samaritan's Purse is one of many organizations supporting relief efforts.

Here are just a few, of many, Scripture passages to call to mind as we pray:

Remember my affliction and my wanderings, the wormwood and the gall! My soul continually remembers it and is bowed down within me. But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.” - Lamentations 3:19-24

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as we share abundantly in Christ's sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too. - 2 Corinthians 1:3-5

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?... For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. - Romans 8:35, 38-39

Also, we experienced some technical difficulties with the audio file from Pastor Todd's sermon, How Does a City on a Hill Grow? (Nov. 15). The sermon is now available to listen to, download, or read.

As a church, we have already given away over 2,000 gift bags, with just under 1,000 more still available to be given away.  If you're interested in a gift bag, or want some to give away, feel free to stop by our Portico this Sunday, or sometime this week. Feel free to contact the church office with any questions.

Look forward to seeing you there!

In case you missed it in the CFN this past week, my wife, Sarah, and I are departing from our respective ministry positions (I from Interim Director of Children's Ministries and Sarah from 3-year-old Sunday School Teacher and AWANA Sparks Leader). 

December 6 is our final Sunday at Calvary before we head down to Dallas, TX to begin attending classes at Dallas Theological Seminary in pursuit of a Master of Theology each; it is a 4-year program.  Following that, we believe God is calling us into the Missions field, most likely overseas.  Although we are greatly anticipating fulfilling the next phase of God’s plan, we are grieved that we will be leaving each of you, as least physically.  Praise be to God that He has given us many ways to remain emotionally, mentally, and, most blessed of all, spiritually connected. 

In light of that, Calvary Memorial Church, allow me to exhort and encourage you.  As Pastor Todd would say: Calvary Memorial Church, you are a City on a Hill!  You are a beacon of light in these troubled and dark times.  Do not hide the light of God under a basket or behind a fear of rejection or of disinterest, but instead allow it to shine into the darkness and overcome it!  God has not given us a spirit of fear or of trembling, but of boldness; embrace that spirit and find ways to spread the Good News that Jesus Christ is risen and is determined to give life to all who receive Him!

Please, pray for us, as we also will pray for you!

In, by, and through the Grace of God through the atoning work of Jesus Christ,

-Benjamin and Sarah Bowler

The saying is trustworthy, and I want you to insist on these things, so that those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works. These things are excellent and profitable for people. - Titus 3:8

Bring a coat for the Emergency Clothes Closet Ministry (Adult XL are in urgent need).

Come ready to hear stories of God’s grace in our lives! Pastor Todd will share a brief thought on thankfulness as we gather in the cozy and informal atmosphere of the Dining Room.

Join us for Harvest Sunday this Sunday (Nov. 22)! There will be a special offering taken to meet present needs, plan for future ministry, and share with ministry partners.

Here is how these offerings will be designated:

10%  To express and cultivate partnership with Cirlce Urban Ministries / Rock Church

20%  To set aside for planting and gospel advancing efforts in 2010

70%  To address budget expense shortfall for 2009

Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift! - 2 Cor. 9:15

The leaders of this ministry recently posted an urgent need for: warm winter coats and jackets, boots, gloves, long underwear, size XL men's pants,  NEW men's and women's underwear, and anything size XXL or larger.

Click here for more information about this ministry.

Earlier in the day, a Pace bus crossed over the curb in front of our building and ended up in our east parking lot. Four cars belonging to our staff members, among many others, were damaged in the process.  Amazingly, all indications are that no one was injured in the process. We overflow with thanksgiving to God!

More information about the incident is available at the Wednesday Journal.

On Wednesday, Sparks, Boys Club (T&T), and Girls Club (T&T) each hosted a missionary or couple.  We followed our normal format of games, large group time, book time, but rather than a normal lesson during large group time, our missionaries presented information about the culture and people with whom they minister.  The boys and girls were encouraging in their obvious regard and attention our guests, offering many good questions and comments!  We’re looking forward to you joining us for exciting events to come!

Sign-ups have started for our new pictorial directory! Sign up on our website, or stop by a registration table in the Portico. You may also call 1.800.866.2263, Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m. to schedule or change an appointment. Each household that comes for photography and portrait viewing will receive a complimentary directory and 8x10 Custom Color Portrait. Pictures will be taken October 20 - 24 and October 26. You are not required to buy anything, although portraits will be available for purchase.

Things started off with a bang this Autumn season in the Children’s Ministries as we had over 300 kids and 60 teachers and helpers to minister to them in Sunday School on Sunday, September 13, 2009, our kick-off. 

We launched with two curricula, Gospel Light and Lifeway, in different classrooms, as our children learned about the God of the Bible.  If you are new to Calvary or our Children’s Ministries, please, find out more about the activities and classes in which your child can take part here.  At Calvary, we are committed to your child’s spiritual, emotional, and physical growth and well-being.  Contact us with any questions or concerns!

During this week the momentum has continued and the church building hummed with activities. Again, over 100+ students participated in the exciting kickoff events for Allied Force and Power Connection. On Wednesday evening, AWANA hosted 180 kids with over 45 leaders and ministry partners supporting the activities.

Both the Women's and Men's ministries are also off to strong starts. Tuesday morning saw over 40 women gathered to connect and study God's word and on Wednesday another 50+ met, with an additional 20 more registered to join next week. The men have held two of their six session offerings and saw about 35 men participate.

The 25 Life Groups, plus the two new ones about to start, continue to provide an expansive opportunity for people to connect, serve one another, and reach out in many ways to our surrounding communities.

Our evangelism team was able to lead a lady to Christ on Tuesday and share the gospel with at least three others who recognized their need and are in the process of considering next steps.

Much more is happening, with many serving behind the scenes to help the Calvary family serve our Lord and Savior. Over 125 of our body will be participating in our twenty-four hour Prayer Vigil this Saturday and Sunday.

God is so good! We have a great responsibility and opportunity to help the Calvary family grow in their relationship with our Lord, connect and care for one another, and advance the gospel in this community.

Praise the Lord! I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart, in the company of the upright, in the congregation. Psalm 111:1

Sponsored by Band of Brothers, this all-church event promises to be a mountaintop experience in the ongoing life and ministry of Calvary Memorial Church. This is a great way for the Calvary family to draw closer to one another and pray together. All are urged to participate and/or attend. Join us for any one hour segment, or contact bandofbrothers@calvarymemorial.com for more info.

Elders and Pastors also will be on hand on Saturday between the hours of 10:00 am - 4:00 pm in the Legacy Room for individual prayer needs, anointing with oil, and laying on of hands. 

The tip was featured on the Oak Leaves Blog this past Wednesday. They came to our car wash and snapped a few pictures. Please take a look at what they wrote and the pictures they took.

Our group leaves on July 25. Please be in prayer for them as they finalize their preparation.

As we saw this past Sunday, Titus 2:1-10 has numerous implications and points of application for each of us personally. And I hope you have or will take time to interact with others, perhaps in your Life Groups, over what some of these are for you personally. In this post, however, I would like to make a few observations about the implications of this passage for the teaching ministries of our church.

First, our teaching ministries must be firmly rooted in sound doctrine. We must not become slack or compromise on this point. For we cannot build strong Christian lives upon a shaky foundation. And sound doctrine is that foundation. So whether it’s men’s or women’s ministries, our Life Groups, or our Sunday school curriculum for our children, we must insist upon the fact that is it thoroughly biblical, robustly theological, and doctrinally sound. There’s plenty of superficial, not very substantive teaching material out there. We don’t need more of it. We need more sound doctrine coursing through our teaching curricula. So the first question we should be asking of curriculum or studies we might use would be: Is it firmly rooted in sound doctrine? And don’t just assume that because you found it at a Christian bookstore, or another church is using it to good effect, or it’s written by a well-known author, that it’s firmly rooted in sound doctrine.

Second, our teaching ministries must prioritize life-change. Paul said to Timothy that the goal of his instruction was love (1 Tim. 1:5); so too should it be the goal of all our instruction. We cannot be content with filling our heads with more and more and more knowledge. Knowledge is critical and foundational – don’t misunderstand me – but knowledge is just not sufficient in itself; it must lead to life-change. And so we must work hard to find out what “fits” with biblical teaching, and then teach it. Furthermore, we must do this from cradle to grave: from young to old. This is as important for our students as it is for our seniors; this is as critical for our kids as it is for our college-aged.

Third, our teaching ministries must creatively enable intergenerational, life-on-life interactions. The classroom is a necessary part of what it means to teach; but the classroom is rather limited. We need to think carefully and creatively about how it is that we can rub shoulders with one another on a more consistent basis so that this kind of modeling and mentoring happens. This is a primary reason why our Life Groups are not demographic, or life-stage specific, but instead are multi-generational—so that this kind of life-on-life, cross-generational mentoring can happen on a more regular basis. We need to continue to think creatively about how to make that happen more and more and in other areas of the life and ministry of this church.

Fourth, and finally, our teaching ministries must be wholly reliant upon the grace of God. It is critical that we not forget this! It is all too tempting to come away from Sunday’s sermon with marching orders and try to man-handle the teaching ministry of the church. We must remember that it is the grace of God that trains us on the art of living Christianly in the world (Titus 2:11-12). It is reliance upon what God has done, not what we must do; it is resting in his provision for us, not the provisions we must make for ourselves; it is looking to his Holy Spirit for empowerment, not to ourselves for the necessary motivation to do what needs to be done. Unless we look to the grace of God and promote the grace of God in all our teaching, we may well end up in the predicament the Pharisees in Jesus’ day found themselves in: they were great teachers and holy, well-disciplined bunch, but they were miles and miles from the Kingdom of God because they didn’t understand the grace of God.

First, obey your elders for your own spiritual good. Listen to Hebrews 13:17: “Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.” What this passage reminds us all of is that God puts leaders into our lives for our own good. We are to obey our leaders and submit to them because they have been entrusted with the care of our souls; and indeed they, as this passage says – a most terrifying thought – will be judged by God as to how well they did in keeping watch. So, the logic of this verse goes, make every effort to help this be for them a joy and not a burden, because you only stand to gain from their work.

Second, pray for your elders that they would have discernment. I’ve been reading through the Bible, as some of you have, and just this week read the passage from 1 Kings, where Solomon, as the newly installed king of Israel, prays to the Lord: “Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, that I may discern between good and evil, for who is able to govern this your great people?” (1 Kings 3:9). The ministry of an elder within the life of the local church is a kingly ministry: a ministry of overseeing and governing and ruling and leading. There are weighty and difficult decisions to be made at every turn. There are complex issues for which there seems to be no easy answer. There are difficult circumstances that require careful navigation. All of this requires, therefore, “an understanding mind to govern,” as Solomon prayed; that is, the ability to discern between good and evil. So, as Solomon prayed for himself, would you pray for your elders: “Oh, God, would give our elders understanding minds and discerning spirits that they would be able by your Holy Spirit to govern and lead and serve this church well.” 

Third, take seriously the preparation and appointment of future elders. This is of course one of the main upshots of this passage in Titus: Paul is admonishing Titus to take seriously the preparation and appointment of future elders because the long-term health and vitality of the churches in Crete depend upon it. Similarly, he says to Timothy: “what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also” (2 Tim. 2:2). This is a call to be highly intentional about raising up and then deploying new elder-leaders within the church, faithful men who will be able to minister the word to others. This church, as with any other church, will only survive if there is a continual, fresh infusion of godly leadership. So it is incumbent upon us all – and especially upon me as the Pastor and the other elders – to be identifying, cultivating and training future elders. And it is incumbent upon you, the congregation, to encourage and support this work and then, when the time comes to nominate and appoint new elders, to engage the process both thoughtfully and prayerfully. 

Fourth, honor your elders for their labor of love on your behalf. Paul says to the Thessalonians: “We ask you, brothers, to respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work” (1 Thess. 5:12-13). And to Timothy Paul writes: “Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor” (1 Tim. 5:17). We honor our elders in a variety of ways: with respect, by speaking well of them, by imitating their way of life, by heeding their instruction, by encouraging them in their work, by expressing words of thanks, and, most importantly, by praying for them.

The cost is $20 for individuals or $30 for couples and includes a 100-page Money, Purpose, Joy workbook.  Sign up after any of this weekend's services or by contacting the church office.  Don't miss this opportunity to get to a better place with money. 

Christians are called lots of things these days, some flattering, others less than flattering: intolerant, arrogant, sheltered, overly-political, hypocritical, prissy, narrow-minded, fundamentalist, homophobic, bigoted. Of course, there are some labels we can live with – and some we can live without!

How about zealous? Have you ever been called zealous? If so, why? What are you zealous for? And is zealous a label you and I can live with?

Come, explore these and other questions with us as we begin a new series on the Book of Titus, entitled Zealous for Good Works. But be prepared to be labeled! For being called zealous – zealous for good works – is not only a label we can live with, it’s a label we must live with. In fact, as we'll discover together, being zealous for good works is one of the goals of the gospel itself, one of the reasons our Savior Jesus Christ gave his life for us: to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works (Titus 2:14).

Whether you are a member, or have never visited Calvary, we hope the new site will serve you.

Your new website launch team,

Benjamin Nelson

Kara Miller

Karen Nelson

Keith Steiner

Kimya Bryant

Sarah Bowler