Evangel News & Events
Underground Experience
In March we had our first “Underground” event — Underground Church. By all indications (attendance and feedback), it was beneficial for everyone who attended. We are using the word “underground” as a word picture for the importance of deepening our relationship with Jesus. It’s fun to fly, but it takes work to dig deep. Yet, the deeper we go in our relationship with Jesus, the further we’ll fly.
Underground Church is going to be a quarterly event where we will dig deeper in the Bible. In March
we studied the purpose of the Old Testament. At our next Underground Church on June 29, we will study
the life of Christ from the four Gospels. It is going to be another great night of learning, prayer, worship, and fellowship.
Underground Worship was another “underground” event that we launched in April. If tools are needed to dig deep, then worship is one of those tools that deepens our relationship with Jesus. Some might ask, “How does worship deepen my faith?” The answer is that worship demands expression. The nature of worship is to declare God’s “worth-ship.” But without opening our heart and mouth, worship doesn’t happen. Of course, there are many ways to worship God beside singing and prayer, yet every expression of worship is something we do as a way of honoring God for who He is and what He has done. And when we allow ourselves times of uninterrupted worship, our heart for God is given room to expand and grow. It’s pretty hard to deepen your heart for Jesus in five minutes. Instead, the human heart requires regular uninterrupted times for Jesus to do the work of shaping and transforming us.
Finally, this month we will have our first Underground Experience on Sunday, May 20, at 6:00 PM. This event will include both Bible teaching and worship, however, the emphasis is going to be on the Person and work of the Holy Spirit deep inside of our lives. Underground Church will stretch our understanding of the Bible, Underground Worship will develop our heart and adoration of Jesus, and Underground Experience is going to provide opportunities to be deeply impacted by the ministry
of the Holy Spirit. The deep, mature Christian life is built on the Word of God, the worship of God, and the Spirit of God. Each contributes uniquely to developing us into fully devoted followers of Jesus.
In preparation for Underground Experience, let me whet your appetite with the following information about what the ministry of the Holy Spirit is all about. The Bible refers to the Holy Spirit in a variety of ways, such as Comforter, Counselor, Helper, Empowerer, just to name a few. In my opinion, the single summarizing verse that clarifies the impact of the Holy Spirit is
Acts 1:8 where Jesus said, “You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you to be My witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the ends of the earth.”
I am looking forward to our very first Underground Experience! Pastor Scott will lead our segments of worship, which will be interspersed with short segments of teaching from Pastors Terry, Josh, and myself. Also, at the same time we are having our Underground Experience, Pastor Aaron will have an Underground Experience — kids version! There is so much about the Holy Spirit that we are excited to begin teaching! And, how awesome it is going to be to see the Holy Spirit fill, heal, empower, and impart spiritual gifts to those who come hungry and ready for a genuine Underground Experience.
In preparation for our first Underground Experience, the Holy Spirit has laid Acts 4:31 on my heart.
“After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken.
And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.”
It’s our vision that God will use every Underground event to “shake” us, “fill” us, and make us “bold” for Jesus. So, put Sunday, May 20, on your calendar. It will be an “experience” you’ll not want to miss! ~ Pastor Doug
JBQ State
Evangel had four “A League” teams compete in the Junior Bible Quiz State Finals on March 31, 2012. It was a fun day of quizzing with teams coming to Bismarck from across the state to take part in the competition. Three of our four JBQ teams place in the top four at State Finals. The Nerds team took first place, and the Boppin’ Bible Buzzers team took second place. By taking first place in the State Finals, The Nerds qualified to compete in the North Central Regional JBQ Tournament in Minneapolis, MN, on May 4-5, and to compete in the National JBQ Festival on June 7-9, in Orlando, FL. By taking second place in the State Finals, the Boppin’ Bible Buzzers also qualified to complete in the North Central Regional JBQ Tournament.
In addition to our teams doing very well at State Finals, Evangel had four quizzers who were among the five individual high scorers: Rylan Sago was fifth, Eric Bender was third, Kaden Sago was second, and Joshua Sipes was first individual high scorer with 1070 points. Congratulations to all the quizzers who competed at the State Finals. Everyone did a great job representing Evangel! ~ Bobbi Loven
Light For The Lost
We will be honored to have Missionary Greg Mundis as our guest speaker on Light For The Lost Sunday (LFTL), May 6. Greg and his wife, Sandie, have served as missionaries in Europe for the past 34 years. During their years of service, Greg’s leadership has expanded, and last August he was elected to the highest position of leadership, Executive Director of the Assemblies of God World Missions. As the Executive Director, Greg leads 2,740 AG missionaries and associates serving in 248 countries and territories. With a heart for people and a vision for the whole world,
it will be a special privilege to have Greg Mundis with us at Evangel!
The emphasis of LFTL is the distribution of God’s Word through the whole world. Whether in the form of gospel tracts or websites, the vision behind LFTL is printing and packaging of Bibles in all the languages of the world. On Sunday, May 6, you will have the opportunity to become a faith promise contributor to LFLT throughout the year.
UG Update
God is doing great things at the UG! In March we took 35 young adults to the metropolis of Cooperstown, ND, for our United Retreat. We had an incredible time! We saw many touched in deep and fresh ways by the love and power of God. People were healed, challenged, and baptized in the Holy Spirit. We are still celebrating what God did in just one weekend!
Our young adults have been growing and are planning many things for the coming months. More than 24 young adults have signed up to participate in our UGo Alaska missions trip to Kotzebue, Alaska! We are greatly anticipating this trip. Plans are being set up to do work projects, have a VBS sports camp for kids, and minister to youth through evening rallies. We are very expectant about what God will do in Kotzebue this summer! Please pray for us as we raise the funds necessary for this trip and as we seek to be the hands of feet of Jesus to the young and old in Kotzebue!
One last exciting happening at the UG is the development of childcare, enabling young parents to attend our UG service on Thursday nights.
We feel the development of this ministry will enable us to reach even more young people and young families in our community! God is doing great things! ~ Pastor Josh
Baby Dedication
Baby dedication is an opportunity to bring our children before the Lord at an early age. In I Samuel 1:27-28, Hannah says, “I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of him. So now I give him to the Lord. For his whole life he will be given over to the Lord . . . .” Baby Dedication publicly represents a commitment between the family and the church to raise a Christ-centered child.
A Group Baby Dedication (multiple families) will take place on Sunday, May 13, during the 10:00 AM and 11:30 AM Current services.
If you would like to have your baby dedicated on Sunday, May 13, please go to www.goevangel.org/babydedication, and watch the three-part video. Sign up on the website or at the Information Center for the service you want to participate in. The sign up deadline is Monday, May 7.
S.H.A.P.E.
Our new sermon series starts this Sunday!
S.H.A.P.E. from Evangel Assembly of God on Vimeo.
2012 ND District Council – Pastor Rod Loy
Pastor Rod Loy with a message for those getting certified, licensed, or ordained as ministers.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
2012 ND District Council – Pastor Rod Loy
Pastor Rod Loy from First Assembly of God in North Little Rock, AR gives a message on reaching the next generation.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
The Resurrection Changes Everything
There once was a boy who suffered from terrible depression throughout most of his early life. Although born into a rich family, he was virtually neglected by his parents and was raised by a nanny. He was teased and ridiculed by his peers for being clumsy. He failed the 6th grade, and at 16 years of age he was expelled from a prestigious boarding school with a report that said, “This young man shows a conspicuous lack of success.” His name? Winston Churchill, the man who would become one of England’s greatest leaders during the dark days of World War II.
A young German university student of Jewish descent finished his Ph.D. dissertation and submitted it to a university. It came back with these words scrawled across it by his professor: “This thesis is irrelevant and fanciful.” But, rather than being devastated, he took his dissertation to another university, where it was accepted. From there he became one of the world’s greatest scientists. His name? Albert Einstein.
A mother in Ohio once received a visit from the local schoolmaster of the village school. He told her that her son really had no great mental ability and suggested that she put him to work on the farm — he would never benefit from his intellect. The mother rejected the negative evaluation of her son and decided to home-schooled him. Later in adulthood he would write: “When everyone else is quitting on a problem, that is the time to begin.” And true to this perspective, he would invent the telephone, the incandescent lamp, and the electric train. Society also owes its gratitude to this man because he established over 1,300 patented inventions. His name? Thomas Edison.
Many years ago, a young man in Scotland felt God calling him to pastoral ministry so he enrolled in seminary. He was assigned to preach his very first sermon in a small country church near the seminary. However, when he stood up to deliver his sermon, he promptly forgot his Bible text. In great humiliation he fled from the pulpit crying out, “I am a total failure. I will never preach again.” And it’s true; he never did become a pastor. Instead, he became one of history’s most celebrated missionaries. His name? David Livingston.
But in all of history, we can think of no one else whose background gave absolutely no hint of eventual greatness other than Jesus. He was born to peasant parents in a borrowed manger located in an unfamiliar town (Luke 2:4). He was completely rejected by those in the town of his upbringing (John 1:46). He was thought to be mentally unstable by members of his own family (Mark 3:21). He was accused of immoral behavior (Matthew 9:11). It was said that He was possessed by the devil (John 8:48). He suffered the humiliation of being betrayed with a kiss (Mark 14:45). And though interrogated with accusations He
could have easily rebuked, He remained silent (Matthew 26:63). He was scourged nearly to death (Mark 15:15). He was
stripped of His clothing, which soldiers gambled over (Matthew 27:35). He suffered the indignity of having a crown of thorns thrust onto His head (John 19:2). He suffered the searing pain of spikes driven through His hands and feet (Luke 24:20).
Finally, He died . . . alone (John 19:30).
Hundreds of years earlier, Isaiah described the pitiful situation: “There was nothing attractive about Him, nothing to cause us to take a second look. He was looked down on and passed over, a man who suffered, who knew pain firsthand. One look at Him and people turned away. We looked down on Him, thought He was scum.” (Isaiah 53:2-3)
However, what seemed pitiful actually produced something powerful! Isaiah continued: “But the fact is, it was our pains he carried — our disfigurements, all the things wrong with us. We thought he brought it on himself, that God was punishing Him for His own failures. But it was our sins that did that to Him, that ripped and tore and crushed Him — our sins! He took the punishment, and that made us whole. Through His bruises we get healed.” (Isaiah 53:4-5)
As we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus, be reminded that what may seem weak and inconsequential in the beginning does not have to stay that way. History is filled with people who overcame great challenges, but none as powerfully as Jesus. Invite His Spirit to empower you to live far beyond every limitation, for “greater is He who is in us.” (1 John 4:4) ~ Pastor Doug
Sunshine Pals
Sunshine, by definition in the Merriam-Webster dictionary, is something (as a person, condition, or influence) that radiates warmth, cheer, or happiness. That is exactly what All Stars Kid’s Ministry’s newest ministry has been striving to do since its launch in January. Sunshine Pals is a part of Kid’s Ministry that focuses solely on ministering to children with special needs and ministering to their families. In this ministry, kids with special needs are given a pal that is there to help them with whatever needs they may have during the services they are attending. Along with adult pals, we also have pals who are under the age of 17 that help assist the adult pals. These volunteers are called junior pals. The adult pals and junior pals are there to give their child love, guidance, and someone they can look up to as they grow in
their relationships with Christ. They are consistent each week and the kids enjoy knowing exactly what friendly face they
will be seeing.
Our Sunshine Pals volunteer team is the best! It includes an experienced coordinator, Suzanne Reed; an experienced pal trainer, Lisa Loven; and a team of pals and junior pals. Week after week, we hear about how excited the kids are to see them. Ironically, many of the pals were timid to be a part of the program because of their lack of experience with special need. But after just a Sunday or two, they realized that it’s not about how much you know, it’s about the relationship you build with each child and the time you invest in them.
God has truly used this ministry to bless many kids at Evangel. One little boy in the program loves his pals and the time he spends with them so much that his mother uses going to church as an incentive to be good during school each day. Another little boy was not so sure he wanted to have a pal with him all the time, but after only a week, he started asking which day was the day he gets to be with his pal. What great testimonies, and that’s only two examples!
Our goal for this year is to be able to reach ten more kids through Sunshine Pals. Since starting the program in January, we have already had two more families interested in the program; now we need the pals! All it takes is a heart to bless families in our community and a love for people. So if you haven’t found your place to serve at Evangel, we know where you would fit right in and where you can radiate the love of Jesus! ~ Amy Strawn