Here’s some advice from Paul on how we can build each other up and encourage one another in Christ Jesus (from 1 Thessalonians 5:16-22). 1)  “Always be joyful.” I can easily get hung up on the word ‘always’ and wonder if Paul really meant it. ‘Always’ means every time, on every occasion, without exception. To be joyful in every circumstance, you must have a source of joy not connected to your circumstances (discover what it means to pray with joy in the Spirit). “Joy is what God gives, not what we work up to,” writes Eugene Peterson. The joy that God giv ..read more

In my student teaching days, 8-year-old Johnny came running into the classroom with tears streaming down his face. The teacher, very concerned, said, “Johnny, what happened?!” Johnny replied, “Ruth called me ‘Mary Poppins!’” The teacher asked, “Are you Mary Poppins?” to which Johnny replied, “No.” And the teacher said, “Just because someone calls you something, it doesn’t mean that is who you are.” When you know who you aren’t, it helps you be confident in who you are. You aren’t the names you were called on the playground, you aren’t the cumulation of your worst moments, and you aren’t the th ..read more

It’s a good problem to have when we’ve reached capacity within our Kids Ministry. The number of kids — babies through 4th grade — has grown exponentially over the last couple of years. On a Sunday morning, Worship Center classrooms are filled with kids doing crafts, playing games, worshiping, and learning about how Jesus is their friend. Because we are quickly running out of space, we’ve expanded the Kids Ministry area by about 8,600 sq. ft. Since beginning this initiative, we have added six new classrooms and are now getting ready to begin phase 2 of the project. The current phase of the proj ..read more

In the final moments before he was arrested and condemned to die on the cross, Jesus prayed for you. Most scholars would suggest that John documented Jesus praying this prayer in the upper room where they had eaten the Passover meal together and after he had finished giving his final instructions to his disciples. Whether it was there or on the way to the Garden of Gethsemane, one thing is clear: John 17 is considered one of the greatest prayers recorded anywhere in Scripture and is one of the most sacred moments of Jesus recorded in the Gospels. To think that we have the privilege o ..read more

At the beginning of March, Worship Center sent a team of 19 young adults to Arusha, Tanzania, to serve, evangelize, and love others. The team, consisting of young adults from Worship Center, Encounter Church, and YWAM Tyler, Texas, was led by Global Partner Anthony Huerta. This team was hungry to learn, eager to serve, and mature to be vulnerable and face hard things. A few days before our team arrived, the YWAM Arusha base faced an incredible tragedy, resulting in the death of 11 YWAM leaders, including the Arusha base director. We entered the trip with hearts prepared to console, comfort, a ..read more

For many years of my Christian life, I misunderstood the word repentance. I thought it meant to feel remorseful about something wrong I had done because I should have known better. I’d feel terrible about it and promised myself I would try harder the next time. I assumed repentance meant feeling bad. However, repentance is not a feeling. It’s an action in response to the good news of Jesus (here’s how the message of the cross reveals God’s wisdom and resurrection power). C.S. Lewis writes, “Repentance is unlearning all the self-conceit and self-will that we have been t ..read more

A couple of weeks ago, Heather and Beau Bivins and I visited Worship Center Global Partners, Jonah and Consolata Bedan, and Roger and Dorothy Godfrey-Dulo in Kenya. Our time together was filled with meeting their ministry partners, leadership teams, churches, and families. Jonah and Consolata, their son and grandson, met us at the airport when we landed. We hopped in a van with them and drove for about 2 hours to one of the churches and Christian schools they oversee. The school is called Christian Outreach Academy, and a lovely and very passionate lady named Susan runs it. She cares for the ..read more

The secret to having an upward spiraling marriage? If we are honest, it is common to drift away from our spouses. It’s likely never intentional, but it happens. It’s easy to see what you think should happen. You sense a gap growing between you and your husband, and you think about all the things he should be doing that would bring you closer. And, likely, they are real things. “If only he would recognize all that I am doing and make an effort to at least thank me”, you think. Or maybe it’s more like, “I can’t even remember the last time we had a conversation about something more than logistics ..read more

God’s plan for you is to know him. Here are five meaningful thoughts on this: 1) God doesn’t want to use you. He wants to know you. For many years of my Christian walk, I’ve prayed, “God use me.” It came from a sincere heart to make a difference, but I missed a significant truth about God. God doesn’t want to use you. Imagine any relationship where the one party’s goal was to use the other person. That may be the epitome of a dysfunctional relationship. God wants to know you, and he wants you to know him. Out of that relationship, he invites you to partner with him and participa ..read more

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