Posts Tagged ‘New Valley Church’

Traveling and The Stumbling Stone

Posted: June 18, 2012 in Christianity, Church Planting, Ministry, Ministry Partners, Missions, Reflections & Musings
Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,
4
Dawn (my traveling partner) and Dave

Dawn (my traveling partner) and Dave

I’m traveling with my wife, Dawn now. We are in Phoenix. I’ve been on the road a great deal lately. There are some things I like about traveling. I enjoy making new friends, and connecting with old friends. I’m not thrilled about being away from my family so much. I am hopeful that once we transition to the San Diego – Tijuana area I will be at home more. It’s great that my wife is able to join me on this particular trip.

While I’m on the road I usually have more to write about, but it’s harder to find the time to write. But I have a moment now as we are between meetings, grabbing some ice tea at a Starbucks.

Yesterday we were with some friends that are on the newer side of the spectrum. We visited New Valley Church. A great church in Phoenix that we have a growing relationship with. Then we had lunch with a small group that have a strong interest in missions. We really enjoyed the time!

Pastor Scott Brown leading at New Valley Church

Pastor Scott Brown leading at New Valley Church

Scott Brown is the pastor at New Valley Church. Dawn and I enjoy being with him. He is a church planter, and has a heart for the unchurched. I find that we resonate with most church planting pastors.

Scott’s sermon was from Romans 9:25 – 10:4. He focused on verses, 30-33 (ESV):

“What shall we say, then? That the Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness have attained it, that is, a righteousness that is by faith; but that Israel who pursued the law that would lead to righteousness did not succeed in reaching that law. Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were based on works, They have stumbled over the stumbling stone, as it is written, ‘Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense; and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.'”

Here’s some of my take aways. Grace is counterintuitive, therefore many trip over the stumbling stone of grace. Many including the Jews, in this case think we have to work to earn God’s favor. Often people look to the law, the things they do to save them. The problem is the law is like a mirror. It can show us that we are dirty, but it’s not able to clean us. It can only show us we are not clean.

Paul several times in Romans asks rhetorically, “what shall we say, then?” The answer is always no, until he gets here. Now the answer is yes. Even though the Gentiles did pursue righteousness, they attained it by faith! Israel pursued the law hoping to obtain righteousness, but they failed!

Christ is the stumbling stone. People continually stumble over grace. It’s part of human nature to feel like you’ve got to earn your salvation. Yet Paul here says it’s in faith through God’s grace that we are made righteous through Christ. Christ is indeed our righteousness! Let us rejoice!

In His Grip, Dave

DiasoLifeontheBorder.org

Convinced of the Power of Prayer

Posted: June 17, 2012 in Christianity, Church Planting, Ministry, Missions, Potential Team Members, Prayer, San Diego, Tijuana
Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
8

Dave sharing about our border ministry at New Valley Church on a previous visit in December

Dawn and I are looking forward to worshipping with friends at New Valley Church in Phoenix today. I must say that I’m not looking forward to enduring the heat, although I do love the warmth of the people. We are building a relationship with this church, and talking to them about partnering with us in a variety of ways on the border.

While we are in Phoenix this week we will be connecting with friends and ministry partners. On Tuesday Dawn and I will be talking to three families about the possibility of joining our team on the border. We will meet with one American couple and two Mexican couples.

Wow, do we ever need your prayers!

I notice as we are involved in front line ministry and recruiting people to join us that we often get attacked. It’s a reminder that we need people to hold us up in prayer. Last week we were going out and prayer walking and evangelizing in City Heights in San Diego, and in Rosarito, Mexico. God wonderfully blessed our time. While I was doing this Dawn was praying with and ministering to a family that had some major strongholds in their lives.

Some of the guys we were out sharing with In Rosarito

Some of the guys we were out sharing with in Rosarito

Then the onslaught began. First, my debit card was hacked, and some purchases we didn’t make came up on our statement. I had to close that debit card, which is really tough when you are traveling. I’m still dealing with the fallout of that.

Next on the way home I got stuck in Houston, and partly because of the problem with my debit card I wasn’t able to find a hotel, and I spent the night in the airport. NO fun! I posted on Facebook that I felt like Tom Hanks in the movie, The Terminal. Pardon the language, but I think it was the trip from hell.

The main point here is we need prayer coverage.  We move forward on our knees. We are convinced of the power of prayer!

My wife has reminded me more than once that dogs don’t bark at parked cars. As we seek to share Christ’s love, and in a real sense invade Satan’s territory it’s not surprising that we encounter opposition. We appreciate your prayers this week as we interact with friends about our ministry, and recruit some new potential workers. We keep seeking the Lord and asking for workers. Could this be an answer to our prayers? Stay tuned!

In His Grip, Dave

P.S. Happy Father’s Day! It’s not a job for wimps.

DiasoLifeontheBorder.org

New Opportunities at New Valley!

Posted: December 7, 2011 in Journey, Ministry Partners
Tags: , ,
0

Dave sharing about our border ministry at New Valley Church

Our journey to see God raise up ministry partners takes us to many places. This last weekend, Dawn and I were in Phoenix. We had an outstanding time with some new friends at New Valley Church. It’s a great church with some wonderful people.

When we go to Phoenix we are able to meet new friends, and reconnect with others. People partner with us in many ways in our ministry on the border. Some of the principle ways are through prayer, encouragement, financially and some want to come join us.

Dawn and I find it encouraging when friends reach out to us, pray for us and are genuinely interested in what we are doing. We love talking about the ministry, and connecting with people who want to come down for a short-term trip. It’s also super when we find an individual who is considering the Lord’s call on their life. When they are exploring whether God might be calling them to work with us on the border.

We found all of that on this trip. New Valley Church and Covenant Community Church are both interested in sending down short-term teams to encourage and help us as we launch our ministry on the San Diego – Tijuana border. One of the short-term trip projects that I’m developing is a focus on groups prayer walking. This involves walking the streets, and praying for the city and the people. We’d also like for people to take pictures, which we could then use technology to geo-tag. This allows us to get to know the city better.

Initially we could accommodate groups of 4 – 8 people. If you think this is something you might be interested in let us know. This is an opportunity to not just talk about prayer, but to pray. To ask the Lord to give us His eyes to see, and to lead us to where He wants us to launch. It aids in showing us where the needs in the city are, and what opportunities there might be to meet those needs.

Dave at New Valley Church

We also talked to a young woman who is very interested in working with us on the border. We do need workers! Pray with us that God will make it clear to her and to us. We are praying for someone to help us in mercy ministries, which incorporates all kinds of ministry possibilities. We have needs for people gifted in evangelism and training as well. We are working on recruiting an administrator, but still unsure where that will go. We trust the Lord will build our team! We wait and pray for His timing.

We leave for San Diego this Friday, where I’ll be preaching at New Life La Mesa on Sunday. Then we will bring David, Jr. home with us for Christmas break.

Thanks for being on this journey with us!

In His Grip, Dave

P.S. We just found out that the transmission in our car is shot. We need to decide whether to replace the car or the transmission. Our budget is tight now, so this comes at a difficult time for us.

DiasoLifeontheBorder.org