Dads, we’re their number one fans! We want to thank them for reminding us how they did it back in the day, to walk it off, and that a little hard work never hurt anyone. Join us as we honor the fathers in our lives with fun activities and of course, food.
FATHER’S DAY
Sunday, June 19
9 & 11a (after services)
To volunteer, contact Jaclyn, jrisser@marinerschurch.org
Dads, we’re their number one fans! We want to thank them for reminding us how they did it back in the day, to walk it off, and that a little hard work never hurt anyone. Join us as we honor the fathers in our lives with cool cars, sports, activities on the patio and of course, bacon and root beer. It’s time for Dadfest!
FATHER’S DAY AT MARINERS IRVINE
Sat: Jun 18, 5p
Sun: Jun 19, 9 & 11a
(after services)
To volunteer, contact Autumn, amiddleton@marinerschurch.org
Help prepare backpacks by stuffing them with school supplies for over 350 students in the Mexico Child Sponsorship Program. Search “Mexico” or click here for info.
MEXICO: BACKPACK STUFFING
Mon, Jun 20, 6:30 – 8:30p
Community Center Foyer
Foster or adoptive parents and those interested in learning more about foster care and adoption are invited to find support, equipping and encouragement. Dinner and childcare provided. Receive two hours of training credit. More info and sign up or contact Lauren, lstrauss@marinerschurch.org
FOSTER CARE AND ADOPTION LEARNING GROUP
Fri, Jun 17, 6:30-8:30p, Life Dev Bld, r205
Dads, we’re their number one fans! We want to thank them for reminding us how they did it back in the day, to walk it off, and that a little hard work never hurt anyone. Join us as we honor the fathers in our lives with fun activities and of course, food.
FATHER’S DAY
Sunday, June 19
8:30, 10, 11:30a & 6p (after services)
Huntington Beach Central Library Theater
7111 Talbert Ave, Huntington Beach, CA 92648
To volunteer, contact Jeanette, jandrews@marinerschurch.org
Dads, we’re their number one fans! We want to thank them for reminding us how they did it back in the day, to walk it off, and that a little hard work never hurt anyone. Join us as we honor the fathers in our lives with fun activities and of course, food.
FATHER’S DAY
Sunday, June 19
9 & 11a (after services)
To volunteer, contact Kasaundra, kdomen@marinerschurch.org
Help those who are ready to take the next steps to get off the street as we build relationships through games, dessert, and stories. More info here and register.
HOMELESS MINISTRY
Sat, Jun 18, 5:30-8p
Salvation Army, Santa Ana
This past weekend, I had the privilege of being with nearly 400 Men of Mariners at Man Camp up in the mountains. Not only did we eat, laugh, and compete as you would expect, but I was blown away how everyone leaned into God, inviting Him to speak and lead. Together, we unpacked our church verse…
No eye has seen, no ear has heard and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love Him.
1 Corinthians 2:9
It was beautiful seeing the men of our church taking seriously His invitation to reshape their identity as His kids, knowing and believing that He has prepared good things for them. We worshiped and sang at the top of our lungs. We took time to pray for one another and we responded courageously to God’s invitation to say, “I Believe!” Many men were baptized as a public expression of their trust and faith in Jesus. I believe the ripple effects of this weekend will continue throughout our families, our workplaces, and Orange County as we courageously become who God calls us to be as His followers.
Last weekend, we launched our new series in the Book of James: Faith in Action and considered how joy can be built through endurance and testing. This week, we’ll continue looking at what the younger brother of Jesus wants to teach us surrounding temptation. Have you ever considered the difference between trials and temptations? Is there a difference? What is the point of a temptation, anyway? And, how can we withstand it and choose to move away from what seems impossible and move toward who God created us to be as His kids? Invite your friends and family to join us as we pursue Jesus together in community.
Looking forward to being with you all!
Peace…
Kyle
As the weather begins to warm up, we are definitely moving into summer. That said, there is a lot going on here at Mariners Ocean Hills. Summer means we have moved into the month of June and I want to make you aware why this is an important month for us as a church. June 30th marks the end of our fiscal year, which means we will be at the end of our budget cycle. This is important to our church for two reasons.
First, it lets us know where we are financially as a church. You may not know this, but two years ago we were behind budget by 27%, and last year we were behind by 18%. This year, we are currently only 2% behind, which is amazing! This is truly an incredible picture of how far we have come as a church because of your generosity. I’m sure you would join me in thinking how great it would be if we made budget this year. I share this information with you because I know you care about our church and I believe your prayers and generosity can be the difference in how we finish this year and launch into the next.
Second, we set our budget for the 2016/2017 year based on where we end this year. We have many opportunities for ministry in the coming year, so making budget will enable us to create the type of financial planning that allows us to do even more ministry.
Needless to say, June is an important month for us financially, so I ask that you prayerfully consider how you can participate.
This Sunday, I will be finishing up our series titled, Things I Wish Jesus Never Said. I hope you have enjoyed the series as much as I have. The following weekend (June 19), we will have a great Father’s Day service, and after that, we will be moving into a new series based on the Book of James. I’m really excited about our James series. It’s a practical look at many of the areas in life we struggle with every day. We will also be having the first of our summer events, kicking off with a Luau on June 26, at 6p. It will be a great night of dinner, fire dancers, shaved ice, tattoos, a live band and many more activities. Make sure you are there and invite a friend!
As always, it is great doing life and ministry with you,
Jeff
Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.
– JAMES 1:22
What do you call that person who’s more than an acquaintance, but who hasn’t not quite summited the friendship plateau? It’s that person with whom you’ve never done anything together outside of where you happen to run into each other. Nevertheless, that guy is a good guy. We both take an interest in the other person’s goings-on. As we were catching up recently, he asked me about what was happening in the church. I got to tell him the best story…
I got to tell him about the thing that makes us, us. I got to tell him how much fun our church is. I probably got a little too “pastor-y”: speaking with a slightly less conversational cadence, pausing with more drama, fluctuating the dynamics of my tone and tempo, and over gesticulating. This kind of talking and speaking is, by the way, why people get weirded out by pastors. I was slipping into becoming the thing I work so hard to NOT be. I really couldn’t help it. There is so much to be excited about in our church. Foremost among those things, is the one thing that’s the easiest to communicate to an outsider looking in on the church:
I told him about Serve Day.
People may not understand all of what we believe. Make no mistake, we believe some very wild things. Even within the church, people engage in spirited conversations about lots of things in the Bible. But, at the core of the biblical message is the person of Jesus of Nazareth: a man born under the reign of Augustus Caesar in a rebellious outpost of the Roman Empire, who was purported to have been some kind of miracle-worker, who envisioned himself as the centerpiece of something called the “kingdom of God” as God’s favored son, who challenged religio-political authority, who was killed, and who rose again… and, whose supernatural presence gives some kind of inexplicable power to people in the present to live more fully as they were intended. C’mon, that is a lot to take in.
What is not hard to understand is what people DO with those beliefs. Specifically, does that kind of belief in a Spirit-motivated power result in something beautifully contagious? Does it leave people feeling as though they’re on the outside looking in? Is it a kind of spiritual justification for elitism? To actively serve the community doesn’t address all the bigger questions of theology: the Bible, God, death, heaven, etc. But, it absolutely tells the story of what a group of people committed to Jesus, DO with their faith.
Serve Day paints the picture that sometimes Jesus is most evident through calloused hands and sweaty brows, shovels and hammers, bricks and paint, trash pick-up and landscaping, sandwiches and tacos, live music and kid-oriented play-and-serve areas. To explain to someone that we’re a church committed to seeing the community bettered by our presence makes sense. So, come with us this Sunday from 1pm-5pm at Linda Vista Elementary School and personally acquire a fresh story about what your church is doing with what we believe. Come to church dressed and ready to work. Show up and be amazed by the church community you call home. Save yourself (and your kids) the hassle of a potentially long registration line on the day of by registering here.
See you soon,
Jeff