Our church theme for the year 2014 – 2015 is “Ambassadors for Christ”.

The fundamental aspect of our position as an ambassador for Christ is Evangelism. Each of us is to be bearing witness of Christ and making dis-ciples in fulfillment of the command in Matthew 28: 18 – 20. The local church should be growing because the members of the local church are obe-dient to the command and making disciples. If the members of the church are not actively obeying the command, then the church ought not be surprised when the church does not grow.

One of the steps necessary to revitalize the church is to “look in the mirror” and evaluate yourself as well as the church. To this end, there are seven factors listed below that hinder evange-lism and, thus, stymie church growth.

1. There is no priority of Evangelism. Prior to His ascension, Jesus told His disciples that they were His witnesses. They were to bear witness of Him in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the utter most parts of the Earth. As the reader progresses through Acts, the reader can note that the church endured persecution be-fore they moved out of Jerusalem. In other words, the Spirit of God had to compel the Church to obey. If Evangelism is not high pri-ority for a church, it is no priority at all.

2. Many people in the church believe that it is the job of the “professional (s)” to do evange-lism. This thinking is: unbiblical, counterpro-ductive, and self destructive. All believers are commanded to be ambassadors therefore all believers are to be evangelists. A witness is one who tells what he knows. An evangelist bears witness to the Truth of the Gospel. If you are a believer, you know the Gospel and therefore ought to be enthusiastic about shar-ing it with those who are dead in trespasses

and sins.

3. Many churches and individuals in churches find excuses for the failure to actively evan-gelize. Some excuses deny the power of God and thus evidence a lack of faith: a. I do not know what to say. b. I am not able, c, It never seems to be the right time. d. Someone else is better able. Other excus-es evidence a spirit of rebellion or failure to understand the urgency: a. I do not want to hurt someone's feelings. b. It is not my job. c. I am not trained. d. I will do it at a more convenient time. e. I will get it wrong.

4. Many fail to see the connection between prayer and evangelism. Most Christians un-derstand some connection between physical needs and prayer. But, the greatest need is to hear the Gospel so that the hearer can enter the Kingdom of God. Sadly, for many, the physical needs are far more im-portant than the Spiritual need. Those who have not heard the Gospel are dead in their trespasses and sins a far greater peril than cancer, Ebola, HIV and other debilitating diseases. Some who have heard the Gospel, most grievously, remain in their sin.

5. Often the message of the Gospel is lost be-cause those who proclaim it live life styles that are not different than the World. God's people are to “come out from among them and be ye separate”. God's people are to be “peculiar” not driven by the “lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of life”. God's people are to evidence the in-dwelling Spirit by: giving thanks, not com-plaining, having no fear except the “fear of God”, and rejoicing.

P a s t o r ’ s C o r n e r

The Mustard Seed November 2014

Ambassadors for Christ

Cont. on pg. 5

“All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for

doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness that the

man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

2 Timothy 3: 16-17

Church Theme 2014-15

“Ambassadors for Christ”

P a g e 2 T h e M u s t a r d S e e d

Fall Church Clean-up!

Saturday, November 8th

8 am-12 pm

Help us to prepare our building and grounds for the winter. There are many tasks inside and out that we need help to complete. The Scouts will be helping us with the outside work.

Many hands make light work, great time of fellowship while we help make our Church clean and shiny! Lunch will be served. See Stewardship with any questions or to let them know you are available to help!!

Potluck Luncheon 3rd Sunday of every month!

Dates for remainder of 2014:

November 16 and December 21

Join us for a time of fellowship, to share a meal and encourage one another in the body of Christ!

Bring a dish to share, bring your family and friends. All are welcome!

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Red Cross Community Blood Drive Wednesday, November 19th, 2:00-7:00 pm

Give the gift of life through your blood donation, call 800-REDCROSS to schedule an ap-pointment, walk-ins welcome! Volunteers needed to assist with sign-in, handing out snacks and juice. If you are able to help, please see Peter James.

Saturday, November 15 - 9:00 am - 2:00 pm

How can you help?

1. Craft items - decorations, ornaments, aprons, knit/crochet goods, fleece items, or your special gift/talent. We have lots of fabric if you would like to use it for a project for the fair. It is in the music storage room upstairs.

2. Donations for the luncheon - individual size bags of UTZ potato chips and Poland Springs bottled water.

3. Bakers to create goodies for the bake table. Please package nicely, sugges-tions-cookies, brownies, small coffee cakes, gluten free offerings, pies are very popular, full cakes do not usually do well. Bring in Friday or early Saturday morning.

4. Gently used items for our white elephant room. Drop off after service beginning November 9th, no electronics/ TV’s/computers or big furniture.

5. Used Jewelry or handcrafted jewelry-give donations to Audrey Reed anytime and at least a week prior to give her a chance to clean up and get ready for display.

6. Candy for children’s games-either your leftover Halloween candy or small bags of individual candy to have for prizes.

7. Helpers for setup-cleanup, take flyers around town to display.

8. Prayer that we will serve the community in love and God will be glorified through all we do.

All net proceeds will be donated to EFCA ReachGlobal Ministries who help with immediate and long term physical and spiritual needs for disasters in the US and around the world. An amazing opportunity to bless others with the blessings we receive in our efforts for the community. Please pray that the Lord will honor all we do and donations will exceed anything we can ask or imagine!

Any questions, please see Maggie Baldasaro or Heidi Kumm, your co-chairs for the Fall Church Fair. Thank you!!!!

Jesus – Christology is the study of the person and work of Jesus. He is 100% god and 100% human, not merely a “good teacher.”:

John 1:1 - “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”

Micah 5:2 - "But you, Bethle-hem Ephrathah, Though you are little among the thou-sands of Judah, Yet out of you shall come forth to Me The One to be Ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth are from of old, From everlasting."

Hebrews 7:25 - “Therefore He is also able to save to the ut-termost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make interces-sion for them.”

2 Corinthians 5:21 - “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

A common belief these days that all religions lead to God. But Jesus said “No one comes to the Father but through me.” (John 14:6) As the sinless God-man, He was the Lamb of God who offered His blood to pay our penalty and remove our guilt (1 Peter 2:24).

What are the benefits of knowing sound doctrine? Greater protection against spir-ituyal deception, more effective

evangelism, and an increased ability to defend your faith are just a few. The Bible provides a firm foundation for the fruit-ful Christian life.

Today, people are changing biblical verses to suit their own needs instead of chang-ing their needs to God’s standard.

In Service to His Church,

John Kunze, Helen Palmer, Karen TenDyke, Pastor Russ,

Nina Miranda, Hartwig Schmidt, Dianne James

& Ruth Reed

[1] HTTP://www.intouch.org/you/

article-archive/content/topic/

sound_doctrine_study

What is Sound Doctrine?

According to Intouch.org [1] a specific set of biblical beliefs is crucial in seven foundational areas. They are God, Jesus, the Bible, Angels, Humans, the Church and End Times. Here is a portion of what the website talks about:

The Bible – Bibliology is the study of the inspiration of Scripture. Some people choose to accept only portions of the Bible as God’s word. All the words of the Old & New Testament autographs (original manuscripts) are in-spired by God and free from error of any kind:

How much of Scripture is inspired by the Lord (2 Tim 3:16) Paul writes to Timothy by saying “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness”

Others believe that the ideas are inspired, but not the ac-tual words. Paul refute this in 1 Corinthians 2:13 by say-ing ” These things we also speak, not in words which man's wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teach-es, comparing spiritual things with spiritual”

P a g e 4 T h e M u s t a r d S e e d

6. Activities of the church are not evangelistic. Every thing the church does in the community ought to be a means to declare the Gospel. Nothing should be more important than the proc-lamation of the Gospel. If the church engages in activities that are not evangelistic, would it not be behaving as a civil club with ungodly goals instead of the Church of God which has a message of transformation: from death to life?

7. Fear that new Christians will change a church! Comfortable with the status quo, people re-fuse to evangelize because they like things as they are and do not want new, enthusiastic, zealous believers “rocking the boat”.

As we focus on thanksgiving and meditate on the First Coming of Jesus, let us examine our-selves and see how we can infect our world with the proclamation of the Gospel. May each of us learn to “gossip the Gospel” and thus lead men, women, and children to the Savior.

Pastor Russell

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Pastor’s Corner (cont. from pg. 1)

Pastor Russ & Jean would like to thank those who blessed them this past month with their gracious gifts.

Community Thanksgiving Service

Sunday, November 23rd at 6:00 pm

We are hosting the community service. Please join us as we gather together to give thanks and praise to our dear Lord.

We would like to have a time of fellowship following the service. Further infor-mation will be given as soon as possible.

This month the Missions Committee is highlighting The Fold Family Ministries.

OVERVIEW:

The Fold Family Ministries provides affordable Christ-centered resi-dential care for up to 25 troubled teens, ages 13-17. We offer a new be-ginning for both teens and their parents in crisis. Our motto is,

"Changing Lives, Renewing Hope, Restoring Families; One Son and One Daughter at a Time."

Over the years, hundreds of at-risk teens have turned their lives in a new direction, distraught parents have been encouraged and fractured families have been reconciled. Through God's love and grace, young people formerly headed in a wrong direction have found hope and healing and gone on to successful ca-reers, marriages, families, and life within our communities. Parents who have formerly felt unequipped as role models have learned skills to help them become effective leaders in their homes.

PHILOSOPHY:

Our purpose is to help families find hope and healing in Christ. We do this by teaching biblical truths that apply to everyday situations. We believe that God's word is true and transforming and that the young people's lives will take on new meaning and direction as they begin to understand their God-given value and who He is. We are not a program that proposes behavior modification as the solution. Instead, we believe that only God can transform our children's lives, our marriages and our families into the beautiful creations He designed them to be. We understand and agree that we desperately need Him to step in and do a mighty work. The Fold supports families in this process as we walk alongside them.

We accomplish our philosophy in various ways, the most obvious being in our Girls' and Boys' Homes. Each home is set up to look and function like a family. Houseparents role model caring authority and protection to the children. They provide safety through routine and structure, but also in grace and for-giveness. Additionally each home has staff (Resident Instructors) who function as mentors and role mod-els for the teens. "Each day is a new day," we often say as we provide teens with safe opportunities to learn, grow and even make mistakes. Staff and teens experience day to day life together in many ways. Examples include: life skills, counseling, discipleship, community service, building relationships within the home and lots of fun activities. We take every opportunity to "love on" the teens in the program and teach them the great rewards of pursuing God's greater plan for their lives.

School at The Fold also has an integral part in the teens' healing and development, which is why we have owned and operated our own school since 1984. Many of our young people, prior to entering The Fold, have found school to be a place of difficulty, stress and failure. Our solution is to combine the na-tionally known ACE self-paced homeschooling curriculum to meet the educational needs of our teens on an individual basis, with teachers who care about the hearts and lives of the students. This allows us to assist each teen in setting manageable goals that they can achieve, to provide not only an opportunity for the teens to learn and excel at school, but also a safe environment for them to continue the healing pro-cess.

(Overview & Philosophy as shared on their website www.thefoldinc.org)

Please be in prayer for The Fold Family Ministries. We hope you see that a mighty work is being done for these teens based on Biblical principles to help the child and their family. It is not about making their “behavior” better, but to fully embrace their life as a “new creation” in Christ Jesus. It is a blessing to partner with them as they minister to these teens and their families so that the entire family unit may be reconciled, grow in His grace and serve the Lord in all they do.

Missions Committee, Lavern Forrest, Marcia Armstrong, Louise Jenkins, Cheryl Diorio

P a g e 6 T h e M u s t a r d S e e d

The Congregational Church

220 Middlesex Ave

Wilmington, MA 01887

M u s t a r d S e e d N e w s l e t t e r

Moved? Please update your address with the Church Office. Thank you.

December Newsletter Deadline

November 23, 2014

Pastor: Russell Kent Secretary: Heidi Kumm Music Director: Lydia Okumura Sexton: Don Armstrong

Office Hours Mon-Thurs - 9:00 - 3:00 pm

Phone: 978-658-2264

Email: office@wilcong.org www.wilcong.org

The Mustard Seed - A publication of The Congregational Church in Wilmington, 220 Middlesex Avenue, Wilmington, MA 01887. Editor: Heidi Kumm. The Mustard Seed is published monthly, excluding the month of August, to keep members and friends informed of programs of the church and to report news about the congregation. Deadline for copy: Third Wednesday of the month