5 Days Down; 16 to Go

The first five days of our 21 days of prayer have gone very well.  We have had a group of 12 to 18 people praying at 6:00 am each morning in the parlor.  The spirit and the fervor of the prayer times have been very inspiring. Additionally, I am getting reports through Facebook, e-mail & U.S Postal Service mail of people who are not able to join us in the parlor but are praying in their homes. 

I apologize for a misunderstanding about the time of prayer on Sundays.  Some folks showed up last Sunday and did not find a group meeting for prayer. Since the 21 Days began on Monday, August 27, the first Sunday we have prayer in the parlor is this Sunday, September 1st.  It will be at 8:45 am. 

We are having 6:00 am prayer on Monday (Labor Day).  We're also having prayer on Saturdays at 6:00 am starting tomorrow. 

If you haven't had the chance to join in on a prayer meeting, you still have 16 opportunities to do so. Spread the word. 

21 Days of Prayer

     Jesus taught his disciples how to pray in that beautiful prayer we now call “The Lord’s Prayer.”  This prayer, which includes praise and adoration, petition and confession, concludes with the statement, “For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.  Amen.”  This is a declaration of who God is.  We can be confident when we pray to Him because of these truths.  It is also a statement of what we desire to experience in our lives.

     This phrase will serve as a theme to our 21 Days of Prayer at Calvary.  As we move into the 2012-2013 school year, we want to begin with united prayer as a church.  We are so grateful for things that God has done this summer through our various ministries and through our missional activity.  We acknowledge how God is placing certain things in a timely manner for our church.  Our children’s building debt has been paid off.  The hailstorm we suffered is forcing us to make some decisions about current buildings.  Our worship ministry is about to have some renovations and other important changes.  Our Pastor for Mobilization and Global Impact search committee has begun its work.  Our mission trips this summer have moved us closer to partnership development.  As we look to Calvary’s future we want to pray that it would all be about His Kingdom, Power & Glory.  Additionally, as our nation prepares for presidential elections this fall, we want to pray for our country.  We desire that God would guide voters to make the right decisions.  That the leadership that is elected would lead with godly fear and with moral integrity.  We pray for the moral and spiritual condition of our nation.

     Here are the ways in which you can participate in this 21 Days of Prayer emphasis at Calvary (August 27—September 16):

• Attend the morning prayer gatherings at 6:00 am on any day Monday through Saturday in our church’s parlor

•  Attend the morning prayer gatherings on Sundays at 8:45 am in our church’s parlor

•  Set a time for you to pray individually each day

•  Come and use the prayer room in the West Ed building at a convenient time for you (Call or e-mail the church office to get the code to get in)

•  Form, lead or attend a home prayer group

•  Create and/or participate in special prayer times during on-going ministries of the church (choir, Bible Fellowship, Remedy, etc., etc.)

•  Choose a day to fast and pray.  (This is strictly a voluntary act and should not be attempted by those who have health risks that may be complicated with fasting)

• Include prayer for our the moral and spiritual condition of our nation and for the presidential elections this fall 

We have published prayer guides which will be available in hard copy this Sunday morning in the worship center.  Click here to see the prayer guide in English and here to see the guía de oración (español).

As a leader, I strongly encourage you to join us for some of our 6:00 am prayer times.  Please share this information with those in your respective area of ministry.

May His Kingdom, Power and Glory be evident as we seek His face!

Welcome Jared Solis to Calvary's Staff

We welcome Jared Solis to Calvary’s staff as part-time interim media and worship associate.  Jared comes to us from San Antonio where he served as the worship leader for Alamo Community Church.  He is a graduate from the University of Texas at San Antonio with a Bachelor’s degree in English.  Jared also toured nationally and internationally with the Warner/Word recording artist band “Salvador” for three years.

He played saxophone and trombone for the band, wrote the musical arrangements for the horn section for the albums “So Natural”

and “Dismiss the Mystery”

and was featured as a musician in both.  Currently Jared works full time as a customer care representative at Mercedes-Benz of San Juan.

Jared Solis’ role in our staff is to work under the supervision of Pastor Mark Richardson to compliment him in the areas of media and the contemporary worship service.  The media associate was made into a full-time position earlier this year but has not been filled yet.  Additionally, Mark Richardson and I have identified the need to do a contemporary worship make-over that involves band development, technical upgrades and some aesthetic changes on the platform area.  Jared Solis possesses a set of technical and musical skills, as well as gifting in the area of worship, that compliments Mark Richardson's special set of skills and gifts.  At this juncture, while we are not able to fill the media position full-time, we can meet some of our immediate needs by hiring Jared part-time as interim media and contemporary worship associate.  Solis will use his experience and skills to provide consultation in the overall development of media systems for our worship ministry and coordination for the media teams in the 9:30 am and 12:30 pm services.  He will also be leading the contemporary worship band and worship service (11:00 am) under the supervision of Pastor Mark.  We are grateful that God has brought Jared to Calvary.

  

Please welcome him and pray for God's leadership in our worship ministry at Calvary.

Resumes for Pastor of Mobilization and Global Impact Requested

     The search committee for Pastor of Mobilization and Global Impact, composed of Angela Sesin, Tom Boone, Cindy Shartle, Ron Corbett, and Jose Luis Cuellar, has met on a couple of occasions.  They have prayed together and have determined the following list of criteria for the search process:

Profile for Pastor for Mobilization and Global Impact

1. Cross cultural experience with a global perspective.
2. Organizer, planner, equipper, discipler, mobilizer.
3. Christian college/seminary education/or equivalent personal mission experience and studies
4. Share and support Calvary’s Missional Philosophy and Vision
5. Have a burden for unreached people
6. Partnership formation and development experience.
7. Church experience in area of Missions
8. Prefer bilingual (English/Spanish) to develop missional outreach of Calvary in both English and Spanish speaking members.

     Resumes are being accepted from church members beginning August 13th.  On August 27th resume submittal will be opened to all others.  Resumes may be directly given to Angela Sesin, Chair of the MAGI Pastor Search Committee, or mailed to the church address (1600 Harvey, McAllen 78501) c/o Angela Sesin.

     Please pray for this process and for the committee as our church identified the person God has already selected for this important role.

     Exciting things are in our future!

New Venue for Student Ministry this Fall 2012

     You may know that our student building (West Ed) was hit hardest by the hailstorm earlier this year.  The storm affected the building's ACs, roof, flooring, and other areas, to the extent that our students have not been able to use it since April.  At this point, we do not know when the West Ed building will be ready for use again, (if it will at all).  Our students have temporarily used parts of the multi-purpose building and the Family Life Center (Gym).  The summer schedule of activities allowed for a flexible use of facilities.  Nevertheless as the school year approaches and all our church programs ramp up to full gear, it will be important for the students to have a place to call their own while the issues with the West Ed building get resolved.
     The best solution at this time is that the Family Life Center (Gym) become the primary meeting place for our students.  This means using the Family Life Center (Gym) for “Remedy” worship service on Wednesday nights and the upstairs classrooms in the same building on Sunday mornings.  This will not be the most ideal "long-term" solution for our students but it will be adequate enough for a semester, or perhaps even a year.  The costs related to making this happen do not compare to the rental of portable buildings or of existing space off campus.
     The pastors and other staff are supportive of this plan and are working to make it happen.  The plan has also been shared with the stewardship committee, building and grounds committee, and the Coordinating Council as things are developing and details are being worked out.
     We are so grateful for our student ministry.  Great things are happening there with students who are either growing as disciples of Christ or exploring faith, dedicated volunteers, and the leadership of Pastor Marcus.  We want to continue to pray and support this important ministry in our church.
     We trust that God will provide for all of the needs in our church and that our church family will be supportive in a transition time like this.  These changes may cause some of us to be a bit uncomfortable and they may also require some financial cost.  But neither of these compare to the great investment of loving our students and communicating to them that they are important to our church.  Please help us by promoting support for our student ministry and the adjustments that are being made in the next couple of weeks.