Weekly Update

GCN Family,

As many of you know, Pastor Kevin and I ran the Marine Corp Marathon earlier this week. What an experience! I’d like to share just a few thoughts from that marathon:

1. Instill courage in others. The whole run was a picture of humanity at its best. The entire 26.2 miles, the streets and trails were lined with people cheering, holding signs, and encouraging us to “keep going.” I’m taking some liberties here, but I kept picturing that “great cloud of witnesses” mentioned in Hebrews 12. What if we devoted more of our time and energy to instilling courage in other people (which is the literal definition of “encouragement”), and less of our time and energy into complaining about things that ultimately matter much less? And let us “fix our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith.” (Hebrews 12:2)

2. Keep going. The act of simply continuing to put one foot in front of the other is underrated. This applies to more than a marathon. This is about walking with Christ, growing in Christ, and being transformed by allowing the Holy Spirit to work in us. Paul says it best: “Suffering produces perseverance. Perseverance produces character. Character produces hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.”
   
   I don’t know what you’re going through today, but keep going. Turn to Jesus. Fix your eyes on Jesus. One foot in front of the other.

3. We do not run alone. It sure is a lot easier to run with 40,000 people than it is to try to run 26.2 by yourself! Following Jesus is not a solo sport. We were meant to follow Jesus together. If you are in Christ, you are an adopted child of God, which means you have a bunch of brothers and sisters. This is called the church! On that run, there were a lot of different types of people. Some young, some old. Some from other parts of the world, and some from the DMV. Some were laughing and dancing as they ran, and others looked like they could barely keep going. But we all had one mission: FINISH THIS RACE!
   
   The church, at its best, is a family of people who are centered around one Person: Jesus. We have one mission: lead other people to Jesus. We are about as different as you could imagine, but there is incredible unity because of that shared mission.
   
   If you are feeling lonely, you are not alone. But let me challenge you: Join a Life Group, plug in on Sunday mornings, serve during the week. Grow in Christ as you do life with your family.

COMING UP…

1. Faith Promise Sunday is THIS SUNDAY! Daniel Herrera, one of the directors for Jesus Film Harvest Partners, International, will be joining us. Faith Promise Sunday is all about giving towards God’s Mission all around the world and in our own backyard. This is above and beyond regular tithes. Truly, it is giving in faith.
   
   Join us for an International Potluck Lunch. Main entrée provided, but please bring a favorite international dish to share!
   
   
2. Pasta Dinner Fundraise for students going to Nazarene Youth Conference. Sunday, November 16th at 5:30pm. Register to secure your tickets. CLICK HERE for that. Let’s join in and support our students going to NYC next summer in Salt Lake City!
   
   
3. GCN Leadership Elections. November 23rd. All GCN Members will have the opportunity to elect new board members, confirm ministry leaders, and elect delegates to Mission Advance for next year.
   
   
4. Check out the ANNOUNCEMENTS PAGE for a lot more coming up, such as:
   • “Surviving the Holidays with Grief and Loss” workshop. Saturday, November 22nd.
   • GCN Thanksgiving Feast. Sunday, November 23rd. Just after the worship service.

Much Love,

Pastor Brian