We love to give away info and tools that we find useful, so we’ll continue to gather items and make them available here as free downloads.

We will meet on the 3rd Wednesday of each  month. That will be February 20 at 6:30 for our first official meeting as the “Forward” House Church. The meeting place is in south Edmond at 3712 Harris Drive. Call Pam at 826-1002 for further information.

Sam Bass, a member of The Family Van, was recently in Uganda with Next Generation Ministries.  Here is a taste of what He experienced….

“It is amazing to me what connection I feel to my brothers and sisters in the Lord here in Uganda .  Their love for the Lord and for me is very humbling.  I do not believe that it is possible to be among these believers and not have your faith both challenged and enriched….

Sunday I preached in a church in Bukeeka.  This village is made up of about 90% Muslim with a blend of witchcraft… Now before you start thinking I am some sort of super hero Christian let me give you some more information about who lives in this place.  When I came to Uganda two years ago I visited Bukeeka  not knowing how dark of a place it was (something Paul conveniently forgot to tell me).  All I knew was that we were going to see some of the young men who were products of NGM. They had started a church and a small school.  The school was to help children who could not afford the more expensive public school and as a tool to reach the city for Christ.  These two men were Robert, the little man, and Vincent the skinny man.  Little did I know that I was about to have an encounter that would forever change me.  We arrived at the school that was not much bigger than a three bay storage unit.  In this small building they taught 68 students.  The blackboard was a smooth wall painted black.  The desks were long benches setting on a dirt floor.  Robert began to tell their story of how they knew God wanted them there in spite of the difficulties they were experiencing.   Vincent, the school’s headmaster, had left a pose job as the sales director for a water company like Ozarka in the US .  He knew God had placed it in his heart to give his life serving this dark village in the name of Christ.  Robert told us that they had not been able to pay the teachers or Vincent for months.  In fact Vincent went through a very long period that the only food they could afford to buy was enough to feed their only child.  I asked Vincent, “How did you survive?”  He told me of a period were they were suffering the onset of starvation.  He and his wife prayed telling God that they were totally dependent on Him and if He so chose to allow them to starve to death, that He would allow Robert to be able to take care of their child. (Robert was in the same condition by the way) I began to cry.  I had never met someone so full of joy and commitment to Jesus.  Vincent hugged me and whispered in my ear, “Do not cry for me my brother, I consider it a joy to suffer for my Jesus.”  Then I really began to cry.  That same week Robert came to class and told us that the night before the Muslims had brought in a man who was known to curse people even to their death.  This man along with another head Muslim got naked, sacrificed chickens, and put a ring of blood around the school in order to invoke a curse.  They issued a warning that if Robert and Vincent did not leave, not only would they die, but any children who attended the school and their parents would die as well.  They told the landlord that he must make Robert leave or he would die also. Robert told his landlord, “Do not worry, my Jesus will protect you.”  So we prayed and the curse had no effect on Robert, Vincent, the landlord or the children and their parents.  The curser issued an edict that, because they did not die, it was the will of Allah to let them be!  That was two years ago.  This Sunday I learned that there had been several other attempts to run them out of town.  The last attempt failed because over half the city was for them staying because all the good they have done for the city.  You see, they now have over 300 students.  They are expecting 500 students this year and Robert believes they could have 1000 if they had the room.  Through the efforts of NGM and some small churches in Oregon and Washington they now have 3 acres of land and they have installed one of the only two fresh water wells in the village (people in the village are allowed to use it).  Before they installed this well the people would line up, as many as 200 at a time, to get fresh water. Vincent told me that they regularly get invitations to Muslim weddings and are sought for counseling by many of the Muslims who were so against them!  They have loved on these people and many are coming to Christ. Recently the school achieved high test scores that many of the public schools never achieve. The other third giant is David, the four year old son of Vincent.   David always has his small Bible in his hands.  He stands on the porch, just a few feet away from the busy streets and pleads to those who are passing by:  “Jesus loves you.”  “Give your life to Jesus.”  “Be born again!” No I am not brave.  But why should I be scared, with three giants of faith around me.  Satan is the one who is scared!   He is about to lose a city to Jesus!  If not in this generation, for sure in the “next generation.” “

joey & stephanie fisher

405.410.7717
all ages
edmond
weds/sun

20’s & 30’s, married & single, with & without kids.

We are a group of young families in northeast Edmond who support each other in life as we grow in Christ. We love to minister to others through food and hospitality.

To view our blog, click here.

Hannah, being the green young thing that she is, takes plastic bags to the supermarket in order to reuse them when she shops. This creates a mixture of bemusement and at times complete chaos (”That doesn’t fit our system! Where do we put them? This can’t be hygenic!”).

The other day she popped into a megastore that shall remain nameless and at the checkout pulled out her bags and started packing. The cashier, without a pause in item scanning, simply asked, “So then, how are you settling into America?”!

She was completely thrown for a moment, then of course realised that we fit into the “eccentric English family” category and thus would be well known, even in the vast warehouse that is our local hypermarket. “We’re doing great, thank you. How y’all doing?” she enquired in her charmingly pastoral manner.

To complete the recycling day, Isaac came home that evening with a school project that he missed at the end of last term, namely to create a snowman that could be hung up at school. Apparently all the efforts so far submitted involved mountains of cotton wool and buttons for eyes. We discussed the matter at the dinner table, seeking a less dull interpretation, and the big brothers suggested raiding the recycling box. So Isaac went into school the next day with “Isaac’s Green Snowman”, made from a tin foil pie dish, a huge yogurt lid and lots of different coloured tops from bottles as nose and buttons, with wire to hang it from. He was carefully coached in how to respond to the “Why have you called it a green snowman when it’s white and silver?” question. We look forward to seeing what grade he is given!

The following is from Randy & Katy Stark, who are part of our Life on Life (4th & 5th grade) teaching team.

We had a wonderful time with the Life on Lifers today!  The lesson was on salvation. Our scripture for the day was Romans 10:9 “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead you will be saved.”

At times, the conversation was even more fun than the lesson!  As part of the lesson, we talked about receiving a gift or an award and used the example of Marlon Brando rejecting the Best Actor oscar in 1972.  It was a very fun discussion and we learned that one of the boys dad loves the Godfather and he plans to watch it with him soon.

Another verse we talked about was Matthew 11:28-30 where Jesus said His yoke is easy and His burden is light.  We used two “yokes” (made of craft paper) as an example, but unfortunately, the kids thought the yokes looked like toilet seats and did not want to wear them…so much for an easy yoke!

At the end, we learned from the message of the invitation of Jesus and that all of us, young and old, have a choice to make in accepting His personal invitation to us.  We sometimes miss many of God’s messages to us because we are not like little children.

Talk to your kids this week about whether or not they’ve accepted Jesus’ invitation to them.  Encourage them to spend time with Him in prayer and in His word.  Just like last week, their goal is to read their Bible at least 2 times this week!

Have a blessed week.

Randy & Katy

I had the privilege of being with the 4th and 5th graders this past Sunday.  They are an amazing group of young people!!  We did a little community builder game and found out that the majority of our Life on Lifers share a common love…PIZZA!  When asked their favorite food, pizza was the number one answer for almost everyone (with the exception of one young Englishman who favors fish and chips, but pizza’s in the top 3).  We also found out that lots of our boys like green as a favorite color and many of the girls like….you guessed it, pink.  We had fun getting to know some new things about each other!

Our verse for the day was 2 Cor. 7:1, which says we should keep ourselves pure and keep away from things that make our body or soul unclean so that we can be holy because we love God.  We talked about temptation, sin, and forgiveness.  We’re so thankful that God forgives us for all our sins, but because we love him, we want to try to be holy and keep away from sin.  Each one of us thought of one sin we seem to struggle with the most and wrote down a scripture we can use as a sword to fight against temptation.  Each time we’re tempted this week, we can say that verse and ask God to help us keep away from sin.  Be sure to ask your child about the sin they’re most tempted with and the verse they’re planning to use combat it!

The other assignment for this week is for each Life on Lifer to get to a quiet place and read their Bible at least TWO TIMES!!  Spending time with Jesus is the best way to hear His voice and fall more in love with Him!

I’m really looking forward to spending 2008 with you and can’t wait to see the amazing things God does in and through you!  I love you guys!!

The 2nd and 3rd grade boys D-group has decided on a name for their group.  It’s based on Romans 12:2, “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”   These boys will now be known as….drumroll, please….The TRANSFORMERS!  How cool is that?!  With a name like that, you’re destined to change the world!

kyle thompson
405.642.8333
jason & crystal partee
405.314.9063 / 405.326.6106
20’s & 30’s
okc
1st wednesday
3rd saturday

Our Mission Statement: Advancing the Kingdom by loving and serving the Paseo neighborhood while cultivating relationships with people of peace.”

When We Meet: As a House Church on the 1st Wednesday of the month @ 6:30 @ Harding Charter School  and the 3rd Saturday to serve the Paseo. D-groups meet throughout the month in various locations.
See our calender here for more details!

The Tea House is now open!!!

310 East Hurd Street
behind the big white house
Friday & Saturday 6:00pm-Midnight

come enjoy a nice cup of tea!