Pastor James’ Blog

   The Lord laid it on my heart to preach this morning about our need to bear fruit for Him.  The sad thing is that many Christians sit on the sidelines of life and show little fruit. They are all “talk” and no “do”.   There are those who are in church every week and “profess” to be saved but have NO FRUIT at all. No fruit = no salvation.  As a mission church it’s our goal to reach the community and see souls saved. After they are saved it’s our job to help them grow and mature to the point that they begin to bear “much fruit”.   It really burdens a pastor’s heart to see/hear people “talk a good talk” and then never follow through with their commitments.  One consolation is that it’s in every church you’ve ever been a part of (doesn’t make it right or scriptural but every church has people like that).  When Cindy and I attended Church Planter training in Oklahoma in 2008 one of the team leaders made the statement that “50% of the people you start a mission with will not be there at the end of the first year.”  and that is so sad but so true. Many “start out with a bang” but they fall by the wayside.  We are so blessed at Life House to have a great group of committed believers who have a passion and zeal to reach our community and Texarkana with the gospel. It is sad though that some who started with us are no longer active and have allowed every excuse in the world to keep them from being faithful, serving or committed.   God has put together a great group of people to be the “core group” of believers at Life House…..but I am praying for five couples or a total of 10 people to be brought to Life House in the coming year (established, dedicated, grounded people) to help us teach new believers and grow this great work.  We are growing and seeing more and more every month but we need some good, solid, sold out believers who will come and help us in this new mission.  We are praying and God is already working on some hearts and soon we will see those coming to join us and help.  Pray for us as we seek to “bear much fruit” in the days and months ahead at Life House.    Just some thoughts for you to ponder and pray about….

On a side note … Our 7th – 12th Grade Day Camp is coming up. Pray for the youth that will be present and pray that we can teach them and make a difference in their hearts and lives. Many good things are ahead and i’ll keep you  posted.  Praise God for all He is doing at Life House!!                                                       Pastor James

   Sometimes we get the question: “Are you guys Baptist?” and our standard answer is “YES, YES, YES – we are Southern Baptists and proud of it!”.   Life House started over a year ago as a mission plant of the Arkansas Baptist State Convention.  We are supported by them as well as the North American Mission Board, Southwest Arkansas Baptist State Convention, our sponsor church – Shiloh Baptist Church, Texarkana, AR and several other churches that contribute monthly to help and bless the mission work in Texarkana and College Hill.  The Lord has blessed this work in the past year and God has used our State Convention as well as all of our supporting partners to get this work off the ground. Twenty four souls were saved the first year – and there are many more out there who need the Lord. Keep praying for us and do come see us sometime — see for yourself – we REALLY ARE BAPTIST!    Pastor James

I hope all who read this blog and are mother’s have a great day today. Enjoy the attention and enjoy the time spent with loved ones. Life is to short not to enjoy such a time.  Remember to say “I LOVE YOU” and mean it!  Happy Mother’s day to my wife, Cindy – the best “MAMA” in the world!  Thanks for loving me and for loving our boys and daughters-in-laws too!  Have a great one!    Pastor James

Life House is in need of an electrician to put in a few plug ins. We also need one to work on our church sign. We also need one to run exterior lights on our awning to shine on our sign on the building and put it on on a timer.   We need someone who can do simple frame work and sheet rock on a small room (really small room).  We also will be laying some type of flooring (not sure what type is best) in that same room.  We have a work crew with a couple of licensed plumbers coming next weekend so the plumbing thing should be taken care of.  Can you guys help?  IF so – let me know…we need this room finished before the end of May so that the crew that is going to do cabinets and etc. can get in and have it finished before the end of May.

Even if you can’t do the work – you might know someone who would be willing to come help us out ASAP. We can purchase the materials – we just need someone who knows how to do it – to do it!   Let me know. Thanks so much for loving missions and being willing to help us out!  I’ll be praying that God will lay it on someones heart.   Thanks ahead of time.     Pastor James

  Our FIRST anniversary service will be this coming Sunday, May 3, 2009 and you, your family, your church family and everyone is invited to come join us for any and all of the services for the day.  Our schedule for the day will be as follows:     9:45 – 10:15 a.m. – Free Life House Coffee Shop Fellowship Time, 10:30 a.m. Morning Celebration Service, 12 noon – Grilled Burgers with all the trimmings for lunch, 1:15 p.m. – Afternoon testimonies, baptism celebration and more.  Come join us!   PLEASE ANNOUNCE IN YOUR CHURCH and let your church family know that they are invited to come and see what God is doing in College Hill and in one of their North American Mission Board Missions!  We hope to see you there!                                                   Pastor James

  It’s almost been a year since Life House came into existence and we are so amazed at all that God has done and continues to do in College Hill and the mission field here.

We’ve seen 23 saved in one year and have averaged in the high 70′s – low 80′s in attendance.  We are so blessed to be a part of this mission!

Some “GREAT THINGS” that God has done in recent days:

1.  Yesterday a man from a local church called and wanted to meet with me. His church is one of our partner churches.  He said that God had recently blessed him and he wanted to give Life House a small blessing for the work of the ministry here.  We thank God for his great gift which will go towards our building purchase!

2.  Another man “dropped by” last night as one of our men was working on the building and asked to speak with the pastor.  He said that he wanted to volunteer himself and several of the men who work for him to come help us with any building, working of any kind that we might need.  I’m supposed to go to his business Friday and meet with him about it.

3. Bro. Jonathan Russell, from our partner church in Mississippi sent a note and said that they are going to have a couple of plumbers with them and men and women who are willing to work when they come here in May for their first mission trip!

4. A “BIGGY” — we’ve lived in our neighborhood for over a year now. We’ve met and mingled with many of our neighbors. Several of our neighbors have been saved and we are praying for several others. Just today as I was in the backyard mowing one of the men (that we’ve been praying for) came to the fence and yelled “HEY” at me. This man seldom smiles, sometimes waves, and has a son that comes to our many events and services. The life this man lives is one that shows no evidence of Jesus in his life. He has always been “friendly enough” but not open to being friends or getting involved in our lives or coming to Life House. We’ve talked a few times but never saw a real move toward the Lord in any way.  After he yelled “HEY” – I walked over to the fence where he was and he said, “I noticed you back here cutting the yard”.  I said, “Yea, it’s been needing it but just haven’t had time to get to it. I gotta get it done before it rains again.”   He replied, “Suppose to rain tonight. Want me to mow your front yard for you?”  I said, “Man that’s really nice of you – but I couldn’t ask you to do that.”  He said, “You didn’t ask me, I asked you if I could.”  I replied, “That is so nice of you but I hate to put you out. You just do whatever you feel you want to and it’s alright either way by me.”  We talked a little more and then he left. I had to go in and get cleaned up so I could get to Life House for Save Haven Ministry this afternoon. I went to the church and then had to head out to the house to pick up something. When I got there I noticed the front yard was mowed. This is a lost man taking the time and effort to mow our yard!!!  PRAY!  Maybe we are seeing God move in his heart. Pray for Albert and his wife to be saved!  If HE gets saved -  you will see many more people come to know the Lord because of his reputation, influence and more in the neighborhood.  IF YOU BELIEVE IN PRAYER – PRAY!! PLEASE!

   There are countless other blessings I could (and have via this blog) share with you that God has done in the last year at Life House.  God is the “GOD OF THIS CITY” and we believe that there are “GREATER THINGS YET TO COME” in College Hill and Texarkana in the year to come.  Pray for us, pray with us and know that by faith we are going to continue to reach out to the lost, hurting, homeless, dying and needy. Come join us if God leads you – you won’t regret one minute of it! 

LASTLY – YOU ARE INVITED TO JOIN US THIS SUNDAY AT 10:30 a.m. for our FIRST ANNIVERSARY service and for lunch at 12 noon (free grilled hamburgers and all the trimmings) and then a short afternoon service at 1:15 — testimonies, baptism and more!   It’s gonna be great!!!!                           Pastor James

Our services last Sunday were GREAT!  The Lord passed by our morning worship service even though we had several who had to be out due to sickness and a death in the family.  Sunday following our service we “loaded up” and headed for Camp Allen on the Doddridge, AR / Bloomburg, TX line and what a time we had!   I think most of the youth and children didn’t think we were ever gonna arrive at the camp and they were a little worried the deeper we got into the woods but boy the look on their faces as we turned into the campgrounds and they saw the beautiful grounds, huge lake and rolling hills. Their eyes lit up. Following lunch everyone spent the day roaming the hills, playing volleyball, riding four wheelers and fishing. It was a great day! Not one argument, disagreement or anything from anyone.  We had a short worship service about 6 p.m. and then everyone loaded up to come home.  The group in my car blessed my hearts when they were talking about how much fun they had and wish they could come back soon.  The one comment that especially touched my heart was by a seventeen year old young man who had been saved in recent weeks when he said, “Pastor I wish I didn’t ever have to leave Camp Allen cause I had so much fun.”  

We are so blessed to be a part of the lives of the people in College Hill. We know that misison work isn’t always easy and sometimes it’s downright difficult but we praise the Lord for allowing us to be able to see souls saved, lives touched and changed and more.

SPECIAL THANKS to all who helped make the “CAMP ALLEN” Day a huge success and to those who own the camp too.  

Praise Him for all of His blessings on Life House!   Pastor James

TWO “TID BITS” OF NEWS THAT YOU MIGHT WANT TO KNOW…

FIRST… Beginning the SECOND Sunday night in May (May 10) we will be having our Adult Life Groups on Sunday night at 5:30 p.m..  We are moving it from Monday nights to Sunday night in order to “simplify” our schedules and to make this group available to all who desire to be a part of it.   Spread the word and make plans to join us for our men and ladies studies in the Word.   

SECOND…for those of you who are members of Life House, please watch your mailbox for an important letter from your church.  Take the time to read it prayerfully and ask the Lord to help you answer in your heart the questions posed and then TAKE ACTION on them. It’s a blessing to be a member of the Lord’s Church but also it carries with it responsibility.  We are soon to celebrate ONE YEAR at Life House and we must “keep on – keeping on” for Him.  I love you church family and i’m excited about all that God wants to do in and through us in the next year.  Now…go stand by the mailbox – your letter is on it’s way!!!      Pastor James

Have you ever noticed that when we “SEE” something for an extended period of time we simply seem to “get used to it”?  For instance…when you put new paint on the walls or hang new curtains in a home…at first it’s new, looks great and feels fresh…but after a period of a few weeks or a month…all of a sudden you don’t notice it anymore. You’ve grown accustomed to it. It’s not that it has changed. It’s not that it isn’t as great as it ever was – it’s simply you now are “used to it” and look past it.   That’s what happens with a lot of us as Christians.  We lose our zeal for reaching others for Christ simply because we’ve “heard it before”.    The need for churches and Christians to reach outside their walls is as needed (if not more so) than ever before.  The world needs Jesus!   We can tax and spend all the money in the world and seek to “budget to meet the need” but money isn’t the answer – JESUS IS!   Do you have “missional eyes”?  Are your eyes REALLY open when it comes to the lost world around you?  Are you simply going through life – worried about bills, health, job, and etc – and yet you forget that every soul you meet is headed to heaven or hell?  Jesus left a church in the world for the express purpose of reaching others for Him.  All of our “meetings” and “events” must have the goal of reaching souls.    The words “GO YE” are still in the book!!! 

   It’s VERY hard to believe that on the first Sunday in May we will celebrate ONE YEAR as a mission church.  Time really flies by!   This has been a really adventurous year and a year full of blessings!   Already we’ve seen 23 souls saved and average in the high 70′s for our weekly Celebration Worship Service.  We are little by little gaining confidence in the local community as a group of believers who are real, steady and who care. We are not some “fly by night” group who comes in, starts up a “church” and then heads out – taking your money, confidence and friendship with them.  We are a real group of believers who seek to build a real, strong, evangelistic, scriptural, church that will impact College Hill and Texarkana for years to come.   Our way of doing things is rather simple and our heartbeat is souls.  We seek to love all people – red, yellow, black, white…rich, poor, middle-income, educated, uneducated,… clean, dirty, folks with homes, folks who are homeless,…people with and without addictions (and there are very few people who don’t have some type of addiction in this day and age – even the “churched” have addictions and are so “holier than thou” that they can’t even see it themselves”).    Our heartbeat is to be a church for all people, preaching and teaching a simple message that Jesus can forgive, save, restore, re-build and renew. 

One of the biggest “jobs” in mission work is trying to teach the new believers the basics.  Faithfulness, service, tithing, prayer, digging in the Word and more.  As the pastor of this new mission I pray that somehow our people will grow not just in number but in the Word.  Faithfulness is a quality that seems outdated in many people’s lives. Any excuse will keep them from coming to God’s house.  It breaks a pastor’s heart to see people who “say” they desire a close walk with the Lord and want to live for Him to use ANY and ALL types of EXCUSES (not reasons – and their is a difference) for simply not being faithful to the Lord.   This past Resurrection Sunday reminded me all over again how that JESUS was/is faithful to us — even faithful to love us all the way to the cross.  He didn’t use EXCUSES - He willingly gave His all.  Pray for me as pastor of this new church as I seek to follow the Lord, lay foundations of faith and establish a strong work that will last until Jesus comes. 

     We will be having special anniversary services on Sunday, May 3 and we invite you and yours to be a part of them. MORE ON THIS LATER…. Thanks for your prayers, love, support and more for this first year and we hope you will continue even into the next.   Thank you Jesus for your work in College Hill. Praise you for all who have been saved!  Save more! and MORE!  AND MORE!!!!!!!  Pastor James