One thing that I love about this church is the emphasis on missions. Every year, we send out missionaries to spread the love of Christ and advance the Kingdom of God. Young and old alike take part every year to obey the commission given my Jesus in Matthew 28.

This year, we are focusing our missionary efforts with the Navajo Nation and VBS. We have been going out to Leupp and Flagstaff, Arizona for over a decade building relationships and solidifying kingdom work there. Navajo missions is a 2-week affair with a 1-week option for those that need to come back early. Programs are held for the children and youth in both the reservation in Leupp and in the border city of Flagstaff. Special evening sessions are also held for youth and adults as well.

And in Chatsworth, in our own community, we are setting sail on a high seas adventure with this year’s them for VBS. Young children come out for a week long program learning about God and the Bible in an engaging and fun experience.

Both opportunities are available to you for this summer’s mission. Pray about serving in one of these opportunities and fill out the application below!

Navajo Missions
1-Week: 7/10 – 7/18
2-Week: 7/10 – 7/23

Navajo Missions Info Handout
Navajo Missions Application (Due 5/2)

VBS
7/26 – 7/30

VBS Application (Due June 13th)

This is the year of living courageously! As our yearly theme this year, we’re really going to see “giants” in our lives come tumbling down. Fear will no longer have a hold on our lives!

The theme verse for this year is Joshua 1:9, but what’s often overlooked are the two verses preceding verse 9. Verses 7 and 8 read:

Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.

Isn’t that awesome? In living courageously, we’ll be “prosperous” and “successful” when we dig into the Word of God. From there, there’s no reason to be terrified or discouraged, for God will be with us wherever we go (v.9)!

As a church, we want to take hold of this promise. And to help make sure we live this promise together, the entire church will be going through the same devotional together! Make sure you come out to Ark to find out more info about this!

2009 was truly a memorable year. There are so many events that helped shape this past year. The end of the year is always a good time to reflect back on all that was accomplished, to celebrate God’s work in and through our lives, and look forward to continual growth and encouragement.

Join us as we celebrate 2009 and ring in 2010 in style at this year’s New Year’s Eve service! There will be worship, praise, food, and games! And of course, lots of celebration!

This year, Ark is in charge of setting up a couple video game stations! Along with everything else planned for this night, it’s really going to be a jumping place…especially for you night owls!

So be sure to come out!

When: 12/31/09 @ 10:00PM – 1:00AM
Where: The Garden Christian Fellowship | 20745 Nordhoff St. Chatsworth, CA 91311

Did you know? Ark’s annual winter retreat will be joining up with The Garden’s annual conference? So be sure to register ASAP! The deadline to register is December 27 (two weeks from now!). You MUST register to attend this retreat.

The guest speaker will be Michael Card, renown artist and worshiper. You definitely don’t want to miss this weekend. The details are below!

January 29-31, 2010
“Joy in the Journey” with Michael Card
Fee (for ARK only): $30
Location: Ventura Marriott Hotel

Make sure you head to the registration table this Sunday!!

We all have questions. Faith wouldn’t be faith if we knew everything.

For the next few weeks, The Garden will host a series of discussions to promote open dialogue for questions we all have in life. Join others who also have questions in a forum facilitated by those willing to listen and, most of all, willing to discuss.

Topics include:

Sunday, April 19th: Isn’t being good good enough?
Sunday, April 26th: Why do bad things happen to good people?
Sunday, May 3rd: Aren’t all religions basically the same?

For more information, head to The Garden’s webpage.

First, our dear brother Roy Shinn is now Pastor Roy Shinn. Remember him? He was our guest speaker from our Winter Retreat all the way back in 2004! After being a professional student for nearly 30 years of his young life, he is now a full-time servant of Jesus Christ! He was officially ordained by the Missionary denomination (we are a member of this denomination) and is now fully commissioned to do God’s work.

Second, this was also the Sunday where The Promise Church was officially commissioned. Led by the newly ordained Pastor Roy (and his wife Jill), a group of ten is boldly and faithfully heeding the call of God to plant a church in Riverside. We had a wonderful time of prayer and fellowship as we send these out proclaiming the Good News to Riverside County.

We at Ark Youth as well as the Garden are so encouraged and blessed by Pastor Roy and his team. Let’s be sure to keep our family in prayer.

That’s the theme for this year’s missions trips. From Arizona to Africa to China, members of the Garden are prepping once again to spread love and Jesus all over the world. If you’ve signed up, make sure you check your emails to get the latest info about training meetings and other updates.

If you would still like to help, VBS is still looking for people to help prep. If you’re interested in being a counselor or teacher, you MUST attend all the training sessions.