Contagious Joy!

Last night I had the privilege of baptizing 5 people from our Alcoholics Victorious ministry. Wow was that exciting. At 6 PM I met with them to explain the meaning of water baptism. After we spent some time at their meeting place we headed over to the Mississippi River. It was so much fun to be around brand new believers in Jesus. They had great questions, high expectations and contagious joy.

There is nothing like a brand new believer in Jesus. To think that God would send His only son to die on the cross for our sins and instead of punishing us He forgives us and gives us a brand new start. Wow! God is so awesome. I was personally challenged last night to make sure that I am in a constant attitude of appreciation and wonder in regards to the grace and mercy of God.

Something else that brought me joy was to watch a man from our church, Mike Neyssen, lead this ministry. He is a pastor to these wonderful people. He encourages them, pushes them, teaches them, prays for them and loves them. Mike is a former bar owner and alcoholic who has experienced an incredible transformation through Jesus Christ. It was a privilege to have him along side me as together, we baptized these wonderful people.

If you are struggling with an addiction and would like some help, contact Mike Neyssen at 632-5022 or mikeneyssen@hotmail.com. Alcoholics Victorious meets every Wednesday, 6 PM at the AA building in Little Falls. (Corner of 5th & 5th NW)

AG General Superintendent

Thomas Trask, the Assembly of God General Superintendent announced last week that he was stepping down. He is currently completing his second year of a four year term. Rev. Trask grew up in Brainerd, Mn, a half an hour from where I live.

With this surprising announcement, this years general council meeting in August will prove to be very interesting. I would ask that everyone be in prayer as the council votes in our next leader. I personally think that my Minnesota superintendent would do an outstanding job, but I am selfish and want to keep him here.

There is a blog sight set up to encourage discussion regarding this vote. You can check it out at futureag.blogspot.com

Corner Coffee Grand Opening

I want to brag about a former teen who attended Living Hope. Scott Woller is now Married (Amber) and has two beautiful girls. He group up in the small town of Upsala where he was greatly influenced by his high school football coach, Jim Drill. Jim attends Living Hope and that is how Scott connected with us. After attending Evangel University and then becoming a Youth Pastor in Lubbock, Texas, the Lord has led him to downtown Minneapolis. From Upsala to Minneapolis, God works in mysterious ways.

Scott and Amber have a dream to have a church on several corners of downtown Minneapolis and beyond. Thus their church is called CornerChurch. Their goal is to share the love of Jesus to the residents of Minneapolis through a coffee ministry. This week they are holding the grand opening of Corner Coffee, located at 514 N 3rd Street, Mpls. Scott has already spent several hours in this building sharing his faith. Corner Coffee is meeting in the former Montana Coffeehouse. The place where Corner Church was holding their services. They were provided an opportunity to purchase this company and lease the building.

For more information regarding CornerChurch and Corner Coffee, go to www.cornerchurch.tv

Thank You Troops

I wanted to take a moment to thank our military troops for their faithful service to our country. 45 minutes ago I proudly stood outside our church, American flag in hand, as a police and motorcycle escort passed by, leading the way for a bus load of service men and women who are returning home.

I can't begin to imagine the emotions that our troops are facing. To be reunited with family and friends, and for some of them, to see children that were born while they were deployed.

As a church we have done some things to help military families and have sent care packages overseas. All of that seems so small compared to the sacrifice they have made.

God bless you and welcome home!

"Miracles" Series

Join us for our new series at Living Hope. If you missed the first two, they will be available at www.ourgreathope.org by the middle of this week. Click on media, then audio sermons.

July 15	"Poolside Miracle"
July 22	"Raising Lazarus from the Dead"
July 29	"Water to Wine"
Aug. 5	"Opening Blind Eyes"

Colorado Vacation

It's been a while since I posted to my blog sight. My family was on vacation in Colorado for two weeks, back for a week and then off to Family Camp at Lake Geneva Christian Center. It has been a very refreshing time in my life. I would sum up this last month with one word, "Reconnect". Life has a way of getting busy and before you know it, relationship can do a little drifting on you. I really feel reconnected with my wife and kids, my parents (who went to Colorado with us), my sister and her family, cousins (who all live in Colorado) and the Lord. Family camp was a "shot in the arm for me".

Here are a few pictures to enjoy!