April 2020 Connections

Connections Proclaiming the GOSPEL

LOCAL & GLOBAL STORIES, NEWS AND EVENTS of COLLEGE CHURCH

"I was a sinner, I needed a Savior, and I met Jesus."

See First and Foremost

by Kathy Brinker on page 18

APRIL 2020

Face to Face

Locally Sourced

The Cross Is All He Needs

Stay-at-Home Witness

Global Voices for A Global Pandemic

WALLACE ALCORN | 9

COVID-19 RESPONSE | 14

MISSIONS TEAM | 18

TABLE OF CONTENTS 4

April Highlights

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Communion During COVID-19 | JOSH MOODY

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Prayer Gatherings Now Online

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The Cross Is All He Needs | WALLACE ALCORN

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Unexplainable Peace | IRENE MELLEMA

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A Heart for the Outreach Community Center | VANESSA ROTH

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Jesus in Englewood | DANIEL BAIR

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Stay-at-Home Witness

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COVID-19 Outreach Response

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Abiding Side by Side | GALE VAN NORMAN

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First and Foremost | KATHY BRINKER

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Global Voices for a Global Pandemic

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Do You Believe This? | STEVE KROGH

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Milestones/Looking Ahead

APRIL HIGHLIGHTS Sunday Mornings JOIN US ONLINE! Our Sunday morning worship will continue throughout the month on our Facebook and YouTube channels and on our livestream webpage at college-church.org/livestream. Invite friends, neighbors and coworkers to join from their homes, and invite online discussion afterwards.

Additional resources for home worship and study can be found on our webpage college-church.org/ccathome.

You can find information about our online prayer meetings on page seven.

Join the College Church Channel at Right Now Media You can find Christian media content for families, small groups, kids, personal study or marriages in our new webspace at Right Now Media. This is a free resource for everyone at College Church to use (available on iOS, Android, Roku, AppleTV). To sign up for free and start using this online digital library right now, click here. Enjoy!

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April 14: Donate Blood/Give Food at College Church Commons Give Blood to Help

Give Food to Help Englewood Family Outreach

Due to the overwhelming response and success of our blood drive on March 24, we are partnering with Versiti again and reaching out to those who did not have an opportunity to donate at our March event.

As you may know, the need for blood is constant during this pandemic, so we are still encouraging donors to make a new donation appointment to ensure the continued adequacy of the blood supply.

Our second blood drive will take place on April 14 in the Commons. You can make an appointment online at donate.illinois.versiti.org. Walk-ins are also welcome, but spaces are limited. Staff will be sure to observe appropriate social distancing.

As the stay-at-home order has been extended, Englewood Family Outreach is looking for partners to help with food donations for people in need during the pandemic. They invite the people of College Church to bring non-perishable food items outside the College Church Commons entrance on April 14 during the day, and the food will be boxed up for families in need.

By setting an appointment in advance, this will help us control the number of people at the site at any given time. If several donors arrive at the same time, measures are in place to handle them on a one-onone basis to limit social contact. Versiti is monitoring and abiding by putting safety guidelines in place, and working closely with all blood drive hosts to ensure donor safety.

It is critically important that healthy individuals continue to donate to minimize disruptions to ensure blood is available for patients. All donors will need a photo ID.

They will be visiting families in the Englewood community with care packages to meet physical needs and offer hope in this time of uncertainty.

Englewood Family Outreach has requests for food, home goods and other necessities, and also want to include Bibles, notes of encouragement and activities for children stuck at home.

Besides the donated food, we will be providing a Bible-focused children's coloring book that will go in each box.

"Thank you for helping us love those in our community," says Daniel Bair, director of the ministry and College Church member and evangelist.

For more info, visit partner.englewoodfamily.org.

Thanks to all who support the blood drive!

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Communion During COVID-19 A Letter from Senior Pastor Josh Moody

Dear College Church Family, While our circumstances at present are unusual, they are certainly not (as I have heard them described) unprecedented. In fact, the church historically is well-accustomed to dealing with times of plague or pandemic. In 1918-19, during the flu pandemic, churches in America and around the world went through lengthy seasons where all gatherings ceased.

During this season, we are seeking to make the best use of modern technology to coordinate leadership, continue and even increase participation in ministries and stream worship services into the homes of congregants. The natural question arises, “Why not do the same with communion?”

There are a number of reasons why communion is not the same as streaming worship songs, prayer, a Scripture reading or a sermon. To begin with, communion is a community event. Paul said to the Corinthians, “When you come together…” (1 Corinthians 14:26). While Paul was well able to do Word ministry through the then-modern technology of letter writing via the communications network of the Roman world—and massively made the most of it—he did not attempt to have a communion service by mail. This is because communion happens “when you come together…”

In addition, theologically, communion is not only the community meal for the church when it gathers together, but also the “back door” of the church. While baptism is the front door (you are baptized when you believe as an expression of becoming a part of the church through faith), communion is the back door of the church. When we partake of communion, we do so in mutual recognition that we are participating as Christians in a covenant community. Churches “fence” the communion table out of recognition of this theological principle. At College Church, we do not strictly fence the table to prevent anyone who is not a member of College Church from participating (as many churches in our tradition in times past did), but we do deliberately fence the communion table to protect, as best we can, those from participating who are not yet Christians.

The importance of fencing the table also goes back to biblical texts, such as when Paul told the Corinthians that the reason why there were sick among them was because they were eating communion in “an unworthy manner” (1 Corinthians 11:27). In that instance, eating communion in an unworthy manner was not only related to the extreme sin that some in the Corinthian church were guilty of, but also to the selfish and greedy way in which class rivalries were being expressed in the church to cause division at the table, rather than unity.

This “back door” function of the church and the fencing of the table are why, when a church member is brought to the final stage of church discipline when they are removed from the church, they are said to be “ex-communicated.”

The decision then to give approval to congregants to have communion in their own homes is not as simple as the decision to stream other elements of a worship service. Communion is a church matter over which the pastors and elders of a church have responsibility and in which the body of a local church expresses their unity around Christ, their common faith and their participation together as they meet.

On this basis, my recommendation is that we reserve taking communion until we can gather together again physically.

Additional thoughts to consider: • We do not want to give the impression that if we do not take communion, then we are somehow endangering our spiritual status.

Communion or the Lord’s Supper is not something that is necessary for our salvation. In other words, we do not hold to a Roman Catholic view of communion whereby we must find a way for the church to participate or they are in spiritual danger.

• It is not wise to encourage anyone to be going out to buy—or to purchase through online means—grape juice, crackers or bread beyond what is absolutely essential at this time.

• While we should not judge or condemn anyone who goes ahead and takes communion on their own, I think this gives us a teaching opportunity to reaffirm that communion is about the body physically gathering together.

• We understand that virtual platforms are redefining what it means “to gather together,” for now, we want to emphasize the importance of being in the physical presence of each other.

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• Communion and baptism are local church ordinances. For a church to allow or encourage anyone to participate in communion without church oversight could risk someone participating “in an unworthy manner.” It also further confuses the line between a local church and other parachurch ministries.

• We don’t want to say more than the Bible says on this matter. We understand that the early church met in homes, so this is not a statement on the location of eating communion.

• While virtual platforms are redefining how we gather together, particularly for small groups, at this time we want to emphasize the importance of the physical gathering for communion. Therefore, even as gathered small groups, we ask that you hold off on taking communion.

Finally, we want to be open handed on this issue. Should these unusual circumstances surrounding COVID-19 persist, we will revisit this recommendation. Until then, let us pray for a swift end to this pandemic and allow this time of separation to cause us to long to be physically gathered as Jesus’ church.

For His Glory, Josh Moody March 31, 2020

Prayer Gatherings Now Online Call the church office or email info@college-church.org for details on how to join one or more of these prayer meetings.

Sunday Morning Prayer

Friday Lunch Prayer

8-8:40 a.m. Led by Pastor Eric Channing

12-1 p.m, led by Glenn and Ann Deckert and Wil and Lorraine Triggs

Monday Morning Prayer 6:15-7:15 a.m. Led by Elder Rob Wolgemuth

Wednesday Night Prayer 7-8 p.m. Led by Pastor Curt Miller

Note: Missions Prayer Fellowships are not meeting at this time. Watch this space and our weekly prayer emails for news of their return.

Our weekly prayer pulse email goes out every Monday. You can get weekly prayer updates via that email. Sign up by clicking "Enews

Thursday Lunch Prayer 12-12:20 p.m. Led by Pastor Ben Panner

signup" on our website. Or, if you already receive other emails from College Church, click "manage my preferences" at the bottom of any of our emails and select prayer pulse to add yourself to the prayer email.

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FACE TO FACE

The Cross Is All He Needs Wallace Alcorn

The combat engineer group I served as chaplain was on maneuvers in Germany and now bivouacked deep in the Black Forest. The Officer-of-the-Day (amusing to civilians and privates as doing most of his duty at night) called me out of my sleeping bag about 0100 hours. He asked me to locate an individual soldier in one of our companies and deliver an emergency message, which had just been radioed in from the American Red Cross. And, of course, I would minister, comfort and encouragement to the soldier at a time of his personal crisis.

Having taken the soldier in my jeep to the airfield to await emergency evacuation, I had my driver return to bivouac. We arrived about 0230 hours and my driver gave the password to the sentries at the improvised gate. I jumped out and sent him back to his sleeping bag for the remaining hours. My night’s sleep effectively gone, I chatted casually with the lonely sentries.

They listen to a chaplain more gratefully at a lonely time like this. I also stopped by the field dispensary to see if anyone had been admitted during the night and chatted with the lone medic on duty.

instructed to grant access only to authorized personnel and to deny and even prevent such to the unauthorized. The M-16 slung threateningly on his left shoulder was his weapon, but the access roster decided. He performed his task with the literal and mechanical obedience of which only a scared and inexperienced private is likely.

The guard didn't find my name on the access roster because our headquarters just assumed the chaplain, like the group commander, to be authorized to go anywhere within the unit without question or challenge. A chaplain can go almost anywhere. But this kid was dutifully adamant about not yielding entrance. While I stood amused at the soldier’s naivety and wondering what trouble he was getting himself into, the operations sergeant major within the tent had recognized my voice.

And then to the very center of the barbed-wire bivouac where there was yet another barbed-wire enclosure. This was the Tactical Operations Center (TOC), command and nerve center of the operation. Always on duty there was at least a skeletal team alert to actions and other contingencies.

"Soldier, look at his helmet and tell me what you see!”

Sitting at a field table at the TOC entrance was a sleepy-eyed young private from a recently attached line company who didn’t know me. Before him was the official access roster of the few in the headquarters who were authorized entrance based on assigned duties within. This guard was strictly

Be my glory ever;

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"Sergeant Major, it’s a cross.”

"The cross is all he needs. Let'm in."

In the cross, in the cross Till my raptured soul shall find Rest beyond the river.

FACE TO FACE

Unexplainable Peace Irene Mellema

Irene and her husband, Jeff, serve in translation work in Thailand, whose language contains 44 consonants and 32 vowels. Another interesting Thai language fact Irene passed along is that Central Thai (one of four dialects) has five distinct tones, and the meaning of a word depends not only on forming the correct sounds, but also on using the correct tone on each syllable, which according to Irene has made for some humorous moments in their language acquisition.

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." ( James 1:2-4, NIV) Jeff and I had prepared to be missionaries since we were teenagers. It was then that we felt God's call on our lives so completely to serve him overseas. We went to Bible school to prepare, read books on missions and cross-cultural service, spent time with missionaries, took classes, went on short-term trips, worked cross-culturally in the U.S., went through a missionary prep program and on and on. Even with all that preparation, you never really know what sorts of trials you are going to face. You know it will be hard. But how hard and what aspects will be hard are impossible to know until you face the trial.

Sometimes when people ask me what God has taught me as a missionary, I get a bit of a knot in my stomach. I don’t have grand stories of multiple Thai people coming to Christ or miracles that have happened or even many spiritual epiphanies (hopefully one day I will have a few epiphanies of my own, but not yet). Really what God has taught me so far is to persevere.

We’ve been in Thailand three years now. What I have done most of those three years, other than being sick and helping my kids navigate this new life, is L-A-N-G-U-A-G-E. I knew that Thai, a tonal language, would make language learning difficult. But no, language learning has been brutal, slow, mentally excruciating. The more I learn the more I realize how much more I need to learn.

I still cannot communicate at a heart level, and I can’t yet communicate the gospel clearly. Friendships are slow in the making and I often feel discouraged or like a failure.

Throughout these last three years, sometimes I’ve been so lonely it physically makes my heart ache. I grieve as I watch my kids struggle through transition after transition or when they beg to see their grandparents and cousins, but they can’t. There are times I feel totally lost as I try to navigate this foreign culture, and I feel debilitated. There are other times I’ve felt so stressed I thought I might lose my mind.

And yet, in the middle of it all, there is this odd, unexplainable peace and underlying joy in spite of my weaknesses and shortcomings and struggles because I know that we are exactly where God wants us. And God has asked me to persevere and not give up. I’ve learned that trials and hardships are not to be avoided. And they definitely are not signs that you are not where God wants you.

In fact, quite often trials are the necessary means to produce the kind of fruit in us that God desires. Trials are no surprise to God. Instead, he tells us to consider them pure joy. Joy because of what trials can produce. Joy because we set our minds on Christ, the author and perfecter of our faith.

Joy because, at the end of the day, I am not loved by God because of how well I can speak Thai or how many people I share the gospel with or what I do or don’t do for him, but because I am his. And we press on, trusting the one who can do immeasurably more than we could ask or imagine. If you are like me, perhaps discouraged, maybe a lot exhausted, maybe struggling in some way, maybe grieving a loss, remember that we have this amazing Father who sees us as we are, knows us and loves us—and a Sovereign Father who also sees the grand picture and says, “I'm not done with you yet, trust me and persevere.”

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LOCALLY SOURCED

A Heart for the Outreach Community Center Vanessa Roth College Church member and chief operating officer of Outreach Community Ministries

"Ms. Jane was unique in how she interacted with the children, but she provides an example of how we can help children.

As I think about it, this was more than Ms. Jane’s calling, it was her heart."

The other day, I received an email from Linda who was looking for someone who used to work at the Outreach Community Center (OCC) in Carol Stream. Linda began her email with a desire to reconnect with the person who ran the elementary after school and summer school programs at the Center—Ms. Jane. Ms. Jane was skilled in helping kids develop a love for learning. With three adult children and three grandchildren, Ms. Jane’s job at the center was her second career, and she always told people she was called to work here. Ms. Jane was exactly the kind of employee we look for at Outreach. The children in the afterschool program were precious to her because, in her eyes, they were all God’s children, made in his image, and she loved them. The email ended with a clue as to why it was important for Linda to connect with Ms. Jane, “She practically raised all of us neighborhood kids,” Linda wrote.

As I read the email, it dawned on me that I remembered Linda. She and her mom lived in an apartment near the Community Center, but we lost track of them after Linda finished middle school. My recollections of Linda became more vivid the more I thought about her. She was shy and always had a book in her hand. A good student, she loved being at the Center. I only remember meeting Linda’s mother once, and then, my memories of Linda became quite clear.

Linda’s mom struggled with anxiety and being in large places. Most days, her mom never left her bedroom. She had a bed, a TV, a refrigerator and an adjoining bathroom. She didn’t need to leave the room for anything. Linda would get herself up in the morning,

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get dressed for school and to the bus by herself. She got off the bus after school at the Outreach Community Center.

After the Center, Linda would go home and walk into the bedroom to greet her mom with a kiss. Linda reported that her mom would ask about her day, before sending Linda off to make herself something to eat before going to bed. As you can well imagine, Ms. Jane, so different and so engaging, was special to Linda.

The thing is, Ms. Jane had figured out that the children at the Outreach Community Center needed something more than her or the staff of OCC. Ms. Jane knew that all the kids needed someone special in their lives, someone who had time for them and considered each of them unique.

This makes me think of the familiar verses in Psalm 139 that remind all of us how special God has created us and cares for us. “You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.

How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be outnumbered!” (Psalm 139:13-14, 17, NLT) Year after year, we keep a lookout for people who see the children of OCC as God sees them. We look for people exactly like Ms. Jane who choose to spend time with the children and communicate how special they are.

We look for ordinary people who trust an extraordinary God. What made Ms. Jane special to so many kids at the Center? It’s simple:

• Ms. Jane believed the children of the Center are precious. My hunch is that if you met them, you would think they are precious too.

We would love to introduce you to the OCC students.

• Ms. Jane believed all children were created in God’s image. At Outreach, we are convinced that when each student has his or her own tutor the child has the best chance to become what God intends him or her to be.

• Ms. Jane loved the children at the Center.

I think Ms. Jane’s love for the children was evident by the number of hugs she received every day from everyone. If you become a tutor though the hugs are stopped during the coronavirus, you might get some pretty good fist bumps.

I truly believe Ms. Jane was unique in how she interacted with the children, but she provides an example of how we can help children. As I think about it, this was more than Ms. Jane’s calling, it was her heart.

With the COVID-19 crisis and schools altering the way they are doing learning, the students living near the Center are more vulnerable than ever. More than 40% of the children living in the neighborhood surrounding the Community Center are at risk of failing at school this semester

because their parents cannot help them with their schoolwork either because they are working during the day or because they don’t understand the language.

Have you ever thought of being a tutor to an elementary or middle school student? With schools now moved to online learning and everything being done at home, the Outreach Community Center is developing new models of learning and tutoring to assist our students and families during the COVID-19 crisis. We could use high school juniors and seniors, college students and other adults willing to tutor students. We plan to stagger our times and use small group settings to keep the numbers low for all to be safe, but to also make sure our students succeed in school.

Come and make a student feel special. Believe in them and demonstrate the heart of God! If you are interested in more information about assisting with the new tutoring opportunities at OCC, contact Mindy Inman, director of volunteer services, at minman@outreachcommin.org For more information about Outreach Community Center, visit the website at outreachcommunityministries.org.

Watch a recent video of the virtual OCC Spring Dinner online.

God Centered Life Radio Touching Lives Pastor Josh Moody’s radio program, “God Centered Life” (GCL), is bearing ministry fruit. Heard nightly here in Chicago on WMBI FM 90.1 at 10:30 p.m., “God Centered Life” reaches between 5,000 and 10,000 people every day. Recently a couple visiting College Church from Michigan shared with Pastor Josh the way the broadcast had touched their lives. The wife mentioned how his teaching had reached her heart and challenged her to grow more deeply in her faith. A young man involved in a cult happened to hear the broadcast on the radio one night, dedicated his life to Christ and came to church on another weekend.

We are grateful for the growing impact of GCL. Join us in prayer as we seek to grow the radio network and increase our online broadcast presence. “God Centered Life” can be heard Monday through Friday nights on WMBI at 10:30 p.m., as well as on Sunday evenings at 7:30 p.m. The broadcast can also be shared online at www.godcenteredlife. org, at www.oneplace.com/ministries/god-centered-life/ and soon at www.twr360.com, a global ministry impact platform. During 2020, GCL anticipates expansion to radio markets beyond the current markets of Chicago, Des Moines and Canton (Atlanta area).

Please pray for the ministry’s growing impact.

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LOCALLY SOURCED

Jesus in Englewood Daniel Bair College Church member Daniel Bair is the executive director of Englewood Family Outreach. When Governor Pritzker announced a statewide “stay-at-home order” for Illinois to help curb the speed at which COVID-19 spreads, Daniel and his colleagues wrestled through its implications.

Daniel and the board held a meeting the Friday night Governor Pritzker issued his order to discuss the ramifications of this for their ministry.

Stay at home to save lives. That is sage advice. However, organizations that provide charitable and social services are exempt from this edict. Therefore, we as a ministry are faced with the difficult question of what to do in the face of such an unprecedented outbreak in our time.

We agreed unanimously that we cannot operate as normal, but there was room for discussion on how exactly we should respond in a way to love our neighbors. Do we stay home and eliminate all physical contact in order to halt the spread of this virus, or do we take the risk for the sake of restoring those in need? While staying home is going to be the best way for most of us to love and serve our communities, it is not an easy question to answer for those serving the vulnerable who will be disproportionately impacted by this lockdown.

Some Thoughts As I was pondering this, I couldn’t help but wonder what Jesus would do if he were here right now. There was a flesh-eating disease in that time known as leprosy. From fear of the spread of this disease or defilement, those who had it living outside the camp wore rags and had to proclaim loudly, “Unclean! Unclean!” When Jesus approached a leper in Matthew 8, he did something unexpected. Before he healed him, Jesus touched the leper. Granted, we are not Jesus. He knew he was going to heal the leper and (therefore) wouldn’t spread the disease but cure and end it. But more than the method, I marvel at the message—Jesus saw a person in need, not a disease.

Our ministry has neighbors in need, and we are brainstorming ways that we can encourage them and help meet their needs, from the physical to the mental to the spiritual. There is a virus spreading rapidly; if it goes unchecked, it will likely overwhelm our medical facilities. But there are people buried under the headlines of fear and toilet paper shortages who are being crushed by the havoc the coronavirus is leaving in its wake. Sure, the government is doing much to try to alleviate their suffering, but without the organizations that have already been serving on the frontlines, the organizations that know the people of the streets, there are many who will be lost and out of reach. We must see the people buried under the rubble. We must see them, touch them (in a nocontact sort of way) and point them to Jesus.

At the end of Matthew 25, Jesus says that he will come back as king and reward his righteous sheep for clothing, feeding and visiting him. Baffled, they will ask, “When, oh King, did we do this?” The King will respond that as they did it to one of the least of his brothers, they did it to him (Matt. 25.40).

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In some divine mystery, we are given the privilege of serving King Jesus as we serve the least of his brothers and sisters in the neighborhood. That is the attitude we come to the community with—not the attitude of the hero riding in to save the day, but the lowly servant coming in to help his King. One way to serve them is to stay home and not spread the virus—we could make things physically worse if we become a link in that chain, and staying home is a prudent decision. There is also a second option.

A Second Option There is something great at stake here. Right now, people are confused, vulnerable and scared, and that is nowhere more true than in our under-resourced communities (just today I spent time praying with a mother from our neighborhood who, full of fear, called me sobbing). We have a unique opportunity to speak peace into their lives. While helping to ensure their physical, mental and emotional well-being, we can also impact their spiritual trajectories. There may be no greater opportunity than the one afforded by this virus to speak into their lives. It may be that we are positioned here for such a time as this.

Yes, the coronavirus has been killing thousands, and we want to curb that as much as possible. But in the end, death will come for us all; our greater concern is the thousands who may face death from the coronavirus without the hope of Christ.

Hopelessness is in the air. The streets are emptied. Businesses are closed. The lights have almost all gone out. But we will keep a lamp burning. A light will shine forth from our refuge to possibly be the spark of revival in the hearts of people in our community. There may be a day that our light goes out, but it is not this day.

Our Plan of Action We are coming up with many ways to reach out electronically to those we serve. Unfortunately, many have no phone service or internet, and so for them, this is not an option. Therefore, we have decided to cautiously maintain a limited visible presence in the community. We have reached out to many and handed out fliers with our contact information, an offer to pray with anyone in need of peace and options available for emergency relief. We have been in communication with our alderman's office to this end. We also will check in on families and get groceries and supplies to those who don't have the resources or ability to do so.

Your Role in This We are able to do this because of you—thank you. There are three main ways you can continue to serve on the frontlines with us.

First, while we have suspended all onsite volunteer opportunities, we still desperately need your prayers. Please pray for wisdom as we implement methods for preventing the spread of COVID-19 among our staff and community as we follow the advice and guidelines of the state and health experts.

Please pray for those we serve who have unmet needs to find some way to connect with us. Pray that we would be sensitive to the unexpressed emotional and spiritual needs of those in our community.

Secondly, we have already seen a couple of our revenue streams dry up. We are dreaming up ways to help those in our community, but many of them require some financial investment. We are brainstorming new ways of raising revenue but don't want to neglect our primary means of income, our financial partners. If you have the means to give a special donation at this time, we would greatly appreciate it. We look forward to sharing with you the impact your financial partnership has made during this time.

Finally, as most of us are going to be homebound for some time, we need you to connect us to people who may want to join in a partnership with us. If you know people who love Jesus and want to impact the people of Chicago, would you be willing to write an email introducing us to each other? We need now more than ever to come together (virtually, that is) to support and encourage one another and be a light to a world stumbling in the dark.

Know that we are approaching this virus outbreak with deadly seriousness. We will continue taking all necessary precautions.

And we are committed to keeping you informed as we make decisions for the good of our community and staff and for the glory of God. Thank you for your continued prayers and partnership!

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SIDE BY SIDE

Stay-at-Home Witness As each of us grapples with the current situation in our homes, neighbors, families and work at this time, God is working for his glory.

Luis Orellana, one of our members, was disheartened as he went through his mail to find an invitation to virtual services from a local Jehovah’s Witness service. Even before the pandemic, Luis was inviting people to our Sunday services. Now he’s kicked his efforts into virtual high-gear with the following video encouragement for us all. youtu.be/VcuZYV8nHlQ Jim Vanne used our current stay-at-home circumstance to reach out to those around him with the following note which he delivered to the porches of their homes: “To my neighbors during the Coronavirus Pandemic “We are the gray house at 301 Inverness, and wanted you to know that, if the COVID-19 virus hits your family and you are housebound, we would be honored to get groceries for you, pop over to the drug store to get prescriptions, or similar errands, and leave it at your front door. Or once the grass starts growing, I could also pop by and mow your lawn or similar (e.g., snowshovel if we have a late snow).

“As Christians, it would also be our honour to pray for needs you may have, in addition to the practical things noted above. We are both working out of home offices, so we might not be able to turn things around immediately, but certainly could after work hours (and also assuming we, ourselves, don’t get sick, of course!)

“We’ll stick together as a neighborhood, and make it through!

“Blessing to each and every one of you. Please let us know if we can support you in any way!

“Jim and Janet Vanne (with cellphone and email included)”

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Another one of our members, Kathy Burke, created a Facebook watch party and viewed Pastor Moody’s Q & A with Facebook friends—which included fellow College Church members, but also a surprising collection of other people: a current neighbor, a neighbor from when she lived in Holland, Michigan, old high-school friends, an old boyfriend from college, relatives including a cousin she has never met, and people who used to attend College Church but have moved away and others she has not had contact with for years. After the Q&A ended, Kathy is following up with online discussions. She’s going to continue doing this with some of our other services as well.

Kids’ Harbor has created a yard sign for Kids’ Harbor families to share a verse of Scripture to neighbors. Encourage your neighbors and open doors to the gospel with this colorful yard sign. You can order a sign my.college-church.org and a Kids' Harbor team member will deliver it in eight to ten days. Cost is $7.50 and supplies limited.

Are you reaching out in a way that we can pray for or be encouraged by? If so, tell us your story at connections@ college-church.org.

LOCALLY SOURCED

COVID-19 Outreach Response Learn more at college-church.org/CV19help

World Relief • Donations Needed:

∘ In-kind donations (biggest request is rice) are being accepted at the warehouse in Carol Stream or can be shipped to 191 S. Gary Ave, Suite 130, Carol Stream, IL 60188 ∘ Accepting gift cards for Uber, Walmart, Aldi, Walgreens and CVS as well as cleaning products ∘ Check the website for a regularly updated list of needs: worldreliefdupageaurora.org/donate-goods

• Prayer Requests:

∘ Pray for communication with refugee and immigrant communities who have varying degrees of awareness of COVID-19. Their team is trying to get information to people through visuals and in varying languages. ∘ Pray that refugees and immigrants will have access to adequate food supplies to feed their families. Pray also that World Relief can quickly connect those needs to food sources including churches that can meet them. ∘ Pray for families who are living paycheck to paycheck. Pray for those who are losing income with loss of customers or loss of work. Pray for businesses to bounce back quickly so that housing assistance is not needed.

Re:New Project • Donations (and shoppers!) Needed:

∘ Accepting donations of gift cards for the artisans (Walmart, Target, grocery stores, etc.) ∘ Need for people to shop the online store and share with friends on social media.

• Prayer Requests:

∘ Pray for the artisans, for good health and financial provision. ∘ Pray for Re:New, that people would continue to shop and buy their wares during this crisis. Pray also for God to provide financially for any gap they might experience.

Outreach Community Ministries & OCC • Volunteer Opportunities:

∘ Curbside grocery shopping and curbside delivery for older adults on Wednesday mornings for the next few weeks. There are 300 older adults without transportation who are regularly connected to OCC. ∘ Tutoring and assistance with e-learning through 1-on-1 tele-tutoring (all ages and grade levels).

Volunteers must be 15 years or older. ∘ Those interested in volunteering should contact Mindy Inman at minman@outreachcommin.org

• Donations Needed:

∘ OCC has an on-site food pantry, accepting non-perishable and unopened food, soap, paper products, laundry and dish detergent ∘ Activity kits (i.e. crossword puzzles, art kits, sudoku, jigsaw puzzles) are being distributed as able to older adults who are not leaving their apartments ∘ Cleaning supplies, grocery gift cards and gas gift cards are being distributed as possible to OCC families ∘ All items can be dropped off at Outreach Community Center (345 S. President, Carol Stream) from 8:30 to 5:30 at the front desk or, by calling 630-260-7600 in advance, outside the external door.

• Prayer Requests:

∘ Pray for the older adults who are sheltering in place in their apartments. Pray for peace, community and outlets for their energy. ∘ Pray for God to provide jobs for those in their programs who have lost them due to businesses closing. ∘ Pray for God to provide for Outreach’s finances as they have moved the Spring OCC fundraising dinner to a virtual meeting and expect loss of income from their resale stores being closed.

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Repeat Boutique • Volunteer Opportunities, once the store reopens: ∘ Need 10 more volunteers on Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings (please commit to 1 morning/week) ∘ Website and social media help (Facebook, website) as well as needed pictures for website • Donations Needed, once the store reopens: ∘ Clothing, especially men’s jeans and children’s clothing • Prayer Requests: ∘ Pray for good health and trust for the families who come to the store, both local families and refugees. In an average month, they can receive 200 families and around 800 individuals. ∘ Pray for strength and health for their senior staff (80-90-year-olds) who were volunteering weekly.

Ask God to provide enough volunteers at Repeat Boutique to do the work before them.

South Asian Friendship Center • Donations Needed: ∘ Non-perishable food items, especially rice, garbanzo beans and oil ∘ Items can be dropped off at SAFC – 6017 .N Maplewood Ave., Chicago IL 60659 • Prayer Requests: ∘ Pray for new volunteers. SAFC has lost many student volunteers who were helping with after-school programs, discipleship, English, etc. ∘ Pray for the neighborhood. It is already looking like a ghost town, and they are anticipating more shops and restaurants to shut down. If this is the case, they are also expecting crime to rise dramatically. Pray for peace in the neighborhood. ∘ Pray that Muslims see Jesus in visions. Many are becoming very religious in their homes and participating in occultism to ward off coronavirus.

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The Caring Network • Donations Needed: ∘ Diapers, formula, baby clothes, blankets, toys, cribs, pacifiers… ∘ Desperate need: N95 masks, Clorox Healthcare Bleach Germicidal Wipes, Safetec SaniZide Pro 1 (Medical/Dental) wipes, and Cavi Wipes Bleach (Metrex) - they need supplies to help reduce the risk of staff getting infected. ∘ Donations can be delivered to the Glen Ellyn admin office but need to be coordinated in advance via email so a staff member can be on-site to receive them.

• Prayer Requests: ∘ Please pray that nothing would hinder their clients being served. Pray that lives would be saved, both physically and spiritually and that God would be glorified. ∘ Pray for wisdom and protection for the Caring Network staff and pregnancy counselors as they serve and share the gospel with their clients.

Naomi’s House • Donations Needed: ∘ Their primary need is monetary donations as upcoming events and speaking engagements have had to be postponed or cancelled.

• Prayer Requests: ∘ Pray for their staff to remain healthy so they can remain operational. ∘ Pray for God to fill Naomi’s House with peace and for the staff and residents to make the most of the new schedule.

SIDE BY SIDE

Abiding Side by Side Gale Van Norman “LORD, you have assigned me my portion and my cup; you have made my lot secure. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance.” – Psalm 16:5-6 At the February women’s retreat, I shared a testimony of how Jesus rescued me as a child, wooed me back as a young adult and replanted me from Los Angeles to Wheaton as a thirty-something.

I was replanted in a fertile land where my soul could grow deep roots in God’s Word and be strengthened by the local church.

Twenty-five years ago, I walked into College Church for the first time. It was a Sunday in early March. It was the day Pastor Hughes returned to the pulpit after nearly losing his wife, Barbara, to a rare blood disorder. In God’s perfect timing, and thanks to holidays and guest speakers, Pastor Hughes preached a message from Luke about how Jesus miraculously healed a bleeding woman.

The congregation’s reaction and the Holy Spirit’s presence were palpable. I did not know another soul at the church, but I knew I was home. I knew that College Church was where God wanted me to take root.

That same Sunday, I began attending Pacesetters, the large singles ministry that met in the old church gym. The group was buzzing with activity. I met many committed Christians that first day— business professionals from throughout Chicagoland, teachers who had grown up in Wheaton and transplants like myself from across the country.

Just two months after I began attending College Church, I was laid off from the public relations job that had brought me to Illinois. I was confused but confident

that I was supposed to stay in the Midwest.

Kathy (Stephens) Chapek, a new friend from Pacesetters, just happened to work at a placement company that hired temporary employees for corporate assignments. Eventually, I was placed at Motorola and worked in its public relations department until I left seven years later to pursue teaching.

Kathy became like a sister to me. We met each week for years in the Stupe at Wheaton College to share our lives and discuss Scripture. She discipled me in how to read the Bible and pray. Although we are both married and attend different churches now, our relationship is still going strong. My soul is enriched.

Because my salary was cut in half when I got laid off, I needed to find a roommate to help pay my bills. Several people suggested I post roommate wanted notices at area churches and the college. God led a recently graduated Mindy Austin (that’s Mindy Rynbrandt to us now) to my doorstep. We roomed together for only six months, but she was one more person God placed in my life at a critical time.

My soul was cultivated.

Jim Johnston was the singles pastor at the time I first attended Pacesetters. He, and the pastors who succeeded him, encouraged us to plug into the larger church body. They urged us to become “church people.”

I wasn’t sure what that meant, but I was willing to try. Kathy suggested I teach first-grade Bible school with her. I laughed and explained that I didn’t know the first thing about teaching and that children kind of scared me. She assured me it would be rewarding and that the hardest part would be just to arrive on time.

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So, I began teaching a small group of six- and seven-year-olds in the basement. I taught alongside Sylvia Kietzman and Sue Teiwes. The roots of my soul grew deeper as I heard—often for the first time —stories about God’s faithfulness to Noah, Abraham, Daniel, Esther and Ruth.

In time, God would lead me to change careers. I became a schoolteacher in 2003 and currently teach kids in Glendale Heights how to read and fall in love with books.

Within a few years of coming to College Church, I joined a small group of women from Pacesetters. We began meeting in each other’s houses twice a month to study God’s Word and pray together. More than 20 years later, we still meet.

We have celebrated weddings and new children together.

We have mourned sickness and death together. We remain connected through pandemics and continue to gather around the Word using technology. My soul is strengthened.

While we may be separated physically, I know that we are together spiritually. I first learned the power of long-distance church support in 2010, the year my mother died. As her only child, I was in Los Angeles off and on for eight weeks caring for her and preparing for her death. My small group sent regular emails with Bible verses to encourage me. I had ongoing prayer support and encouragement from Women’s Bible Study friends.

And though I had not taught in children’s ministry for some time, Diane Jordan spoke with me and prayed for me by phone.

My soul was comforted.

I continued to fly back to Los Angeles, settling my mother’s estate. My husband, Kevin, and I did not celebrate our birthdays together for two years, because I used spring breaks and Thanksgiving holidays to do my executor duties.

I remember attending the Thanksgiving Eve service in 2012, after missing the previous two. I was overwhelmed by being in the presence of God’s people. It makes me look forward, with greater anticipation, to when we will be together again—side by side.

It’s reassuring for me to look back on the 25 years I have been at College Church, especially as we live through a global crisis. God’s Word exhorts us to remember—to remember his goodness, his sovereignty and his grace certainly as we read Scripture from the prophets and the apostles. Yet, it also calls us to remember his unique faithfulness to each life.

I recently began discipling a younger woman new to College Church. Our life paths have similar detours. We are navigating our way through sheltered isolation, even while we build our friendship. We text each other often and call weekly to discuss a chapter of Esther.

She has joined a small group and attends Women’s Bible Study when she’s not working. She has been replanted in a fertile land where her soul can grow deep roots in God’s Word and be strengthened by the local church.

Our souls are secure.

I BELIEVE!

First and Foremost Kathy Brinker I am first and foremost a child of God, and this is Christ’s story of how he redeemed me. I was in my 30s, and my husband and I had three small children. I grew up in a works-based legalistic religion but knew I needed more. At the time, I was far from Christ and something was missing in my life. What was I missing? I was seeking, but what was I looking for? Unknown to me, the Holy Spirit was moving me to a relationship with Christ.

Through my involvement in many community organizations in DuPage County, I kept constantly crossing paths with a godly woman. This was surely God’s hand, because we saw each other all the time. Her name? Olena Mae Welsh. Wife of a former senior pastor of College Church, she was also the director of the church’s disability ministries. For those of you who never had the opportunity to meet Olena Mae, she was a fierce witness, who brought many to Christ. She had a gentle way of inviting people to come and find and know Jesus. She was relentless for souls that needed a Savior.

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We shared a connection of loving people and their families affected by disability. I later learned that Olena Mae worked with this ministry because she was initially afraid of persons affected by disability. What a testimony, what a Savior who made Olene Mae run towards something which was far outside her comfort zone.

But, well within her comfort zone, Olena Mae kept inviting me to check out what was then the Seeker program, now our STARS (Seeking To Always Reflect The Savior) ministry. At the time, my two adopted boys with Down syndrome were ages eight and four, and I had a two-year-old daughter. After much prodding and several months later, I came to the program for my sons and their benefit. I remember hearing about the boys as an “indispensable part of the body of Christ.” I had never heard that at a church before. It was very foreign to me.

In fact, many things were very different at this church. People asked me if they could pray for me, my family and they

greeted me with a joy at that time I could not explain. What was different? I had no idea, but I was seeking different, so I immersed myself in College Church. Through the expository preaching from the pulpit, I heard the Word of God over and over. Olena Mae prayed for me and discipled me as I heard the Word of God. About a year and a half after stepping through the doors of College Church, my heart was stirred by the Holy Spirit. I was a sinner, I needed a Savior and I met Jesus.

It wasn’t one single pulpit call or a mountaintop experience, rather, the Holy Spirit working in me.

Here’s what was running through my head—let the dead bury the dead. I had a decision to make—reject or accept Christ and who he is and who he made me to be. I chose to accept his gift of salvation and chose him to be the Lord of my life. A lot of us have unbelieving family members and friends, but when we hear the gospel clearly, we have a decision to make, even if ones we love don’t choose to follow him. Jesus has given us this redemptive gift to live with him in eternity.

As a new believer, I had so many questions. I sought out godly women like Olena Mae to pray for me and my family. When you are asked questions or see needs, be that fierce witness for God like Olena Mae was. I immersed myself in the life of the church.

I attended Women’s Bible Study, served in STARS (as a special needs educator I was able to use my gifts to help the ministry) and began praying and studying the Word of God. I still had lots of questions.

A couple of months after I trusted Christ, I went on my first College Church women’s retreat, pre-cell phone days, mind you.

I drove up to the retreat in Galena with another woman from Bible study. We left later than most because we both worked a full day. The country roads to Galena were windy, single lane roads. It was getting dark when an ice storm hit out of nowhere.

The roads immediately glazed over with a tremendous amount of ice. Suddenly, we saw a car in front of us spin out of control and disappear off the road into the dark abyss.

As we tried to look for mile markers to figure out how we could get help for the people in that car, our car spun out of control and down a hill into the darkness. It was probably all of 10 seconds, but it felt like time stood still. I remember thinking, “Praise God I know Jesus my redeemer! He paid the price for my sins, and I am not afraid to die.” Okay, that might have been my mountaintop experience!

On the way down the hill, we hit a tree on the passenger side where I sat. I had only a small cut above my eye, and we knew God had protected us. We made it safely to the hotel where the retreat was, courtesy of a ride in a tow truck. We were not the only retreat goers on those icy roads. As women arrived throughout the afternoon and evening, they began to collectively get on their knees and pray for those of us still driving. We were the last to arrive.

Olena Mae had been leading many prayers and was right there to greet me. Her first question to me was, “How is your faith?”

A smile and a wink back to her, “Secure in Christ,” I said.

What a blessing, what a Savior who chose before the beginning of time to bring me to himself and surround me with a body of believers. This is what God’s church looks like.

Sanctification is a process to become more holy. I am still a sinner, but I am redeemed by his blood, praise God! I know two things, the power of his Word and the power of prayer to become more and more like Christ.

I first gave this testimony at this year’s women’s retreat in Lake Geneva, and as I prepared, I asked people to pray for me. This included the residents of the Washington House (a residential home through STARS Family Services) where my oldest son David and his house buddies Ian and Gary and Tim live. The guys asked what a testimony was, and I told them—how God found me. I should have expanded on my answer, but we were hurrying to clean up and get them ready for devotions with another staff member.

I plan to go back and tell my son and his house buddies that a testimony is a story of God finding me and the Spirit working in me. It’s hearing the story of Jesus and answering the call to follow Jesus by faith. It is God’s story of how he redeemed me.

I want to hear their stories of when they met Christ as well. I know David’s story, and if you ever meet him, he will tell you that God is all powerful. Not to bow down to others but bow down to the king of kings! He knows his risen Savior.

It is all too easy for me to slip back into worldly desires. I had a plan of what I thought was God’s plan for me. I was finishing up 37 years of publicschool teaching in special education, nearing the completion of my doctoral program and moving to the university to teach adult learners. I was also returning as the head coach for Team USA and preparing athletes for the now postponed Paralympics in Tokyo.

Then I got the call. College Church was looking for someone to fill a position of someone who was retiring. Would I consider being the ministry associate for young STARS and their families. I said I would prayerfully consider it. I wrestled with God for a while—not part of the plan. Made excuses—not equipped for ministry. I heard his voice clearly, “I have made you for this time.” I submitted to his will, made a few phone calls to the universities where I interviewed and one to the Olympic committee.

For the last six months, I have been on my knees serving God and others as a ministry associate for young STARS and their families. What a joy that only God can provide.

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GLOBAL VOICES

Global Voices for A Global Pandemic Strangely enough, a global pandemic makes some people less global and more local. To make sure our global voice is still being heard, we reached out to our missionaries for their perspectives on COVID-19 in the countries where they live and serve.

DATELINE—SAN FRANCISCO/WORLDWIDE, APRIL 2 AT 10:55 A.M. SUSAN PERLMAN COVID-19 will change the way all of us do ministry going forward. We are engaging with a world that has had its security shattered.

The message of hope in Jesus is being heard through a new lens. For me, I have stepped up my work in live chat on our 24/7 platform. Three Jewish people came to faith there this past week. We are also serving as first responders in cities like Tel Aviv, where the municipality has called on us to deliver food to the homes of elderly Israelis who cannot do this for themselves. One of missionaries in Paris has started a Faith & Fitness YouTube program which is growing daily. I can go on and on. All this to say that as a church we are more relevant to our community today than ever before.

DATELINE—PAKISTAN, APRIL 2 AT 8:15 A.M. BETH AND JIM TEBBE The Pakistan government has put us all on a twoweek lockdown, due to “expire” April 4. I’ve frankly been amazed at how the government and others have communicated the realities of an infectious disease to an often illiterate and uneducated public, including the Christian community— drawing circles on the ground where people are supposed to stand in line the appropriate distance apart, when the culture calls for crowding up as closely as possible. That sort of thing.

I think the church is somewhat catching on, but sees the controls as largely something that others in authority have imposed on them. Because they are so much a part of everything, it isn’t seen as just a tool of Christian persecution. The so-called good side is folks are used to submitting to authority and just accept the controls.

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A few churches (maybe more than I would have thought) have tried to do online church for two Sundays now with mixed success for the technology. This tends to reach just the more literate and middle-class parts of the church. Others continue to meet for small groups. Back when my house helper lady was coming, she’d arrive in the morning with reports of glorious prayer meetings the evening before. I didn’t have the heart to suggest to her that these meetings could be problematic in terms of the disease. People really need the encouragement of being together as they are used to. Some, more educated, have moved to Zoom and Facebook and various technologies. (WhatsApp is big here for smaller groups) to keep in touch. Those that use these media are quite comfortable with them, though they will still get together with friends they know, “who couldn’t be sick” as they are asymptomatic!

The big problem is how close to subsistence many Christians live. Those who are fortunate have a proper job as sanitation worker with the city or situation like that. Many live as daily laborers (think Jesus parable in Matthew 20) and if they don’t work a specific day, the family really doesn’t eat that day. With many or most all construction efforts stopped, more people are out of work. We’ve gotten involved in some efforts to help, but the need is enormous and hard to know how giving can be wisely done.

Easter is the biggest day of the Christian church here. On the one hand, it is the day the terrorists attacked a place where they knew Christian families would gather in 2016. On the other hand, unless active persecution, it is the one day when churches will lead a procession with a bit of police support, marching down the middle of the street singing and so on. Everyone (literally, if possible) buys new clothes for the day—a bit like the 1950s in the U.S. when I grew up, when it was really important to get a new Easter dress. This might be their only new clothes for the year, but it happens on Easter. I frankly can’t imagine them not having a group celebration. On the other hand, we are waiting until the end of the week to hear if the government extends the lockdown. (And if I believe in social distancing at all, I hope they will. Otherwise folks will flock together and presumably really spread the virus further.)

No one here is big on planning ahead. The upside is a lot of flexibility; the downside is my desire to plan everything ahead as much as possible.

DATELINE—KENYA, MARCH 31, 2:09 p.m.

KIM AND JAMIE VIANDS In many ways, things are much worse in the U.S. right now. It has been such a strange time, one that I'm sure our children will remember for as long as they live . . . "Remember when we were all stuck at home for (fill in the blank) weeks?"

We are navigating the new normal with the help of our church and friends. It's strange to socially distant as a way to actually love our neighbors. I instinctively want to bake or bring meals to people, but now I'm not sure that would be a good idea! Our church sent out a list of all its members, coded in color in groups of seven. We are supposed to pray for the group listed below our name and try to connect with those seven people as we pray for them this week.

Our church is pretty big, so we don't know even the seven people we have been assigned, but I hope we can indeed make contact this week to support each other as the body of Christ.

Also, our church sends a daily devotion that is timely and helpful in keeping our focus on Christ. The people we have been in closest contact with the past weeks are four people who work for us in various ways. Making sure they continue to have an income while staying home from work or cutting back is a big priority for us. There are students on campus who did not go home because they are from outside Kenya or didn't have the means to travel. Many of them struggle daily to have enough to feed their families, so we are trying to be aware of how people are doing and help where we can. How sad it will be to celebrate Easter in isolation. We haven't really thought that far ahead yet and are eager to hear what College Church and other churches are doing.

DATELINE—CZECH REPUBLIC, MARCH 24, 5:34 A.M. NATHAN AND VERA BECK We are doing well. We have been in mandatory home quarantine for over a week, with all school and ministry activities moved online. All our regular connections with our disciple-makers and ministry partners are now either online or by phone.

Over the past several days we’ve managed to connect with many of our local Bible study leaders. The most common sentiment we’ve heard is honest,

profound gratitude for the daily reading through Bible passages and worship they’ve had in their families. So many times, the pace of life fills our schedules to the point where we do not have time to do this more than weekly. Some have led Bible studies more often with strangers than with our own children. Now the mandatory home quarantine gives each of us the opportunity to gather around God’s Word daily in our families. A couple of people have told us that the home quarantine has also given them time to work through unresolved relational issues that have lingered for months or even years. We are grateful to hear of these things. God seems to be cleaning house starting with his church.

Several pastors that I’ve connected with since the quarantine started have commented that this crisis may be God taking away the activities that fill our time and distract us from the fact that we’re not really walking with God daily. We have prayed together that God would use this time to return us, his church, to what is fundamental—walking obediently in God’s presence as his people. A couple days ago I de-thatched our lawn and was once again amazed at how much green there was that was not grass. There were a lot of moss and weeds. It was a good picture of what God is doing here, removing unnecessary growth for the right things can grow strong.

There are a handful of people I’ve connected with who have moved their Bible studies with non-believers or training online, not nearly enough, but a few. We have managed to connect with some neighbors over the fence, keeping the required two meters between people. So far, we have not experienced the openness to the gospel that we long for, but it may be too soon to see this. If God is indeed bringing us into a new season, then this openness will come. Until then, we will pray that his church learns the lessons that are necessary for the things he is preparing.

DATELINE—CARNARY ISLANDS, MARCH 31, 1:47 P.M. BRIAN AND WARRIE BLACKBURN We just arrived in the Canary Islands after a four-day sail from Senegal. We are safe. No one from our 200+ crew are sick. We may be quarantined for three to four weeks. Warrie is exhausted from endless meetings.

The kids and families on the ship are well as our school provides a normal environment for them. We are not allowed off the ship.

God is good and faithful. I am sitting on deck as I write.

Thank you.

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LIFE LESSONS

Do You Believe This?

Steve Krogh When I left the church one night, I nodded at a friend and said as I left the room, “See you later.” Little did he or I know, that “later” would mean in glory. A few hours later I received a phone call that he had passed away. In the inky darkness at 3:00 a.m., I stood in his home, hugging members of his family, whose lives would never be the same.

that my tears are absent; it means that my tears are different.

But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep (dead) that you may not grieve as others do, who have no hope.” (1 Thessalonians 4:13) My tears speak of hurt. I mourn. I feel loss and pain. Death is an enemy. My tears also speak of hope. One day all tears will be wiped away.

One day the dead in Christ will rise. One day we will be caught up together with them to meet the Lord. One day I will see my Savior along with those who loved him.

At times like that, one of the questions you ask is, “Do I believe what I say I believe?” When Martha’s brother, Lazarus, died, Jesus said to Martha, “I am the resurrection and the life.

Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die” ( John 11:25, 26a). Perhaps you can quote those words from memory, but do you know what Jesus said next? He asked Martha, “Do you believe this?” ( John 11:26b).

2. My life will be different in the way I give. Jim Elliot, the missionary speared to death in the jungle of Ecuador, wrote these words in his diary, “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.” Believing that Jesus is the resurrection and the life, knowing that the grave is not the end, frees a person to be a giver. For Jim Elliot, the question was not all that difficult—will I hold on to things I will have to let loose of one day, or will I let them go so that I can take hold of things eternal?

Pretend that you are Martha, grieving for your brother. Or maybe you don’t need to pretend, you know what it is like. Jesus asks you, “Do you believe this?” Do you really believe that Jesus is the resurrection and the life and all who believe in him will live forever? Do you really believe that the grave is not the end? Do you really believe that as believers in Christ, even if we taste death, yet shall we live? Do you really believe that your “Lazarus,” be it husband, wife, brother, sister, son, daughter, friend, even if they die shall live?

There are many reasons I find it credible and rational to believe that Jesus is the resurrection and the life and has power over death. These reasons include the historicity of the New Testament documents, the testimony of eyewitnesses of the risen Christ (some of whom were martyred for their testimony), the specific and precise prophecies regarding the nature and timing of Christ’s birth, death and resurrection, which were recorded centuries before Jesus. Really, it is quite reasonable to believe that what Jesus told Martha is true: Jesus is the resurrection and the life and all who believe in him will live forever.

However, my aim is not to defend the resurrection and the life.

My question is not “is it believable”, but do you believe it? If I really believe this, my life will be different in several ways.

1. My life will be different in the way I grieve. Believing that Jesus is the resurrection and the life does not mean that I don’t cry over the death of someone I love. It does not mean

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3. My life will be different in the way I grow older.

Recognizing that Jesus is the resurrection and the life means that we know he is the final arbiter. It is his appraisal that will last for eternity. We need not live in fear of others’ evaluation of us. We should not crave or live for the approval of men.

Nor should we naively think our self-perceptions are without error. Paul said, Therefore, do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart.

Then each one will receive his commendation from God.” (1 Corinthians 4:5) Knowing that the resurrected Christ is the One before whom I will stand one day is both liberating and humbling. It liberates me from the tyranny of trying to please everyone. It liberates me from the gangrene of self-pity when I am wronged, slandered or misunderstood. It liberates me from bitterness when I suffer injustice. But, with this liberty comes the humility of knowing I will give an account to him who sees all things, including the motives of my heart. Paul said, I am not aware of anything against myself, but I am not thereby acquitted. It is the Lord who judges me.” (1 Corinthians 4:4) Jesus, who is the Resurrection and the Life, asks you, “Do you believe this?” Hopefully, your life shows that you do.

From Topography: A Pastor’s Reflections on the Terrain Between Sundays, pp. 98-100. Used by permission of the author.

MILESTONES/LOOKING AHEAD Births and Marriages • Violet Claire was born to Grant and Megan Tillotson on March 14. Violet joins her siblings Liv and Cohen. Her maternal grandparents are Greg and Vera Cook.

• Henry James Nitz was born to Jonathan and Sarah Nitz on March 19. He joins siblings Lucy, Jackson, Elizabeth and William. Henry’s maternal grandparents are Randy and Susan Jahns, and his maternal great-grandparents are Dick and Sharon Jahns.

• Emilia Marie was born to Andrew and Parker Nelson on March 15. She joins her older siblings Sofia and James.

Condolences • Pray for Dawn (Pete) Herr and family, including Kyle (Sarah) Herr, as they grieve the loss of Dawn’s mother and Kyle’s grandmother, Gabrielle White, who died on March 16. Mrs. White was one month shy of her 103rd birthday.

The family is rejoicing though they grieve her loss.

• Pray for Jaime (Giselle) Mejia and family as they grieve the loss of Jaime’s father, Jamie Sr., who passed away in Lansing, Michigan on March 11.

• Pray for Amy (Erik) Liljenberg and family as she grieves the loss of her mother, Joan Luck, who passed away on March 4 in Wheaton.

• Pray for family and friends grieving the loss of Edith Blumhofer on March 5 in Wheaton. Edith was the mother of College Church missionary Dr. Judy Blumhofer.

• Pray for Joyce Anderson as she grieves the loss of her sister, Mary Ivey, who passed away on March 3 in Nova Scotia, Canada.

• Pray for Kathy (Tim) Brinker and family as they grieve the loss of Kathy’s father, Thomas May, who passed away on February 29 in Worthington, Ohio.

Annual Meeting The Annual Meeting will be Sunday, May 17 (the third Sunday in May), at 5 p.m. We will receive the Annual Report, vote to elect new members for our boards, committees, and other ministry leaders, and select members for the new Nominating Committee.

We will also vote on the budget for the new year. We need to approve the purchase of the last two houses on Seminary Avenue, for which the congregation gave preliminary approval in March 2015. There will be an update on the capital campaign and our plans for renovations in the Crossings building (aka Toms-Price) and additional parking. It will be an important meeting, so please mark your calendars.

Run for the STARS 2020 The 17th annual Run for the STARS is June 13 at 8 a.m.

Early bird registration is open until April 30—register online at runforthestars.com

Take advantage of events—some one-time, some ongoing—that are taking place around town this month.

Also, keep Connections in mind to promote a community event to the College Church family.

Send event information by the following dates to connections@college-church.org.

For the May issue: April 7 | For the June issue: May 7 | For the July issue: June 7

Connections is a monthly newsletter published for and about the people of College Church.

Send news items and suggestions to: connections@college-church.org.

332 E. Seminary, Wheaton, IL 60187 • Phone: (630) 668-0878 • www.college-church.org

Our Pastors, Directors and Residents: Eric Channing, pastor of congregational care and family ministries | Cheryce Berg, director of children’s ministries | Julie Clemens, director of disability ministries | Erik Dewar, pastor of worship and music | Zach Fallon, senior high pastor | Dan Hiben, junior high pastor | Tim Hollinger, technology director | Diane Jordan, director of visitation and care | Howard Kern, facilities director | Curt Miller, missions pastor | Josh Moody, senior pastor | Ben Panner, college pastor | Mindy Rynbrandt, director of women’s ministries | John Seward, executive pastor | Nancy Singer, director of administration and finance | Mike Solis, pastoral resident | Erick Solomon, pastoral resident | Josh Stringer, pastor of discipleship | Wil Triggs, director of communications | Michael Walker, pastoral resident | Jacob Warren, pastoral resident Our Council of Elders: Bruce Aulie | David Dix, vice chair | Dave Gieser | Steve Ivester | Randy Jahns | Heinrich Johnsen | Dan Lindquist | Josh Moody, senior pastor | Phil Nussbaum | Tom Nussbaum | Mark Taylor, chair | Tad Williams | Rob Wolgemuth, secretary