GO VERTICAL !!! Do you need a
Fresh Start? www.freshstartforallnations.org
Fresh Start ~ It's NEVER too late! Everyone, at some point in their lives, experiences some sort of offense, hurt, or loss. Steve Peterson, founder of Fresh Start for All Nations, met with Salt Magazine to share with us how this ministry provides people with tools to deal with those issues of our heart that affect us daily. "We love to help men, women, and young people become free from the effects of offense, hurt, and loss. When you think about it, who hasn't been hurt? Who hasn't been offended? Who hasn't experienced a loss? It might be relational, financial, environmental, in their home, family, a tsunami—any number of things. A lifestyle of forgiven and forgiving—that is what is powerful, and the resulting freedom in Jesus Christ that follows," says Steve.
What happens at Fresh Start? What clearly makes Fresh Start unique is that the ministry focuses on your heart rather than your circumstances or the effects of your loss changing. This is a very effective focus, because it makes it about your heart, something you CAN influence or change. Fresh Start meets every Tuesday night at Covenant Presbyterian Church, 150th and Blondo, from 7 pm to 9 pm. The environment is safe and caring. The first hour is a group experience split into two expressions: the main gathering and Fresh Start NOW. The main gathering features a person's Fresh Start "story" or a unique message on some aspect of forgiveness. The Fresh Start NOW group is focused on high school and college, young people ages 14-25. It is high energy and interactive, with group dramas, games, and also
opportunity to discover issues of offense, hurt, and loss. The second hour of the main Fresh Start gathering is focused on the Freedom Series—more truth and perspective, examples on forgiving one another, and identifying other hindrances to relational wholeness. "Fresh Start is a purposeful path, as well as a process," says Steve Peterson. There are actually six parts to this purposeful path.
How do I get a Fresh First, you identify who or what has hurt you, or offended you, or what loss you've experienced. Secondly, you discover how you have been affected by the offense, hurt or loss. Third, you consider how you have responded—what you have said, done, or decided. The fourth part on this path is to pour out your heart to God. This could include really getting REAL with God, even pouring out your complaint.
Start?
You don't want to stay in the fourth part, of course. During this part of the process, you also learn how to actually give thanks, no matter what the circumstances or prospect for change. The fifth part is, finally, when you actually FORGIVE the person who has hurt, offended, or wronged you. Finally, in the sixth part you conclude the process by releasing that person to Jesus and choosing to pray for and bless them. You "CANCEL THE DEBT" they owe you.
The forgiver
is the one who
GETS SET FREE!!!
-Steve Peterson
Celebration Banquet Scott Conference Center
Omaha, NE Feb 09, 2013 5:30 - 8:30 pm Join us for a wonderful evening of appreciation, celebration, and anticipation!
YOUR SPONSORSHIP AND PARTICIPATION in the 2013 FRESH START GOLF CLASSIC will be a strategic investment and partnership in our "for every heart" mission!
Opportunities for you to get a Fresh Start Pastor Steve acknowledges that there is always a difference between God's Character and His Design for our life and what we actually experience. He calls this chasm, "THE GAP." Through Fresh Start, you learn to recognize how your expectations and life experiences can fall short and how your attitude in response can poison your heart. Fresh Start invites your participation through a path and process that leads to lasting freedom! "We live in a spiritual war zone and the war is for your heart, and through Fresh Start, we love to help men, women, and young people win the war for their hearts," says Steve Peterson.
We at Salt Magazine ask you in closing: What's in your heart? Are you depressed, lonely, in a confusing relationship, betrayed, mad, mourning a lost loved one? Are you angry at people in general and don't know why? Do you stuff your emotions to be "tough" and try to move on with life? Are you struggling financially? If you answered "yes" to any of those
questions, and are tired of living a life less than God's design for you, then Fresh Start is for you. Remember, it's NEVER too late! www.freshstartomaha.org is the website for information related to Tuesday nights at Covenant Presbyterian Church.
Monday Nights: 7pm-8:30pm. Fremont Nazarene Church. Tuesday Nights: 7pm-9pm. Covenant Presbyterian Church 15002 Blondo Street Wednesday Nights: 7pm-8:30pm Dayspring Church
www.freshstartforallnations.org is the main website with the entire resource gallery.
Thursdays: 10am-11:30am Cross Training Center
“Above all else guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.”
Thursdays: 1pm-2:30pm Douglas County Corrections
– Proverbs 4:23 (NIV) Here are some of the opportunities to "step into the flow:"
AND MORE!
!!! W NO t r a St It's never too late… but why wait? h s e r F
You are a young adult, somewhere from 14 to 25 years old, and you have experienced a serious loss, like a death in the family, or someone dumps you and you just can't forgive them for tearing apart your heart. You want to get some peace in your life—what do you do?
take part in interactive games, hear a short message, and do some serious thinking. You are learning how to be free from anger, pride, fear, depression, rejection, shame and more, but the night flies by because you are having so much fun. If that sounds great, then Fresh Start NOW is the place for you!
Imagine having a completely safe environment to process your personal hurt, loss, or offense. You are greeted in a friendly manner,
This unique healing opportunity is led by the youthful and exuberant Joe Slabaugh. Joe is a former youth leader of All Nations Church. He
The 2013 Fresh Start Golf Classic Shadow Ridge Country Club - Omaha, NE
Aug 05, 2013 | 9am - 4pm
brings his experience of working with youth to this awesome ministry at Fresh Start. Joe says, "We try to show people how a biblical view, a real, true, Christ-like model of forgiveness can really change lives. Romans 12:2 (NIV) says, ‘Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.’
"We're trying to transform people; we're not trying to make people go through an anger management class." Fresh Start NOW allows young adults to have deep conversations about their hurts, offenses, or losses (in groups of all guys or all girls) and to go through the Fresh Start process. Coaching is common, but not counseling; the goal is not to provide an immediate "answer" to your situation, but rather to dig deep into how your heart was affected by your hurt or loss. While disclosing a story from his childhood, Joe explained the swimming concept of “bobbing.” This swimming exercise is a way of practicing holding your breath by slowly exhaling until you reach the bottom of a pool and pushing off of it to reach the surface again. It might be fun, but you never really go anywhere. Many of us are going through life this way, just surviving breath by breath, whether it is at a job, in school, with friends or parents, etc. "I believe the youth of America are powerful, passionate, motivated, energetic, and excited, but we don't know where we're going." says Joe. Joe's goal at Fresh Start NOW is to provide that purpose and direction for this youthful generation—to help bobbers become swimmers, purposely going in a direction, using
the water of their circumstances to fulfill their purpose and go somewhere in life. A bible verse dear to Joe's heart is Proverbs 4:23 (NIV): “Above all else guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.” Corresponding with this verse, Joe has come to realize that everyone, especially today’s youth, are in a deadly war for their hearts, making the concept of guarding one’s heart essential to life. Fresh Start NOW gives youth the tools necessary to experience freedom while they are young, and not wait to realize it until they are much older (i.e., in their 50’s or 60's). That's why it's called Fresh Start NOW! Joe's heart is focused on saving youth from experiencing a “mid-life crisis” due to misplaced career efforts and hard hearts they could have been freed from when they were a teenager. Fresh Start NOW stays relevant to this generation because the leaders are authentic and have personally experienced true forgiveness for themselves. There’s no awkward hug or fake "I forgive you" statements with Fresh Start NOW; instead, they patiently work through multiple levels of forgiveness, making the transition real and permanent. This allows each participant an opportunity to experience unparalleled freedom from any hurt and become emotionally whole to reconcile,
with long lasting results. You can have this too! The Fresh Start NOW meeting is from 7pm – 9pm at Covenant Presbyterian Church and opens with a fun game. It then transitions into a lesson about an issue of the heart. Finally, there is an opportunity to break into small groups to discuss the message and be encouraged to live a lifestyle of forgiveness. If hanging out with strangers isn’t your thing, every resource, lesson, and anything else Fresh Startrelated is available at www.freshstartforallnations.org. There are sermons in audio and video format, MP3s to download, PDFs to read, and so much more in the resource section! No matter where you are in life, no matter how bad the decisions you have made, or no matter how long you’ve been living in pain, it’s never too late for a Fresh Start. Your Fresh Start may be only a click, a phone call, or a Tuesday night away, so don’t wait. Your Fresh Start can begin NOW!