Funeral Announcement for CRYSTAL LAWRENZ

Good afternoon. This is Pastor Heitshusen of St. Mark Lutheran with an important funeral announcement.

Last Saturday evening, following a car accident in Florida, the Lord called to Himself Crystal Lawrenz, granddaughter of Pastor and Ruth Lawrenz and daughter of David Lawrenz. Some of you may recall that Crystal’s mother, Dawn, died just over a year ago in August of 2007.

Visitation with the family will take place at Cypress Fairbanks Funeral Home  tomorrow, Thursday, December 18, from 6:00-8:00pm. Cypress Fairbanks Funeral Home is located at 9926 Jones Road.

A funeral service, celebrating her faith and life in Jesus will take place at Jersey Village Baptist Church  on Friday, December 19, at 10:00am. Jersey Village Baptist is located at 16518 Jersey Drive.

Please keep the Lawrenz family in your prayers during this difficult time; especially during this Advent & Christmas season.

Funeral Announcement for ELLA MARKET

Hi. This is Pastor Heitshusen of St. Mark Lutheran with an important announcement.

Yesterday morning, on Sunday’s observance of All Saints’ Day, the Lord called one of His saints Home. That saint is Ella Market.

Visitation with the family will take place tomorrow, Tuesday, November 3, from 5:00pm-8:00pm at Memorial Oaks Funeral Home at Eldridge and I-10.

A worship service celebrating Ella’s life and faith in Jesus will take place on Wednesday, November 5 at 12:30pm, also at Memorial Oaks Funeral Home with internment following at Memorial Oaks Cemetery.

After the internment at Memorial Oaks, there will be a reception at St. Mark.

Please keep the family of EllaMarket in your prayers during this difficult time.

Funeral Announcement for HENRY ISELT

Hi. This is Pastor Heitshusen of St. Mark Lutheran with an important announcement.

Earlier this week the Lord called to Himself longtime active and faithful member, Henry Iselt.

Visitation with the family will take place on Friday, October 17, from 6:00-8:00pm at Memorial Oaks Funeral Home at Eldridge and I-10. A worship service celebrating Henry’s life and faith in Jesus will take place at St. Mark on Saturday, October 18, at 2:00 in the afternoon with internment immediately following at Memorial Oaks Cemetery.

Please keep Henry’s family in your prayers during this difficult time.

2819 Club -- Categorized Results

We took three months (and one Sunday) to pray and seek the Lord's will through The 2819 Club, shared the raw data results of the responses, and now those results have been subsequently been categorized. The results are in a PDF file with it's link below (and also through the title of this post).

Our next step is taking these leadings and focusing on the concretes of what we are to do and how we will go about achieving those goals.

God bless,
Pastor Scott

http://stmarkhouston.org/documents/20080908--2918_Club_Response_Data--Categorized.pdf

Funeral Announcement for DARRELL MURRAY

Hi. This is Pastor Heitshusen of St. Mark Lutheran with an important announcement.

On Tuesday, September 2, the Lord called to Himself St. Mark member and friend, Darrell Murray.

A memorial service celebrating Darrell’s life and witness in Jesus Christ will take place this Saturday, September 6, at 12:30pm at Memorial Oaks Funeral Home, located at I-10 and Eldridge.

Please keep Delores and the rest of the Murray family in your prayers during this difficult time.

"Men At The Cross"

Greetings,

I wanted to share with you what I feel that the Lord is guiding me to do as we have been praying for the last 3 months and asking, “Lord, what is it that you want me to do at this time and this place to touch people with the love of Jesus.”

The second part of the prayer was that we are certain that the Lord will show us the center of His will. I am certain that the Lord wants me to go to Men at the Cross at the Toyota Center on Aug 22 in the eve and Aug 23 in the morning. The speakers, including Max Lucado, Steve Farrar, Tony Evans, and Joe White are truly great, and the musicians including Michael Smith, Steven Curtis Chapman, and Brandon Heath are great Christian artists. Would you please pray that the Lord opens the way for you to be able to go there with me and be touched by the message of Men at the Cross? You can go to the website to view 2 videos and to register for your ticket at www.menatthecross.org. The theme is: “Lord, lead me to mentor and love one man to Jesus till he is ready to love another man to Jesus.”

I feel this is such a tremendous opportunity for us as elders to let the Lord take us to Men At The Cross, and then watch how he will use us. Let's please pray for each other that the Lord touches our hearts with a passion to go. Please also start to pray for the night of the 22nd and 23rd for the Lord

• to truly bless this weekend,


• for men's hearts to be open as they are there,


• for people to be brought to faith there that do not know Jesus,


• for Jesus to share the center of His will for us as we are there, and


• for all the glory to be given to God.

I am excited how the Lord has given us this opportunity right in the center of the time that we, as the congregation of St Mark have been praying for the center of God’s will.

Blessings, Joy, and Excitement,
Fred Tonn

Questions re:1829 Club

Pastor Scott,

After all this time in prayer, I must confess that I have not received a definitive answers to the “what do you want your people to do…” query. The LORD has, however, repeatedly confronted me with two questions.

The first question is whether, in fact, the whole premise of 28:19 is an appropriate one to ask this particular congregation at this particular time. This notion came from the LORD challenging me with the difference between the hearts of this congregation (myself included) for, say, putting together a pageant, with its heart for outreach. Whether it was Met, Lisa, Jessica, Kathy, or John it seemed that all it took was a phone call and hordes would volunteer countless hours to produce pageant and all without complaint. I wonder if we would have the same Spirit-filled effort for planting a church? Or, does the motivation for participation in pageant come from somewhere else? Don’t get me wrong. I love pageant. I just don’t think it is the direct method of outreach contemplated by 28:19.

Of course, this question begs a larger one: is this congregation properly educated about the fundamental importance of witness to the Christian faith? There are certainly many individuals at St Mark that have devoted themselves to the practice of witness. But, for the congregation as a whole, the answer to this question comes back, “probably not”. If that is the answer in the current life of this congregation, wouldn’t this knowledge gap be the first thing to rectify? It seems obvious that we should know about this; maybe it isn’t…

I don’t know much about one of our potential partners in this effort, Cross Point Church, but it seems that their congregational culture is different in this regard, that they have something of this knowledge…

The second question is: as a congregation, once we get motivated, to “whom” do we witness? In prayer, I keep picturing some anonymous face like Paul saw in Acts 16:9 saying, “come over to Macedonia and help us”. If I remember correctly, it would have been Paul’s will to head north and east from where he was in Asia Minor and not into Europe (v.6,7) but the Spirit “would not allow” it. His obedience to this vision changed the whole history of the Christian Church; so, it seems that paying close attention to the leading of the Spirit is critically important here. The man in Paul’s vision said “Macedonia”, but I can’t help but believe that Paul would have known him by dress or speech otherwise. I personally can’t distinguish this man, but he’s out there. By that I mean “they’re out there” as in an ethnic group or geographical location relative to St Mark. I live ten miles southeast of St Mark, so my familiarity with areas north and west that have been mentioned in context with 28:19 are very limited.

Forgive, again the fact that I do not have a glimmer of an answer to this question; but, I am willing to follow someone who does.

In Christ,
Steve Grosmann

Funeral Annoucement for LENA HEWITT

Hi. This is Pastor Heitshusen of St. Mark Lutheran with an important announcement.

Last Wednesday, August 5, the Lord called to Himself longtime St. Mark member, Lena Hewitt. Lena passed away just after her 99th birthday.

Visitation will be at St. Mark on Monday, August 11, beginning at 9:30am with a funeral service following at 11:00am. Internment will follow at South Park Funeral Home in Pearland.

Please keep Lena’s family in your prayers during this difficult time.

A "Campaign of Commitment"

Gentlemen,

First let me say what a pleasure it was to work with you during this process. It was an experience that pushed me outside of my “box”.

I never saw a singular direction for our church. With so many people with so many talents certainly God wouldn’t limit us to one goal. When I prayed, “Lord, what do you want your people at St. Mark to do to touch people with the love of Christ?” I saw individuals, families and groups of families Committed to doing that which God has lead them to do. If you would, think of a family working with a mission to help the people there, a group of families coming together to help start a satellite church or 50 men joining with Fred and the Men at the Cross. There are too many possibilities to see them all. The common thread through all this is the commitment, the commitment to do as God would have you to do and follow through with it. I see the church leading a “campaign of commitment” where our members commit to doing something to touch someone with the love of Christ, to do as Christ has commissioned us to do. I realize this is late in the process, but I have struggled with the question “is this meant for me or the church”. I have come to the conclusion that it is me and my family and it is something we will do. Whether this is God’s vision for our church, I don’t know, but I thought I’d put it in to the forum to see where it leads.

Again, Thanks
Frank Radtke

2819 Club -- Raw Data Results

From May through July several people met for 19 minutes on Sunday morning to ask what the Lord wanted the people of St. Mark to do to touch people with the love of Jesus Christ.

That question was also asked in worship at both services on Sunday, July 27.

The following links to a rather large document which contains the raw answers that basic question. The only editing that has taken place is for style, mistypes, and spelling, and other minor aspects. The responses themselves remain unchanged.

From here, we will go through these results in more detail, categorizing and summarizing them into like areas and fields. Following that, we will prioritizes the goals and the means by which we will reach them by God's grace.

In His service and yours,
Pastor Scott

http://stmarkhouston.org/documents/20080728--2819_Club--RESPONSES--COMPLETED.pdf

Nick Moss Declines Call to St. Mark

Last Wednesday, after prayerful deliberation, DCE Nick Moss declined St. Mark's call to be our Director of Youth and Young Adult Ministries. He feels the Lord still has work for him to do at St. Paul Lutheran in Lakeland, FL.

We praise God for His steadfast faithfulness as we continue to find the person the Lord has chosen for us.

In Christ's service and yours,
Pastor Scott

Wednesday Noon Services Discontinued

It is always difficult to discontinue a ministry option when some still receive benefit from it. However, at this time we are unable to continue offering the noon service time on Wednesdays, effective immediately.

The Wednesday evening service time will remain and is unaffected by this decision.

In Christ,
Pastor Scott

Funeral Announcement for GLADYS BARTA

Good afternoon. This is Pastor Heitshusen of St. Mark Lutheran with an important announcement.

Last Saturday, July 26, the Lord called to Himself longtime St. Mark member, Gladys Barta.

Visitation with the family is tomorrow, Tuesday, July 29, from 6:00-8:00pm at Waltrip Funeral Home on Campbell Road. A funeral service celebrating Gladys’ life in and witness of Jesus Christ will be at St. Mark on Wednesday, July 30, at 2:00pm with internment following at Woodlawn Garden of Memories.

Please keep the Barta family in your prayers during this difficult time.

Funeral Announcement for NEAL LADWIG

Good afternoon. This is Pastor Heitshusen of St. Mark Lutheran with an important announcement.

Last Saturday, July 12, the Lord called to Himself Neal Ladwig; five weeks after He called Neal’s wife, Lois, Home.

Neal was a longtime St. Mark member, and a fun, compassionate man, who was involved in many areas at St. Mark, serving the Lord and His people joyfully.

Visitation with the family is tomorrow, Tuesday, July 15, from 6:00-8:00pm at Settegast-Kopf funeral home in Sugar Creek. A memorial service celebrating Neal’s life in and witness of Jesus Christ will be at St. Mark on Wednesday, July 16, at 2:00pm with a reception immediately following.

Please keep the Ladwig family in your prayers during this difficult time.

LINC Houston News & Needs

The following is from an email I received from Mark Junkans, Director of LINCHouston.

I am posting/passing it on in hopes that some may be able to serve and help.

God bless,
Pastor Heitshusen

---

News from
LINC Houston
http://www.linchouston.org/

Greetings!

Here is some information for upcoming projects that LINC is planning, also volunteer and donation opprotunities for anyone willing to give their time and financial support to local missions in the Houston area.

---

NEWS

House Church

About 2 months into the launch of 4 new house churches, we are already seeing the fruit of this work. Several new families have joined these groups led by trained leaders. Already we have seen six individuals come to a new found faith in Jesus Christ. One individual who was most resistant, has been a Mason for the past several years.

During the house meetings, he continued to argue that God has many names and that he did not need Jesus to have peace in his heart. A few weeks later, he attended Sunday service at Centro Familiar Cristiano led by Pastor Lincon Guerra. After a sermon that clearly spoke the Gospel of Jesus Christ, he was seen praying, clearly broken by what he had heard. When he stopped, his whole demeanor had changed and he began to hug his wife and children. Pastor Lincon is overjoyed to see new families come faith through the ministry of the church in the homes of its members. We praise God for his power at work in the lives of our leaders.

---

NEEDS

Spring Branch Mission Center:

• Volunteers for ESL program - We need individuals that can help our students practice the English they have learned in the lessons. Classes are Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday in the early evening at 8149 Long Point. Volunteers only need to pick one night a week that they are available.
• Computer Setup - We need individuals to help setup our computers. Includes setting up drivers and operating system, plugging in monitors, keyboards and mice.

Comunidad de Gracia:

• 2 window unit air conditioners that run on 220 volt.
• Volunteers to help pick up food from the Houston Food Bank Thursday or Friday mornings.
• Repair of a freezer.
• A/C repair for fellowship hall.

School Supplies Needed:

• LINC is in need of school supplies to give away to children in need. Through several of our ministries, we help provide needed supplies for families who don't have the financial means to purchase them. If you or your group is able, please contact the LINC office for more information.

Car Donations:

• Several of LNC's missionaries and church members are in need of good running vehicles. If you are considering donating your car, consider LINC Houston's mission field as a worthy recipient.

---

RESOURCES

Mission Shift Video Series

The School of Urban Ministry has put together a 6 week video series to be used in adult education classes called Mission Shift. MissionShift is meant to open peoples eyes to what God is doing in our world and spark a desire to reach out to our new international immigrants. The specific numbers/data used in the videos is somewhat focused on Minnesota, but the overall material has application to communities all over the world.

Here's a link where you can see a short clip of the videos and learn more...

http://web.mac.com/citysitesmedia/Site/MissionShift/MissionShift.html

Sincerely,
Mark Junkans

Voters' Meeting -- July 13

Just a reminder that this Sunday, July 13, directly following the first service (around 9:30am), there will be a congregational Voters' Meeting with the one agenda item the issuing of a Call to a DCE in Florida for the St. Mark position of "Director of Youth and Young Adult Ministries."

There is a biography of the individual being brought to you on the Welcome Center desk at the church. We hope you will pick one up before the meeting so that you have time to pray over this individual and the process.

Please make it a point to attend this important meeting.

Thank you and God bless your day.

In Christ,
Pasor Heitshusen

Our Nigerian Missionaries at St. Mark Last Sunday

What a wonderful Sunday the Lord blessed us with last Sunday, June 29!

Not only did we get to praise Him for this blessed country and the freedoms we have here; we got to hear how our True Freedoms are found in Jesus Christ for us and our country and the whole world.

We were also privileged to have the Rasch family with us. The Rasches (Ivan, Jennifer, Heather, and Timothy) are missionaries who work in Jos, Nigeria. I was very proud of how St. Mark welcomed and responded to them. Thank you!Many have wondered how they may stay in contact with the Rasches. Below is an email I received from them which give a lot of information on how to contact and support them.

In Service to God and Others with you,
Pastor Heitshusen

---

Dear Scott,

Thank you so much for welcoming us to your congregation last Sunday. What a warm welcome we received! We are only sorry that we were not able to have more time with you.

A number of people voiced an desire to donate used computers or band instruments. The best way to take care of that is for them to ship them to my mother’s address in Denton. Then we will pack them to take them with us to Nigeria on the 26th of July.

Our contact information here in Denton is:

Ivan and Jennifer Rasch
1908 W. Hickory St.
Denton, TX 76201
(940) 566-3848

For anyone in your congregation who asks for contact information for us in Nigeria, here are a few options:

TheRasches@Hotmail.com -or- Ivan.Rasch@LCMS.org

+234 803 288 9202

Ivan and Jennifer Rasch
Lutheran Church of Nigeria
P.O. Box 495
Jos, NIGERIA

People can find out more information about us and our ministry on LCMS’s website:

Information on Nigeria from LCMS World Mission:

http://www.lcms.org/pages/internal.asp?NavID=6754

Information on the Rasch Family and their work in Nigeria:

http://www.lcms.org/pages/internal.asp?NavID=7889

"Pray for Us" inserts for the Rasch Family:

http://www.lcms.org/ca/mission/prayercards/prayercarddownload.asp?prayercardid=286

The Africa Computer Projects that I am involved in is not a budgeted project. It is approved by LCMS World Mission, but because it is "above budget", it is not listed with the rest of the projects for Nigeria. If people have more questions about this project, they can e-mail me any questions – I will answer them as well as I possibly can. If they would like to hear about it from someone other than me, I can help them get in touch with my Area Facilitator (English-speaking West Africa) or my Regional Director (all of Africa).

Funeral Announcement -- Mamie W. Lorenz

The following is the text of an outgoing phone-tree regarding the death of Mamie W. Lorenz; sent out on Thursday, June 19, 2008.

--

Good afternoon. This is Pastor Heitshusen of St. Mark Lutheran with an important funeral announcement.

Yesterday the Lord called to Himself very longtime member, Mamie Lorenz. Mamie and her late husband, Arthur, were involved at St. Mark in many ways for many years.

Visitation with the family will take place at Woodlawn Funeral Home tomorrow, Friday, June 20, from 6:00-8:00pm.

A funeral service, celebrating her faith and life in Jesus will take place at St. Mark on Saturday, June 21, at 2:30pm with internment immediately following at Woodlawn Garden of Memories.

Please keep the Lorenz family in your prayers during this difficult time.

2819 Club -- Leadings

Feedback Form

1. In your prayer time with the Lord, when you have asked the LORD, “LORD, what do You want Your people at St. Mark to do to touch people with the love of Christ?” what do you feel is the Holy Spirit’s movement as an answer in your heart? (Be as general or as detailed as you feel led by the LORD. If you need more space, please attach extra paper to this sheet.)

A soccer team. Perhaps a prayer station or stations


2. Beyond that question, are there other items or areas the Lord is placing on your heart with regard to God’s ministry here at St. Mark?

Dance ministry. Square dancing (at least occasionally).


3. May we share your response with others (via newsletters, the St. Mark blog, etc.)?

Yes!


4. May we share your name? (If “yes,” please do not forget to write your name below.)

Yes!

Singned,
Curtis Heusman

Friends of Christ

Friends of Christ

As I prayed this morning, God reminded me that He is my best Friend. He is always there when I need someone to talk to. He is always there when I need advice. He is always happy for me and with me, when something good happens to me. He "calls" me just to talk to me, to see how I am doing. Not for any special reason, just to see how I am. He gently tells me when I am doing something wrong, yet, He never condemns me. He is oh so understanding when I inadvertently say something wrong; He knows my intent was not to hurt Him, for He knows my heart, He knows that I too am His friend.

In today's world, in our community, in our lives, we need friends. We need those relationships that are caring and always there. We need to know that someone is thinking of us and praying for us. We need to know that someone will be happy for us when we are happy, sad when we are sad, there in times of trouble and need. Today, I believe the Lord is leading me and St. Mark to be a friend to our community. How, I'm not sure. But the Lord brought to mind the idea of the mall that Pastor Scott discussed. Maybe, we could set up a kiosk and be Friends of Christ to the shoppers.

As I finished my prayer time this morning, I asked the Lord to convict me today and to affirm this idea of friendship. After prayers, I ate breakfast, watching the news. As I began to do my chores, I turned the channel to the XM station, "The Message" to listen to Christian Music. One of my favorite songs was on, at my favorite chorus line:

"I just want to feel your presence again,
I'm down on my knees in need of a friend
And I find you waiting there for me."

Talk about affirmation. I finished listening to this wonderful song, by DecembeRadio "Find You Waiting". Then I quickly came to put these thoughts down to share with you, my Friends in Christ. I really believe that we have in our community a lot of lonely people, who just need a friend. I believe that, whether they consciously know or not, they truly "want to feel Your presence again". The words of this song are powerful and I have many times wanted to feel His presence again, and I have often been down on my knees in need of a friend, and I always find Him waiting there for me.

Thank you for allowing me to share this with you today. Please pray with me to see if indeed this is how the Lord wants St. Mark to serve our community, and pray that He show us how to be a Friend of Christ to others.

Blessings,
Jimmie Sue Pratt
06/11/08

2819 Club -- Leadings

In response to the planting of a new church, I am very supportive of this mission.

1. My first suggestion for consideration would be a strip center located in the area of Beltway 8 and Highway 249.
   If you look behind the race track you will see a large area which is growing rapidly. Half way between Beltway 8 and I-45 on 249 there are several strip centers which may be available. I feel Christ Memorial, St. Mark and St. Timothy could really work well together as Pastor Henize grew up at St. Mark and I believe you and the associate pastor are friends.
2. My second suggestion is near your home in the Little York & Eldridge area.
   You know this area as well as anyone. As Pastor Simon also lives in the area, this would be ideal but consideration must be given as to how would Epiphany look at this? Would Epiphany join Christ Memorial and St. Mark in this mission?
3. Beltway 8 and Little York/Tanner area could also be considered.

My prayer is we commit to church planting this year! This is another subject that would benefit from a leadership retreat!

It is very hard to change the mind-set up of an established church, but with a new church, you will not hear, "that is not they way we do it."

Blessings,
Willis Schrampfer

Funeral Announcements -- Adell Knippa & Lois Ladwig

The following is the text of an outgoing phone-tree regarding the deaths and services for Adell Knippa and Lois Ladwig; sent out on Monday, June 9, 2008.

--

Good morning. This is Pastor Heitshusen of St. Mark Lutheran with an important announcement.

This last week the Lord called to Himself two people of St. Mark’s family; Adell Knippa and Lois Ladwig.

Adell is the mother of St. Mark member, Marti. Her funeral will be this Wednesday, June 11, at 11:00 a.m. at Concordia Lutheran Church in San Antonio.

In addition to Adell, the Lord called Home longtime St. Mark member, Lois Ladwig. Lois was a dear, sweet woman of the Lord who was involved in many areas at St. Mark and set an example of service in the Lord with an open heart and a big smile.

Visitation with the family is tonight, June 9, from 6:00-8:00pm at Settegast-Kopf funeral home at Sugar Creek. A memorial service celebrating Lois’ life in and witness of Jesus Christ will be at St. Mark tomorrow, Tuesday, June 10 at 2:00pm with a reception immediately following.

Please keep the Knippa and Ladwig families in your prayers during this difficult time.

2819 Club -- Form

As we continue our time in humble prayer, asking God, "Lord, what do You want Your people at St. Mark to do to touch people with the Love of Christ?", we need to have an avenue to share what the Holy Spirit is telling us.

Please use the attached form (click on the title of this post for the file in PDF format) to share where you feel the Lord is leading St. Mark in your prayer time.

Thank you and blessings in Christ, our Lord.

Scott Heitshusen
Your Pastor

20080609--2819_club--form - Upload a Document to Scribd

Read this document on Scribd: 20080609--2819_club--form

2819 Club -- Scripture Passages

Scripture has much to day about seeking God; praying to Him; asking for His Holy Spirit and guidance; and His desire that we let all know about His salvation in and through Jesus.

As we continue to seek the Lord's guidance in our outreach efforts, the Scripture passages in the attached file may prove helpful to you. I ask that you use these (as well as your own or others the Lord is leading you to use) as you take time to seek His guidance with the question we have been asking of God, "Lord, what do You want Your people at St. Mark to do to touch people with the Love of Christ?"

In God's Plan with you,
Pastor Scott Heitshusen

(Click the title for the file in PDF format.)

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Read this document on Scribd: 20080605--2819_club--scripture_pasages

2918 Club -- Leadings

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

About a year and a half ago my mind was opened to many outreach opportunities that I had not previously considered. Many of these came as a part of my classes with the Pastoral Leadership Institute and others through the Texas District, itself. I have always been a proponent of letting others know of “The Way, the Truth, and the Life,” by whom all are saved; but these new ways of thinking about growing the Kingdom of God “clicked” in my mind. I had known many of the truths, but they had not been presented in a way that changed my thinking.

We are living in a country and with a whole generation of people who are biblically illiterate and far from God and, hence, salvation. We, at St. Mark, have been abundantly blessed by God with resources many congregations could only dream of. But more importantly, we have enormous harvest fields all around us. People for whom we are to share Christ with through the use these resources.

When Pastor Woolsey of CrossPoint Community Church, Pastor Steve Simon of Christ Memorial Lutheran Church, and I originally met about a mission plant in West Houston, I was excited (and still am)! There are so many people who are meeting with the Gospel at St. Mark; but there are so many, many more people all around us who are not going to step through our doors to hear about Him. It is, therefore, our privilege and responsibility to “send” us out and “seek” them; as our mission statement declares.

There are many places within 10-15 miles of St. Mark where a “more traditional” church plant could go and do well. (One being in the neighborhood I live in.) But my mind keeps going back to another vision. This has been resonating more and more as I have been with so many others praying to the Lord, “Lord, what do You want Your people at St. Mark to do to touch people with the love of Christ?” during the 2819 Club prayer time each Sunday morning.

Before I share my heart here, let me share this:

• The “target group,” in my mind, would be primarily the “busters” generation. Of course it would touch many others, but this is a generation of “post-moderns” who, by and large, do not know Christ and are completely biblically illiterate. Most of them did not grow up in church and have a very pluralistic and mystic mindset of “god.” They are very tolerant of others, but question everything.
• A meeting place needs to be where the people are, as they have no inclination of going to a traditional sanctuary or church campus. (It’s not really that they are opposed to this; it just doesn’t cross their minds.)

With those, and other factors in mind, I started thinking about a place that has countless people passing by and browsing every day – seven days a week, 365 days a year. People of all ages, races, and backgrounds meet there and interact on a regular basis. It is a place that is minimally affected by fluctuations in rain or heat.

Have you guessed it? It’s a mall. More specifically, I have been thinking of Memorial City Mall.

The opportunities boggle my mind!

This is where I am feeling led when I have been talking with the Lord about the opportunities He has in mind for us at St. Mark for the people of Houston, Texas.

What is He saying to you?

In His Plan with you,
Pastor Scott Heitshusen

2819 Club -- Leadings

Greetings Pastor Scott,

Here are several thoughts that I have had in response in praying, “Lord what do you want your people at St Mark to do at this time and in this place to touch people with the love of Jesus Christ?” Here are several things that I feel that the Lord is saying to me as I have been praying and listening…

1. Be in the Word…pray the Word of God…Call upon the Lord by praying the Word…seek the Lord by reading the verses that tell me to seek the Lord…ask the Lord to give me that Hunger and thirst for the sweetness of His Word…Meditate on those verses…then ask the Lord to tell me what He wants me to hear…really get quiet and listen…
   
2. I felt the Lord leading me to ask Barry [Leitko] to come to our Friday, 6:00 a.m. prayer time at the altar and to inform other men about this so that they have a chance to join us in a great time of prayer.
   
3. I felt the Lord leading me to attend the presentation on “Men at the Cross”…to share it with Pastor Scott and Pastor Schultz…with the elders…with or Wednesday morning Bible Study…and with personal friends. I feel that the Lord is calling me to go to the August 22-23 Men at the Cross week end at the Toyota Center…to become a mentor of a man for the next 6 months…to encourage men to go with me in to the August week end…to ask the Lord to show me who He wants me to mentor for 6 months…to pray that the Lord touches hearts of men that I have talked to with a desire to go to the August week end and to feel a call from the Lord to mentor another man. This all happened just at the time we decided to focus on prayer and start the 2819 team.

Blessings and Joy
Fred Tonn
Elder

2819 Club

How awesome it is to have established a group such as the 2819 Club to explore - through prayer and fellowship - what God wants us to do in the area of outreach. I look forward each Sunday morning (10:50-11:09) coming together with my fellow St. Mark members and pray for even more to become involved.

Thank you to all who have joined us thus far.

In His Service,
Ed Hardin
Elder

No Wednesday Worship Tomorrow!

This is a reminder that there will be no mid-week worship services tomorrow, Wednesday, May 28, due to Kindergarten Graduation in the morning and Eighth Grade Graduation in the evening.

Mid-week services will resume the following week, Wednesday, June 4, at the normal times of 12:00 noon and 7:00 p.m.

Funeral Announcement for ROBERT BEISERT & BILL FENSKE

TRANSCRIPT OF PHONETREE MESSAGE THAT WAS CALLED OUT ON SUNDAY, MAY 11, 2008:

--
Good morning.

This is Pastor Scott Heitshusen of St. Mark Lutheran with some important news and announcements.

Our loving Heavenly Father has called two of His children to Himself in Heaven this past week; both long-time St. Mark members.

On Thursday, May 8, the Lord called Robert Beisert, husband of Alice, Home. Two days later, on Saturday, May 10, He also called Bill Fenske Home.

Visitation for Robert Beisert will be tonight, Monday evening, May 12, from 5:00-8:00pm at Memorial Oaks funeral Home at I-10 and Elderidge. The funeral will be tomorrow, Tuesday, May 13, at 10:00am at St. Mark.

Visitation for Bill Fenske will also be tomorrow, Tuesday evening, May 13, from 5:00-8:00pm at Waltrip funeral home on Campbell and Westview. The funeral service will be at St. Mark on Wednesday, May 14, at 10:00am at St. Mark.

Internment from both Robert and Bill will take place at Memorial Oaks Cemetery at I-10 and Eldridge.

Please keep the families in your prayers during this difficult time, reminding them of the resurrection of Christ.

Also, please be reminded that today, Monday, May 12, at 7:00pm, St. Mark has it’s annual voters’ meeting in the sanctuary.

God bless and have a blessed day in Christ, our Resurrection and our Life.

Service with a Smile

On Saturday, May 3, several members of one of St. Mark's Joy Groups* showed up at The Arbor School on Blalock, just north of Memorial Assistance Ministries. (Yes, this is the same school which has two classes of their students meeting at St. Mark.)

The task? Mostly painting and cleaning.

The group worked on the "curb appeal" for some of the buildings but also did some deep cleaning of some of the equipment and decking.

It was a wonderful example of living for Christ and living in Christ! This type of service was a deep blessings to many. It allows for others to see how we are "blessed to be a blessing." It allows for others to witness the joy we have in Jesus, our Savior. And, of course, it lets our community know that we at St. Mark care.

On a personal note: Jennifer and I thank each of you there from the bottom of our hearts, too!

In God's service and yours,
Pastor Scott


*"Joy Groups" are St. Mark's small group ministries. Let us know if you would like to join one and we'll get you "plugged-in!" The group mentioned here includes the following families: Helmkamp, Mater, Zoch, Marrs, and Heitshusen.

The 2819 Club

We are excited to share with you information on the “2819 Club.” (So called because it references Matthew 28:19.)

St. Mark’s congregational outreach prayer remains:

"Lord God, give us direction in how we may service our community, proclaiming Christ as Lord of all."

The St. Mark community may join the 28:19 Club in praying:

"Lord, what do you want your people at St. Mark to do to touch people with the love of Jesus Christ? We know that the Lord will show us the center of his will if we pray and listen for his plan for us."

The following website, stmarkhouston.blogspot.com, provides information about this and other St. Mark efforts and events. (Select the “2819_Club” label along the left-hand side of the blog.)

In addition, you may submit items from your prayer and meditation with the Lord on that blog for others so that they, too, may be edified by what the Lord is saying to you. (Go to that same website, stmarkhouston.blogspot.com, and select the “Help” label on the left for instructions.)

Every Sunday between Bible study and second service at least 28 people will be gathering together for 19 minutes to seek the Lord’s guidance and direction answering the question:

What do you want your people at St. Mark to do to touch people with the love of Jesus Christ?

Please join the 28:19 Club for time of prayer and listening from 10:50–11:09 each Sunday in the Music Room upstairs (Room 220) starting May 4th. Our time together will be facilitated by either Fred Tonn, Frank Radtke, or Ed Hardin.

And if you cannot join the 28:19 Club each week, please pray individually or with friends that the Lord will guide you and our congregation towards a service that proclaims “Jesus Christ is Lord of all!”

Help! How Do I Use This?

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St. Mark Lutheran Church & School
1515 Hillendahl Blvd.
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www.stmarkhouston.org


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FURTHER NOTES ON SUBMITTING POSTS:

With regards to post submissions, please be aware that all submissions must be approved by a staff moderator before they will be posted. Due to other job functions by all staff moderators, reviews and postings may take several days before (and if) they appear. Some items submitted may not fit into the goal of the blog or for St. Mark's ministry, therefore, not all posts will be approved for posting. St. Mark alone will determine which submissions are appropriate for sharing in this manner. It may also be the case where, upon further consideration, a submission was posted but is later removed. In addition, some posts are so good as to be shared in other ways and in other venues. (For example, an item on "Prayer" may reappear [properly cited] in a newsletter article.) Unless otherwise specified by the author, these other vehicles of communication are assumed to be acceptable. We will, of course, endeavor to clarify these other avenues with the author prior to other use. The author of any post may, at any time, request removal of their post and St. Mark will strive to respond as soon as possible.

SOLI DEO GLORIA!! ("To God Alone Be The Glory!")

In Christ's service and yours,
The Rev. Scott E. Heitshusen