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

"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

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

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

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

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!”