Church of the Heartland – Logansport

I love these encouraging words, and I just wanted to share them with you!  Whether the world appreciates it or not…. let’s do it anyway.

Leigh Anne

People are unreasonable, illogical and self-centered.

Love them anyway.

If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives.

Do good anyway.

If you are successful, you will win false friends and true enemies.

Succeed anyway.

The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow.

Do good anyway.

Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable.

Be honest and frank anyway.

The biggest people with the biggest ideas can be shot down

by the smallest people with the smallest minds.

Think big anyway.

People favor underdogs but follow only top dogs.

Fight for the underdog anyway.

What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight.

Build anyway.

People really need help, but may attack you if you help them.

Help people anyway.

Give the world the best you’ve got and you’ll get kicked in the teeth.

Give the world the best you’ve got anyway.

This Sunday at the Logansport campus we had an awesome open mic Sunday where we heard from several members of our congregation… from singing performances to personality tests to inspiring messages – it was a great day!  We love doing life with you!  We captured some of the fun on film!

At Church of the Heartland, we are really excited about Back to Church Sunday!  We’re tired of our friends and family slipping away from God and are ready to partner with Him to get them back.  Check out the following article about Back to Church Sunday, which will be celebrated at churches across the country on September 13th, and get ready!

Congregations to invite friends, family, former members to ‘rethink church’

Church of the Heartland is gearing up for Back to Church Sunday: As millions of Americans head back to school, organizers of a new faith-based outreach campaign hope that millions more will come back to church as well.  The “Back to Church Sunday” campaign makes it easy for church members to invite their friends and family by creating a worship service specifically geared toward visitors.

The program kicks off with national “Back to Church Sunday” on Sept.13 aimed at reaching the “un-churched” and “de-churched”- people who used to go to church, but don’t any more.  The campaign is based on a simple idea. If you ask un-churched people to come with you to church-mostly likely they’ll say yes.

LifeWay Research found that 82 percent of un-churched people surveyed said that they’d be open to visit a church, if a friend or family member invited them.  Unfortunately, said Thom Rainer, president of LifeWay, few church members invite their friends and neighbors. “Only two percent of church members invite an un-churched person to church,” he says. “Ninety-eight percent of churchgoers never extend an invitation in a given year.”

While most Americans say they believe in God, and many tell pollsters that they attend church regularly, only about 20 percent of Americans actually show up in church on Sunday, according to the “The American Church in Crisis,” a recent study of church attendance.

Organizers say most people who drop out of church haven’t lost their faith in God. Instead, they fell out of the habit of churchgoing. Some moved or had another change in life circumstances, or had a falling out with their former church and simply drifted away. Most often, life simply became too busy.

That means they are open to returning to church.

“Many de-churched people are a simple re-invitation away,” says Mark Batterson, of the National Community Church in Washington, D.C.

Start praying about who YOU will invite to come back to church on September 13th!

I know that God has a plan for the youth of Logansport.  Here at Church of the Heartland, He has been stirring people’s hearts to work with youth.  Right now we a great team of adults who care about teenagers and want to connect with them, and we have teenagers who are hungry for relationships and excited about youth group.  After an amazing service with Chris Miller and a team of teens from COTH Plymouth, we’re really excited about what God has planned for the teenagers in this area who are waiting to be loved and reached with the message of hope and purpose that can be found in Jesus.  I can’t wait to for what we have coming up next!!  Write these events down on your calendars, everyone!  It’s exciting!!!!

August 6th – Don’t forget about HOGsix in Knox!!  We are meeting at the church at 4:45 so that we can all go to Knox together.  You won’t want to miss this huge bonfire with competitions, a live band, a worship service to get you fired up for school, and of course………. lots of hot dogs   Call me if you need a ride!

August 16th – Starts our six-week series of weekly meetings.  Come join us for these awesome youth meetings!!!  We are planning all kinds of exciting things for you, teenagers, and you won’t want to miss any of them!  Plus, I don’t want you to ROCK youth will meet from 2-4 on Sunday afternoons, starting on August 16th, for six weeks.

August 23rd – Canoe trip!  I’ll give you an update with the specific details on this one, but you will want to keep this Sunday open because we can’t wait to go canoeing!!!

So – teenagers, parents of teenagers, and people who know and love teenagers, these are great opportunities to invite teens you know to join us and see what life at Heartland and life as a child of God is all about.  Pray for us as we seek God about how to reach this generation!

Leigh Anne

This Sunday we had the most totally awesome youth service at our church.It was brought to us by Chris Miller and their impact team and also the youth praise and worship band from Plymouth. The reports that I have been getting from our people are so encouraging. Miss Chris brought a message that has touched the heart of God’s people with a fire to reach this generation and the next gen. to come for Christ.

A great big thank you goes to pastor Herb for giving up some of his key players on their praise and worship team and also the gift of Miss Chris.

I also would like to encourage every pastor I know to have this team minister in their churches as long as pastor Herb has the ability to release them to do so.

Thank you so much Miss Chris and the Plymouth youth for ushering the presence of God in our service today. Please don’t let the fire that burns with in you ever get quenched. Continue doing what God has purpose you to do and that is to reach this nation and others with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Jim

I just read this devotion that reminded me just how much we in the body of Christ need each other.  Don’t let the devil trick you into thinking that your gift is less important than someone else’s.  Jesus didn’t call us to be islands; he invites us to be part of his body.

No Place for Islands

by Charles R. Swindoll

Romans 15:1-7

Nobody is a whole chain. Each one is a link. But take away one link and the chain is broken.

Nobody is a whole team. Each one is a player. But take away one player and the game is forfeited.

Nobody is a whole orchestra. Each one is a musician. But take away one musician and the symphony is incomplete.

Nobody is a whole play. Each one is an actor. But take away one actor and the performance suffers.

Nobody is a whole hospital. Each one is a part of the staff. But take away one person and it isn’t long before the patient can tell.

Cars are composed of numerous parts. Each one is connected to and dependent upon the other. Even if a tiny screw comes loose and falls out of the carburetor, it can bring the whole vehicle to a stop.

You guessed it. We need each other. You need someone and someone needs you. Isolated islands we’re not. To make this thing called life work, we gotta lean and support. And relate and respond. And give and take. And confess and forgive. And reach out and embrace. And release and rely. Especially in God’s family . . . where working together is Plan A for survival.

And since we’re so different (thanks to the way God built us), love and acceptance are not optional luxuries. Neither is tolerance. Or understanding. Or patience. You know all those things you need from others when your humanity crowds out your divinity. In other words:

Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other. Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically. Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying. When God’s people are in need, be ready to help them. Always be eager to practice hospitality. (Romans 12:10-13 NLT)

Why? Because each one of us is worth it. Even when we don’t act like it or feel like it or deserve it. Since none of us is a whole, independent, self-sufficient, supercapable, all-powerful hotshot, let’s quit acting like we are. Life’s lonely enough without our playing that silly role. The game’s over. Let’s link up.

My friend Chris Miller is the youth pastor at Church of the Heartland’s Plymouth campus.  One of my favorite parts of the week is going youth group!  Chris went on the mission trip to Uganda with me, and last week at youth she spoke about living for something bigger than yourself.  She showed this video:

Her message was basically this: we were meant to live for so much more!  When we fulfill Jesus’ command to love God with all of our hearts, all of our souls, all of our minds, and all of our strength, it won’t matter to us how much stuff we have.  We won’t be competing with each other for the best cell phone or the fanciest iPod.  When we focus on loving God and caring about what He cares about, the rest of our priorities will line up. 

Like most of the teens who were listening, her words challenged me.  And I want to challenge YOU – think about what you’re living for, where you spend your time and resources, and what is most important in your life.  Do you care about what God cares about?  Let’s encourage each other to keep our hearts and minds focused on things that will matter in eternity.  Because we were meant to live for so much more….

Leigh Anne

Some very tired, very grateful missionaries arrived back in the States late Monday night.  I’m still amazed at what God did in Uganda.  Childrens’ and youth workers were empowered…. 400+ kids and 125 youth showed up at two simultaneous camps and heard the message that they were God’s treasures….. and pastors and leaders from all over the nation of Uganda attended our leadership conference.  They were blessed, encouraged, and refreshed as they went home to reach their regions with the gospel.

Our mission trip was incredible.  I will never forget the awesome children at Grace Children’s Home at the Beshiishas’ house.  Their stories and their faces have left a permanent impression.  We were blessed to spend time with Williams and Peruth in their home  and to get to know their church family, who served us tirelessly while we were visiting.

Thank you to everyone who prayed for us or supported a team member financially!  Continue to keep Williams and Peruth and their ministry in your prayers.  When we see you, we would love to tell you some Uganda stories!

This missionary is still very tired from the long journey, though… Bye for now

Leigh Anne

In Logansport, we’ve been celebrating Summer in the Heartland by dressing according to different themes.  Last week was tie dye or Hawaiian day.  Check out some Logansport people showing their spirit!

This week we honored our graduates from KWAM and nursery and our high school graduates and celebrated with cupcakes after service.  We had nine total graduates, and we are very proud of them!

Tomorrow a mission team of fourteen Heartlanders leaves for a mission trip to Uganda.  Be sure to keep them in your prayers!