Resurrection Life Church | 1 OUR CHURCH
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Resurrection Life Church | 1 OUR CHURCH ABOUT US When talking about what we believe, you’ll often hear us say “Real God, Real People.” But, what’s that all about? We believe in a very real God, real in the sense that He wants to be involved in our everyday life. In fact, He wants to be more than involved, He wants to be the center around which our lives revolve so that He can lead us into the purpose-filled lives that He created us to live. As a church family, we think it’s essential to be real in the way that we relate to each other. If we wear a mask, we can never form authentic relationships with people. Masks can’t relate. OUR VISION 1. To preach the Word without compromise in love and humility and to prepare God’s people for the work that He created them to do. 2. To worship God in spirit and in truth, not as learned through tradition but as taught through the Word of God. 3. To minister to the children and youth whom God has placed in our trust. 4. To reach the nations of the world through missions. 5. To see people changed as we align our lives to the Word of God and engage in authentic, transformational relationships in the context of small groups. NEWSLETTER It feels good to be in the know! Sign up for our newsletter and we’ll make sure all the good stuff ends up in your inbox. Don’t worry, we will never send you an email you don’t want or share your information with anyone outside of our church office team. In other words, your email is safe with us. To sign up for our weekly newsletter, go to rockfordres.org/subscribe. 1 | | Summer Summer Guide Guide 2019 2019 THE PASTOR The guy you see on the stage after worship is Pastor Doug. So, who is this guy and why is he so crazy and exuberant? GREAT QUESTION! The son of a Christian Reformed pastor, Doug grew up the oldest of 8 children with God-fearing parents who instilled in him a deep knowledge of the scriptures and a love for Christ. After some wild teen years filled with sports, motorcycles, and hitchhiking across the country, he came to terms with the direction of his life and fully committed his life to Christ. He became very involved in starting and leading a large local youth ministry. During this time, Doug’s father left the CRC and started Maranatha ministries in Grandville Michigan. Doug became the worship leader for that church, and it is here that he started to build and develop his Bible teaching skills in life groups and in their services. He then attended Christ for the Nations Institute in Dallas, Texas. At Christ for the Nations, he met Barb, who was the Assistant Dean of Women. He and Barb were married in 1976 and went on to have 5 children. In 1997, the whole family’s world was rocked with a fatal car accident which took the lives of both Barb and their youngest daughter, Joanna (as well as the family dog). Through this tragedy, God has used Doug to be an instrument of grace and a pillar of faith to those who have witnessed his response through this difficult time. Doug continued to be steadfast in his faith, while wrestling with the changes in his life. Navigating this new adventure with God’s guidance, it led him to meet Caryn at Resurrection Life Church in Grandville. There are some quite hilarious stories about their courtship, but suffice it to say that he ultimately won the heart of Caryn. He and Caryn were married in 2000. God has blessed the two of them with a miracle son, Carter, who was born in 2008. So where does all Doug’s excitement and passion come from? He would tell you it is his response to God’s amazing grace working in his life. Doug explains it this way: “He took me when I was worthless, just the way I was, and saved me. Then He transformed me and called me to the ministry of blessing others and teaching people how to walk in His grace. There is nothing more fulfilling than seeing a person find the true purpose and destiny that God has for them and begin to walk in it.” It is the hope and prayer of Doug and Caryn that you will see and feel God’s Grace working in our Christian community and that you too will see and find all God has for you. Resurrection Life Church | 2 NEXTGEN NextGen Ministries is the umbrella under which each other, their leader, and God in meaningful all ministries from birth through young adults ways. We begin small groups in preschool and are synchronized so that each is complimenting continue them until they graduate. the other and building with the end in mind. Our goal is to see the family unit partnering with the We have a team of people working with kids church to have a greater impact. in every phase that recognize distinctive opportunities and help to leverage them to Each time we see your child, we want them to influence their future. We see this partnership experience the love of God. We’ve found that with the church and family as a major component the small group model helps kids connect with in developing kids’ relationships with God. CHILDREN’S MINISTRY ROCKFORDRES.ORG/CHILDREN The primary strategy of 6 weeks to 1st grade is group interaction as well as a chance to give to EMBRACE their physical needs; this will give through offerings. We then provide you with them a first impression of a heavenly Father. resources to continue to build upon what was The strategy for the group of kids from 2nd - 5th taught through a “parent cue” when teachable grade is to ENGAGE their interest; it provokes moments arise at home. knowing God personally. These kids are primarily motivated by fun! We take both of these into We look forward to partnering with you in your account when working on our weekly lessons. child’s learning process. We are continually adding ways to do this. Please check out our Every week in Children’s Ministry, kids website, the counter at check-in, and like us on will experience engaging dramas, media, facebook to make sure you have all the latest worship, and different forms of intentional information on what is happening. 3 | Summer Guide 2019 IGNITE ROCKFORDRES.ORG/IGNITE We want to inspire and equip Jr. and Sr. High students to develop a faith of their own. We help them pursue authentic faith and discover a personal mission that will take them into adulthood. SUNDAY — Jr. High WEDNESDAY NIGHTS — Jr. and Sr. High (6th - 8th grades) (6th - 12th grades) Jr. High meets in Room 10 Service time: 6:30 - 8:30 pm for a time of worship and a Format of the night: relevant message during every Jr. High small groups, 6:30 - 7 pm service — 9 am, 10:30 am, Service (combined), 7 - 8 pm 12 noon. We look forward to Sr. High small groups, 8 - 8:30 pm seeing you there! Students engage in a high-energy service full of relevant and SUNDAY — Sr. High applicable content from the Word. We strive to mobilize our (9th - 12th grades) youth by providing opportunities to serve inside and outside Sr. High meets in The Lounge the church. during all three morning services — 9 am, 10:30 am, and 12 noon. ELEVATE YOUNG ADULTS ROCKFORDRES.ORG/ELEVATE We are excited about our young adult We’ll gather each week to enjoy coffee and ministry, Elevate, for ages 18 - 25. This snacks, while engaging in discussion together. ministry focuses on bringing young adults closer to God with worship and the Word in an atmosphere where everyone feels welcome and has a chance to connect. Resurrection Life Church | 4 FX ROCKFORDRES.ORG/FX The Family Experience (FX) is designed to This season’s FX will take place on May 4. create an environment where the whole family Doors open at 4:30 pm and the show starts at can learn and laugh with one another. 5:30 pm. FX is open to the public and anyone can show up. FX uses relevant skits, media, praise and worship to present God’s truths and character Be sure to bring friends and family to this fun to kids. event. We will feature free food, and lots of fun activities between 4:30 - 5:30, leading up to the show. 5 | Summer Guide 2019 LIFE GROUPS ROCKFORDRES.ORG/LIFEGROUPS Let’s face it, we weren’t designed to go will be a great way to do life together in the through life alone. The relationships we community at Rockford Res. have with others can transform our lives. Life Groups are a great way to make a large Study based groups will center around specific church feel small and by using our expanded areas of interest from topical studies to life group model, we hope to encourage more discipleship programs. Study groups are a great of our church family to attend by offering way to take your next steps in your walk with groups that include a wider variety of interests. Jesus as you learn and delve into God’s Word Remember, we have activity-based groups, in a small group format. study-based groups and as always, sermon- As usual, sermon groups will be discussing based groups available.