Great To Be Back From Western New York!

Had a great time with our Ridgestudents & Brian Green at Circle C camp in New York! We were able to spend some time with our former worship & student Pastor Milo Wilson, Erin, and the girls. I was able to break away from camp Sunday morning and worship at The Well Church in Buffalo. It was exciting to see what God is doing there! So glad our church is able to partner financially to help this new church be a bridge of God's love to the wonderful people in the Buffalo area.

I want to say a big THANK YOU for the incredible gift I received when I returned. Pictured above is CJ & Shaneki Cauble's van we used for the trip. When I returned their van Tuesday I told CJ I had the oil changed and had his van washed and vacuumed. I was proud of myself. CJ then walked me over to my car and said, "Well, let me tell you what we had done for your car." I was in shock! Thank you for my new tires, my CV axle joints replaced, an oil change, and a good car wash. I understand the Growth Groups took up a collection. I can't thank you enough for your blessing! I serve such a wondeful church!

Again, so glad to be back as we continue our Bod For God series. We have some great worship services lined up in the coming weeks and months. Very excited about what God is doing at Ridgeview!

See you Sunday!

Daryl Hopkins To Speak This Sunday

I'm excited to have Daryl Hopkins, family life minister at Taylors First Baptist Church. Daryl is an expert in the area of health and fitness. He has been helping people in this area for a number of years. The last seven years he has been leading the family life center at TFBC. Most imporantly, Daryl loves the Lord and will share how taking care of our bodies will further enable you to pursue the purpose God has for your life. You will be blessed!

 

I would appreciate your prayers for me, Brian Green, Brice Green, & Spencer King as we head to our student retreat to Circle C Camp near Buffalo, New York this Thursday through Monday. We have a smaller number going but we are looking forward to growing closer to the Lord and to one another.

 

See you soon!

A Super Sunday!

What a wonderful day we had last Sunday! It was a pleasure to have Phil and Amy Parham and hear their weight loss story. They gave us hope that we all can win in the weight loss battle. Much work went into Sunday. Special thanks go to Brian and Kathy Green who provided the smoked chicken for us to enjoy. An employee of Blue Ridge High who ate lunch with us Sunday said the cafeteria never smelled so good! I appreciate the work of those who helped with other capacities of the meal: setting the tables, providing the paper products, and the many of you who brought a side item. It was a great time of fellowship. Our flag football game after lunch was a blast but I confess my legs are still sore

Let me thank all of you who invited family, friends, neighbors, and co-workers to this event. We had a great crowd of 187 people! Our purpose at Ridgeview is "To be a bridge of God's love to all people so they may experience His purpose for their lives." We want a full house each week at Ridgeview, especially during this series because we know God's purpose is that people take care of their bodies and honor Him in their bodies (1 Corinthians 6:20). As I mentioned in my state of the church address two weeks ago we must work hard, pray hard, and ask God shower His growth and His momentum on our church. Let's keep at it! God is blessing!

Special Guest Interview This Sunday
Dr. Ernest Carswell, Former Pastor Of Taylors First Baptist
And Heart Surgery Survivor

I am looking forward to interviewing Sunday my former Pastor, Dr. Ernest Carswell. He pastored Taylors First Baptist for 33 years and has been a model for me in ministry. I am honored that he is available to come this Sunday to Ridgeview to share his story. I could go on and on about what a great man he is, but I wanted him to share his story about how he almost lost his life. He had quadruple bypass surgery in the 1990's and almost died. After his surgery, he implemented changes in his diet and exercise that he still practices today. Lesson for us all; it is never too late! This is a don't miss event! I know his story will help many people!

See you Sunday!

Pastor Tommy

A Bod For God Message Series Begins This Sunday With

Phil & Amy Parham!

You don't want to miss this Sunday as we begin our "A Bod For God" message series. This Sunday we will kick it off with former contestants Phil & Amy Parham from NBC's "The Biggest Loser." Phil & Amy were contestants on the show in 2008. They lost over 250 pounds as a couple setting a record on the show at the time. Their lives since the show have never been the same. They now have devoted their lives to promoting health and wellness. They speak all over the country with a distinct message: God created our bodies; we need to take care of them by healthy eating and exercise choices. You can learn more about them at: www.philandamyfitness.com.

This message series is timely! So many people battle with weight issues and it affects self-esteem, energy, attitude, and it also affects their health. Obesity is becoming a national epidemic, especially among kids. Obesity related health issues range from heart disease, type II diabetes, cancers, hypertension, and stroke. We will take a biblical look at the theology of our bodies in this message series. It will also offer prescriptions for optimal health, fitness, and well-being. We will also have a companion Growth Group offered that will use Phil & Amy's book "The 90 Day Fitness Challenge" along with the corresponding DVD each week.

Let me encourage you to make it a point to be here this Sunday and each week during this series. Let me also highly encourage you to invite someone to come with you. This series can change a person's life not only physically but forever spiritually! It is an incredible opportunity tor us to build a bridge to our community. I'm dreaming that we have to set up chairs in the foyer because the auditorium is packed out. Our goal is 300 people. We can do it! Invite! Invite! Invite!

State of The Church Address This Sunday

This week President Obama gave his annual state of the union address. Millions of people will watch, listen, or read it. When you are the leader of the free world, people listen. This Sunday I will be giving our annual state of the church address. It will not garner much attention outside of our church. It most likely will not even be covered by the Greer Citizen. Nevertheless, I believe it to be important because we serve the Leader of The World, Jesus Christ. We serve in the one institution He established on earth, The Church. One day every President, Prime Minister, despot and dictator will bow the knee to Christ. We are dual citizens; citizens of the United States and citizens of heaven. We must be about our Father's business and He loves His Church! I look forward to sharing with you Sunday where we are as a church, where we're going, and the process we will employ to be about the Master's orders of making disciples who make disciples.

See you Sunday!

Awakening Prayer and Fasting Week 2 Insights

I certainly hope you've made some type of commitment this week to prayer and fasting. Here are some gleanings I've gathered this week concerning prayer and fasting:

*As Jesus began His public ministry and whom He chose it came out of a time of prayer and fasting (Matthew 4:1,17)

*Esther had her people pray and fast for 3 days. She needed the favor of the king. She saw fasting as the release of favor. God opens doors and fasting paves the way for this. He's going to break through circumstances.

*Barnabas and Paul were sent out on the mission field because of a time of prayer and fasting. (Acts 13)

*Don't quit fasting when it gets tough- this is spiritual warfare.

*Through prayer and fasting you bring an extraordinary God into your ordinary circumstances. Prayer changes things. (James 5:16-17)

*D.L. Moody- "Before you see the face of men see the face of God."

*Abraham's servant fasted to find the right mate for Isaac.

*Fast about everything- it will direct your path.

*"Pray without ceasing" (1 Thessalonians 5:17). Have an ongoing conversation with God.

*Some things only change through prayer and fasting.

*Prayer connects us to God. Fasting disconnects us from the world.

*Prayer and fasting increase your faith and God responds to faith, not need.

*"No one is a firmer believer in the power of prayer than the Devil and the reason he believes in it is because he suffers from it."

*We must be persistent in our prayers- to ask and keep asking.

*If you pray prayers according to God's word and God's will He's ready to move on your behalf.

*"Draw near to God and He will draw near to you." (James 4:8)

*The same power that raised Jesus Christ from the dead is available to God's people. (Ephesians 1:17-20)

*There is a connection with fasting and insight. Daniel turned to the Lord with prayer and petition through fasting (Daniel 9:3). What do you need clarity on?

Blessings,

Pastor Tommy

Fasting for spiritual and physical health

This past Sunday I encouraged our church to embark on a 21 day time of prayer and fasting. We are joining hundreds of other churches across our land for what is a national movement known as "Awakening." That is my prayer for my life, our church, our nation; that we would see a spiritual awakening. As I shared last Sunday, fasting gets the "gunk" out. As we live out our lives, the daily grind can wear us down and we lose our passion. God wants us to live our lives for Him with passion. Romans 12:11 states, "Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord." I can't think of a better thing to do than to dedicate the first part of the year to God and drawing near to Him through prayer and fasting. We all need to start out 2011 fully alive and attuned to God's Spirit.

There are not only incredible spiritual benefits to fasting, but there are physical benefits as well. Obviously, losing weight is a natural benefit of fasting. Stoval Weems in his book "Awakening" states that when we fast "our bodies reset themselves." Also, Steve Meyerowitz in his book "Juice Fasting and Detoxification" states, "When you fast, you are on nature's operating table. The body changes hats. Instead of being in the business of receiving, processing, storing, analyzing, assimilating, discriminating, and discarding, it shifts to the job of house cleaning, removal, sanitizing, refurbishing and renewal. It is a big job and it is not without its inconveniences, especially when there is someone living in the house."

Just like our souls, the inside of our bodies needs a good spring cleaning from time to time. Fasting is a simple way of cleaning house. I encourage you if you didn't have a chance this week to pray and fast, to commit yourself to do this before we finish January 30. It will be a wonderful benefit for you spiritually and physically.

Pastor Tommy

Awakening 2011

I am looking forward to our second church wide time of prayer and fasting called Awakening. We will not be alone. Awakening is an incredible event, consisting of churches and ministries all around the world, coming together in a 21 day season of prayer, fasting and personal devotion at the beginning of each year.  Two of the main goals of the national Awakening campaign are:

• For churches and leaders to come together to pray, fast and seek God at the onset of the year .
• To inspire pastors and leaders everywhere to establish or strengthen a culture of prayer and fasting in their church or ministry.

We will officially start our 21 day prayer and fasting time on Monday, January 10 through January 30. This Sunday I will begin a 3 part message series sharing some principles I've learned about fasting. I will also hand out a resource from awake21.org that will give much information on the basics of fasting.

This year I will be embarking on a 21 day juice fast. I did that last year as well. The point is not whether you go 21 days or not; the point is that you set aside a time to renew and refresh yourself in your walk with God. Fasting allows you to clean the gunk out and "taste and see that the Lord is good" (Psalm 34:8). I look forward to starting the year off again with this time of renewal. I am praying for an awakening!

Pastor Tommy

What a great year in the life of Ridgeview Church! We baptized thirteen, gave over several thousand dollars to international missions, and continued to go about "bridging" in our community! It was great to cap off the last service of the year at the red barn where 300 people came to our Community Christmas eve service. It has been a great year!

I am so pumped about 2011! I look forward to our church wide time of prayer and fasting as we begin "Awakening" on January 9. We saw God move in our church this past year because of our obedience to the biblical practice of fasting. I can't wait to see what He does in 2011!

Bridging

Pictured above is our first Christmas Eve service in the red barn back in 2005. In the beginning stages of Ridgeview Church, I spent considerable time crafting our church's purpose statement. I have asked several people from time to time at Ridgeview to repeat it after me. They usually start out strong and then taper at the end: "Seeking to be a bridge of God's love..." I then say, "so that they may experience His purpose for their lives." I recently read a book that said if you can boil down your organization's existence to a few words or just one word, it will be far more memorable. The more I thought about Ridgeview the more the word "bridging" kept coming to mind.

Everything we do at Ridgeview is about "bridging" people to Jesus who is the bridge to God. 1 Peter 3:18 states, "For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God." Once we bridge them to Jesus we want to provide bridges of growth and service and give them opportunities to continue bridging out to others and do for others what was done for them.

I am proud of our church and how we've tried to maintain a bridging focus over these last 7 years. I have made a renewed commitment to step up our bridging efforts. It's called the Bridge 200 initiative. As Pastor, I have made a commitment to make 200 touches in our community each week myself. It's been said if you want to measure the temperature of a church, put a thermometer in the Pastor's mouth. I am excited about possibilities of what can happen in our community, in our church, and in our own lives if we make 200 bridge touches of God's love with people. We will not be the same!

We are already seeing fruit in our church because of the seeds we planting. Allow me to share some examples just from this week:

*9 kids came to Christ in our Good News Club.
*13 bridging with bread visits were made Monday night.
*13 stick signs were placed by Ridgeview volunteers in our community this week advertising our Community Christmas eve service.
*Over 300 Christmas eve invite door hangers were delivered to homes in our community.
*By Friday at 8:30 am we will have served hundreds of parents free coffee as they dropped their kids off at school.
*By Sunday after church we will have baptized at least 3 people! (13 for the year!)

I am so encouraged by the comments left on our Connection Cards this week on how our people are bridging:

"Gave a Ridgeview card and a tip to a lady at the drive through Friday."
"Shared my lunch with a co-worker."
"Met a hispanic lady whose husband had left her and she needed a twin bed. Texted my Growth Group and we are gathering items for her."
"Prayed with a lady that works at AT&T store who is suffering from depression."

In this newsletter there are some great opportunities to go about the task of "bridging." Jesus commands we go and bridge (Matthew 28:19-20). I am so blessed to partner alongside you this Christmas season in this most noble duty of bridging!

See you Sunday!