revkevjr Christianity, Church, Discipleship, Faith, Fellowship, Friendship, Jesus, Journey, Ministry, Poetry, Prayer, Small Groups, Student Ministry, Youth Ministry

A Prayer For Small Groups

Tonight is small groups night for our students, and it got me thinking about this little poem I wrote a few years ago, which is my prayer for small groups.

Father, today as our small group meets
I pray that each person will feel your heartbeat
May they know they are special, they’re cared for, they’re loved
Your kingdom come, on earth as above

Our time together, though not long only short
May it seed true communion with You in our hearts
Help us see Your image inside of each other
Teach us what it means to truly love one another

Away from the big, the loud, the flash
Just a few of us here to share and to laugh
To discuss Your Word, to share and go deeper
To talk real life and be our brother’s keeper

Praying for one another as we journey through life
May we encourage each other to reflect Your light
Let us always be inclusive, welcoming, warm
A safe place for all in the midst of life’s storms

Lord we all come from a myriad of places
Give us wisdom and kindness and grace and patience
Thank you for unity in the midst of diversity
Make us one in Christ, true Christian community

Bless those abundantly who have opened their home
Upon their house, God we pray Your Shalom
May it be filled with laughter, with joy, and with vision
In return for their giving, God we pray Your provision

And let us, O Lord, never ever forget
That there’s someone else out there who has yet to connect
Your eyes and your mouth to see and invite
That not one, O Lord, would be alone in the fight

It’s a mystery to me why they seem to be Your preference
But amazingly in the end small groups make a great big difference
Life on life, Jesus you modeled it back then
So I’ll do the same, in Jesus name, Amen.

– Kevin Mahaffy, Jr.

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My Prayer Today … Is it Yours?

Woke up with this song swirling around in my heart. It’s my prayer today.

revkevjr Book Review, Christianity, Church, Fellowship, Jesus, Kindness, Ministry

Why Nobody Wants to Go to Church or Be Around Christians Anymore …

My friends Thom and Joani Schults have a passion for Jesus and a desire to see His Church become all He intends it to be. Yet, through their decades of ministry, they have witnessed the steady decline of the Church in America and were concerned enough to investigate why so many people were turned off by Christians and why so many local churches were shriveling up and even closing. Through their extensive research, including not just surveys, but actually getting out on the street and talking with real people and hearing real stories, they identified a number of root causes for this sad phenomenon. But rather than allowing the depressing news to bring them down, they were able to hear within people’s stories some patterns which offered a ray of hope for a way forward. In their excellent books Why Nobody Wants to Go to Church Anymore and Why Nobody Wants to be Around Christians Anymore they set forth what they call 4 Acts of Love that will make your church irresistible, and your personal faith magnetic. Their Jesus-centered approach to rebuilding the Church and seeing it not only survive but thrive is simple, practical, and something every church leader, and indeed, every Christian should give serious consideration to. Get their books today! Here’s a trailer for their documentary When God Left the Building as well. Definitely a film you should watch (do it as a church staff!).

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Jr. High NYC Mission Day 4

This morning we had breakfast at 7:30am. Christina led our group devotions. After cleaning up, we headed to the subway at 8:30am bound for lower Manhattan during rush hour. e were packed in like sardines! We arrived at the Bowery Mission at 9:30am and were given a tour of this incredible ministry which is 135 years old. We then got to work sorting donated food items and stocking the food room, breaking down cardboard boxes, and sweeping and mopping. We had a short break to eat lunch which doubled as a training on how to serve our guests when they arrived for lunch. We then settled into

our positions and served lunch to 150 people – many of them homeless. It was a great joy to honor these people as guests of the Bowery mission and serve them in the name of Jesus with kindness and smiles. After cleaning up we said goodbye about 2:30pm and headed off for our fun time. We went to Little Italy and Chinatown to buy souvenirs, then we went uptown to Rockefeller Center where we went to the Top of the Rock and enjoyed a crystal clear view of the city from 70 stories high. We took the train back to Living Waters, arriving about 8pm, and had dinner. It has been a really great trip! We look forward to our final night together, and then packing up and heading home tomorrow. Thank you for your prayers.

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Jr. High NYC Mission Day 3

This morning after breakfast Griffyn led us in devotions, sharing several Proverbs with us that talk about caring for those in need. We then got to work here around Living Waters. Our team was able to accomplish a lot of things that needed to get done around the church. We mopped the entire basement, four flights of stairs, fixed about 40 chairs in the sanctuary, washed 4 refrigerators, cleaned the stove, fixed some lights, stocked toilet paper and paper towels, and vacuumed the dormitories.

After some quiet time to do devotions, journal, and reflect, we had a brief time to relax, then at 5:30pm we jumped on the train and headed down to Brooklyn Tabernacle for their Tuesday night prayer service. Thanks to one of my friends who is a pastor at BT and were able to sit down in 6th row. It was a service in which probably 2,000 people were gathered to pray and worship, and it was a great experience for our team to not only observe another church, but to participate in praying for the needs of people all around the world.

After the service we took the A train down to the Brooklyn Bridge and had pizza at the world famous Grimaldi’s. Over dinner we talked about things students should be looking for in a church when they are older and need to make such a decision. We also debriefed our day, and Kristen led us in a devotional. It was another fruitful day for our team.

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Jr. High NYC Mission Day 2

This morning John Long made our team a delicious breakfast of eggs, hash browns, and grits. Josiah was the first student up, and he led our morning devotions, sharing from Romans 1. At 9am we left and boarded the train and headed up to the Hunts Point section of the Bronx. We met up with Pastor Reggie and Ibelsa Stutzman and Real Life Church in the projects outside of one of the buildings their church has “adopted” to show God’s kindness to and see the people come to know Jesus. A few of us walked up and down 6 flights of stairs several times announcing “Free coats and shoes” to the tenants. In spite of the temperature of 9 degrees (the wind made it feel like -6 degrees!), we set up tables in front of the building right out on the street and gave away 200 coats, pairs of shoes, and Bibles to people. After cleaning up we took a few remaining coats to a shelter and donated them, then we took our team for some authentic Mexican food. Want to know just how cold it was? The water in the toilet at the restaurant was frozen! Wow! So proud of our students that even in this bitter cold they were willing to go out on the streets and show people the love of Jesus!
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Is Christianity Too Narrow

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Winter Fest 2015 SRC Students Group Pic

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Youth Winter Fest 2015 Recap Video #YWF15

Youth Winter Fest 2015 was absolutely incredible! It was awesome having 16 churches together in one place to meet with God and grow in our relationships. Best of all, we have heard stories of dozens of students who made decisions to make Jesus the leader of their lives, and that is what it is all about! Our theme this year was Honor, and our speaker Lamont O’Neil challenged us to be men and women who honor God in all we say and do. We had a great time of worship with Mitch Parks, Daniel Bashta, and the Fellows. We also experienced a powerful time of ministry by the Nubian Gents and Feminine Fire – the ministry Lamont O’Neil started 20 years ago to mentor and disciple students. Many reports have been coming in about the impact our morning seminars had on them. The three seminars were on Honoring God in our media habits, Honoring God through music, and Honoring God in our relationships. The prayer room was also a major hit with students. And, of course, we had tons of fun on Saturday playing football, table games, hanging out in the snack shop and playing volleyball, basketball, and dodgeball tournaments. Everyone’s already asking about next year. Here’s the recap video. Enjoy! #YWF15

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Revelation: Jesus is the Alpha and Omega