Deacons are part of God's plan to advance his Word through us. They ensure our testimony as a church equals the testimony of the Scriptures...that our walk and talk match up. As Pastor Eric has said, "We need to repent of our preoccupation with growth management practices and go back to the Bible. When the church grows and her ministries get stretched, God's says elect deacons, not adopt better business practices."

The pastors have nominated Les Card as candidate for the office of Deacon.

Les continues to be a wonderful gift to our church, and whether or not he becomes our first deacon we thank God for Les. He's part of a wonderful company of friends upon whose shoulders the Lord is establishing Sovereign Grace Church. 

Please submit your input before June 23, 2014.

As per our constitutional documents, you have 14 days to provide the pastors written feedback regarding this nomination. We strongly encourage every church member to participate in the phase of the ordination process. You won't be prohibited from participating later, but now is the time for you to speak affirmations and concerns.

During the ordination process, members of the church are asked and given opportunity to submit in writing their observations, affirmation, or critique of the man in question. This is not to propagate gossip and slander, but to allow opportunity to stop the process if there is information the pastors lack in evaluating the man. Additionally, affirmation will help confirm the selection of the candidate. Such feedback is an important opportunity for the congregation to assist in the ordination process.

Qualifications for the office of deacon.

Contact information for the pastoral team.

Thanks in advance for your participation. We'll keep you updated as we proceed.

I (Pastor Eric) just returned from a week away with Pastor Mike and our Church Intern David. We were participating in a denominational meeting in Phoenix.

While there, we spent lots of time enjoying fellowship and fun with leaders from all over the Southwest. These are good men and dear friends and I left more convinced than ever of the advantages of our partnership with Sovereign Grace Churches.

But you know what's better?

Having friends to come home to.

My house will be full of all kinds of people tonight. Some are leaders. Some are new believers. Some had bad weeks. Some received bad news while I was gone. I'd bet half of them won't even feel like coming tonight.

That's what makes my Small Group so good.

We are a group of friends committed to helping friends "consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you [we] may not grow weary or fainthearted." (Hebrews 12:3 ESV)

My group helps me not grow weary and fainthearted.

For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.” (Matthew 25:35-40 ESV)

Benevolence exists to extend mercy so that God might be glorified and the nations be saved.

God delights in His benevolent nature. He is kind, gracious, generous, patient, and loving. He is unrelenting in his care for us, and we are called to do the same with others.

To help us better administrate our Benevolence Ministry (and our Benevolence Fund), our pastors and the Church Finance and Law Committee have developed a set of policies and procedures. You can view them here.

What can you do?

1. Ask God to lead us to the hurting, needy, and broken.
2. Ask people how you can help them. Use this handout to lead people to resources.
3. Give to our Benevolence Fund.

Our very own Alex Reyes is preaching this Sunday. He's been a member of the church for a few years and you can read more about his story here. And here!

The Forgiveness of Sin

Psalm 51

Thanks for being a church called to train and deploy new preachers. Alex is a current member of our Preachers Club.

The April youth event was a picture scavenger hunt. The youth were set loose in Old Town Orange and Chapman University. They were on a mission to explore the city we minister in. They had fun looking for Chapman students, beards, antique shops, and baristas. Check out some of the photos from the scavenger hunt here. 

A little over a year ago, Nate Adam proposed we begin offering an adult Sunday School class. Most of us (our leaders, members, and regular attenders) had never been part of a church that did this kind of thing. Sunday School was for the old school (pardon the pun). Getting up early is hard. This is the kind of thing church people do. Who knew it would turn into what it is today?

Three cheers for old things made new.

How cool is this?! We're hosting a Songwriters Camp in Orange County with Steve and Vikki Cook this summer.

Songwriters Camp 2014

Sovereign Grace Music is co-sponsoring the event and the whole thing is synced with WorshipGod 2014.

Space is limited and you have jump start on registration. Do it quick. We'd love to see every writer in our church equipped to use their gifts for God's glory.

Learn more and register here.

Praise God for His power to save and reconcile us to Himself and one another. We see God at work among our church and city and we are encouraged. Can we get an amen?!

Deacon Nominations

Now seems like the right time to establish a Deaconate Ministry. We won't know for sure until that first deacon is ordained, but we're definitely experiencing the signs of a church in need of a deacon or two. To this end, our pastors have asked all church members to engage in a process that should take 4-6 months. It's not a contest and we won't be taking a vote. However, we believe God will use the entire body to identify and support our future deacons.

Here are four things you can do:

1. Review our Deaconate Ministry Paper. It explains the qualifications of a deacon and the process of selecting and ordaining one.
2. Review this article and sermon on the purposes of deacons. This explains why we should want deacons and the difference they would make in our church community.
3. Pray for wisdom. As we progress, we'll provide you with more specifics. For now, we need men who agree to be assessed.
4. Fill out the form below. You must be a church member and you are welcome to submit more than one name. Please keep in mind that this is not an election and your nomination is a recommendation, not a vote. All submissions will be kept confidential (pastors only).