Hi everyone! I would like to share a few things with you about our Hispanic Churches and the Hispanic Retreat as well. Enjoy the video of our Hispanic Retreat in July.

Hispanic Church Planting Training

In February of this year, we started a Hispanic Church Planting Training, provided by the Bible League International. This training will be completed on November 3rd and already we are seeing very good results for the Central Pacific District.

Since we start this training total of 9 new leaders are working in 9 different cities with groups of people which are growing every day. We are praying that these 9 new home groups will become 9 new church plants for the Glory of God!

I want to personally invite you to this year’s PREACHERS, School of Story, Voice & Culture. In my own preaching journey, I’ve realized how helpful and healthy it’s been to surround myself with other preachers. Preaching can be lonely and the truth is, we are much stronger together. So we decided to host a gathering to bring strength, friendship and courage to a family of PREACHERS. We’ve invited some of our friends and world class communicators to help us make this happen. If you’re ready to grow your preaching gift and strengthen your preaching voice, join us this November! Thirty students, three days, on purpose. 

Let’s go!

Nathan Edwardson

At Council this year, I purchased A.B.: The Unlikely Founder of a Global Movement, by David Jones. I started reading it by the pool in Orlando and had almost finished it by the time the plane landed back in Sacramento. It is worth reading for those of us in the CM&A family.

It’s so exciting to see when an influential leader has an “Ah-ha moment”! As we, the CPD, become more and more aware of the opportunities around the world to bring Gospel access to people who have never heard the name Jesus, my prayer is that we would engage these opportunities head-on with enthusiasm and generosity. I hope you enjoy another “eye-opening” update from our recent Vision Trip to Mexicali. Happy reading….

To the ends of the earth,

Tim Agnello

Recently, Brentwood Neighborhood Church, Trinity Alliance Church, and Price Chapel went on a Vision Trip to Mexicali. The story is from Sergio Gonzalez of Brentwood Neighborhood Church:

Hello! I wanted to share with you our experience at the Mexicali Base. We were a group of 12 people that came from churches in Redding, Utah, and of course, right here in Brentwood, CA.  

We all met at the airport in San Diego and after a quick lunch got into our rental vans and headed to Mexicali. As we drove past city after city heading further inland, the landscape went from luscious green rolling hills to high and dry mountain range full of boulders that transitioned to a flat low-lying desert terrain. Once we arrived in Mexicali, we then proceeded to drive to the outskirts of town where the Base is located.

Mexicali Base

The Mexicali Base is all about building relationships with ministries that will partner with the local churches. Our approach is not to have a ministry come with a “Look what I can do” enabling approach, but rather a “Look what WE can do“ team-building relationship. 

Think of someone who you would describe as a leader. Right away, you’re going to think of all the people you know who are “leadership types.” You know, the corporate heads and movers and shakers. The fact is, just because you’re a mover and a shaker, and you have all sorts of abilities to really get direction and go with it, doesn’t mean that you’re someone through whom the spirit of God can give direction to the church.

Dr. Roy Price has many years of experience pastoring in the C&MA. Many of us have known him for years, and have benefited from his knowledge and wisdom. A favorite preaching topic of his over the years has been the book of Romans. Now he has written a compilation of those messages in a format that can be well-used as a study guide for small groups, or even an up-to-date practical commentary for today's preachers. If you're going to be studying the book of Romans, Roy's book is a must-have. Thank you Roy for being a great example of how God continues to use us over the long haul! 

Alliance Redwoods Environmental Science Scholarship has been set up to help transform the lives of underprivileged children and at-risk youth from local public schools.

Outside of his love for God and his family, Wayne Hoag's greatest love is for the Body of Christ. For forty-one years he has been a shepherd of God's flock. From June, 1991 until June, 2017 he served as the Senior Pastor of Sierra Bible Church in the mountain town of Truckee, California. As he continues to serve Sierra Bible Church as one of its teaching pastors, it is also Wayne’s desire to further develop and expand his writing and speaking ministry in regards to The One Another Project.

Recently we celebrated the Fourth of July, Independence Day, a day to celebrate our freedoms. Specifically, the freedom from tyranny, the imposition of government mandates without the input from the governed. The failure to recognize one’s God-given rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

We come across great articles and insights from writers, leaders, pastors and others sharing their passions and perspectives on topics of faith, discipleship, spiritual growth, and much more. Some articles we share regularly on our blog, and many others speak to us in one way or another. Whether it’s a current event, hot topic in the district, or something that relates to a personal season of life, we’d like to share the articles below with you that came across our inboxes during the last few months or so. 

As we’ve been talking about the gifts of the spirit, it reminds me of the man who bought an old VW camper. It was supposed to be blue and white, but the paint was oxidized and there were several gray primer blemishes. The engine wasn’t much good either, so he replaced it with a Corvair engine.