Ministry Year 2020-21 Prayer & Action Goals
Introduction
Unprecedented. Uncertain. Trying. These are all words that have been commonly used to describe 2020 and the unique challenges that have come with it. Jesus knew we would experience trials in this life. In John 16:33 he said, "In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world." This years' Prayer & Action Goals are designed to help us take heart as Jesus said.
Our Word Goal has us learning from the Minor Prophets, who also lived through challenging times. From them we'll learn how to return to the Lord when facing calamity. Our Worship Goal will help us to dwell on God and the peace that he brings rather than focusing on the many and varied distractions that constantly demand our attention. Our Equip Goal will challenge us to use whatever circumstances we find ourselves in to encourage others in their walk with Christ through discipling relationships. Our Engage Local Goal will remind us to love our neighbors as ourselves in simple and practical ways. And our Engage Global Goal will expand our perspective as our prayers are directed to our former Lead Pastor and his wife as they travel among the nations and visit Global Ministry Partners during their Year-in-the-Field.
We hope that pursuing these goals along with us will help you to take heart in new ways and to be reminded that King Jesus has overcome this world and He is seated on His throne this year and every year.
Only by His grace,
Garrett Spitz
Lead Pastor
Our Word Goal has us learning from the Minor Prophets, who also lived through challenging times. From them we'll learn how to return to the Lord when facing calamity. Our Worship Goal will help us to dwell on God and the peace that he brings rather than focusing on the many and varied distractions that constantly demand our attention. Our Equip Goal will challenge us to use whatever circumstances we find ourselves in to encourage others in their walk with Christ through discipling relationships. Our Engage Local Goal will remind us to love our neighbors as ourselves in simple and practical ways. And our Engage Global Goal will expand our perspective as our prayers are directed to our former Lead Pastor and his wife as they travel among the nations and visit Global Ministry Partners during their Year-in-the-Field.
We hope that pursuing these goals along with us will help you to take heart in new ways and to be reminded that King Jesus has overcome this world and He is seated on His throne this year and every year.
Only by His grace,
Garrett Spitz
Lead Pastor
Know His Joy
Word
Hear and apply what God says in the Minor Prophets about how to live in uncertain times
Joel 2:13 "Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; and he relents over disaster."
Joel 2:13 "Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; and he relents over disaster."
- Study and discuss three of the Minor Prophets (Joel, Amos, & Obadiah) in a PCC Home Group or Bible Study
- Take notes on sermons covering all twelve of the Minor Prophets
- Watch summary videos covering each of the Minor Prophets at Bibleproject.com
- Do your own study of the Minor Prophets using helpful study guides like the Life Change studies published by NavPress or the Knowing the Bible studies put out by Crossway
- Read and journal through the Minor Prophets using ESV Scriptural Journals
- Spend time preparing yourself for Easter by memorizing key verses from the Minor Prophets during Lent
Worship
Quiet the distractions in my life in order to think deeply about the truths of God
Isaiah 25:3 "You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you."
Isaiah 25:3 "You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you."
- Take time to fast from social media, radio, television, gaming, and other distractions in order to devote that time instead to reflecting on God's Word
- Carve out time in my daily schedule for silent reflection and prayer
- Start a prayer journal
- Participate in the Monthly Day of Prayer & Fasting on the first Wednesday of every month. Add it to your calendar and pray along with the church for the different featured topic each month.
- Set up a "prayer closet" in your home--a quiet space without distractions intended for times of solitude and prayer
- Spend 10 minutes each day in December to connect with the Lord using PCC's Advent Devotional
- Spend time preparing yourself for Easter by fasting from something and memorizing key verses from the Minor Prophets during Lent
Change His World
Equip
Use my circumstances to help another believer grow closer to Jesus
1 Thessalonians 5:11 "Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing."
1 Thessalonians 5:11 "Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing."
- Commit to a discipling relationship in one of the following ways:
- Ask someone to meet with you regularly to discuss God's Word and how it applies to your lives. It can be a mentor-mentee relationship or a peer to peer accountability relationship.
- Ask someone from who is a different age or in a different stage of life out for coffee and ask to hear about how God has been at work in their life.
- Invite someone to serve alongside you in a ministry area in order encourage one another as you serve.
- Intentionally connect with someone else to talk about how your shared faith relates to a certain specific area of your lives. You can discuss faith and work, faith and finances using the Ramsey+ materials, faith and marriage, faith and childrearing, faith and politics, faith and contemporary issues, etc.
- Get equipped for discipling by reading either Mark Dever's Discipling or Melissa Kruger's Growing Together
- Look for ways to help others in the church get connected in discipling relationships with others
Engage
Local: Connect with my neighbors through simple acts of kindness.
Romans 15:2 "Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up."
Global: Travel around the world in prayer with Tom and Mabel Kenney
Colossians 4:2-3a "Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ…"
Romans 15:2 "Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up."
- Volunteer at a Serve the City Peninsula Big Volunteer Day. Go to stcpeninsula.com to find out more.
- Volunteer to serve a meal at the Peninsula Rescue Mission.
- Volunteer to help with a need with Friends of Refugees (FOR). Email the church office to find out how to get involved.
- Invite a friend, neighbor, or coworker to join you in volunteering with one of the ministries mentioned above.
- Identify a way to bless a neighbor or coworker and then do it.
- Call a neighbor or old friend. Ask how they're doing and offer to pray for them.
- Celebrate Christmas early by giving your neighbors, coworkers, or classmates a simple gift along with PCC's Advent Devotional.
- Give to the PCC Christmas Gift in order to bless others in need.
Global: Travel around the world in prayer with Tom and Mabel Kenney
Colossians 4:2-3a "Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ…"
- Sign up to receive updates from Tom & Mabel during their Year-in-the-Field
- Send an encouraging email to Tom and/or Mabel (They may not be able to respond but they'll appreciate the encouragement!)
- Pray for the Global Ministry Partners that Tom and Mabel will be visiting
- Pray that Tom and Mabel's Year-in-the-Field will be helpful for Tom's transition to a new position as Global Ministry Pastor and Director of the Fellows Program when they return
- Find out where Tom and Mabel are and spend time praying for the country that they are in using the prayer guide available at Operationworld.org.
Why Have Goals?
"I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." - Philippians 3:14
In his letter to the Philippians, Paul the Apostle declares that even he hasn't "arrived" yet and still has room to grow. He invites us to adopt the same mentality. This spiritual "pressing on" is what our yearly Prayer & Action Goals are all about at Peninsula Community Chapel.
Our church elders have identified several goals for us to pursue as a church this year. Some of these goals will excite you while others may make you say, "Ehh…" And that's kind of the point.
Your walk with God is a community project! Because of that, some of our goals will relate to things that you are already passionate about. Other goals will stretch you to take action and pray for an area or topic that you might not have that much interest in at first and that's the beauty of growing in community. When we grow together as a community, we help one another to address blind spots and areas that we could use shoring up in. None of us has "arrived" yet and we all have areas in which we need to grow. By growing together as a church family, we help to ensure that our growth is biblically balanced and nourished by other people's perspectives and experiences.
If we only pursue goals that we are already excited about, our spiritual growth will be stunted as we simply reinforce our own interests and passions. But when we grow together, we stretch ourselves to explore new areas and press on to know the Gospel's influence in every corner of our lives.
So join us this year in using these goals to guide your prayers and actions. We are excited to have you with us for this adventure!
In his letter to the Philippians, Paul the Apostle declares that even he hasn't "arrived" yet and still has room to grow. He invites us to adopt the same mentality. This spiritual "pressing on" is what our yearly Prayer & Action Goals are all about at Peninsula Community Chapel.
Our church elders have identified several goals for us to pursue as a church this year. Some of these goals will excite you while others may make you say, "Ehh…" And that's kind of the point.
Your walk with God is a community project! Because of that, some of our goals will relate to things that you are already passionate about. Other goals will stretch you to take action and pray for an area or topic that you might not have that much interest in at first and that's the beauty of growing in community. When we grow together as a community, we help one another to address blind spots and areas that we could use shoring up in. None of us has "arrived" yet and we all have areas in which we need to grow. By growing together as a church family, we help to ensure that our growth is biblically balanced and nourished by other people's perspectives and experiences.
If we only pursue goals that we are already excited about, our spiritual growth will be stunted as we simply reinforce our own interests and passions. But when we grow together, we stretch ourselves to explore new areas and press on to know the Gospel's influence in every corner of our lives.
So join us this year in using these goals to guide your prayers and actions. We are excited to have you with us for this adventure!
