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Feb 7

State of the Communion: 2011, Part 2

2011 | by Trent Hunter | Category: Administrative

Update: Click here for Part 1, Part 3, and here for the 2010 Highlight Video.

This post is the second in a series of three posts highlighting some of what God did at Desert Springs Church in 2010. The full report is also available for download in case you’d rather print it off and read it in one sitting.

What follows is a report about the Redemption Church, Rio Rancho church plant, a financial update, and a review of this year’s Christmas Store.

Redemption Church, Rio Rancho, Carlos Griego

This past year Desert Springs Church became a church that plants churches. The first of these churches to be planted will be in Rio Rancho, NM. This young church plant has in some ways already formed an identity of its own, if not at least a name, Redemption Church. The vision of Redemption is to be a church that brings the message of redemption through Jesus Christ to the people of Rio Rancho, as well as to seek to display the work of redemption in all parts of life, such as work, marriage, and parenting, to name a few. Redemption is also in the candidate phase of being part of the Acts 29 church-planting network. This network includes like minded pastors who seek to see lives transformed by Jesus and continue to plant churches. Redemption will be led by the lead pastor, Carlos Griego, who has been on staff at DSC for 3 1/2 years serving as the minister over The Well, the young adult ministry, as well as the Men’s ministry. Over the next year we are praying for 40 adults to become part of Redemption’s core group ready to establish this new church early in 2012.

Financial, Ron Giese

As we ended the month of January, we closed out the first third (4 months) of our fiscal year with a deep sense of gratitude. You may have noticed from the bulletin that in late fall we were, at times, as much as $20K in the red in anticipated giving (which is what our budget is based on). December ended up, thankfully, being a very good, “catch-up” month. This allowed us to start January at an “even” status.

Running a church financially is not fundamentally different than running a home or apartment. When we take in less through giving, we cut back on spending. But we do not cut back in areas like missions. We’ve also had a lot of help in the past six months from people donating time, talents, equipment, and even monies in designated giving above and beyond their regular giving.

Christmas Store, Carolyn Rush

Your generosity and love for those in need showed Christ’s love to many through our many annual Christmas stores.  Over 3,000 items were collected this year for the six Christmas stores that were set up here in Albuquerque and the Navajo reservation.  Over 200 of you served by coming by the church to sort gifts, or by attending a Christmas Store. The Christmas store has so many purposes, it provides gifts for parents to get the joy of giving at Christmas to their children, and it allows us to share the love of Christ through giving because of His great grace and giving to us.  When asked by one woman that was going through the store, “Why do you do this for us? I would not have had anything to give to my children if it were not for your generosity,” I was able to say because of God’s great love for us, He gave us the gift of His son to bear the wrath for ours sins, we in turn are to show love to others. The Christmas Store serves as a launching pad to be on mission throughout the year in our community and beyond. Each of these stores has allowed us the opportunity to continue to serve throughout the year in some capacity.

Several years ago after attending a Christmas Store at Steamboat on the Navajo Reservation, Astraea and Leonard Duran of DCS approached the church and asked if they could help start a VBS out at Steamboat by offering to bring supplies, resources, and people to train the people their at Bethel Baptist to do VBS. We have now gone to assist and equip them and in the next few years we believe we can move on to start a VBS at Lukachukai and equip them in starting a VBS. The church in Steamboat is now seeing new families coming to church that would not have stepped into the church in the past. Being on mission to share the good news of the gospel must be done daily with our own neighbors and co-workers and unsaved families, as well as further into our community and beyond. The Christmas Store allows us the joy to partner with other believers in sharing the love of Christ.

Click here for Part 1 in this year’s State of the Communion blog series.