Books You Must Read

For Marriage: Sacred Marriage by Gary Thomas (this is the best book on marriage ever written) and a pair of very practical books called For Men Only and For Women Only by Jeff and Shaunti Feldhann

For Leadership: Leadership and Self Deception by the Arbinger Institute (a group of highly intelligent but not-necessarily-Christian leadership gurus stumbled onto the sin nature) and The Cross and Christian Leadership by D. A. Carson (this is an exposition of 1 Cor 1-4 on Paul’s view on Christian leadership. Truly life changing.)

For Church Philosophy: Simple Church by Thom Rainer and the Deliberate Church by Mark Dever.

To Totally Energize you Spiritually: 50 Days of Heaven by Randy Alcorn. (Nothing like Heaven to give focus to your life now) and The Return of the Prodigal Son by Henri Nouwen. (All I can say is "wow." This book is breathtaking).

For a Great, intelligent but very readable interaction on hot topics: How to be a Christian in College by J. Budizewski

For Nerdy Worldview/Apologetics Stuff: The Victory of Reason by Rodney Stark and The Rise of Christianity by Rodney Stark; Creation Regained by Albert Wolters

For Evangelism Motivation: Confessions of a Reformission Christian by Mark Driscoll and Tell the Truth by Will Metzger.

I would encourage you, especially if you’re training for ministry, to read widely and with balance. Don’t read all leadership books; don’t read all theology books; don’t read all Christian books. I try to balance my reading in the following categories: 1. Biography; 2. Theology; 3. Leadership and Church Philosophy; 4. Devotional; 5. Culture and Philosophy; 6. Fiction or Historical Novels.

As John Wesley said, "Either read or get out of the ministry!"

FAMILY AND FRIENDS COOKOUT

Join us for Free food, games for the kids, jump house, facepainting, family fun and more!

How important is it to spend time together in a
positive way as a family? Scientific research on
building family strengths has shown consistently that
“working and playing together” or “spending positive
family time” or “a willingness to spend time together”
is among the most critical factors in developing
strong family ties. In addition, it is not uncommon for
a child to ask a parent to “spend some time with me”
or for a spouse to express a hope for “more time
together.” Time is the fabric of human existence and
perhaps the most meaningful gift one person can
give to another. But how do you manage to create
family time today when competing with the demands
of work, education, entertainment, or other interests?

Again,Join us Sunday, July 26, 1pm“ Where MEAT greet take on a whole new meaning!”

Church@Frankie's

It feels good to be used by God..thank you JESUS!

From Tonia M Dunn and Will Ward... off of their Facebook today... I couldn't agree more. New Jerusalem Church, you were paid one of the highest compliments last weekend that I can think of in terms of first impressions. As many of you know, we hosted the Church@Frankie’s event at the Frankie’s, Sunday.

Here’s what she said, “thank you so much for the blessing today at Frankie's. Being a single mom and with business slow, I would have not been able to afford everything today. It was truly a pleasure and I THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart!”

Here's what he said, "Pastor Yon I must say that I had a great time with the young men...watching Christian, Israel, Gillis and Jakobe interact and enjoy themselves makes my heart smile and knowing it was ALL done with God being the orchestrator and Jesus being the director and you being the facilitator made it all the more better. Thanks from my family to yours and thanks for including us in as your spiritual family. I look forward to the many great times to come."

Time Together

Families spend a great deal of time together and it is up to parents to determine just how that time is spent. Since it is so important for children to develop healthy habits parents should utilise the time that they spend with their kids encouraging exercise and active play.

Join us Sunday, June 14th, 11:00am for a day of worship in both word and fun, as part of the New Jerusalem Church@Frankie's. This event is open, and FREE, to all who are interested. Free Pizza and Games...bring your kids.
Please email your RSVP at pastoryon@yahoo.com or call the office 919-539-8492.

A VISIT TO SOUTHBRIDGE FELLOWSHIP

My wife, the launch team and I attended The Southbridge Fellowship in Raleigh this past Sunday.

Our visit was a great experience. I think that first impressions are very important when it comes to guests. Yes, some churches take “guest treatment” way too far. But I think the people at Southbridge did a great job of making us feel welcome without overwhelming us.

Speaking of first impressions…

Scott Lehr is the lead pastor at the Southbridge Fellowship. His message was titled “Recession” from Matthew 7:24-27. It was a good message-his major point was to build your life on the Rock of Jesus Christ.

New Jerusalem Church Launch TimeLine

Nov. 2008 First Launch Team Investigative Meeting
Nov. 2008 Prayer Emails Initiated (Weekly)
Nov.2008 Planning Milestone Complete
Nov.2008 Initial Launch Team Members Committed
January 2009 Lead Pastor Onboard
January 2009 Outreach Events & Service Projects Begin
January 2009 Initiate Small Group (Weekly)
January 2009 Small Groups Breakfast
February 2009 Summit Church Planters
February 2009 Acts29 Boot Camp
March 2009 Small Group Training Material
March 2009 Ed Stetzer - Pitfalls in Church Planting
March 2009 Church Visit
April 2009 Preview Launch(Easter)Brasa Restaurant
May 2009 Next Churches Seminar
May 2009 Association of Related Church ARC
May 2009 Church Visit
May 2009 Purpose Driven Church Summit Network
May 2009 SendRDU Luncheon
June 2009 Precepts for Life Training
June 2009 Advance 2009 Conference
June 2009 Second Preview Launch
June 2009 Church Plant Meeting (Minnesota)
July 2009 Core Group Cook-out
August 2009 Community Dance Extravaganza
August 2009 Brasa Dinner Core Group
Sept 2009 Grand Church Launch

Church@Frankie's

Join us Sunday, June 14th, 11:00am for a day of worship in both word and fun, as part of the New Jerusalem Church@Frankie's. This event is open, and FREE, to all who are interested. Free Pizza and Games...bring your kids.
Please email your RSVP at pastoryon@yahoo.com or call the office 919-539-8492.