by Dave & Debi Lopez

The holidays are a wonderful time filled with fun and celebration with family and friends and gift giving.  Conversely, the joy of the season can soon be replaced by the stress of paying holiday debt on top of other  accumulated obligations. Here are our “9 for ‘09” tips to begin with:

1. Change your attitude.  Having an attitude of commitment (setting financial goals and holding each other accountable to reaching those goals); obedience (recognizing God’s ownership of all things and operating according to His plan); surrender (sacrificing your wants and desires, making adjustments in spending); and prayer (casting all of your anxiety on Him, going to Him with your specific financial concerns and remembering to give Him all the praise when He meets your needs in miraculous ways) is essential to financial freedom.  We’ve learned that these four ‘heart’ attitudes are essential to biblical stewardship

2. Know how much you owe.  The thinking is that as long as you can keep up with the payments, everything is fine.  However, if circumstances change, you could find yourself unable to make payments.

3. Create a spending plan.  The easiest way to take control of your money is to make a plan for how you will spend it.  This is not glamorous and can be something of a task, but it gives you the power to decide where your money goes.  The plan should include monthly expenses such as mortgage or rent, utilities, food, transportation, entertainment, clothing, etc.  Make sure your expenses are not more than your income.  If they are, go back to the plan and make adjustments.  Know the difference between needs and wants.

4. Pay off credit card debt.  Stop charging additional purchases today and make a commitment that once you’ve paid off your debt you’ll continue to live a debt-free life.  Sacrifices now will mean less stress and a better financial future.  Don’t pay interest on anything that loses value.

5. Build a savings cushion.  Even as you pay off your debt, you should begin to build a savings cushion for emergencies or unexpected expenses.  Your initial goal should be a $1000 emergency fund.  Your next goal is three to six months of living expenses, put aside in an interest-bearing         account, in the event you lose your job or become disabled.  With this cushion in place, you will not have to borrow for unexpected expenses.  No matter how much or little you make, always save a little bit.

6. Develop a strategy for your financial future.  Begin thinking about, and planning for your financial future.  January is a great time to set financial goals for the coming year.  If you need more money, then go out and make more money.  There are limits to how far you can scrimp and save.  Often the fastest way out of debt and into wealth is generating more income.  Go out and get a better education or some more training in your profession if you need to.”

7. Set aside time at least twice a month to manage your finances.  This includes paying bills, balancing your checking account, and   analyzing your income and      expenses (i.e. your spending plan).  Even though one     person primarily handles    administration of the family        finances, both should be fully trained and able to do it.   Couples should discuss and agree on financial management regularly and both should be fully aware of their financial status.

8. Establish the tithe.  You should do this as the minimum testimony to God’s ownership.  God wants us to give the first part to Him, but He also wants us to pay our creditors.  That requires you to establish a plan and make sacrifices of wants and desires until all your debts are current.

9. Accept God’s provision.  To obtain financial peace, recognize and accept that God’s provision is used to direct your life.  Adopt a spirit of gratitude.  The important thing is not what you think you should have or where you believe you should be.  The important thing is His plan for you.  Contentment comes when you’re in the center of that plan.

“But if we have food and covering, with these we shall be content” (1 Tim 6:8).

Conclusion  

If you have concerns about your finances, don’t wait until things get so bad that you are facing a financial catastrophe before you seek help or advice.  It is much more difficult to get your finances back in order after things have become an emergency.  NCAC has people trained to help you get back on track.  However, you do have to make the first step. 

If you would like assistance with any of these steps, please give us a call anytime at 528-0573 or email us at dlopezy2k@yahoo.com. Our ministry is free of charge and confidential.

by Shawn Bainbridge

The end of 2008 was filled with tremendous opportunities to display and declare the greatest gift to mankind:  the gospel of Jesus Christ. Neighborhood Church of Anderson/Cottonwood was involved with several events throughout the north state. 

These events allowed us to get involved in the community, spread of the gospel, and meet many people whom we may never have had the opportunity to come into contact.

The first weekend in      December, a group of    approximately 20 people traveled to Red Bluff for the annual Christmas     parade and handed out multiple gospel tracts. 

During the second weekend of December, an even larger group went to the annual Christmas parade in Redding and handed out more gospel tracts along with a short biblical Christmas story. 

During the third weekend in December, a small group went door-to-door in the Anderson Heights neighborhood just north of Wal-mart in Anderson.  The group handed out gospel tracts and invitations to our Christmas Eve service and to the free Christmas Day Dinner at the Senior Center in Anderson.

On Christmas Day, our church body came         together for the third year in a row and offered Christmas dinner to those in need.  Members of our body cooked and served food, cleaned, visited, and shared the gospel.  It was a joy to see and be a part of the time and food that was donated.  What a tremendous opportunity to display the love of Christ to      others!

What joy and honor it is to glorify God through spreading the seed of the gospel.  We are so blessedwith God’s graceful gift of salvation.  The gift is so great that we don’t have to share it with others, we want to share it!

All in all, I would estimate that just through the month of   December, the gospel was given to over 5,000 people.  Now, that number in itself is cool, but if just one of those individuals asked  Jesus Christ for forgiveness of sins, trusted him alone as their Lord and Savior and repented then the whole month was more than worth it. 

Please continue to pray for all of those people who received the greatest gift in the universe to discover and develop their joy in God.

by Nick Braito

In 1 Thessalonians 5:25, Paul pleaded with believers in Christ to pray for him and his missionary efforts to take the Gospel to the ends of the earth.

At Neighborhood Church we take seriously the need to pray for the declaration of God’s glory among the nations and for all the    International Workers with whom we partner.

We see this commitment almost every Sunday when we take time early in the worship service to pray for missionaries and the worldwide missionary task.

We also pray for our missionaries each week in our Elders’ Meetings and      encourage every home group to choose a missionary team or family and to pray for them each week.

Yet, one more opportunity that we offer is the monthly Prayer for the Nations meeting, which meets during the second service on the second Sunday of each month. While adults meet in the Student Center, children meet in the First Grace Classroom.

The Children’s Prayer for the Nations is led by Kaja Ramsey. In addition to helping children learn about prayer, Kaja often brings in ethnic foods and teaches on different cultures in order to help children    appreciate God’s world.

In the Adult Prayer for the Nations, we’ll often spend time praying together as a large group on a particular theme related to missions, and then break into small groups to pray for various missionaries and churches overseas.

Copies of the “Prayer for the Nations” prayer journal that we use in our meetings are also always available in the church foyer for you to pick up and take home!

At our meeting in January, we started out with a time of focused prayer for Missionary Kids as they are often overlooked when we pray for missions.

In Will Bruce’s article “How to Pray for Missionary Kids (MKs),” he wrote, “Satan is aware that one of his most effective strategies in hindering the Lord’s work is to destroy the witness of the family, by taking advantage of the vulnerability of children. Missionaries’ kids are important members of the     missionary team although often not recognized as such.”

Bruce also gave some ideas for how to pray for       Missionary Kids (MKs).

 · Spiritual Life: Pray they will develop a personal relationship with Christ.

· Family Dynamics: Pray for strong family relationships.

· Personal Standards: Pray they’ll be able to maintain high biblical standards.

· Dealing With Loss. Remember that MKs usually have to cultivate new friendships much more often than peers at “home.”

· Cultural Adjustment: Pray for their cultural adjustment, as MKs often do not feel at home anywhere.

· Physical Safety and Health: Remember that MKs often lack access to quality medical care.

· Finances: MKs are often poor by home standards and rich by field standards. Pray for a godly view of finances.

· Education: Pray for MKs education, as all education options have challenges.

Please take some time this month to pray for the Missionary Kids that you know, including the Habeger’s and Peebles’ children…and please join us next month as we meet together to pray for the nations.

by Erin Claassen

There once was a time when NCAC did not have a building and met at the roller skating rink at the Fairgrounds in Anderson.  Sommer Powers remembers sitting on the floor of that rink as a second grader, listening to people sharing openly about how Jesus had changed their lives.

Sommer was seven when her parents, Dennis and Codie Powers, and several other families branched off from Cottonwood First Baptist Church to form Neighborhood Church. Sommer attended NCAC until she went away to college.  After college she lived in the Bay Area working for Levi-Strauss.

In 2001, Sommer moved back to Cottonwood and felt right at home again with the church body.    After receiving her credential from Simpson College, she began teaching literature, reading and spelling to seventh graders at West Cottonwood Junior High School.  She also coaches the volleyball team. 

As Ms. Powers, Sommer is able to share truth with her students by placing Bible verses on the walls of her classroom along with other quotes from authors such as J.R.R. Tolkein.  She loves teaching students aged 12 and 13, because they are still young enough to have an impact upon.

Sommer’s daughter, Spencer is an eighth grader at West Cottonwood.  This year she played on her mom’s volleyball team and is currently on the girls’ basketball team.  Spencer loves the Junior High group at church, and Sommer loves that too.

If you don’t already know the Powers, make an effort to meet this bubbly, sold out for Jesus family.

by Erin Claassen

There has been a new face among the exaltation team for the past few months. Jeremy Pagan, who plays guitar, drums and also sings, has been playing with the team for about 6 months now.

Jeremy and his wife, Kelly, began attending NCAC after they moved back to the area from schooling in Sacramento. They have been married for a year and a half now, after dating for six years. Jeremy works as a structural engineer for an architectural firm in Redding. Kelly is a registered nurse and works in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Mercy Medical Center and sometimes at UC Davis.

While Jeremy was finishing his Master’s degree, he and Kelly would frequently come up to the northstate on the weekends to visit family and attend NCAC. So, they were glad when they could start coming more regularly.

Besides helping to lead worship on Sunday
Both Kelly and Jeremy thoroughly enjoy NCAC. Kelly’s favorite thing is the friendly and welcoming people and Jeremy loves being on the worship team and on helping out with the youth group.

by Brad Manley

Over the years at Neighborhood Church we have come to recognize more and more the importance of God-centered thinking as critical for church health as well as the spiritual health of the individual Christian.

The reason for this is simple enough: We are to be God-centered in our thinking and therefore our motives, actions and words because God is God-centered. 

 Perhaps the clearest expression of this comes in Paul’s doxology when writing to the Romans, “For from him and through him and to him are all things.  To him be glory forever.”

(Rom. 11:36)  If all things come from him and exist through him and are to (i.e. for) him, then it is evident that he is the center of everything that has existed or will exist.

 God’s greatest source of delight is in himself as Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  He is joyful in the relation-ships within the Godhead (Jn. 17:24). He is pleased with his works in creation (Gen. 1:31) and takes pleasure in his work of redemption (Eph. 1:3-14). 

 If God were to find greater pleasure in someone or something outside himself it would mean that there is something or someone greater.  Rather, because God is greatest in every regard, he must also be his source of greatest joy and ours.

 While God-centeredness may seem self-evident to many followers of Jesus, the importance of joy as the foundational means of glorifying God is certainly not so clearly understood by most Christians. 

What we mean by joy-driven God-centeredness is that the more we are motivated by joy in God, the more he is glorified.