Epic on Facebook

If you haven't already, be sure to join Epic Church's facebook fan page! Search for "Epic Church - Mishawaka" and be a fan to get updates on all things Epic. We also hare on twitter! Look for epicmishawaka on there to get our updates.

Thanks and have a great week.
Josh

Convicted...

So I've been reading the book "Crazy Love" by Francis Chan the past few days, and it has gotten me to thinking. So often I want God to just give me straight answers and my future. I feel like when I call for God, he needs to be there and give me all that I ask for. I often wonder why that is not the case.

How can I ask God to give me all of Him, yet not surrender to Him all of me?

If we are to truly see God, hear God, be used by God, then we need to be willing to carry our crosses daily. But what does that even mean? How do I even go about doing that? Lately I've been thinking about what my future holds. How do I fit into God's master plan? I'm willing to give up everything for the Kingdom (I think), but how do I even do that? What would God have me do? This is something I've been struggling with. I ask for prayer for wisdom/discernment on how I fit into the Kingdom.

Blessings,
Josh

In charge...

Epic's pastor (Jeremy LeVan) is officially on vacation until January 16, and he left me in charge of making sure the church doesn't fall apart while he's gone. While I don't expect any kind of major decision to fall into my lap (thankfully), it will require some extra work on my end. I would be grateful for any prayer you can offer for the next two weeks as I try and "hold down the fort" while Jeremy is gone.

Thanks!
Josh

Happy New Year!

2009 was certainly... interesting for me. I found out that God definitely works in mysterious ways. He threw many curve balls my way, which have put me on a path that I never would have expected a year ago! With all that has happened, I feel so blessed to be where I am in life, and I'm excited/terrified (but in a good way) to see what God has in store for 2010!! Happy New Year to you all!

Blessings,
Josh

Merry Christmas!

Hey everyone! Just wanted to wish you all a very Merry Christmas! I hope that you remember what Christmas is really all about, the birth of our Lord and Savior. Many blessings to you during this holiday season and into the new year!

Peace,
Josh

Struggles

December 15th is fast approaching me. It is the date that I would have been done with my 6 month managerial training at Kmart. I left a good paying job at Kmart to be a part of this church plant. So now I'm dirt poor and satan keeps reminding me that it didn't have to be this way. This is the most important thing in my life right now, make no mistake about it, but it has been a difficult journey. A friend of mine pointed me to a website of an organization that he has recently become a part of, enablenow.org. On their front page they have a scripture that relates to what I've been feeling and going through right now.

"If I'm too full, I might get independent, saying 'God? Who needs him?' If I'm poor, I might steal and dishonor the name of my God, therefore this I ask of you, O Lord; give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread."
-The Prayer of Solomon

Which is really all I can ask for. Daily bread. Anything else is something that can be given to those far more needy than me. And trust me, those people are all around us. Not just in our community, but all over the world.

Thanks for reading,
Josh

Current Status of Epic

So sorry for not posting in a while. Hopefully that will change. I'd just like to post an update as to how things are going with the Epic Church plant that I am involved in.

We held our first gathering on October 11th (I know, its been too long since my last post). So far, it has be simply amazing. The Lord is working in some incredible ways. It seems like every week we have a major need being met by God, and we are more and more amazed every time it happens.

As far as my ministry goes, I am doing a bunch of different things. I won't list them all, but a few of them include: Creating the weekly bulletin and keeping it updated; updating the membership software; coordinating with leaders of various ministry teams; opening and closing the church on Sundays before and after our gatherings; as well as other things that are boring, but for sure necessary for this whole train to keep rolling! I am so proud of where we are at right now, and I can't wait to see how God will use the church in the coming days/months/years.

As always, a few prayer requests are updated on the right side of this blog. Thank you so much for your prayer and support. It means the world to me!

Josh