# Tuesday, September 02, 2008
As many of you know, from our time at City of Refuge on Sunday, there was a gentleman by the name of Lee that had to be taken to the hospital by ambulance. Please pray for him, as I followed up, I found out that he has a severe infection in his leg and doctors of talking about need to take some of the tissue from the leg. Of course, pray that it doesn't worsen and the medications will do what they are supposed to do.
 
Remember Pastor Dan as well, as he his overwhelmed with City of Refuge needs.
 
By the way, I heard thank you after thank you by folks who have been staying at the church. They are so grateful and want you to know it. I'm so proud that you were willing to let God use you in this way to minister to our brothers and sisters at City of Refuge.
posted on Tuesday, September 02, 2008 11:47:41 AM (Central Standard Time, UTC-06:00)  #    Comments [1]
# Friday, August 22, 2008

Summer is over...at least, on the school calendar.

Church camp has passed...at least, for this year.

Our Panama trip has come and gone...at least, the days have, but my mind still remembers and my heart still breaks.

Family vacations, actual or wished-for, are but a distant memory...at least, what we considered to be a vacation.

   Now, what do we do? There are many things coming up, for church and at my job. I have enjoyed the passed couple of days here at the church office. I had the privilege of shuffling papers from one side of my desk, to the floor, to another desk, and occasionally to the trash because a date has passed that I had every intention of doing something and never got around to it. I was able to catch up on emails that should have been addressed long ago. I had the opportunity to pray with a long distance friend, on the phone, who just lost his father. I was able to see some of our friends from City of Refuge Shelter, who are displaced from their shelter because of politics and have been sleeping in our church for the passed few weeks, and I enjoyed visiting with them for a bit.

   But, the bottom line is, there is too much to do and too little time to do it. I look forward to starting our Mall Ministry again and reaching out to people who are wandering our local mall and need to hear the Gospel, or be prayed for, or simply need someone to listen. I spoke with a friend and church member about starting our visitation up again. We have voted to institute elders and deacons at our church. All of this stuff is exciting. So, what do we do about the time crunch, about the business of the church, about the work of love, about making ourselves available to do the work we have been called to do, about spending valuable time with family...What am I going to do?

   I'm going to turn it over to God and ask HIM to prioritize for me.

   Thank you Lord, for always coming through in the nick of time! Amen.

I'll see you Sunday!

For HIS Glory,

Pastor Matt

 This little boy helped change my life and his injury impacted my outlook on medical missions more than I would have ever imagined - Matt

posted on Friday, August 22, 2008 7:57:07 AM (Central Standard Time, UTC-06:00)  #    Comments [0]
# Monday, July 21, 2008

     Wow! I can't believe you guys didn't start throwing things at me on Sunday morning! Actually, I can't take all the credit for the length of the service. Those youth are jabber-heads, and I am so glad that they were. I became very emotional as I heard how God had blessed them during their week at Falls Creek, in Oklahoma. I continue to pray that they will remain on their Spiritual mountaintop, but the reality will be that some will come down and others have already been down, some will roll down at break neck speed, and a few will be thrown off the mountain by life circumstances.

     We were challenged, by Justin, to continue to support and encourage our youth. I, for one, would like to see that happen. Pray with me that we can all be diligent to love and lift up the youth of Journey Church.

     Thank you for a great day in the Lord! I look forward to seeing you when I return from our mission trip in Panama!

For HIS Glory,

Pastor Matt

posted on Monday, July 21, 2008 2:46:21 PM (Central Standard Time, UTC-06:00)  #    Comments [2]
# Tuesday, July 08, 2008
Well, here we go. I have been horrible, in the past, at keeping up with my blog entry. I would feel bad about it, had I not gone to other church websites and noted the same lack of attention from the pastoral staff. Truth is, we all get busy. It's easy to forget or push off what can be done later, only to discover that delay becomes neglect. Neglect appears, to the visitor, as a reflection of flippant care toward other pastoral duties. I assure you, if you are reading this months from now and wonder what happened, I do not take this job lightly.

     Journey Church is a work of passion for the people who have come together to serve God under this vision. I will certainly try to do better, even to the point of discomfort, so that you might remain informed of the coming events, Spiritual growth opportunities, and just plain gibberish that I might add on a regular basis.

     Thank you for visiting the website. If there is anything that I might do to welcome you to worship with us, please do not hesitate to let me know.

For His Glory,

Pastor Matt Derfelt

posted on Tuesday, July 08, 2008 8:00:29 AM (Central Standard Time, UTC-06:00)  #    Comments [1]