Nanette Christofferson

February Neighborhood Ministry

2012-02-06T12:48:00.000-08:00

“Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God: everyone who loves is born of God and Knows God. Beloved, since God loved us so much, we also ought to love one another.” 1John 4:7,11

Neighborhood Ministry

While Valentine’s Day isn’t considered a church holiday it is certainly a day that we as Christians can embrace. We can focus this day on love for our family, love for our friends, and love for our God. It can become a special day where each of us decides to let others know they are loved. Too often our culture tells us it is only a day about romance and if you don’t have a special someone in your life this day isn’t for you. But being a Christian doesn’t mean that we have to fall into what our culture is telling us. There are things we can do to help us show and demonstrate God’s love to all. Maybe there is a family in your neighborhood that you would like to help. There might be a child you know that could use some encouragement through a card. Think about helping at a food bank that day. Surprise a neighbor with a Valentine plate of cookies or take a friend out for a coffee. Send a friend a card that you haven’t heard from for awhile. Let others know how much you love them and you will be showing them how much God loves them. If no one comes to mind ask God who needs to hear from you. Take time to listen and I know that God will guide you. It is my hope that all of us can rely on God’s love and trust in it and allow His love to permeate to all those around us. So on Valentine’s Day this year jump up and down knowing that love comes from God and know God deeply and divinely loves YOU!

Happenings:

Apache ES volunteers have started!

Do you enjoy working outside and doing yard work? If so we could use your skills to help with the Apache desert garden. Please email or call Nanette Christofferson at Nanette@peaceaz.org or call 623-972-6785

Neighborhood Ministry "Reaching Beyond Our Walls"

For more information about Neighborhood Ministry please call Nanette Christofferson @623-451-6902 or email nanette@peaceaz.org

Sinking into a New Year

2012-01-10T09:04:00.000-08:00

Neighborhood Ministry

"Make careful exploration of who you are and the work you've been given and then sink yourself into that." (Gal. 6:3 the Message) January is a perfect month to take some time and think about this verse and what it means for you, for us as a church, and how do we take this out into our neighborhoods.

The words that stick out to me are "then sink yourself into it". Have you ever just sunk into something where you became so absorbed that everything else just was in the background? Sinking yourself into something sometimes requires careful planning and sometimes it doesn't. What often is required is careful exploration in thinking about who you are and the talents God has given you. You see we are constantly evolving and changing and sometimes we need to stop, slow down, and examine how are we changing? Maybe what once brought you great pleasure no longer does. Maybe your interests have changed and it's time to move onto something else. Be thinking about the gifts God has equipped you with that can be used anywhere. How can we share these God given gifts with those outside our church walls and into our neighborhoods? Most often this is easier than it sounds... usually simplicity is the key and trusting that God will guide you.

As we move into a new year let us take a moment to reflect what is it we do well? Where do your passions lie? While we are sinking ourselves into what God has given us let us not forget how this fits into our 3G Ministry here at Peace. For if we all sink ourselves into Generousity, Generations, and Grace we will see God showing us where he needs and wants us to be.

I inite you to take a few minutes and think about what you might like to sink yourself into this year? How can you use what you already do well and share it with a neighbor? Share it with Apache children. Share your gifts with Valley View Food Bank or St. Johns Lutheran Food Bank. Living out who God created us to be and sinking ourselves into it is a wonderful way to think about how a New Year can begin.

Neighborhood Ministry "Reaching Beyond Our Walls"

For more information about Neighborhood Ministry please call Nanette Christofferson @623-451-6902 or email nanette@peaceaz.org

Extravagant Hospitality

2011-10-14T10:19:00.000-07:00

“Extravagant Hospitality”, I came upon this term when I was perusing church websites to see if other churches happened to have anything similar to neighborhood ministries. (I know kind of scary what I do with my free time).

But this term—Extravagant Hospitality—was interesting. At first it reminded me of the Word of God. Believe it or not, God shows us what extravagant hospitality is through several different Biblical stories. A few examples: Joseph demonstrates extravagant hospitality to his brothers not only by forgiving them but also by providing for them. We see Rahab (an outsider) reach out to the Israelites through hospitality. Naomi demonstrates extravagant hospitality to Ruth. Martha, Mary, and Lazarus invite Jesus into their home showing generous hospitality. Zaccheus finds a place in his heart to invite Jesus to his home. And the father in the parable The Prodigal Son , shows extravagant hospitality to his returning son. In so many of these stories it wasn't that the meal was extravagant, it was God working through people and through the love of his son that we see hospitality demonstrated in different ways.

However, one thing these stories do have in common is that many of the characters have relationships with each other. Please take a minute and ask yourself this: how willing are you to show extravagant and outrageous hospitality to others? Are you willing to go out on a limb and help someone from our Peace community who is hurting? You see outrageous hospitality doesn't always mean having someone over. It means showing others that you care when they are suffering from the loss of a loved one, or suffering when a loved one is going through an illness, or helping someone in a time of need.

How do we get there? How do we become neighborhoods that demonstrate extravagant hospitality? How do we jump in and help those from Peace who are hurting? It all begins with knowing who your Peace neighbors are. For when we know our Peace neighbors and what is happening in their lives we can then offer love, prayers, and the things that they might be needing. This however takes time. The one thing I have learned about ministry is that it’s built on relationships— relationships with each other and a relationship with God. How well we know each other in our neighborhoods helps determine how much we will help in a time of crisis. If Peace wants to be known to others outside of our church walls, we will need to get to know our Peace neighbors.

For more information on Neighborhood Ministry please contact Nanette Christofferson at Nanette@peaceaz.org