Pastor Sam's Blog

An unsung hero (who helps us sing):

Jan 31, 2023

Our worship team rehearses each Sunday before the morning service. And it’s become a challenge because our team has started having kids… lots of kids. So usually at around 8:45am our stage gets full of guitars, keyboards, microphones… toddlers an...

Addiction Recovery

Jan 26, 2023

One of the things we’re able to use the building for is Addiction Recovery groups. - We host five AA/NA meetings each week. Today I was able to drop by one of them for their monthly celebration meeting. It felt a lot like many other meetings I’ve ...

true hope allows sadness

Jan 19, 2023

I spent this afternoon at the bedside of one of our church widows surrounded by pictures of people taken too soon. Today, a grey, rainy day, is the 1 year anniversary of the passing of her daughter who lived with her after her husband passed.

Christmas Is For about Two (3?) Audiences

Dec 25, 2022

But going all out for the show is exhausting. (Plus, sometimes it feels a bit bait and switch. People come back in January all like “What no snow machine this week?”) The under-reported fact is that if a church is doing worship for non-church-peo...

I voted...

Nov 8, 2022

But I think long lasting cultural revolution only happens if we together work at raising kids with character, ethics and morals. We transform the next generation of leaders and change, by being a current generation of kindness and integrity. And I...

a church that looks like the world to come

Nov 7, 2022

God has called Christians to be about following Christ when it's so easy to become polarized by the million tribal markers that we apply to ourselves and others. But we're working, thinking and praying at how to be a "fellowship of the differents"...

How to Pray for Kids in School

Oct 18, 2022

Ashley gives a master class on how to pray for kids in school (with some help from her friends at Moms in Prayer) Scripture Prayers to Pray for Students, Teachers, School Administrators, and School Support Staff

Denominational Life

Oct 12, 2022

This week I’m at a meeting of the CRCNA. I’m convinced that denominational churches are more stable and less prone to scandal. We tend to put a lot more effort into slow-moving, deliberative boundaries, policies and guidelines. We have a Book of O...

A church for Spanish-speakers in Orange County

Sep 28, 2022

This year - we celebrated God's work with our first joint-worship service with our newly-planted Spanish-speaking church. (And installed Pastor Gilbert as it's pastor) https://IglesiaHispanaGoshen.org launched Easter of 2022. Pastor Gilbert moved ...