Power of Life Change
We love having Justin as a part of our life.
I am so excited to share a short story of the power of life change through Jesus Christ. Over a year ago now I had the opportunity to take an awesome guy named Justin “The Viking” Wren with me to visit some kids at Children’s Hospital of Aurora. What I did not know was what Jesus had in store for both of us through this one event. After our visit to Children’s Hospital of Aurora Justin went back to his home where he was convienced to go to a men’s event where at this event he gave his life to Jesus and was baptized. The Justin that I had first knew now was definitely a life changed by Jesus.
Over the last year I have personally been able to spend time with Justin as he has become a great speaker, leader, and man of God. He came and spoke at Elevation when we launched and now speaks with Champions for Life to thousands of prisoners each month presenting the message of life change so they can know. He has made numerous visits to the Children’s Hospital of Aurora and is even now a volunteer there. All the while of keeping his relationship with Christ first and his goal of someday being the UFC Heavywieght Champion.
So here is what I am asking people to do that read this. I am asking you to continue in investing in this life change. Justin in a couple of weeks is going to be embarking on a 55 day mission trip with Kingdom Builders. I know that God had opened this door in an amazing way and is going to provide for Justin to go and continue to change and to help others, he is going to be helping build houses while in Hati. So I would like to encourage each and everyone who read this to help support Justin first through prayer and secondly through your finances. He is just short of the finances needed to pay for this awesome event and I am asking you to help.
Here is how: If you would like to know more about Kingdom Building Ministries, please visit their website at www.kbm.org. For any donations you can visit www.KBM.org/donate select student and type Justin Wren into the students box.
You can also go and find out more about this awesome man of faith at www.JustinTheVikingWren.com
Let’s continue to encourage the life change that started over a year ago.
Thoughts about Sunday . . .
Well, we had another great Sunday at Elevation. It was so great watching people show up in their different costumes. Our whole music team dressed as a 70′s band the leaders in the Children’s ministry dressed as well. Then during the service we had all of the children parade through the service and cheered them on we had a mom share that her son said this is the most fun he has had. What a great thing to hear from a family that doesn’t normally go to church.
- We had someone share about their previous struggles and wants to now share how Christ changed their life.
- We were encouraged by several family members that said that the series we did for men was great and they are seeing a difference in the men.
- We as a team are seeing more people get involved and get signed up for Community groups.
- I was encouraged by the men that had breakfast together at Village Inn. It was awesome.
- We saw 15 people say Yes to Jesus over the last month. It is so awesome to hear people say that they can’t wait to invite their friends to our next series called “No Perfect People Allowed”.
It is awesome that every step of the way we are able to see families enjoy the time that they spend together at Elevation. It was also awesome to have a great friend Dan Bethel with us, love how God uses such special people to encourage us along the way. (Sorry Joy you didn’t feel good) The anticipation that we have as a team for the next couple of months is so incredible, in fact after every Sunday I can’t wait to see what happens on the next. Jesus is changing lives and being lifted up in Aurora, Colorado. The people at Elevation are incredible and I feel blessed to be the pastor of this team.
It takes all kinds!
I love being a part of a diverse group of people I think that it started by growing up in Montbello in Colorado. We were exposed to so many different people, different nationalities, and different lives that it made a huge impact on me. My mom loves to talk about the Hell’s Angels that lived down the street that came and killed the rattle snake that was next to our fence. Or about the guys that moved in the house across the street at Midnight and then in three weeks moved out around the same time of night. Just to have the police show up the next day looking for them. We were on football teams and in church groups that had tons of different people in them, we all just thought that was the way it was supposed to be in life.
Everyone’s weLcome, nobody’s perfect, anything is possible
That is what I see in Elevation Community Church. That everyone is welcome. What I want people to understand is this, I don’t care what people look like, (If you are a person that wears CHURCH clothes you won’t like this church) I don’t care where they have come from (Just so you know we all won’t be the same color), I don’t care what they have done (You can be a CEO or a CON), and I don’t care if you even believe what we believe (Everyone has to start some where). What I care about is that you feel welcome and that you realize that there are going to be “no perfect people” in this church and that starts with the Lead Pastor. Some of the people that are going to be coming to Elevation will be able to share stories about me that will exemplify that. (All family members will sign gag orders, brothers for sure) Why because I am not perfect I have never been and I never will be, in fact I am going to say right now that I am going to make mistakes when it comes to starting this church. But people need to understand that, “Anything is Possible”.
Matthew 19:26 (NLT) Jesus looked at them intently and said, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But with God everything is possible.”
I do have to say that I struggled for several weeks with how I wanted to write this value and I talked with Pete Wilson and he said it so I have to give him props for the saying, and yes I used it. May we see that through a relationship with Jesus Christ anything is possible.
What area of your life do you see as impossible? Would love to walk through this with you.
Elevation Christian Church
As we have walked through the last year seeking what God wanted for us when it came to starting a church one of the things that I wrote in my journal on October 8, 2008 was the name “Elevation Christian Church”. For some reason that name came to me and I have not been able to let it go, I even jumped off the treadmill one afternoon because I had a picture of logo in my head and how that would fit with the name Elevation.
The definition of Elevation is the height above a location. Let’s see the elevation in Colorado is something that is always talked about. In fact I have been on the step there at the Capital where the brass tag is for the Mile High elevation. But that is not the reason.
Our mission: To elevate the name of Jesus one life at a time.
We named it “Elevation Christian Church” because we want the name of Jesus to be above all other names. That we believe that when His name is raised above a location, a home, a life, a school, that things happen and lives are changed forever.
