Renaissance Church is a new church plant in Charlotte, NC.

We are looking for teammates – like-minded people who are ready for an adventure of eternal significance.

God is doing something so exciting – changing hearts and transforming lives of people who have been far from God.

But we need teammates to help us.  We especially need Christians (families or singles) who want to roll up your sleeves and help us in this work.  Looking for an outlet to serve and make a real difference?  Please keep reading.

[ Note: if you are happily serving in another church, please stay right where you are.  But if you are between churches, or desiring something different, please keep reading and prayerfully consider joining us in this God-ordained mission. ]

Here are a few things that make us unique:
(lots more info on our website)

We are a cell church.  We value meeting in both large Sunday celebrations and weekly home-based small group meetings.

We are multi-ethnic and multi-cultural.

We are outward focused.

We are Spirit-filled and Spirit-led.

We are Biblically grounded.

We greatly value worship and prayer.

We believe in training and empowering leaders.

(more on Who We Are and our Core Values)

We are located in south Charlotte.  The areas we are reaching include the South Blvd. and I-77 corridor, Pineville, Ballantyne, etc.

Interested?   Call me (Pastor Kurt) at (704) 341-4688 with any questions.  I’d love to hear from you.

We are currently meeting on Sunday mornings at 11:00 am for training and as a “pilot” cell group.

We recently had a lot of frequent flier miles, and a limited travel window… so it was time for a quick family vacation in the Caribbean.   It was a great time of much needed relaxation and family fun.

We enjoy activity – even when we’re relaxing.  So the ocean sport activities at our hotel were ideal.  After taking the boys out with me on the ocean kayak a few times, our oldest (who is 7) decided he’d like to take one out for a spin by himself.

At this point, the wheels in my head started turning.  What are the risks here? This is the open sea.  How adept is he at paddling? What would happen if he tipped over? He’s a good swimmer.  What would you do?

After weighing all the probabilities, we decided to let him go for it… BUT with Daddy in his own kayak nearby.  Not bad, huh?

After the first couple of times out by himself, the young lad was really feeling his oats.  The 3rd time he wanted to go to the other side of the bay.  Which would have been no problem, except for the strong wind on the return trip.  About half-way home, the little fellow completely ran out of gas.  The wind was blowing him backwards every time he rested… and he wasn’t getting anywhere.  He started getting frustrated… then scared and confused.

When I realized coaching and encouragement from a safe distance wasn’t going to cut it, I paddled over next to him, clipped his kayak to the back of mine, and safely paddled us home.

By the time my son got back to the beach, he had forgotten the fear, and was basking in the glory of his accomplishment.

In life, we won’t accomplish much if we take NO risks.  Everything worth doing takes hard work and involves some degree of risk.

The key is to check with Daddy before you embark on that dangerous trip across the bay. If He says “no”,  you’d better not get in over your head.  But if he says “yes”… you know He’s got your back.  Faith is taking a risk when you know He’s backing you up. The Bible says that “without faith it is impossible to please God” (Hebrews 11:6)

God is pleased when we attempt great things for Him.  We can take courage that He will be there to supply the power that we lack.

Comments?

Renaissance Church is very excited to welcome some international guests next week -  some young men and women from the youth group Mission72 of Eglise le Chemin in Hull, Quebec, Canada.  They are spending their spring break by going on mission.  Their mission?  To bless the city of Charlotte and assist Renaissance Church in reaching every person with the love of Jesus Christ.

(Off topic: “Spring break” in Quebec is the first week of March?!?  They’ve gotta still have 5 feet of snow up there, don’t they?)

After receiving some training, the youth will be busy throughout the week serving our community in practical ways and sharing the love of God.  The culmination of the week will be a Community Celebration on Saturday March 6th.  This free event will offer children in nearby apartment communities an afternoon of fun:  inflatables, food, and activities.

If you’d like to meet the youth or participate in the outreaches, please contact us.  There are plenty of opportunities to serve – especially for the Celebration on March 6th.

It’s coming!  Our first Life Group in Spanish!       En español

Starting soon, and lasting for 6 weeks, this will be an awesome opportunity for our Spanish-speaking friends of Renaissance Church to begin to develop Christian community in a Life Group.  For more on Life Groups, look here.

After Pastor Marla leads us in worship (in Spanish, of course), we will watch Rick Warren’s DVD teachings for 40 Days of Love (dubbed in Spanish).  Then we will discuss the topic, and how we can apply it to our own lives.

For more info (en español).

Eventually, we plan to have several Spanish Life Groups that meet every week.  ¡Viva la Iglesia Renacimiento!

After we have a good number of Life Groups meeting and multiplying, we will begin Sunday Celebration services, in addition to weekly Life Groups.

Renaissance will start Life Groups in every language we can, in order to reach people who need a relationship with Jesus Christ.   Got an idea for what language needs to be next?  Offer it in the comments below.

Hope you had a great one.  We had one of our best in years.

The highlights:

– Took family ice skating and skiing in the surprisingly nice mountains of North Carolina.  (Where else but Charlotte can you drive 2 hours to go skiing or 2 hours to go to the beach?  OK, California.  But we don’t have to worry about earthquakes, wild fires, smog, or traffic.  So there!)

–  Had a wonderful Christmas with Marla and the boys back home.  Good times, abounding in thankfulness for our Savior.

–  Marla’s parents dropped by for a very nice visit.

–  We are so blessed to have so many wonderful friends here in Charlotte.  Many of you came to our International Christmas Party.  What a blast that was!  The dream of a loving multi-ethnic group of passionate followers of Christ is becoming a reality.

–  But perhaps the highlight of the Christmas season was seeing 5 precious people make decisions for Christ at the Christmas Service of our dear friends at the Vietnamese Christian Assembly of God.  Pastor Timothy, Pastor Stephan, and the church are doing a wonderful job sharing the message of the Good News of Jesus Christ.  It was a real honor to be invited to be a part of it.  I can’t think of a better way to celebrate Christmas than to share the message of Christ’s birth: it truly is “good news of great joy for all the people” (Luke 2:10)

What a beautiful time we shared on Saturday at our International Christmas Party!

By our counts, there were about 75 people from 13 nations celebrating with us!

It was just a foretaste of what heaven will be like, where we will worship our Savior with people from every nation, tribe, and people.  (However, I expect heaven will feel less crowded than our bursting-at-the-seams house.  On the other hand, the international cuisine we shared might rival what we’ll partake of in heaven!)

Here’s a link to some pictures on our Renaissance Church facebook page.  Have you joined yet?

We had a great time this weekend distributing turkeys and groceries to under-resourced families in the Charlotte area.  We were able to serve 11 families (over 60 people).  Many told us that they were desperate, wondering where the money was going to come from to pay for a family celebration this Thanksgiving.   We are so glad that we were able to help meet their physical needs in the name of our Savior.  We also had the opportunity to minister the love, life, and hope of Jesus Christ to every family.  Many received prayer.  Several Bibles were given away.

I want to offer sincere thanks to all of you who made this Renaissance outreach possible.   Thanks to our volunteers.  Thank you again to those of you who gave.  And thanks to Nova*s Bakery for donating fresh bread.

I’m thankful for so many things this Thanksgiving.  Having the privilege of witnessing so many smiles this weekend is one of them.  Happy Thanksgiving.

This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.

1 John 3:16-18

Jesus teaches us that we should love our neighbor.

You probably already know that.

It’s the putting it into practice that is the hard part.

“Who is my neighbor?” asked the expert in the law.  Jesus responded with the parable of the Good Samaritan.  Your neighbor is everyone – especially the one right in front of you.

“What does loving my neighbor look like?”  The Scripture at the top addresses this question.  It means being the Good Samaritan.  Stopping for the one.  Being inconvenienced.  Taking a risk.  Giving sacrificially of your time and your money.  Stepping over barriers.  Getting your hands dirty.  Expecting nothing in return.

Love takes action. Compassion moves us to do something to alleviate the suffering, not just sympathize with it.

This Thanksgiving, Renaissance Church is helping needy families in the Charlotte area by supplying free turkeys and groceries.  It’s a small gesture.  But believe me, it can make a big difference to someone in need.

Know someone that needs a helping hand for the holidays? Contact us.

Want to help us express the love of God to Charlotte families? We’re collecting both funds and groceries.  You can even help us deliver the food, if you want.  Click here for more info.

All our ministry should be ordered in such a way that if God doesn’t show up, we will fall flat on our face.

Wait!?  What about planning?

Planning is great.  But too often the plan we choose cuts God right out of the equation.  It feels safer that way.  But what we end up with is a goal that we can accomplish in our own strength.

That’s not a good enough goal – not for someone who follows Jesus. I’ve seen enough of what people can accomplish for God.  I want to see more of what we can do with God.

We should expect God to show up, when we’re stepping out in accordance with His will.  When we know what His will is, we can go forward into even an impossible situation with complete confidence.  Faith is knowing that God will do what He has said He will do.

So make a plan,  but make sure your plan is big enough that you will fail… without God.  Then, work your plan as best as you can… and invite God to do what only He can…. like heal that broken heart, bring the lost person to repentance, or intervene with a real miracle.

Yes, God still does those things.  I’m completely convinced He’d like to do them a lot more.  He’s waiting for us to take the risk of leaving room for Him to do what only He can do.  It’s not really a risk, when you truly know Him.  It’s an act of faith.

It’s that time of the month again!  Time for all-night prayer.

Renaissance Church is fueled by prayer. Why?
– Because we are interested in what GOD can do, not what we can do in our own strength.
– Because we believe God wants to work though us, so we need to be intimate with Him and fully yielded to Him.
– Because we minister out of the overflow of what God is doing in our own lives.
– Because God answers prayer!
– Because we can’t think of a better way to spend 7 hours than in God’s presence, helping to change the world for the better.
– Because this world is hungry for the Real Love, Real Power, and Real Change – that only God can provide.