I’m so proud of our Renaissance Church folks for how they gave, served, and ministered to over 100 folks over Thanksgiving.

We delivered all the groceries for a complete Thanksgiving feast to the homes of families who needed a helping hand for the holidays.  We also delivered a lot of warm smiles, and shared a lot of hugs.  We were able to pray with almost everyone we served. Our volunteers did a great job ministering to our new friends.

Renaissance Church kids hand-decorated gift bags to distribute to the children of the families we served.  There were all kinds of cool things inside the bags, but I think the best part was the love that was conveyed on the outside.

Thank you to everyone who took part!

Some wonderful volunteers

"Some real Renaissance men"

What great time we had at Church@theLake!  The weather was beautiful, and everyone had a blast relaxing, swimming, and canoeing.

We shared a nice meal together, and then listened to the Word of God, along with some great worship led by Marla and Anitra.  Perhaps the highlight for me was getting to baptize two more precious folks.

To see a lot more pictures, visit our Renaissance Church group on Facebook.  (And if you haven’t joined our group, why not do it now?)

We were about 80 people, and such a beautifully diverse group (including people who hail from 5 of the 6 inhabited continents!)

Did you attend Church@theLake?  Leave a comment below and tell us what you thought.

Listening to the Word of God after lunch

Being with our three kids reminded me how thankful I am that we were born in this wonderful country with such a godly Christian heritage.  But there is still much work to be done for the Kingdom of God.  So many of our friends and neighbors still need to know Jesus Christ!

Last week I attended the Multiplying Churches Globally seminar hosted by missions agency Reach Global.   I enjoyed meeting a bunch of people who are deeply devoted to Jesus and committed to making Him known in every corner of the world.  Since I’m not a foreign missionary, I got asked “Why are you here?” a few times.  Answer:  To become more effective in making Jesus known in my little corner of the world:  Charlotte, NC.

People from different backgrounds are discovering that special sense of unity that comes when we worship together, share life together, and serve one another in the name of Christ.  It’s beautiful.  I love it.  I’m thankful that I get to be a part of it.

A Christ-centered spiritual community is not exclusive, like a club, but rather open.  We not only welcome newcomers, we seek them out! We want others to experience the blessings of a life-giving community, and especially the joy we are finding in a relationship with Jesus Christ.

On May 1, the Sunday after Easter, Renaissance Church will be baptizing new believers in a joint service with the Vietnamese Christian Assembly of God.

It’s a great occasion to celebrate as several folks from Renaissance will be bearing witness to their new life in Jesus Christ.

The meeting will be held at the Vietnamese Church, 4525 EAST WT HARRIS BLVD.   Pastor Kurt Johnson of Renaissance Church wil be preaching to both congregations, followed by the baptisms.  Lunch will be served after the service.

Please contact Pastor Kurt if you have any questions or would like to discuss being baptized.

Volunteers delivered turkey and groceries to 16  families for Thanksgiving.  That’s over 90 smiles that were a little brighter because of the love of God demonstrated in a practical way.

We love the personal touch we can offer through this form of service:

1.  All the families we served were connected to us through relationships of people associated with Renaissance Church.    We get to know people on a personal level, because we hear their stories of hardship.  And there is the possibility of further relationship.

2.  Delivering the food to the home offers dignity, love, and a personal touch to those receiving.

3.  Opportunities for ministry abounded.  We prayed with almost every family.  Many Bibles were distributed.  Kids from church even included hand-made cards in the basket of goodies.

4.  It’s true: ‘Tis the greater blessing to give than receive.  Those who served and gave were deeply impacted by the experience.  I know I was.

An act of practical loving kindness speaks volumes.  And nothing is more practical than offering a helping hand during the holidays to people who really need it.  This Thanksgiving, we want to help out as many needy families as we can by supplying them with a free turkey and groceries.  It’s a small gesture, but believe me, it will make a big difference to the recipients.

We need your help.  We have THREE QUESTIONS for you:

1.  Do you know someone who could really use help this Thanksgiving? Maybe a family that has been struggling to make ends meet because of losing a job, or unexpected medical bills?  If so, would you please contact us?  (We can only serve families in the Charlotte metro area.)

2.  Would you volunteer to help us with this outreach? We need people to help us with deliveries, help schedule the deliveries, and help buy the groceries.  If you can help with any of that, please call or email us.  (See right panel for contact info.)

3.  Would you give $20 to help a needy family this Thanksgiving? Or maybe you are able to provide food for several families?   Your gifts to Renaissance Church are tax-deductible.  To give, you can drop a check in the mail, or in the offering at church. Make checks to out Renaissance Church and send to PO Box 49523, Charlotte, NC 28277.  Please include a note that you are giving towards the Thanksgiving Outreach.  If you prefer, you can donate to Renaissance Church through paypal.

Thank you so much for helping!  May God bless you this holiday season!

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.

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.

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.