Seek First His Kingdom

Prayer Goals For 2012

"Seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." Matthew 6:33

Our 2012 theme for the City of Angels International Christian Church and our Winter Workshop is Seek First His Kingdom. However, before we look ahead, let's remember how the Spirit has moved in 2011. Perhaps most amazing is witnessing the unfolding of Jesus' plan of the multiplication of disciples!

The City of Angels Church started 2011 with 303 disciples. In the past 365 days, "the Lord added to our number [more than] daily" as He blessed us with 366 additions: 260 baptisms, 49 restorations, and 57 place memberships - many of whom came from our former fellowship seeking revival! Also awe-inspiring was the sending out of the third Crown of Thorns Mission Team - Sao Paulo in late August. Already, the Spirit has more than tripled this congregation from seven to twenty-two sold-out disciples! In fact, over the past four and-a-half years since the City of Angels Church was planted, the Spirit has sent out 118 disciples on six mission teams - Honolulu, New York City, Portland, San Diego, London and Sao Paulo - as well as leaders to strengthen our sister churches in Santiago, Washington DC, Chicago, Kiev and Hilo. Therefore, since God planted the City of Angels Church in May 2007, the original 42 disciples from Portland have multiplied to over 1,500 disciples with 2,500 in attendance on Sundays!

Multiplication by God's Spirit has also occurred in the leadership of the SoldOut Movement. So incredible at our 2011 Global Leadership Conference were the reinstatements and appointments of 16 Evangelists and Women's Ministry Leaders: Cory Blackwell - whose son CJ and daughter Avrie were baptized in 2011, Blaise & Patricia Feumba, DJ Comisford, Tyler & Shay Sears, Mike & Brittany Underhill, Chris & Kerri-Sue Adams, Tim & Lianne Kernan, Vic Gonzalez Jr., Coltin Rohn and Jay Shelbrack. Of special note, Chris Broom was appointed Missions Evangelist, and his son Austin was baptized. Earlier in the year, it was also encouraging that Luke & Brandon Speckman of Phoenix were appointed Evangelist and Women's Ministry Leader by Chris & Sonja Chloupek.

Communion On My 35th Wedding Anniversary!

By Kip McKean

Kip & Elena on December 11, 1976!

Sunday, December 11, 2011 was Elena's and my 35th Wedding Anniversary! We are so grateful to God for not only bringing us together in the Lord, but for His sustaining us in our darkest hours. We are also humbled by the gracious love of all of the disciples through the years who have enriched our marriage and family through discipling. Encouraged by these thoughts, I shared the following at communion that special Sunday for the South Central Region of the City of Angels Church.

Being United With Your Father

Guest Editorial: Ron Harding

So excited and happy after his baptism, Ron Harding Sr. is with his son Ron, his extended physical family, and the brothers that studied with him!

(Ron is the dynamic Evangelist of the Portland International Christian Church, the Lead CyberEvangelist for the SoldOut Discipling Movement, and a very dear friend and partner in the gospel. KM)

"A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in His holy dwelling. God sets the lonely in families." Hebrews 10:25

2011 has been an amazing year here in Portland! In just over three years, God has transformed a little remnant group of 13 hurting disciples into a vibrant congregation of exactly 100 members, having weekly baptisms, and an average attendance nearing 200 every Sunday! Without question, though I love all of the recent additions that the Spirit has given to the Portland Church, most special to me is number 99 - the baptism of my father, Ron Harding, Sr.!

For 18 years, I did everything possible to be "united in Christ" with my father. As a young Christian, I made many mistakes, which included preaching at him, being self-righteous, and expressing too often how he hurt me when I was growing up. (I now shake my head in disbelief that I shared these types of things at one particular time during a communion while he was present.)

In retrospect, I see that I missed some key opportunities to be humble towards him and to serve him the way I serve Jesus and His church. Eventually, I realized that I wasn't being effective and began telling him that I just needed one hour of his time, so I could share my story through the Scriptures because I knew just how powerful the Word of God is and how quickly it can change a person's heart. (Hebrews 4:12-13; Romans 10:17)

After the 2011 Global Leadership Conference in Los Angeles, I stayed an extra two days with one purpose: to serve my father and ask him once more for one hour of his time. After 18 long years of prayers, fasts and every spiritual plea that I could make, my father sat down with me and we did the Seeking God Study - after I helped him fix his motor-home of course! Also, I purchased a Bible software program and an audio version of the Bible for him, and he began to read and listen to the Bible on his own for the first time in his life. My father's persistence that he already knew the Word of God and that he understood the Scriptures on salvation quickly faded away.