Open Door Ministries Blog

Fixing Vs. Seeing

Thanks to an Alert Listener to last week’s teaching on ‘Family Sin’, the following is up for discussion.

Of special note is that our ‘Alert Listener’ is a teen from our AMP Youth Program…be prepared to be amazed at the thought and maturity exhibited! 

She shares. “After hearing about the sins that can be in my family line, I know there actually are some. What do I do with this information? How can I determine if the things I’m already dealing with might be related to this? Can I deal with them between me and God, or do I always have to suffer from the effects of those sins that my family committed? How do I walk forward in life without having these things hang over me? What do I do now?” 

So, first let me, yet again, pick myself up off the floor! Followed by, I am SO glad you asked! I’m opening this discussion with these thoughts and trusting that you and others will join in with your own thoughts, opinions, answers and additional questions! 

Jesus wants us to be enlightened by His truth alive in us. I John 1: 7 say, ‘If we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.’ When light is present, you can see, you’re aware of dangers and obstacles and can make adjustments to respond or act either offensively or defensively. But darkness leaves us so vulnerable…. we can’t see, so things kinda creep up on us or trip us up. Life nor light are always about being able to ‘fix’ something, but about being able to see, adjust and move forward; awareness. The fellowship with one another is talking about our relationship with Jesus but also to one another; we’re in this thing together. For now, a lot of your cues will come from your family, friends and others like your AMP Leaders. 

Relationships are so important at every stage in life! Having heard this message, you’re already aware or at least tuned in to places/thoughts/opinions/stories you’ve heard or comparisons you’ve made that are worth taking a deeper look at. First, I’d strongly recommend that you read a book by Joyce Meyer, ‘Battlefield of the Mind for Teens’. Remember, the first series of steps will be information gathering.... so here we go!

Click here to join in this discussion!

Deana 

New Series Starting This Sunday: XOXO

Inevitably when February arrives each year our thoughts turn to Valentine's Day or more specifically--love. 

Love is a lot different when we are younger. It seems to be a lot simpler, but when we get older it gets complicated. Times change. Our biggest concern is no longer getting caught sneaking notes in class, but instead is replaced with paying bills and raising kids. 

In the midst of change, the message of love can get lost. Thankfully, God has a lot to say about love and in this new series we are going to unpack what God says true love is and rediscover the message of love. So whether you are single, married, thinking about marriage, or marriage is the last thing on your mind, this series is for you.

Hope you can join us this Sunday, 9 am or 10:45 am, as we kick off our brand new series, XOXO

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Help Haiti

 

We are so blown away by how you guys have responded to our call to action for the country of Haiti these past two weekends! 

Thanks to you, we have been able to donate over $3,400 to Compassion International! Not only that but, we have received tons of ideas from our congregation on what phase-two should be in our effort to help Haiti recover in the months and years to come. 

I am so humbled to be apart of a church as giving as ours.  Nothing is impossible when we come together in unity for the cause of Christ. 

Below you will find a link to Compassion International so that you can get more information about what they are doing and how you can help. 

We also have a young man in our church who is from the Dominican Republic.  The church he attended in the Dominican Republic is on the ground in Haiti, at this very moment, reaching out. He has sent us some of the photo's they took on the ground. 

 

 

Check out more pictures on our Facebook Page and visit Compassion International to see what they're doing to partner with local churches in Haiti.

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Be blessed,

Aaron

Amp/418 Fundraiser

On Sunday, February 21, AMP/418 and Adam’s Auto-Wash will partner together to raise money for this years winter ski retreat, Shred Fest '10. 

Adam’s Auto-Wash is giving us a unique opportunity by opening up their business Sunday morning from 10:30 am to 4:45 pm. 

This will allow you to have your car shined up, while supporting the youth ministry here at Open Door! 

Forty percent of all revenue taken in that day will go directly the help pay for a portion of each student’s trip. 

We need your help in reaching our goal of 300 cars. This is a great way for the community of Open Door to get together and support our youth, hope to see you there!

Click here to comment.

John

Grouplink and Life

People have been asking a lot of questions about the upcoming Grouplink this Sunday from 6pm - 8pm. Most deal with what it's like, what happens, how does work? These are great questions that are totally cool to ask and we love them! 

Basically, Grouplink is the environment in which we connect people into Life Groups. It's a 2-hour event that enables you to meet people who you have things in common with and get into a small group. 

We go to crazy lengths to make it as easy as possible for you to do this. We clean out the sanctuary and set up living rooms all over the place. We have some food because in the South, you can't have a party without food! 

We know that it can be scary going to a new church and not knowing anybody, so we have people who are there to help you meet people and take away as much of the uneasiness as possible. 

Lastly, you get the opportunity to join a group but, there is no pressure to join. If it's not for you than that's ok too. We just feel like this is something that everybody needs and can benefit from. 

So, whether you're a couple or single or anything that these do not include then we have groups that are specifically for you! 

Come out this Sunday night and find out what ODM is all about!! Click here to comment.

Aaron

Help for Haiti

Like me, when I first heard of the news of what happened in Haiti I wanted to help but, I was unsure how to. 

How could I make sure that the little I was able to give would get into the hands of those that need it? 

Last Sunday, we received an offering, our congregation was awesome in how they responded in that moment for the need. 

This Sunday we will be telling you how you personally, and we corporately, can help with the relief in Haiti not only financially, but also through prayer. 

When things like this happen it's easy to question how God could allow something as horrific as this to happen.

I submit to you that it is not time to question but to act. My cry is that whatever our part is we take it, be faithful to it and be the church in this day that we are called to be. A church of actions not questions.

Can a nation be won to Christ in a moment of catastrophe? I believe it can. 

See you this Sunday! 

 Click here to comment.

Aaron

GROUP LINK

Group Link is one of the most exciting events of the year of ODM. It is a time for getting to know some of the greatest people on the planet. It is a time for great fellowship, food, and new friendships. You will make divine connections with people of kindred interest, which will empower you to do life better together. 

Don't miss it, this Sunday, 6pm in the Main Auditorium! 

Will you be joining us?

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Love Believes All Things...

1 Corinthians 13:7 

Tuesday night, I was at my folks house and like every Tuesday night my sister and B-Dub (Wesley) came over. It was  a usual Tuesday night, my Mom cooked, Lauren gave Wesley a bath, and then it was play time!

Wesley loves to play and the kid is super smart.  As we were playing, Wes got in the chair with my Mom and started acting like he was trying to find something in the chair. HE WAS GOING CRAZY!   It looked like he had a case of the wiggle worms to me but anyways, my mom reached in the chair and found her chicken baster!! Crazy, right?!?!   

Wes loves that thing!  What struck me as odd was my mom kept telling me and my sister "Oh look at what Wesley found!" Lauren and I were like "Mom, what's the big deal? Wes was just looking for something and you found it!" 

The reality is that Wesley put it there weeks ago but he didn't know that it was still there. What stuck with me was that as I was watching my mom with Wes, she totally believed he found that and was so excited. It reminded me of that verse above, "Love believes all things". God truly does believe in us! He never doubts us and always chooses to view us through love, rather then skepticism. 

What would happen in our relationships, churches and society if we began to truly live out this verse?

John

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Helping Hands

A few weeks before Christmas God began to lay something heavy on the hearts of our staff.  The social workers of Pitt County are such an incredible group of people and we wondered how many times they get thanked for all their hard work.

They have devoted their lives to serve the kids our of county. They are bombarded day-in and day-out with tremendous obstacles that they cross just so that they can help a child and family in need. 

So many times the staff are facilitators for ministry to happen but this time through the faithful giving of our congregation, they were able to give it first hand.....WHICH IS ALWAYS COOL!

We decided to have a luncheon, just for them so we could say a very personal "Thank You" and let them know that if there is EVER, ANYTHING we can do to make their job easier, we want to help! 

We hope that we get tons of opportunities in 2010 to do just that.....LEND A HELPING HAND! 

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Thank You

The volunteers of Open Door are the best around. Always willing and faithful to serve to help the staff of Open Door accomplish any goal set before them. Without our volunteers it would without a doubt be IMPOSSIBLE to do what God has called us to do.

When it came time for Christmas we thought long and hard about what we could do for our volunteers to say "Thank You." 

After a lot of ideas we decided to give the gift of good, fun, entertainment. A FREE MOVIE!

We rented out two entire theaters so that our volunteers could bring their families for a free movie at the Carmike. The turn out was PHENOMENAL! 

It was such a blessing to our staff to be able to greet all our volunteers at the door and say a personal "Thank You" for all their hard work. 

We probably will never be able to say "thank you" enough to the volunteers that are apart of Open Door. Each one of you are incredible and bring a different piece to the puzzle that God has set before us. 

Check out a few pictures of that day!

 

 

 

 

 

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