I’m not sure about anyone else, but I know I haven’t yet recovered from the joy of what happened this past Sunday. It was a display of God’s grace in our church that left me in awe.
Baptisms:
The Bible tells us that there is incredible joy in heaven over one sinner who repents (Luke 15:10). What do you think it’s like when eight people respond to the gospel and are baptized?? There’s eight times the joy:).
As I listened to each testimony, I was amazed at the various ways God saves His people. There was a 73-year-old man, named Gary, who heard the gospel from his brother and sister-in-law, and thanked us for watching him give his life to Jesus. There were several young people, raised in godly, Christian homes, giving their lives to Jesus. I tried to catch every parent’s face as their kids shared their testimonies, and tears ran down my face. There is truly no greater joy than to see your children walking in the truth (3 John 4).
Over the last two-plus years, we have baptized over 40 people. This is an act of God and answered prayer. Over the same years, we, as a church, have prayed for adult conversions and for people to come to Jesus. Further, we planned for baptisms to be a regular sacrament that we would celebrate. And here’s what God has done…he’s answered those prayers and that planning, with His power. This reminds me of Jonathan Edwards comment about prayer: “Prayer is God’s predestined way to accomplish God’s predestined plans.” God stirred us, we prayed. God challenged us to prepare for baptism, and we did. And God has met us in amazing ways. So…let’s keep praying for more disciples and for transformed lives.
What is Gospel Legacy?
Just so we don’t get lost in raising money for a new building, I want to remind you that our Gospel Legacy Initiative is about building people into Christ who will take the gospel to generations yet to be born. And we had an incredible display of this on Sunday.
If you didn’t notice, let me show you:
- Luis Castellanos, a young pastor on our staff, faithfully preached God’s Word to us. Not only was his sermon convicting, but it was also delivered with dependent passion. Luis’ love for God, His Word, and His people was palpable on Sunday. Luis is a true son of our church.
- Then we celebrated baptisms, and a few other pastors on our staff baptized the people they had built relationships with and had influenced. It was a joy to be the encourager of the baptizers and the people being baptized. And, as mentioned, several young people from godly, Christian homes followed the Lord in baptism, as parents passed the gospel to the next generation.
- Then, at the Vine Street building, in the afternoon, Perry Sorensen and Jaymen Bendele taught from chapter 1 of Ephesians as part of our Preaching Practicum. These brothers did a great job of preparing, praying, writing, and then preaching from God’s word. To see both of their personalities, styles, and gifts come out was truly amazing to watch and hear. It was also a unique joy that about 40 people from our church came to listen and learn.
Friends, that’s Gospel Legacy! It is not about a building, it’s about people. And our hope and desire is THAT vision will continue to capture our hearts. We want to be a church that equips people to be leaders in every sphere of life. We want to build mature, Christian people to affect their world for the gospel. And we want to plant healthy churches throughout Southern Oregon and beyond. This is why we’ve said that the new building is ‘step one’ of Gospel Legacy. We will keep building people through the gospel of Christ, but we need a new building to help facilitate this broader, longer vision.
So, CLF, take a look around…Gospel Legacy is happening right now. God is at work among us, and it is marvelous in our eyes.
Looking ahead:
Our Good Friday service will be from 6:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. at Jacoby Auditorium. At this service, we will sing about and meditate on the wonder of Jesus’ death on our behalf.
Then on Sunday…oh Sunday ‘is a comin’…we will celebrate Easter and the Resurrection of Jesus. “He is not here…He is risen!” Bring some friends, make room in Jacoby for lots of people, and let’s magnify our Risen Lord together.
Cheap Seats:
- Not a bad start by my Rangers. Taking 2 of 3 from the Phillies in Philadelphia and then getting the first one in Baltimore. I love the offensive approach.
- If you haven’t noticed, take a look at these MLB Rookies: https://oos-sports.com/mlb-opening-weekend-2026-rookies-abs-trends/
- This strikeout couldn’t have happened to a better guy, in my opinion. He looked silly: https://www.mlb.com/video/mason-montgomery-s-99-5-mph-strikeout-of-juan-soto?partnerId=it-20260330-17490195-mlb-1-A&utm_id=it-20260330-17490195-mlb-1-A&lctg=234822312
Christ is King!
In Christ,
Dave York
