Craig T. Owens

When I say, “I ♥ My Church!” that is not some throw-away phrase. I’m not saying it to try to whip up some emotion, or get Calvary Assembly of God to live up to some unreasonable standard. I say it because I truly mean it. I sometimes sit down in my office on Sunday after our service, and I can hardly force myself to head home because I’m just basking in all that God has done.

Some highlights from today:

• I so enjoy watching my church family during the greeting time. I just stand back and smile as I watch everyone being greeted as a long-last friend. As Mary told me on my very first Sunday here, “We don’t shake hands here. We hug!” And it’s true. Honestly, I think if I didn’t step back to the microphone and say, “Ahem!” the greeting time would continue all morning long. There is some amazing one-on-one ministry that was happening in that greeting time today!

• It was great to hear from our special guests Bill & Melissa Chappel. They are preparing to go to an unreached area in Asia, and their enthusiasm is contagious! 

• A brother shared a spontaneous praise report this morning. He lives on a fixed income and has had several unexpected bills lately. So when the “Check Engine” light came on in his van, he was quite upset about it. He drove his van for about a week, wondering how he was going to pay for the repairs. Before the offering last Sunday, I prayed that God would take care of anything that was perplexing us. Gary shared that after service he got in his van to head home and the “Check Engine” light didn’t come back on… and it hasn’t been back on since!

• As I shared this morning about the ministry that we’ve been doing, as well as the ministry we are planning for this fall, I read an email I received. This email came from a business owner in Cedar Springs after our Halloween outreach (that’s called the “Spooktacular” in our city) last year—

Hey Craig, I just wanted to tell you that I think it’s fantastic that you participate in Spooktacular.  It seems like sometimes churches and pastors are so scared to step out into the community when it comes to Halloween.  But, in my opinion, Jesus went to the people.  When I see christians stepping out to love on people rather than bowing to fear, I really see God at work.  And I think people in the community do too.

Amazing stuff happening around here!

If you live near Cedar Springs and don’t have a home church, I invite you to come visit with us. I think you will quickly discover why I and so many others around here say, “I ♥ My Church!”