The Open Door

JULY 2012 KNOW. GROW. SERVE.

Congratulations to Will Davis and Jordan Knecht Davis on their marriage. May you be blessed with many years of love, joy, peace, happiness, and faithfulness.

And the two shall be one...

Saturday, June 16th, a beautiful day of matrimony
In a beautiful outdoor setting on a sloping meadow adorned with white columns, full bouquets and Boston Fern, Donald and Kim Knecht gave their daughter, Jordan Knecht, to be the bride of William Davis, son of Fred and Debbie Davis. The grand event took place on Saturday, June 16th at 6 p.m. After a week of rain showers and much p r a y e r, our Heavenly Father blessed this special day with dry weather and lots of sunshine. The bride and groom were wed by our very own, Pastor Sam Brooks & beside them stood nine groomsmen and nine bridesmaids all dressed in beautiful gold dresses. Fred Davis stood as the honored best man of William and Jordan had two of her sisters, Sarah Richard & Hannah Knecht, as her maids-of-honor & their younger sister, Mykah Knecht, as one of the ower girls. The bride carried a beautifully hand-tied bouquet of cream, antique pink, & lavender roses that were embellished with jewel accents. Following the ceremony, the wedding party traveled in style on a trolley as they, along with the many guests were treated to a wonderful reception at Abacus in Lafayette, La . It proved to be an evening where many memories were made for friends & family alike. Among many of the special touches at the reception, the cakes were sure to have made a lasting impression on most guests. Prepared by Champagnes Bakery in Breaux Bridge, La, the wedding cake was a delicious multi-tiered caked that was iced in ivory and gold decor and reected the color scheme of the wedding partys attire,while the grooms cake was a wonderful reection of Williams interestmusic & hunting. His cake was a threedimensional guitar that was made to

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scale, including the very measurements between frets. From the center of the guitar, stood the head of a deer from the sound hole with a hunter staked out on the neck of the guitar. Everything t h ro u g h o u t t h e e v e n i n g w a s s o thoughtfully put together.

Talent Search: Worship team is looking for help.

The Open Door Worship Team is currently looking for an alto singer or two to join them in leading our fellowship in worship on Sunday mornings. To ll these positions, you are not required to read music. We are also looking for a bass player. If you are interested in being helping in one of these areas, you can contact Fred Davis or the church ofce at 337-981-6438.

Have a Happy & Safe 4th of July!

A Word From Our Pastor

Lots of things are happening at The Open Door. We have begun work on our building with the needed improvements to the parking lot. This is needed prior to starting the foundation of the sanctuary as the sanctuary will overlap the current driveway making it unusable. We have several new staff members that are settling into their positions with vision and great abilities. I hope you have taken an opportunity to look at our web site recently. Stuart has updated and enhanced its look and content. Mika is moving our events to the forefront of everyones mind with great communication and promotion. Kathryn has been actively updating our internal, behindthe-scenes record keeping. The flip-flop with our worship service and Connect groups has begun and Connect classes are reporting better attendance. The ladies summer Bible study is going well. There is great anticipation for the mens retreat next weekend with Dr. Jobe Martin. And, we continue to add to our building fund each month, with our current total about $940,000. We rejoice in Fathers favor in all of these arenas and look for His continued blessings as we continue moving forward. With all that is happening, there are some things that still need to happen. We need to grow in number as well as in our discipleship. I encourage each of you to share the Good News with your family and friends. Invite them to join us as we celebrate what Father has done in our lives. Dont be shy about inviting those you encounter to embrace the gift of salvation that God has for us and encourage them to join us in what He is doing in our midst. We all like to share with others if we have found something of benefit, so share with others what Father has done for and with you. Lets encourage each other to speak out and share with those around us. Another area in which we need to move forward is in our ministering to our young children. One of the things new couples look for in a church is what type of atmosphere surrounds the childrens ministry. We have loving, caring people who work with our children, but we need more to be involved. We have asked for people to volunteer and many have, but we need more so people can minister and be ministered unto. Psalms 78, tells us we are to teach the next generation about the glorious deeds of Father God and not hide His truths from them. We do this so each generation should set its hope on God. We have all had somebody teach us concerning the grace and love of Jesus Christ. We are to pass that knowledge and understanding along to others and our young children are others just as those in foreign lands or those with needs within our communities. Our young children are right in our midst and need to receive the same love and discipleship as we adults. In July, we will be having BACKYARD BIBLE SCHOOL (BBS) where we will be taking the Good News to children within our personal neighborhoods. We are still in need of sponsoring homes to host the events and people to help staff the events. We will be doing Bible stories, crafts, games, and refreshments. If you have the desire and/or ability in any of these area, we could really use you. It is a great opportunity to serve the Lord and reach into your community at the same time. Those hosting the events need only provide space for children to gather and attend. So, those of you with children in your neighborhoods can be a contact home for the BBS. If you have children and have children living in your neighborhood, this is a perfect way to get to know them and invite them into your home. As your children grow up together with those in the neighborhood, it is better for your home to be the place where they gather and this could be a great start to that end. The BBS will take place each of three Saturdays in July, the 7th, 14th, and 21st. Ideally we would have team(s) for each S a t u r d a y, s o i f y o u a r e available to help in BBS in any way, please contact Mika @ 981-6438 or by e-mail mhernandez@opendoorla.org We are also in the process of establishing some new guidelines and procedures for how we staff our young childrens ministry. The total volunteer method has worked in the past, but we are at a stage where it is not meeting the numbers we need to adequately minister to our youngest members. Too few are carrying the load for the m a n y. T h e r e f o r e , I a m requesting that if you have some ideas on how to more effectively staff our childrens nursery and young peoples ministry, please e-mail me at sbrooks@opendoorla.org . As we establish new guidelines, your input can be most helpful, so if you have ideas, please let me know. I look forward to hearing from you. In the meantime keep watching for new developments in this area. As always, I pray blessing and peace for each of you. May your summer be one filled with delight and enjoyment as you experience the Lords presence in a new and stronger way. Pastor Sam

Jobe Martin, a native of Bloomsburg, PA, was a biology major at Bucknell University and a 1966 graduate of the University of Pittsburgh Dental School. After spending two years in the Air Force, he established a private dental practice at NASA in Houston. Jobe and his wife, Jenna Dee, moved to Dallas in 1971 when he assumed a teaching post at the Baylor College of Dentistry. In 1982, he made the decision to enroll at Dallas Theological Seminary. He graduated in 1986 with a Masters of Theology in Systematic Theology. Dr. Martin also has an Associates Degree in Business from Eastfield Community College in Dallas. Dr. Jobe Martin has spent the last twenty years studying the topic of Biblical Creation vs. Evolution, and lectures frequently on the subject. He began his scientific career as a dentist, and a believer in Darwinian evolution, as he had been taught in numerous courses in high school, undergraduate school, and dental school. Some of his Christian students at the Baylor College of Dentistry challenged him to prove to them that evolution was a correct, complete and accurate explanation for the origin of the earth and all of its abundance of unique life forms. As Dr. Martin studied the topic in order to educate these students in evolution, he began to see that most of the world is heavily indoctrinated from their earliest education to believe in an earth that was created billions of years ago in the Big Bang, and life which evolved from non-life. Yet in reality there is very little scientific evidence to back up this version of origins. Over the course of the next decade, Dr. Martin became an expert on the subject, and has uncovered countless pieces of evidence that the Big Bang, evolution of life from non-life, and an earth billions of years old are simply not factually provable, and are in fact, somewhat incredible. As president of Biblical Discipleship Ministries, Jobe is a frequent speaker on topics such as "Creation vs. Evolution," "Marriage and the Family, "Discipleship, "Biblical Prophecy, and "The New Age Movement".

Summer 2012 Retreat : Creation

Featuring Dr. Jobe Martin and his wife, Jenna Dee Martin
Jobe's wife Jenna Dee, a retired nurse, speaks to women's groups and does extensive counseling to women. She also joins her husband in conducting marriage counseling and seminars. The Martins have two daughters, Taryn and Mirren, who were home-schooled for 12 years. Both are graduates of Pensacola Christian College with degrees in Elementary Education. Also, both have recently received their Masters in History Education from PCC. They have played an active role in Biblical Discipleship Ministries through hospitality, scripture recitation and music.

Sign up Today! Friday, July 6th Dinner at 5:30 Session 1 at 7 p.m. Saturday, July 7th 8 a.m.- 2 p.m.

The Requirements of Servanthood

When Jesus left His home in heaven, He didn't come to earth to be a superstar. He came to serve. As His disciples, we've been left here on earth to follow His example and serve a lost and hurting world. The story of Zacchaeus shows us some Christlike qualities that we need to develop in order to serve as the Lord did.
Luke 19:1-9

trees"--needy, empty, and searching for hope. But too often, we're preoccupied with our activities and don't even notice them. Availability: Jesus was heading to Jerusalem to carry out the most important act in human history: our redemption. Yet He stopped to have a meal with a spiritually needy man. What could be so important that it keeps you too busy to give others what they need most--your time? Acceptance: Although Zacchaeus was a notorious sinner, Jesus didn't say, "Clean up your act, and then I'll come to your house." We're called not to x people, but to share the transforming gospel of Christ.

Awareness: Although surrounded by a crowd, Jesus stopped and took notice of one particular man perched in a tree. Zacchaeus was hated and rejected because he was a tax collector. Although he was rich, there was something missing in his life, and Christ recognized his need. There are people all around us "hanging in

Congratulations to Don & Merlin Gegenheimer on celebrating their 58th wedding anniversary. Thanks for persevering and being such an example of love, commitment, and faithfulness to the body of Christ.

July 29th: Sunday Potluck

Join us for fellowship and lunch immediately following church on the fth Sunday of July. It will give everyone an opportunity to catch up with one another and enjoy a tasty meal dished up from many different homes. Youre sure to nd s o m e t h i n g p l e a s i n g t o yo u r p a l a t e a n d encouraging to your soul. Just bring a dish or side large enough to feed your family and add it to the assortment that arrives.

Birthdays & Anniversaries

Mr. & Mrs. Sam Brooks July 5

C4

Led by Isy Falgoust & Rebecca Beasley

Mr. & Mrs. Michael Gaudet July 6 Mr. & Mrs. Bim King Mr. & Mrs. Paul Doherty July 16 July 30

College Coed Connect C4 Class

Rollen Trahan Julia Pierce Carolyn Teufel Stuart Amidon John Hughes Josie LeBlanc Scott Broussard Bart Hidalgo Lacey Dugas Alexia Ardoin Catherine Tarbell Silas Carmichael Sydney Bigelow Doug Place

July 3 July 4 July 8 July 9 July 9 July 9 July 10 July 11 July 12 July 18 July 19 July 20 July 24 July 31

Sundays at 10:55 in the Student Ministry Building

Life Matters: June- Faith Revived; The Prophet Malachis Message-Then and Now July-The Work Within: Living in The Holy Spirits Power August- Following the Leader: Be a Person God Uses

I will answer Gods call 2 fall on my knees in humility & seek HIS face in repentance that He might forgive my sins and heal our land. 2 Chronicles 7:14 Thank you for joining us, with over one million other believers nationwide, as we went to our Heavenly Father in prayer on behalf of our nation on Sunday, July 1st during worship. Visit http://www.call2fall.com/basics for more information on this nationwide petition for prayer.

Grow up. Go Out. Get Up.

1. If we would Grow Up in Christ in all things-Ephesians 4:15 2. We must Go Out from the world of sin- Genesis 12:1 3. And Get Up to the Bethel of Prayer- Genesis 13:3-4 In Genesis 12, we see where Abram is given a word from God to leave his land ( a type & shadow of the old man) & go to the land God has promised him. Abrams obedience is immediate. As Abram passes into the Promised Land,which is still inhabited by the Canaanites, the Lord appears to him & promises to you and your offspring I will give this land. So Abram builds an altar to the Lord in the vicinity of Bethel. In Genesis 13, we see Abram, Sarai, Lot, and all their possessions back at Bethel. (They had been in Egypt due to a famine.) Some translations literally say Abram returns to where he had originally pitched his tents. Abram had returned to where he had built an altar to the Lord. This, of course,

Goal: $ 1.6 million

was no accident. A number of patriarchs had constructed altars at different locations (Genesis 13:18, 22:9, 26:25, June 25th $938,753-33:20, 35:7). They are a April 1st $925,000-common feature of the patriarchal period because no central sanctuary existed before the exodus from Egypt. Before the construction of the tabernacle, God was not viewed as dwelling on the Earth. These altars are places of presence. Gods Presence! Do you see the point? As Thank you for your we grow deeper into becoming continued giving towards our more conformed to Christs building campaign: Preparing image, we go out or become for Future Generations. more separated from this world. Brothers and sisters, if as Christians we become more separated from this world, we yearn more and more to be at our Bethel Altar; in Gods presence in everything we do, say, or act upon! -John Vice

Study His Word! Seek His Face! Yearn For His Presence!

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