Issue No.

27, November 2011

Praise God for His grace and provision:

God continues to provide faithfully for Renewal in every way. God has continued to raise up leaders who are being equipped for further missions and ministry work. God continues to grow our students and our student ministries. Our people continue to seek the Scriptures and biblical community. Praise God for the opportunities Hes continued to provide us to connect

with local schools, agencies, and organizations. Praise God for His provision in allowing us the opportunity to meet again on Sunday mornings going forward.

Prayer Needs:
Continue to pray for our elders, that He would guard and protect them as they shepherd well. Pray for our community and city at large, that Gods name would be glorified and known. Pray for our transition back to a Sunday morning gathering time beginning November 6th. Pray that our people would continue to seek the Lord and be obedient to follow Him. Pray that the Holy Spirit would fill our people with a desire to continually know Him better. Pray for upcoming missions opportunities, both locally and abroad, as we seek to multiply disciples for His glory.

Renewed Love for God

Scripture if we do not dwell deeply in the gospel on a daily basis. "Bound to Abide" (1 John 2:283:10) joined this idea with the fact that if we 1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of abide in God's truth, not only will we be protected God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and from false gospels, but we will also lead lives acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the pleasing to the Lord as He uses His truth to renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what change us. John again warned us that, if we see is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. consistent practice of sin instead of righteousness, (Romans 12:1-2) we have reason to question whether God abides in us. We continued our Bound series in 1 John throughout the month of October. Due to our "Bound to Overflow" (1 John 3:11-23) brought us mission trip to North Africa, all of our elders taught back to the idea that our motivation and ability to at least one week this month. But even with different love and abide in Christ come from God's teachers, the message of 1 John was clear: love God gracious work on our behalf. When we dwell in and His truth and allow His love to flow through you His grace to us and the good news of His to others. sacrificial love for us, we will overflow in sacrificial love toward others. "Bound to the Spirit" (1 John 4:1-6) gave us hope and joy as we heard the truth that God's Spirit produces all that is required by the Law. When we feel overwhelmed by the commands in 1 John to love our neighbor, lay down our lives for them, abide in the Truth, don't believe false gospels, and obey and live righteous lives, we can run to God and trust His Spirit to produce obedience in our hearts to these difficult commands. "Bound to Truth" (1 John 2:18-28) encouraged us to hold fast to the Truth as we abide deeply in the gospel "that we have heard from the beginning." Many false gospels dot our landscape and we may easily be sucked into a teaching different from Finally, we concluded the month with "Bound to Love" (1 John 4:7-12), another exhortation to love others as Christ loves us. We were challenged with the Greek word, "agape", used here to describe the type of love God has for us

and the type we should have for others. Through this passage we see "agape" love defined as active, self-sacrifice, for the benefit of others, regardless of their response, at great cost. As God has loved us this way actively sending Jesus as a sacrifice for us, even when we were His enemies we desire to love others in the same way. Please pray for our young church as God works in us to love our families, our brothers and sisters in Christ, and the city of Greenville with agape love. If you would like to listen to any Renewal sermons, including any from the Bound series, you can visit our website at www.renewalchurch.cc/sermons, or subscribe to our podcasts in iTunes.

On Mission in North Africa

Matt, Stephen, Hugh, and Brandon spent ten days in North Africa training pastors, teaching the Word, and building relationships with local churches.

www.renewalchurch.cc

Renewed in Relationships

Everyday they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts. (Acts 2:46)

Renewed Through Study

We continue to be excited about what God is doing in and through our Study/Serve classes that meet each week prior to our Sunday gathering.

Multiplying Disciples Summit Sessions Online

We shared briefly last month about our recent Multiplying Disciples Summit, held during the final weekend of September. Jon Hagen, from Grace Harbor Counseling Ministries, was our main speaker and lead us in learning to "get to the heart" in our personal walks with the Lord as well as when discipling others. Matt and Hugh also led breakout sessions, providing us with practical tools to help lead someone through a passage of Scripture in the discipleship process.

Our entire group gathered at Pump it Up in Greenville for some fun on Saturday afternoon.

Our series this month has been a continuation of our study on "Missions and the Glory of God." Weve covered a variety of subjects, including The Triune God, the Nature and Attributes of God, and an Introduction to Evangelism. Each of these studies has allowed us to see how our view and knowledge of God and His glory ultimately drives our efforts to be missionally engaged in our community, city, and around the world. Our girls had a great time getting to know each other at the Garretts home.

The audio from these sessions is now available on our website for those who were unable to attend. You can locate them by clicking on the Sermons box on our home page, followed by the Multiplying Disciples Summit image. We encourage you to listen as we found them tremendously profitable, and we trust that you will as well.

How You Can Give to Support What God's Doing at Renewal

Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. (Acts 2:45)

Student Impact Weekend

Thank you again for your commitment to give to Renewal Church! Your faithfulness has been a blessing to our church and our efforts in the city. See the following information on how to give: By check Place a check in the pre-labeled envelope along with a stamp, and mail to Renewal Church - 201 B. West Butler Rd. #151, Mauldin, S.C. 29662 Online Go to www.renewalchurch.cc and click on Online Giving at the bottom of the home page. Click Register to give a one time gift. Automatic Draft Go to www.renewalchurch.cc and click on Online Giving at the bottom of the home page. Click Register to complete your automatic draft. A few reminders: All gifts are tax deductible Please make us aware of any address changes or changes to your giving so we can make the necessary adjustments. Send an email to church@renewalchurch.cc to update your information!

Our first Impact Weekend for our grade-school students was a huge success, and we want to thank your for your prayers! Our students gathered at host homes October 28th30th for a weekend of study, fellowship, and fun. The theme for the weekend was Jesus 101 and was designed to grow our students in their knowledge of God Himself. Were excited to see how God will use this time together in the growth of our students, both individually and for our student ministry at large. Weve attached a few pictures from the weekend activities.

Our guys, shown here during one of their study sessions, were hosted by Toby and Julieann Dix. We were blessed to have Bryce Nelson and Robyn Prout, two of our college students and small-group leaders, teach the study sessions for the weekend. They did a wonderful job! Were also very thankful for several of our Renewal ladies and families who provided meals, and for the Garrett and Dix families for serving as host homes for the students. Were already looking forward to planning the next one, and wed very much appreciate your ongoing prayers for our student ministry at Renewal.

www.renewalchurch.cc