Dear Church Family,
With our celebration of Pastor Carl’s ministry coming up this Sunday, I’ve been reflecting on a couple things that I thank God for. I haven’t known Pastor Carl as long as many of you have—since, after all, I’m the “new guy” here. (If you’d like though, I can certainly continue Pastor Carl’s knack for strategically placed quotation marks.) Nevertheless, I am personally grateful to God for Pastor Carl’s encouragement, prayers and support as I deliberated the call here as well as during the time we’ve worked together.
Far beyond that however, I think it’s an appropriate time to thank God for the foundation that exists here. For whenever a “founding pastor” retires or moves on from a particular ministry, it’s natural to examine what kind of foundation that person laid. In the case of Pastor Carl…I think it’s an amazing foundation. And here’s why…
First, it started with Pastor Carl’s vision to establish a school that would create a mission field for the church. Twenty years later, Divine Savior Church exists as a growing family of around 400 souls from all kinds of different backgrounds who are united in faith and love. With dedicated and growing teams we are able to serve both English and Spanish speakers and we have a heart to reach even more people in our community (Not to mention the ministry partnerships that we’ve formed with other Divine Savior campuses in South Florida and Texas!). At the same time Divine Savior Academy is a PreK3-12th Grade academy of excellence where almost 1,000 students daily learn God’s Word led by a staff of some of the most talented, caring, Jesus loving teachers anywhere in the world. What an amazing foundation!
Second, the foundation that has been laid is amazing because that foundation has ultimately always been none other than Jesus Christ—the Divine Savior of the world. Academic excellence ultimately means nothing without Jesus. A big vision ultimately means nothing without Jesus. A beautiful campus ultimately means nothing without Jesus. And what I want more than anything else as a pastor here is simply to continue building on this amazing foundation of Jesus just as Pastor Carl has been faithfully doing here in Doral for the past twenty years.
I’m mindful of the Apostle Paul’s words to the Corinthians (Paul was the founding pastor in Corinth): “By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 3:10-11).
So, friends, join me this Sunday as we come together to worship our gracious God and give Him thanks for our full and free salvation. Pastor Carl will be preaching and just as he began doing 20 years ago here in Doral and over 40 years ago in Corpus Christi, TX…he will point us to the amazing foundation of our faith, our Divine Savior, Jesus Christ.
Worship in English is at 9:30 AM. The Spanish service is at 11:30 AM. All are invited!
ICYMI – Watch my message from last Sunday where we looked at the myth “Dead people (all) go to a better place.” This was the conclusion to our 8 week series Dumb Things Smart Christians Believe.
DSYouth—Tonight, Friday, September 7th, 6:30-8:00 PM. All students 6th-12th grade are invited to meet at church!
Church Choir – If you enjoy singing in a choir for church, your next opportunity to do so will be on September 23rd. The choir will rehearse in the high school music room at 10:45 AM (following English service) on September 9th. Contact Charis if you have any questions or would like to see the music in advance.
Volunteers Needed – Help set up the gym for the Pastor Carl’s celebration of ministry dinner. Meet in the high school gym at 2:00 PM on Saturday afternoon.
Bring a Dessert – If you’re coming to Pastor Carl’s celebration dinner please bring a dessert for the dessert table.
Public School Confirmation Class Parent Meeting – Meet in the auditorium on Monday, September 10th at 6:00 PM for more information and to discuss what days/times will work best to hold confirmation class.
Help Needed – Sunday Morning Refreshments – Help make Sunday morning the best day of the week! We need two families each Sunday to bring $25 worth of food and juice to share after church in the high school commons. We also need people willing to come early to help set up. If you are willing to do either on a rotating basis, please reach out to Pam Welch.
Here are the families scheduled for refreshments the next five weeks starting Sept. 23. As you can see there are some holes to fill coming soon. Thank you for loving the people Jesus loves by creating an enjoyable environment where our church family can gather after worship! If you have any questions, please contact Pam, our Sunday morning refreshments coordinator.
September 23. 1). Unke. 2). Help needed
October 7. 1). Wells. 2). Won
October 14. 1). M Fernandez. 2). Marshall
October 21. 1). Ross. 2). Help needed
October 28. 1). Londono. 2). J Leyrer
Student Teacher Housing – We have MLC student teachers coming from October 15 until December 21. Please contact Ryan Loberger if you would be willing to host one (or more) of the student teachers during this time. We still need two more host homes.
Coming Up…
Get to Know Us Sunday – September 16th. One bilingual worship service at 10:30 AM in the High School Gym. Special potluck welcome reception to follow for all new Divine Savior Doral campus employees (hired or called). We’re beginning a new sermon series on the core values of Divine Savior Church that will power our ministry across all five campuses in South Florida and Texas. Week #1: We thrive on more joy than guilt! Know anyone who needs to hear that message?
Starting September 20th…All Pro Dad’s Days! Team up with other dads and kids for a free breakfast once a month before school starts from 7-8 AM in our High School Commons. Who is it for? Any dads and their kids ages K-6th grade (your child doesn’t have to be a student at DSA). Seating is limited so don’t wait. Find more info and RSVP on our All Pro Dad chapter website for Divine Savior Doral. Email me with any questions.
Changing Lives with Jesus,
Pastor Ben
