As I mentioned during our gathering on Sunday, this summer (August 9th-18th) we’ll be sending a team down to Brazil to aid and assist in mercy outreach and church planting efforts in Rio de Janeiro. For more details on who we are partnering with and why, check out this post.
Several of you have asked a couple questions in one form or another so I wanted to post a quick update addressing those. Over the next several weeks we’ll continue to be posting updates so you know how you can be specifically praying and participating as we prepare to send this team to Brazil.
Who’s going?
So you can be praying for, encouraging, and prayerfully considering who you can help send, here’s the folks we’ll be sending to Brazil:
(Top Left) Peter Isaza, Linnell Pitt, Peter Duong, Catie Rizzo, Tyler Johnson, Edward Sumner, Pastor David Parker (Bottom Left) Anne Johnson, Shelley Pierson, Chelsey Scheffe, Katie Collins.
How are things going?
We met last weekend for our second team meeting to spend some time growing in unity, gospel fluency, and language learning together. It was a great evening together and already looking forward to our next time together at the end of this month. Specifically, It’s been awesome to see how Jesus is even using our preparation and fundraising to stretch and grow our faith and dependency on Him. Thank you for praying for us. I couldn’t be more excited to see how Jesus will continue to grow, shape, and mold us as we prepare to go. We’ll be posting more stories in the weeks to come, stay tuned!
If you are interested in supporting the team through prayer and/or by giving to the Brazil Fund, you can learn more here.
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to email me at .
Given that we’ve had so many new families join us – and lots of babies – over the last year, I thought it would be helpful to create a single post that consolidates the most helpful resources and recommendations I’ve come across for loving your kids to Jesus, in the every day. This isn’t exhaustive, but it is a great place to start.
SERMONS
When we were studying the book of Proverbs we walked through two sermons specifically on the gift of parenting from a gospel-centered perspective. You can get the audio and notes here:
The Rhyme Bible (birth+) is the first Bible we used with our kids. It focuses on individual stories of the Bible, is well illustrated and has short rhyming chapters. It keeps things very simple for even the youngest of kids. To be honest, I’ve been tempted to rip out the chapter on Jonah due to its moralistic message but its solid otherwise. They also came out with this smaller version two years ago.
The Big Picture Story Bible (2+ years old) is an excellent children’s Bible. Transition to this Bible once your kids are able to listen a bit longer and grasp more. The chapters are a little longer, but it is the best children’s Bible when it comes to presenting the overarching storyline of the Bible.
The Jesus Storybook Bible (2+ years old) is also an excellent children’s Bible, probably the best all around. The chapters are longer with more text than the previous two, but is the best children’s Bible when it comes to showing how Jesus is the hero of the story of God. I literally wept when I first read the introduction. It is beautiful. I recommend reading this in rotation with The Big Picture Story Bible.
The Big Picture Interactive Bible Storybook(4+ years old) is put out by the Gospel Project, the same group that put together the material we use for the older kids on Sundays. Using this can help provide continuity between Sunday and the rest of the week, therefore reinforcing lessons learned. It also includes a “Christ Connection” at the end of the story to bring it back to Jesus every time.
As your kids get older (5+ years old) I recommend transitioning to a Bible that sticks closer to the actual text of scripture, such as ESV Children’s Bible or the ESV Seek and Find. However, I do recommend rotating in The Jesus Storybook and The Big Picture Story Bible from time to time to reinforce the unified story of God with Jesus as the hero.
DEVOTION
Thoughts to Make Your Heart Sing, by Sally Lloyd Jones, is an excellent, gospel-driven, beautifully illustrated devotional (short devotionals, at that). Honest parental moment: We turn to this when we’re too tired to do a longer reading, yet still want to land the day on Jesus.
CATECHISM
The New City Catechism is put out by Redeemer in NYC. It’s primarily experienced through an iPad app, however you can also download a pdf. There are 50 or so questions, making for one question for every week of the year if you stick with it. Each question also comes with recommended scripture, topical prayer and a really well done song (which our kids love).
Parenting is not easy, but it is a gift. By God’s grace, he’s given us tremendous resources, and one another, to lean on and learn from as we seek to point our littles to Him. I am praying for you all as you navigate this impossible, yet beautiful, gift of parenting, in Him. Know that you’re not alone. We’re with you and, even better, He is.
Join us at Gasworks Park this coming Tuesday for food and games as we welcome in the summer together! We couldn’t ask for a better spot to enjoy the water, the sun, and the beautiful skyline view of our city. Bring your neighbors and friends to kick off the summer with us!
WHERE.
We’ll meet up at Gas Works Park, 2101 N Northlake Way. Look for everyone gathering just south of the picnic shelter, and east of the old plant structure (see map below).
WHEN.
Tuesday, June 10th, 6pm-dusk
WHAT.
Picnic & Games. Bring your own dinner (non-grillable), blanket, and friends, and we’ll have games for both adults and kids throughout the evening! Some drinks and snacks will be provided.
PARKING.
There is a parking lot on the north side of the park, that should offer ample parking.
This summer we’re preparing to take a team down to Brazil to aid and assist in mercy outreach and church planting efforts with Jay Bauman and Restore Brazil. We couldn’t be more excited that Jesus has given us this opportunity to continue deepening our partnership and support of a fellow friend and church planter in Rio de Janeiro! If you’re not familiar with what Jay is doing in Brazil, check out this video on Restore Brazil.
As of now, we’ve solidified the team of 11 members, plane tickets have been bought, visa applications have been submitted, and team training meetings have begun! Over the summer we’ll continue to prepare through language learning, gospel fluency, sharing our testimonies, kids ministry, and more! Personally, I couldn’t be more excited, and looking forward to all that Jesus has in store for us.
HOW YOU CAN HELP
First, Prayer. We know that without Jesus going before us in every way, this short-term ministry trip will be no more than a trip. In light of that, we would ask for your prayers in the following ways:
That Jesus would form us into a people that live and believe the Gospel into every sphere of life.
That through our team meetings this summer, we would grow in unity, preparation, and language learning together.
That we would be a blessing and encouragement to Jay, Restore Brazil, and church planting efforts taking place in Rio.
That Jesus would give all of us a deeper love and passion for Jesus’ mission not only here in Seattle, but around the world.
That Jesus would provide financially for all of our team needs.
Second, would you prayerfully consider how you can help send this team down to Brazil this summer?
Not only is each team member personally sacrificing and working on fundraising for this trip, but we’re looking to corporately raise 10K towards this trip. This will help cover the cost of everything from mercy outreach supplies (toiletry kits, shoes, crafts, etc.), to some filming and computer equipment that we would like to bless Restore Brazil with so that the Gospel could be spread in the City of Rio and beyond.
BRAZIL FUND
If you would like to contribute to the Brazil fund, you can give in the following ways:
On Sunday via check or cash (please write Brazil in the memo line or use a giving envelope located at the connect desk).
This past Sunday we took some time to unpack the current state and health of our church in regards to finances and serving. I wanted to briefly follow-up on the serving front so you can prayerfully consider how you can respond.
WHY WE SERVE
The mission of Downtown Cornerstone is to build a great city through the Gospel of Jesus Christ, for the glory of God. One of the ways we get to build a great city is by serving others as we’ve been served in Christ. If you are a follower of Christ, part of our ongoing discipleship is a life of service to God and others. Dallas Willard wrote these helpful words, “A disciple is not a person who has things under control, or knows a lot of things. Disciples simply are people who are constantly revising their affairs to follow through on their decision to follow Christ.”
The only place we’re going to get the motivation and drive to follow Christ’s example in serving others, is when we understand and know how much God has served us through the person and work of Christ. Romans 5 tells us, that even while were enemies of God, He infinitely served us and loved us by dying for us. He gave His Son, so that we would be rescued from ourselves — and living for ourselves — and brought back into relationship with our Creator! I don’t know about you, but nothing motivates me more, and reminds me of why I serve, than looking to Jesus and being reminded of how much He served me.
THE NEEDS
Currently we have just over 100 volunteers that are in a regular rotation of serving, but in order to breed health among our ministries, and see more people come to know and love Jesus, we need over 175 volunteers!
You might ask, how could we need over 75 more volunteers, everything seems to be going fine on Sundays? The reality is a few fold, 1) We have many folks that are carrying a lot of weight, and “doubling down” in many areas or serving almost every week. This isn’t sustainable, nor healthy. 2) While Sunday is when the majority of our volunteer needs come to light, we also largely run on volunteer efforts throughout the week (e.g. community leads, website, communications, design, etc.). 3) Lastly, there’s more ways that we want to love and serve the city that God has placed us in, and see more people come to know, love and treasure Him. As we look to the fall, our prayer is not only that we’d have healthy teams, but that we’d be able to launch new ministries so that many more people would get to experience all that God is for us in Jesus Christ.
HOW YOU CAN HELP
For those of you who are faithfully and regularly serving, thank you! For those of you who maybe are brand new, we’re glad you’re here. Take your time, ask your questions, get connected. But for those of you who call Downtown Cornerstone home, consider how you can live out of your identity as a servant of Jesus Christ inside of our body.
Below is a basic list of serving opportunities and current volunteer needs for many of our teams. Most ministries have an every other week rotation of serving, except for Cornerstone Kids, which is roughly once a month. If you would like to learn more about a particular ministry, check out our serve page, and email to ask any questions or to get connected to a serve team.
Downtown Cornerstone,
