This past Sunday we held our Fall Church Member's Meeting. This is a time for members and regular attenders to be equipped to participate in the life and ministry of our congregation. We download a lot of information. The members ask questions. We go home with bellies full of our world famous Buck-O-Slice Pizza. Here are a few highlights:

Sunday School

Our Sunday School is designed to help you know what you believe and why you believe it. Doctrine matters and Sunday School is where we teach it in an organized way.

Currently, Sunday School is taking a holiday recess. In January 2019 we begin a year in the New City Catechism. It will take us through all the major categories of biblical teaching. There are plenty of resources to take advantage of on their website and we will do a more in-depth teaching at Sunday School each week.

We invite and encourage you to make Sunday School part of your Sunday plans for 2019. Be equipped to help us treasure, guard, and declare the gospel of grace.

Newcomers Ministry

Over the past year, the pastoral team has focused their attention on our efforts to reach and retain guests. This has included appointing a new leader (Grant Sigafoos) to our Connect Team, training and recruiting more volunteers for the Connect Team, hosting a weekly guest reception in our lobby, and changing our half-day Starting Point class to a 4-session Intro Course hosted and led by the pastors.

We’re happy to report that our guests still consistently describe you as the most welcoming church they’ve ever encountered.

There are a couple ways you can continue to help:

1. As you interact with guests, encourage them to attend the Intro Course. This is the one big next step we want them to make as they’re exploring Sovereign Grace Church.

2. On Sunday mornings be mindful of where you sit. We’re asking you to move “up and in.” Create open seats on the outside of the aisles for guests and latecomers to easily locate a spot.

Mission

Your sacrifices are bearing good fruit. Here are a few major highlights to report:

1. Sovereign Grace Church of Santa Ana is fully funded and will be recognized as a sister church in January 2019.

2. We have begun looking for our next church planting site and church planter. Be praying that God would guide and provide.

3. Our global vision of “working for the prosperity of our sister churches in the Asia-Pacific region” has been realized. Pastor Eric has made a handful of exploratory trips and opportunities for church members are right around the corner. Stay tuned.

4. We have 6 men completing our Theology Course, 1 intern, and 1 Worship Leader apprentice. We are training the next church leaders of Orange County.

SUBSCRIBE TO THE NEW SANTA ANA BLOG HERE

Thank you for praying for the work that God is doing in Downtown Santa Ana. As the new church planting work progresses, we would hope that you would continue to pray and rejoice with us. The Sovereign Grace Orange blog has been the temporary home for news, updates and announcements regarding Santa Ana. Now, we're happy to announce that there is now a new home for Sovereign Grace Santa Ana blog content - on the Sovereign Grace Santa Ana website. 

If you hope to continue to receive Santa Ana news, subscribe to the blog for regular updates. To view any Santa Ana content prior to 11/2017, search "Santa Ana" on the Sovereign Grace Orange blog. 

Planting a church takes many partners. Some are planned and strategic.

Some partners surprise us.

They are God's way of making it clear that this is His work. He is committed to it, He is providing for it, and He is accomplishing it. 

Recently, we received a generous, unsolicited financial contribution from a sister church in our denomination. They did this out of the goodness of their own hearts because they believe God called them to.

Included was a note addressed to Kyle Houlton, our church planter in Santa Ana. Read it and be encouraged that God is supplying all we need to reach people in Santa Ana. 

Kyle,

We love church planters, and we thank God for you and Kelsey! Thank you for serving Christ and for making sacrifices to see the gospel advance in Santa Ana. We are praying for you, and we are excited about all that God will do through your labors. God is with you!

BECAUSE MY SALVATION DID NOT BEGIN WITH ME, I WILL NOT BE THE ONE TO END IT

Listen to the Sermon Here

This past Sunday, Kyle Houlton began a new (and very first) sermon series at Sovereign Grace Santa Ana entitled "Our 7 Shared Values". These are values that help to answer the question "what kind of a church are we?". These are also 7 values that we share with the church from whom we've been sent out as well as the family of churches we're a part of. The first of the 7 values is "we are reformed"; we believe that the Bible teaches that salvation is a work of God, from beginning to end. Click the link above the listen to the sermon out of Ephesians 2:1-10. 

The Core Team Is An 8 Month Commitment To A City

CORE TEAM INTEREST FORM

Most reading this blog post have prayed for Sovereign Grace Santa Ana. Many have contributed time. Energy. Resources. We're where we are because of you. Thank you.

We've taken many steps and now it's time to move, with faith in our great God, toward our next one. That next step is to identify a core team. To send that core team out from the church that is sending SGSA - Sovereign Grace Orange. This core team will commit not only to a Sunday evening service, but to the city of Santa Ana through August, 2018. This core team will be dedicated to the privilege of spreading the joy of Jesus in Downtown Santa Ana. If you believe God might be calling you to join this core team, go ahead and fill out the "Core Team Interest Form" (top of article). Kyle Houlton will be in contact with you shortly thereafter. If interested, please complete the form before December 15. 

7:00PM 

301 W 2nd ST, SANTA ANA

Our small group ministry is designed to help disciples of Jesus to help other disciples of Jesus. We celebrate together. We mourn together. We live life together under the banner of the Gospel. Small group meetings are an opportunity to do this in between our Sunday evening celebrations. After all, the church isn't a building. Or a meeting. It's a local body of people redeemed by the blood of Jesus. Come join us. Invite your Santa Ana friends, neighbors and family. We'll see you there.

Contact Kyle Houlton For Questions

kyle@sovgraceoc.org

The gospel was preached where it wasn't preached last week

The first service in downtown Santa Ana is in the books. Songs were sung, guests were greeted, and Bibles were opened. All of it offered to Jesus through Jesus and for Jesus.

Thank you for being a church-planting church

We are filled with gratitude to God and to you. Thanks to those who served and thanks to those who came out in support. You have proven yourselves willing to make sacrifices for the advance of the gospel.

Head to the Facebook gallery to see more photos.

The leaders and members serving at Sovereign Grace Santa Ana want to be a blessing in their neighborhood. Our neighborhood is full of people who speak english. It's also full of people who speak Spanish. We want to serve both. So, if you or whomever you're considering inviting to SGSA speaks Spanish as their first language, we have resources available to make the best of their visit. Every service, we will have:

• Spanish Bibles - (Versión La Biblia De Las Americas)
• Spanish Sermon Outlines - (Perfil de Predicaciónes)
• Spanish Segments within the service - (A veces habra canciones, anuncios y otras partes para servirte)

We don't want to be a church defined by what language we speak. We will be a church defined by the Savior who has loved us - Jesus.