Hello church family,

I have been so very blessed and encouraged by the love and care you have showed me since I have come to Sovereign Grace Church OC. And I just want to say it plainly:

I love this church. 

Since coming here, to SovGrace OC, I have seen a pronounced desire to exalt Christ and encourage the church in your hearts and lives; and I have seen this desire in the pastors God has given us. I have come to know many of you, and have grown to respect your wisdom and your hearts to serve both God and neighbor. Many people have testified to the love of Christ seen in our church, and I would again make the same testimony. God has used you to bless and encourage myself and many others. I am very excited to be a part of this church right now.

A growing desire to pursue pastoral ministry.

Over the past few years, God has been growing a desire within me to pursue pastoral ministry. In this desire I want to see the church built and encouraged. I want to see it prepared for the joys and difficulties of life. Ultimately, the Savior’s glory among His church is what inspires me more than anything.

An opportunity to be trained.

That’s why I am so excited for the opportunity to be an intern at this church. I am humbled and honored to continue learning and growing from you over the next year, during this internship. I am excited to see how God will continue to exalt and glorify his Son through the ministry of our church. There are not a lot of churches out there that take the time and resources to invest in young guys, like myself. Again I am honored to be given such a wonderful chance to be trained among this church body. I would ask for your continued prayers, encouragement, wisdom, guidance, and patience over the next year.

Thank you!

Learn more about Dave's internship here. 

Being in a church community gives us many opportunities to celebrate. Engagements are one of our favorites...Congratulations Robbie and Kelsey!

A simple fact that is hard to learn is that the time to save money is when you have some.
Joe Moore

Recently, Anne Adam hosted a class to share some tips on budgeting and shopping. The goal, she said, was "to help my friends grow in stewarding their resources." 

Ladies discipling ladies.

One of the primary goals of church ministry is discipleship - Christians becoming more like their Lord. God stewards his resources perfectly and we are to follow in His footsteps. Anne has set a prime example by teaching others to do the same.

Shrewd Shopping.

The class included information on how to use a combination of tools - store promotions, store coupons, manufacturer's coupons, and rewards programs - to get a number of household items for free or extremely cheap. Doing this enables the skillful shopper to stay on or below budget and afford pricier items when needs arise.

The best news? Anne would like to host another class in the Fall, but she needs to gauge interest. If you feel like you could benefit from a class like this then please fill out the form below.

Your favorite (only) church intern, Dustin Smetona, officiated a wedding this past Saturday!  You've been a huge part of his growth inside the ministry of the church. Be encouraged to see an opportunity for gospel ministry that God has given him outside the church walls.

Emily shared this past Sunday... 

At the beginning of the summer, I had the opportunity to travel to Swaziland, a tiny country located inside of South Africa, as a member of a team from Gordon College. We spent a month serving in the village of Bulembu.

Bulembu was a mining town that produced asbestos until health concerns lessened the demand and the town was abandoned. About ten years ago, a christian organization purchased the land with the intent of developing it into a self-sustaining community by the year 2020. They plan to do this through the production of various commodities like bottled water, milk, honey, and lumber, and the education and training of a new generation of Swazi leaders. 

Our team was able to participate in this vision by assisting with a number of work projects, including painting curbs and walls around the town, renovating a baby home, and readying old houses for repairs. We also spent time with the kids at school, helping out with after-school clubs and sports, and visited their families homes in the evenings.

What most surprised me most.

The joy and richness we found in the simplicity of the Swazi lifestyle. With no access to TV or internet, we engaged fully in our surroundings and quickly formed friendships with in the community and amongst the team. The lack of distractions let us see things we would normally otherwise miss.

We saw was God’s grace everywhere.

As a team, we experienced an uncommon closeness and spent the entire month together with little to no conflict whatsoever. It was grace that gave us strength to look past each other’s faults, give more of ourselves than we would have thought possible, and persevere even when we faced mental and physical challenges. Several times during evening debriefs, a teammate commented that it was another teammate’s cheerfulness that kept him from complaining during the long hours of work – often to that teammate’s surprise.

“Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.” (1 Corinthians 1:26-27 ESV)

We don’t have to be talented or strong or brilliant to be used by God. We just have to be willing.

.

Since day one, Mike C. has been a part of us. The problem was that he didn't live anywhere near us...he lived in Los Angeles.

Mike road the train to Orange County on Saturdays, biked to the Davis house, served on the setup team, the A/V team, the take down team, it seemed at times like every team. Then 24 hours later he headed back home to LA, where he had lived his entire life.

But not no more! 

Welcome home, Mike. 

Dan is the man...

Malachi David Liu, born 07.26.13 @ 8:30 am.