RBC Partnering with RightNow Media
Our church is always looking for ways to serve you as you live out your faith throughout the week. With the goal of continuing to know Christ and make Him known, RBC is partnering with a service called RightNow Media. You can think of it as the “Netflix of video Bible studies” because with RightNow Media, you will have instant access to thousands of online video sermons and teachings for kids, youth, parents, married couples and more. There are currently over 2,000 videos from many great Bible teachers.
We would love to provide anyone who considers RBC their church home with a free account to the RightNow Media video library.
If you are in myRBC, our online church database, you should have already received an “invitation email” from Pastor Tony Pedroni on behalf of RightNow Media. That email will include instructions on activating your RightNow Media profile so you have free access to this online library. Simply find the email (check your spam folder if you can’t find it in your inbox), click on the link, put in your name and a password and you’re all set.
We hope you will find this resource helpful as you seek to grow in Christ. If you have any questions, can’t find the invitation email or need help setting up your RightNow Media login, please send us an email at info@restonbible.org.
App Resource for Scripture Memorization
We hope many of you take on Pastor Ed’s Scripture memorization challenge from last week’s sermon, Give Me Life According to Your Word. He asked that all RBCers consider memorizing 12 verses over the summer months – these are 12 verses we’ve selected from throughout Scripture that tell us about Scripture. If you didn’t get the memory verse cards passed out last Sunday, those are available by request at the Welcome Desk in the lobby.
We’re also pleased to recommend another resource for Scripture memorization called BibleMinded. BibleMinded is a free app published by the American Bible Society that allows you to select specific verses to memorize, follow along with pre-made memorization plans, or create your own customized memorization plans. It’s a great resource as we read, delight in and obey the Word of God.
BibleMinded is available on Apple, Android and Kindle Fire mobile devices. You can search for BibleMinded from within your device’s store or marketplace or visit http://biblemindedapp.com/.
The 12 verses from Pastor Ed’s memorization challenge are included in the app as a featured memorization plan. To access it, download the app, touch Add a Verse and select Plans. As one of the options, you’ll see “Delighting in God’s Word” from Reston BIble Church. You can Add This Plan and start memorizing! Many thanks to RBCer Scott Wennermark of the American Bible Society for setting this up for us.
Investing in the Teens of RBC
My name is Bob Shull, and I am the Senior High Youth Pastor here at Reston Bible Church. I am so thankful for the investment that RBC has made in the youth of our area for almost 40 years now. I am actually one of the fruits of the Youth Ministry here – having become a Christian when I was a junior at Herndon High School (back in the “Remember the Titans” era) through the ministry of Dave Wentzel, RBC’s first Youth Pastor. Since that time, many things have changed since then in our society and in our church (hair & clothing styles, the cost of gas, technology – just to mention a few). RBC, however, has continued to focus the time and energies of our Youth Staff on encouraging our families with teens, teaching and equipping our teens, and working with our teens in reaching out to their friends.
We follow the goal of the church as a whole to “know Christ and make Him known” – both in a big group and small group setting. We also have a long tradition of taking an extended time with our teens in the Word of God at our Winter Retreats and Summer Camps. We give teens an opportunity to be involved in the ministry by using their gifts in worship, drama, teaching, and in the one anothers. We are blessed to have a facility that allows us to do bigger things like “First Fruits” and “Bring It” that impact our community. We have also been blessed to go with teens on overseas mission trips to places like England, Trinidad, Croatia, Brazil, Bolivia and to stateside locations like PawPaw West VA, Chicago IL, Maysville SC, St. Louis MO and many more. It is on these trips that our teens have had to put their faith to the test and have seen God meet them there. What never ceases to amaze and motivate me is the ability of our teens to still believe and obey God in both little and big ways. Older adults can learn from them in this!
One of the greatest gifts that God has and continues to give the Youth Ministry are the many volunteers He has led to join us in reaching out to our teens and their families. It is an understatement to say that working with teens is very relational. Just like all adults, teens are looking for a place to belong, a place to wrestle out what they believe, a safe place share their thoughts and doubts and grow in their faith in God. Doing this requires us to have men and women of all ages, giftings, and personalities who have a clear love for God, a love for His Word, and a willingness to love and work with teens. Could God be nudging you to consider stepping out to join us?
The Youth Ministry is hosting our first “Youth Ministry Preview and Training Event” on Sunday June 8th, 2014. It is designed to help anyone who wants to know more about the youth ministry and is evaluating how they can serve at Reston Bible Church. Our hope is that everyone attending will get the answers they need to make that decision. We will meet at 10:30am in the front classroom of the Youth Building. Aaron Osborne and Lee Banton will give the group an overview on the who, what, and why of the Youth Ministry. It will briefly cover what we do and the strategy behind it. We will then have the group join and observe on or our Sunday morning youth gatherings – either in the Senior High (called GAP) or the Junior High (called BreakThru). These run from 11:00am to 12:15pm. Afterwards, the group will have lunch and Lee Banton and I will do the training aspect of the event. We will first cover the volunteer process; how someone becomes involved in the youth ministry. We will next cover what the volunteer roles are that we need in the Youth Ministry. We actually need not only relational people, but also those who are gifted administratively, and with specific talents – in music, drama, video, multimedia, etc. We will then go over what we see as being the essentials of youth ministry. There is not one type of person who can do youth ministry. However there are some essentials every volunteer needs to have and be growing in. Finally, we will talk about of the keys of wisdom that volunteers need to know to be effective in working with teens. It is not about just hanging out with teens – it’s helping them to individually learn how to follow Jesus in their lives.
If this sounds like something you want to explore, I would invite you to use this link to register for the “Youth Ministry Preview and Training Event” – CLICK HERE TO REGISTER.
Coming to this event does not mean you are committing to join the Youth Ministry volunteer staff. It will, however, allow you to hear, see, and experience what Youth Ministry at RBC looks like and be able to make an informed choice on applying to volunteer with us. It is our goal to identify those who want to join us and begin working with them over the summer to be ready by the fall. If you have any questions for want any other information, please check out the video below. You can also contact me directly at bobshull@resonbible.org.
Event Recap: 2014 Women’s Retreat
For the third year in a row, the ladies of Reston Bible Church converged on the Sterling Doubletree Hotel for a weekend away from the pressures and stresses of everyday life. We gathered together – freed from the distractions of families, careers and simple things like making our own beds and meals – ready to hear from the Lord through Shawn Lantz, who taught on the subject of Living with Unmet Desires.
Shawn is the daughter of missionaries who moved to the Democratic Republic of Congo when she was ten, and now resides in Nashville with her husband and three children. Throughout the course of our three days together, Shawn led us through the four core issues of jealousy, taught us to expose the true idols of our hearts, and learn how to forgive ourselves and those who we feel have sinned against us. Shawn’s message was a balm to many hurting hearts, and her delivery was clear and concise. She shared many moving anecdotes about her time in the Congo and was transparent about her own personal experiences and struggles with the topic at hand, which was refreshing and encouraging.
After each teaching session, we talked through what we’d learned in small groups. Sharing in our small groups was a great way for women to share with and encourage each other, and form new connections.
On Saturday afternoon, a chunk of free time afforded us the opportunity to participate in a service project for the RBC Food Pantry or attend a special interest meeting. We were also given the opportunity to buy handcrafted bags to support Napada, a ministry in Bangkok that employs women from low-income communities. The proceeds (and there were many!) went directly back into the ministry (and the bags were gorgeous). Some women took the chance to head out to the outlets for some shopping or worked out together at the gym. And I think a great many of us took naps.
Once again, the RBC women’s retreat proved to be an extraordinary time of teaching, connecting with other women, and hearing powerful messages from the Lord. Please pray that the Lord would continue to bear fruit from our time together at the retreat.
– Emily Cassee, Retreat Planning Committee
In this video, shown during the retreat, Jan Stevens shares about the loss of her son, David, and God’s redeeming hand throughout his life. Her story is a powerful testimony of our Lord’s grace & provision in the midst of the most difficult of unmet desires.
The Green Room Sessions: I Will Look Up
We’re introducing the song “I Will Look Up” in our worship services. In this edition of the Green Room Sessions, Paul, Erik & Melody discuss how Melody lost her keyboard, band dynamics, dealing with criticism, and the past, present & future faithfulness of God.
Just the Music: 08:23
The Green Room Sessions are a sneak peak into the heart of the worship ministry at Reston Bible Church. We have a huge desire to communicate God’s Word through song and respond to the Spirit, freely worshiping when we’re together. Our hope is that these short videos will provide an extension of the community at RBC and supply your home, car, and office with great songs about the greatness and love of our incredibly able God. See more Green Room Sessions here: rstbl.ch/PrUkYS
Annual Report 2013
If you missed last month’s announcement, we’ve released our 2013 Annual Report. The Annual Report is designed to provide you with a broad overview of what God has done in and through Reston Bible Church over the last year. Our prayer is that this year-in-review is an encouragement to you as we reflect on what God has done in and through His people for His glory. This report is not a compilation of our accomplishments, but those of our great and glorious God. It is a joy to look back on what He has accomplished and look ahead with joyful anticipation at what we trust He will do this upcoming year. We hope this report is an occasion to give thanks together as we continue seeking to know Christ and to make Him known here in Northern Virginia and beyond.
To read through the 2013 RBC Annual Report online, visit www.restonbible.org/annualreport. Printed copies are available at the welcome desk in the lobby. If you are out of the area and would like a copy mailed to you, please make a request to info@restonbible.org.
Finance & Stewardship Classes at RBC
I want start off by wishing you a happy new year. I also want to tell you about some new classes you might be interested in.
First, Dave Ramsey has come out with a new teen version of FPU known as Generation Change, which is an all-new suite of Bible studies designed to lead teens to a better understanding of God, themselves and their money—and how it all works together. In the three different teaching series, students are equipped with biblical principles to BE who God created them to be, DO more with their money, and GO out into the world ready to write their story. Lesson videos with Dave Ramsey and his daughter, Rachel Cruze, along with engaging hands-on activities, will bring new biblical and financial truths to this generation.
The class will be held concurrently with the normal version of FPU starting next Sunday (January 12). Both will be held in the Youth Building from 4:30-6:30 pm. Due to the room used for the class, it is limited to 20 participants. Click here for more information, including a short video, and click here to register your teen for the class. Cost is $30.
Next, if you would like to attend FPU again as a refresher, you are invited to attend the class starting next Sunday. Remember, as an alumnus you can attend at no charge. Click here to register.
Finally, some of you have expressed interest in taking a Crown Financial Biblical Study class. This course is an in-depth Bible study for those who want to spend 3-4 hours a week deep in the Word to learn more about biblical stewardship. This class will be held during the first service (9:00-10:45 am) in Room 220 starting next Sunday, January 12. It runs for 11 weeks. Click here for more information, including a short video, and click here to register for the class. Cost is $45 and scholarships are available.
I hope your new year is off to a great start and that you will prayerfully consider taking advantage of one or more of these excellent training opportunities. Please contact me if you have any questions. Have a very blessed new year.
Deacon Commissioning
Today’s culture presents its own unique problems and challenges in fulfilling all the responsibilities and duties articulated by scripture for the church body to carry out. As a partial response, the elders of Reston Bible Church this year established the position of deacons and delegated to them the task of addressing the material needs of those that would call RBC their church home. Following a year-long review, selected individuals from the church body presented to the elders a proposed manual for a deacon ministry at RBC. The elders approved the manual and solicited deacon nominations from the congregation.
On November 24, nine deacons were publicly commissioned before the congregation and have begun serving as an extension of the church body’s love and care for widows and widowers, and a channel to direct the generosity of the body of believers at RBC to those with financial or material needs within the congregation. Please be in prayer for our deacons and this ministry.
Learn more about deacons at RBC at www.restonbible.org/deacons.
The Green Room Sessions: Closer
We’re introducing the song Closer in our worship services this weekend. In the latest edition of the Green Room Sessions, Erik Palmer, Jesse Trask and Paul Goodnight discuss why Jesse was banned from GRS, their recent trip to Brazil with Open Arms, and how this song ties directly into our church’s mission statement, knowing Christ and making Him known.
The Green Room Sessions are a sneak peak into the heart of the worship ministry at Reston Bible Church. We have a huge desire to communicate God’s Word through song and respond to the Spirit, freely worshiping when we’re together. Our hope is that these short videos will provide an extension of the community at RBC and supply your home, car, and office with great songs about the greatness and love of our incredibly able God.
See more Green Room Sessions here: rstbl.ch/PrUkYS
VIDEO: Our God is Love
On the heels of our 2013 Missions Conference, we’ve sent some of the RBC worship team to Brazil this week in partnership with Open Arms. They will be headlining a concert there and will have many opportunities to share – and show – the gospel of Jesus Christ.
The team will use a version of the video above (featuring Hillsong’s Our God is Love) to promote the concert, which takes place this Thursday (November 14) in Assis. We thought you would enjoy it, too. Please pray for our team and their time in Brazil. You can learn more about their project and specific ways to pray here.
“This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” – 1 John 4:9-10
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Recorded live at The Cocoon.
SONG: Our God is Love by Hillsong
CAMERAS: HVX-200, Canon 7D, GoPro Hero 3