Spring 2018 MASTERPLAN. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. - Hebrews 10:23

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1 Spring 2018 MASTERPLAN Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. - Hebrews 10:23 A Message From The Pastor Hope is the theme of this issue of the. Author and pastor John Piper states, Hope is a desire for something good in the future, the thing in the future that we desire, and the basis or reason for thinking that our desire may indeed be fulfilled. As Christians, our hope is that God will do what He said He will do. That the Holy Spirit is at work in us to transform our character so it resembles more and more that of Jesus Christ. It is the hope of our own future resurrection when Christ returns. It is the hope of a renewed creation. So in some ways our personal sense of hope takes shape as we pay attention to the ways in which God is at work in our own life and as we see possibilities for growth and deepening our closeness with God. Beyond ourselves, we experience hope taking shape as we learn how to join in God s activity in the world, or to put it another way, to participate in Jesus mission as a sign, witness, and foretaste of His coming kingdom. Walking with Jesus. Serving with love. Sharing with courage. When what we are doing is aligned with the Holy Spirit s leading we know we are a part of something bigger than ourselves. As you read through this issue of the look for the way that God has been at work in the lives of the people of PCOM. Look for the ways in which we have been led to participate in God s actions to draw people to Christ, to bring about renewal, wholeness, healing, or a deepened sense of community. This is the face of hope. Pastor Jackson

2 Page 2 YOUTH MINISTRIES Deeper Relationships Develop on High School Winter Retreat Every year the High School Youth group gets on a bus and heads up for a five day winter retreat to Brian Head, Utah. Within the five days the students have an opportunity to go skiing/snowboarding, to go on guided adventures through the snow, and learn more about God. We hope that everyone who attends the trip will grow in their relationship with the Lord as well as feel connected to each other in the High School group. I distinctly saw this happen within my small group cabin conversations. I had the junior and senior girls cabin this year and I saw God clearly working within our small group cabin conversations. The cabin was mixed with girls who regularly attend PCOM What A Year! Get Ready For More in 2018! 2017 was a banner year for the Music Ministry at PCOM. We were blessed to feature the Concert Choir and Orchestra from APU in our sanctuary. Singing the Easter portion of Handel s Messiah, then a 50th Anniversary of Gene Roberson s Music Ministry in June. Hearing the Concordia University Bell choir in November, ending with our wonderful Christmas Concert in December! We thank the Sanctuary Choir, under Donavon Gray s direction, for all their efforts in preparing these special events. So, get ready for a spectacular year ahead of us. We started by welcoming the Men s Choir from APU the last Sunday in January, followed by a unique piano concert February 11. MUSIC MINISTRY youth group and girls who don t. The main focus within the cabin conversations were revolving around two questions: Who is God? and If God loves me, why do bad things happen? As a cabin we listened to each others struggles in life and questions they have wrestled with about God. As a cabin we encouraged each other and shared with courage. We left this experience with a deeper relationship with each other and a profound hope in God. Dakota Shyres This Valentines concert featured FIVE First Ladies of the Ivories. Kathy Harris, Beth Williams, Ann Barkley, Debbie Johnson, plus Jan Sanborn. It was a concert to remember! Our Easter event will feature a choral pageant with actors (Many of you from PCOM) including a real live Last Supper scene! We end our Choir Year with a Super Big Band Gospel Concert in June! Your favorite gospel songs especially arranged for choir, soloists accompanied by a real Big Band Orchestra! So, get ready for blessings to flow from Oso and Marguerite Parkways. Gene Roberson Director of Music and Worship P.S. Don t forget about our Good News Kid s Choir. They are going strong!

3 CHILDREN S MINISTRIES Providing Hope For Our Children & Families Page 3 During the past Christmas season our children and families experienced the HOPE in celebrating the birth of our Lord and Savior. At our Advent Workshop over sixty people attended the evening of dinner, carol singing, Christmas lesson and a nativity family craft. It was truly a meaningful way to bring HOPE and peace into the Advent season. We also had a family class focusing on all the names of Jesus that included dinner, family games, lesson focus on Jesus names and a family craft. During the last class, our group plus additional congregational members walked with us to the Sunrise Senior Center for Christmas caroling and cocoa. It was such a fun night for all ages! Our Christ s Crew also enjoyed their annual Christmas party with breakfast, present exchange and the always popular ice blocking! Last month our older kids attended Forest Home Winter Camp and experienced HOPE through learning God s word in our local mountains. This Spring, we are looking forward to Bible Presentations, Passover Feast at Kid s Klub, Palm Sunday & Easter celebrations and our favorite PJ s, Pancakes & Praise. Through these activities, we will lead our children to experience HOPE through a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ and the promise of His resurrection. Stephanie Cleye

4 Page 4 MISSIONS Hope In The Dominican Republic Over the last four years, our church has sent a team to the village of Los Robles in the Dominican Republic. I have been privileged to be a part of each of these teams. I will admit that there are times leading up to the trip that I have thought about not going. I dread overnight flights and the long drive following the flights tires me just thinking about it. I sleep better in my own bed. There are no Starbucks nearby, and I am not a big fan of the Dominican food. But something keeps me going back. It is the hope that our yearly connection to this community is making a difference in the lives of the Haitian migrant worker families that we visit each year. It is the hope that the people of PCOM who go find their faith stretched, to meet Jesus in fresh ways as they venture into uncharted waters. This year s trip was especially hopeful for me. Before I went on my first trip four years ago, I asked if I could meet a few of the local pastors so that I could get some understanding of what challenges they faced. By the time I arrived in the DR that first year, the word on the street was that an American pastor was holding a conference for pastors. Yikes! This was not at all what I had envisioned but I went along with it despite having to prepare on the fly and manage some stomach illness. Each year since I have prepared some sort of study for these men and women who are leading in their churches but who have limited theological training. I have often wondered, what is one short study each year in the grand scheme of these people s lives? Is this what God wants me to be doing, because it all started with a misunderstanding? What gave me hope this year was the local pastor in village named Juan Jose. Pastor Juan is a shy, bookish man who has been standoffish in past years. Initially, I had hoped that we would connect easily and quickly because I sensed that our relationship to the local church in the village was one of the keys to our continued mission. But over the first three years he was cordial but distant from us. I thought that perhaps it was the language barrier, or his shy temperament, or the fact that pastors in the DR are also busy. There were and are, of course, all kinds of potential barriers cultural, ethnic, economic. I could keep myself up all night trying to figure it out. This year something changed. Juan Jose greeted us with joy, and he told me how much my study the previous year on the Book of Ruth had meant to him and even quoted something I had said. Had I gained some credibility? Perhaps that was part of it, but I realized that the barrier that had been there was one that I had given no thought to; most mission groups come and go and never come back. Why would a local pastor invest his time with people who don t return? But after four years, PCOM has proven that we are not in this for the short term. We are not just there for a project, but we are there to know the people. Suddenly there was an opening among Juan Jose, and as we discovered, many others as well. Of course, God knew there would be an opening, as he had encouraged other members of our team to bring a projector and Spanish version of The Jesus Film. (I had been thinking, how are we going to show this film when we have a roof and a latrine to build.) Juan Jose was excited for us to show it at the church. When the movie began about 20 people were in the room, but a few minutes later the room was standing room only. At the end of the film, Juan Jose asked one of our team what we were going to do next. We said, Perhaps you might want to say something? Juan Jose gave a wonderful invitation to the whole village to give their lives to Jesus. It gave me hope to see that we now have a true partner in the church of Los Robles. God is producing hope in the lives of our people and the people of Los Robles and it s because we have returned each year. Pastor Jackson

5 MISSIONS Serving at Sunrise Senior Living That look that suddenly flashes across their faces. It never gets old for me. It happens every time I ve been at Sunrise Senior Living with PCOM members. It s the look of hope hope that comes from laughing unexpectedly, from enjoying the contagious exuberance of kids, or from seeing PCOM friends come once again. I don t know about you, but so often I ve thought about hope as pertaining directly to my life. As some sort of solution to a situation I m facing. Hope that the circumstances will work out exactly the way I expected. Hope that whatever I m working on will prove to be a success. But one thing I ve learned over the past few months of starting PCOM s ministry at Sunrise is that one of the most resilient types of hope emerges as God uses the simplicity of our presence to spark hope in someone else. It s like a mirror in the reflection of Lizzie Hirschberg Bonnie Cameron Phillip Saif Napoly Salloum Colton Vierra Karen Dahlen LaDelta Jones Jim Nobriga Christy Miller Kelly Johnson Sandi Von Paul Carl Dahlen Sandra Schaeffer Don Thies Annabelle Hoyt Teresa Evans Meghan Owens Andrew Dear Marilyn Valentine Mimi Thies Harvey Shields Kay Lowe Stella Ljungborg Prayer Concerns Brenda Sinclair Rosalie Casteran Don MacLeod Lynn Onley Shirley Brown Clint Throop Jan Wacker John Lowe Dean Denison Loretta Wright Mavis February Cleo Purdy Marsha Selway Betty Benning Jan Cramer Gail Goodell-Munzing Terry Weaver Reba Goodell Patricia Johnson The School of Infantry at Camp Pendleton someone else s hope (that God used us to make happen!), God suddenly does the same in our hearts as well. I vividly remember that during my first time calling bingo at Sunrise I was Please pray for relatives of our church family who are proudly serving in the military and in harm s way. Bereaved: Jon Pelmear & Family in the death of his wife, Sally; The family of Bill Chapman in his death; Mary Anne Mervin & Family in the death of her husband, Joe; Sheri Mailis & Family in the death of her husband, Randy; Nancy Cho & Family in the death of her brother, David; The Family of JB Hume in his death; The Family of Diane Plant in her death. Page 5 literally startled at this kind of hope welling up in me. It felt so good to lay aside all the concerns and worries in my life and just be present to these residents for an hour. It reminded me that so often God sustains hope in our lives not by solving the circumstances that we re fretting over, but by simply reminding us that His Kingdom is so much bigger and better than anything that happens to be weighing me down today. I know so many of you know this hope that comes through being a part of God s mission as well. If not, though, might God be calling you to join our ministry at Sunrise? We d love to have you join us. Check out opportunities at: Pastor Daryl Ellis

6 Page 6 MISSIONS Pop Tabs Galore! PCOM, you are amazing! In the first 8 months of collecting pop tabs here at church, we ran out of room! Next was a visit to the Ronald McDonald house in Orange that is a collection site for the pop tabs. As you can see, Brian and Ronald were very happy to receive our contribution. These pop tabs are recycled and the money generated goes towards families who can then stay in the Ronald McDonald house for free. When your child is in the hospital, it s a wonderful and warm place to stay that is close by. It has all the comforts of home, including great play areas for kids and parents alike. It helps provide hope and care for those stressful times when life seems out of control. Several families here at PCOM have been able to stay at Ronald McDonald houses and it feels good for our church family to be able to give a little back. Pop tabs are always welcome, just look for one of our friendly jars that says Pull Together for the Ronald McDonald House. Thank you, PCOM! Keep up the good work! LIBRARY NEWS Happy Easter and Springtime and enjoy some reading from the new quarterly list of books, CDs and DVDs featured on the top shelves of the church library Book cart. New donations are from Dwight Woodruff, Paul & Carla Odwald, Lizzie Hirschberg, and Doris Rende. Our quote for this quarter is from St. Augustine: Faith is to believe what you do not see; the reward of this faith is to see what you believe. Reading about your faith helps you, and the complete list of new items can be found on the church web site go to news. A few of those titles are: THE HOLE IN OUR GOSPEL (Pb & Audiobook) by Richard Stearns; LEAP OVER A WALL by Eugene Peterson (reflections on the life of King David for everyman); and BRUCHKO by Bruce Olsen (autobiography of a 19-yr-old, captured in Colombia by guerillas, but he Christianized the Stone Age tribe, Motilone Indians). For our fiction readers, two new novels by Beverly Lewis and Debbie Gilliland. There are paper copies of the entire book list on top of the Bookcart. If you have questions about the church library, you may contact Pril Kirkeby at pwkirkeby@cox.net or

7 UPCOMING EVENTS Page 7 Palm Sunday Concert PRESCHOOL NEWS PCOM Preschool Fall Registration begins this month. All registration is online and begins at 9:00 p.m. March 2nd-4th: Church Members March 6th-8th: Current Families March 13th-15th: Previous Families March 20th: New Families Schedule a tour and see what everyone is talking about! Blessings, Miss Vanessa Thursdays, March 15 May 3 7:00 9:00 p.m. (skipping 3/29 for Maundy Thursday) at Mount of Olives Lutheran Church, Chrisanta, Mission Viejo. 7-week outreach program that provides you with a safe environment and accurate information about grief. You ll learn how to identify and communicate about your losses. You ll learn specific actions that will help you eliminate the sense of incompleteness, which accompanies unresolved grief. Led by Karen Carson & Karen Wilkinson both Certified Grief Recovery Specialists. For information or to register, please contact: Karen Carson (949) or Karen Wilkinson (714) Kids Klub Passover Feast WEDNESDAY, MARCH 28 6:15-7:30pm Don t miss this incredible night! The whole family is invited! Experience a traditional Passover celebration to better understand the importance of Jesus final meal with His Disciples. Contact Fran Doyle with questions or to sign-up... fran.doyle@mypcom.com Women s Bible Study Express Spring Study April 13th -June 1st Uninvited, Living Loved When You Feel Less Than, Left Out, and Lonely by Lysa TerKeurst. This video led Bible study with book and workbook will dig deep into God s Word to help us identify the roots of rejection, overcome damaging past hurts, and fully grasp what it looks like to live loved. Friday Mornings 9:30-11:00 inthe Great Room. Women of all ages are welcome. The cost of the study with book and workbook is $20. Limited childcare is available for $30 (1st child) and $10 (each additional child). For questions or to sign up by April 6th, please contact Stephanie Eklund at (949) or saeklund@cox.net.

8 UPCOMING SERVICES Thru April 1 THE WAY OF SORROWS FOLLOWING JESUS TO THE CROSS April 8 - May 27 GENESIS BEGINNING WITH THE BEGINNING June 3-24 ASK ANYTHING Sunday Worship Schedule 9:00 & 10:45 a.m. - Blended Service - Sanctuary Adult Sunday School Sunday School (3 yrs. - 6th grade) Nursery (0 to 2 yrs.) Marguerite Parkway Mission Viejo, CA :45 a.m. - AWAKE: Alternative Worship Service - The Commons High School Program Nursery (0 to 2 yrs.) Jr. High Program Sunday School (3 yrs. - 6th grade) Adult Sunday School