Dear Good News Family:

I wanted to write and tell you that you did an AWESOME job of inviting friends to last Sunday’s “Friend Day” service! The response was INCREDIBLE! In fact, we had the largest number of visitors last Sunday that we’ve had for any service (Excluding Christmas or Easter services.) in the past fifteen years! I know that this was a special one-time, focused, attempt for us to invite friends and family to church, yet just think if each of us tried to do this every week. The results would be amazing. Sometimes in our Christian lives we begin to think that our non-Christian friends aren’t interested in spiritual matters or that they wouldn’t want to be invited, let alone go, to church. This past Sunday’s response should prove to us that type of thinking comes from the devil. 

I’ve always loved the Gospel account when Andrew meets the Lord Jesus in John 1. Immediately Andrew goes and gets his brother Peter (v. 41) and introduces him to the Savior! I don’t know about you, but I can’t image the Gospel stories without Peter. I can’t imagine what church history would have been like without Peter. How did Peter meet Christ? Peter’s brother, Andrew, who had already met Christ, sought out his brother and took him to the Messiah.

Who did you invite to church this past Sunday? Maybe your friend came.  Maybe like some of the individuals I invited, your friend didn’t come to the service. Hey, it’s alright, each one of us initiated a spiritual conversation in the lives of individuals who need Christ. Several individuals did come last Sunday and were introduced to the church, the fellowship of believers, and maybe even to the Savior. Was there another “Peter” in our midst? I don’t know, but let’s pray and see what God does! 

In Him,

Pastor Chris Arch

Every so often a story in the news stands out and grabs my attention: a heinous crime, political squabbling, a touching human interest piece. An article I read on February 17^th, 2011, was one such story that accomplished this feat. It was on that day that I read about and was impressed with a young man wrestling in the Iowa State tournament. The impressive aspect of Joel Northrup's story was not that he won the state title, but that for reasons of personal, religious conviction, he chose to default his match. After an incredible season in which he went 35-4, Northrup had a very real chance of winning an Iowa wrestling championship this year, yet he relinquished his dream before his first state tournament match. Northrup, a home-schooled sophomore who competes for Linn-Mar High School, said his religious convictions wouldn't allow him to wrestle Cassy Herkelman, a freshman from Cedar Falls who is one of the first two girls to qualify for the tournament in its 85-year history.

What was Northrup's explanation for his actions? "Wrestling is a combat sport and it can get violent at times," Northrup said in a statement released by his high school. "As a matter of conscience and my faith I do not believe that it is appropriate for a boy to engage a girl in this manner." (AP, ESPN High School, 2-17-11) I applaud this young man's willingness to stand by his personal religious convictions even though it would prove very costly to himself.

Last spring and summer the youth of GNBC read the Brett and Alex Harris book Do Hard Things. Through this book the teens were challenged, for the cause of Christ, to be willing to step outside of their personal comfort zones in order to be a bold witness for Jesus Christ. In other words, each reader was challenged to "live what you believe". Joel Northrup made a huge decision to live what he believed and I applaud him for it. My prayer is that Northrup's story will encourage other Christians, both young and old, to make decisions, even if they prove costly, as a result of one's personal convictions. Although not nearly as public as Northrup's stance, I have been impressed to hear of similar stories from this past year, where Christian young people are doing just that, living what they believe, in the face of an increasingly secular and convictionless society. I know of local high school students unwilling to sacrifice their convictions regarding working on the Lord's Day, who respectfully appealed to their authorities and offered creative alternatives. Another example was one who respectfully appealed to a teacher when the content taught in a class seemed to unfairly target this student's faith. Another example I recently learned of was a university student who appealed to a professor and offered a creative alternative when the class was required to watch an "R" rated movie. This young person's religious convictions were being challenged and instead of simply "rolling over" and participating, was willing live what he believed.

Part of the way you and I are to make a difference in this world is to live principled lives that are consistent with our convictions. Jesus said in Mt. 5:13 ""You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men." Sometimes Christians will have convictions that will stand opposed to the prevailing cultural climate. When this happens to you, take encouragement from last week's decision by a high school sophomore, and "Live what you believe!"

“Mastering the Basics” – By Pastor Chris Arch

                The ministry theme for Good News Bible Church in 2011 will be “Mastering the Basics”.  Once, while Pastor Wootonn was preaching, he made reference to the practice discipline of Baseball Hall of Famer, Ozzie Smith.  Nicknamed "The Wizard" for his defensive brilliance, Smith set major league records for career assists (8,375) and double plays (1,590) by a shortstop.  Smith won the NL Gold Glove Award for play at shortstop for 13 consecutive seasons (1980–1992).  Yet, Smith only performed to the level on the field, of what he had practiced prior. It has been said that Smith took, on an average, 2,000 ground balls a week in practice! Ozzie Smith became one of the greatest shortstops of all time because he practiced mastering the basics.

                I think this illustration has obvious application to our spiritual lives. We are only able to “perform” in our spiritual lives with any consistency, to the degree we have developed Christian disciplines. To help us as a congregation in this area, our ministry focus for the year will be, as I said previously, “Mastering the Basics”. During 2011, all of our SCL classes will have this goal in mind. The winter semester will offer classes on the books of Genesis, John, and I&II Thessalonians.  During the summer of 2011, SCL classes will cover the following basics: “How to Study the Bible”, “Prayer and Worship”, “Witnessing”, while the youth will be taking “The Abundant Life Course”.  The Fall of 2011 will see how to further integrate these disciplines, applying them to our daily lives as we offer the courses: “Experiencing God”, “Christian Ethics”, “The Holy and Devout Life”, and “Overcoming the Adversary”.  Let me take a moment to shamelessly plug our SCL classes. We offer great adult Sunday School classes, and if you aren’t taking one right now, consider making it a new year’s resolution to begin. We can make all the excuses that we want to for why we do or don’t do things in our lives, but when our reasoning is “boiled down”, we either have a different set of priorities or a lack of discipline. Would you please take the time to ask God if He would have you involved in our SCL ministry this coming year as we attempt to “Master the Basics”?

The "27th Annual National Night Out", a unique crime/drug prevention event sponsored by the National Association of Town Watch (NATW), took place on Tuesday, August 3rd, 2010, from 7:00 – 10:00 pm.  Last year's National Night Out campaign involved citizens, law enforcement agencies, civic groups, businesses, neighborhood organizations and local officials from over 15,000 communities from all 50 states, U.S. territories, Canadian cities and military bases worldwide.  In all, over 36 million people participated in National Night Out 2009.

Good News Bible Church was proud to team up with the Iowa City Police Department and the Broadway Neighborhood Center in sponsoring events for the Pepperwood/Broadway communities.  About 150 kids from the neighborhood visited the church, ate delicious Dane's Dairy ice cream, played in an inflatable "bounce house", watched a movie, met members of the Iowa City Police Department, and enjoyed a surprise visit from both McGruff the crime fighting dog and the University of Iowa's own "Herky the Hawk"!

"National Night Out" was designed to meet four specific goals, including: 1. Heighten crime and drug prevention awareness; 2. Generate support for, and participation in, local anticrime programs; 3. Strengthen neighborhood spirit and police-community partnerships; 4. Send a message to criminals letting them know that neighborhoods are organized and fighting back.

Again, as an evangelical church we know that crime and criminal activity are the results of a fallen and depraved humanity.  We also know that the ultimate deterrent to criminal activity is a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.  It's our hope that meeting these children, as well as some of their parents, will forge new relationships and opportunities to ministers in the lives of the people of the Pepperwood/Broadway community.

My family and I recently returned from what was most likely a once-in-a-lifetime vacation in Ireland and N. Ireland. Although both Carol and I have previously been to Ireland on a number of occassions, this was the first time we were able to take the entire family. What an incredible time we had together! I am sure that we made memories that the children will remember for a lifetime.

When one thinks of Ireland/N. Ireland, and sees the title of this posting, you may think that I would naturally write on the politics of this once very troubled land. Possibly you may think that I would offer up insights into the peace process that is now over a decade old. Or if you are an economist, you might wonder if I was going to talk about the recent "tanking" of the once powerful "Celtic Tiger".

No, the lessons I want to reflect upon has more to do with the nature and state of the Church in both Irelands. Ireland, both North and South, has always been a very religious society. Devout Roman Catholicism in the South and fervent, evangelical Protestantism, with a minority Catholic population, in the North have populated this divided land. Twenty years ago the Republic enjoyed an estimated 90% regular mass attendance. Belfast, in the North, had arguably the highest concentration of evangelical churches in the world.

During the past twenty years life has changed dramatically in Ireland. In the South, the "Celtic Tiger" roared to life and the young and well educated population began to enjoy the benefits of prosperity. In the North peace brought foreign investment, employment, and good paying jobs, as well as an unparalleled housing boom. Thrown into that mix of upward mobility was one of the most pervasive and devastating sets of priest scandals to rock the Catholic Church. Now, in the South, mass attendance, by some estimates is at 50%, and free-falling. In the North, walking through the Protestant Shankill community of West Belfast I witnessed many of the traditional inner city churches (Presbyterian, Methodist, Church of Ireland), some with massive structures that just a generation ago would have held 100's of weekly worshipers, now boarded up, a testament to a growing societal secularism, but also an inability or an unwillingness to reach the community around them with the message of Jesus Christ.

I have a very good friend who is a pastor in Northern Ireland. He has pastored mainly in inner-city settings his entire life. He realizes the tide has changed from when he pastored in inner-city Belfast in the 1970's -1980's and now again in the 2000's. And yet, Jim is an optimist. No, he doesn't come by this naturally. Rather, he comes by this supernaturally. In his own words, he is an optimist because the Gospel of Jesus Christ is an eternally optimistic Gospel that offers true hope and eternal change for now and eternity.

Let me share a positive story from our Irish excursion that underscores this point. On our first Sunday in Ireland, we stayed near the town of Sligo, in what is commonly referred to as "Yeats' Country" (after the great Irish author W.B. Yeats). There, ten years ago, one may have seen 15-20 worshippers in the historic Methodist church we attended. However, on this Sunday, there were well in excess of 120 people, at least half of whom were 20yrs. of age and younger! The Gospel is a powerful and optimistic force!

As I considered both the examples of Sligo in the South, and Belfast in the North, I thought about the community in which Good News is strategically located. If we, like many of the Presbyterian and Methodist Churches of West Belfast do not attempt to engage the changing cultural landscape that surrounds us, we will develop a "fortress" mentality that instead of permeating the community with the message of salvation in Jesus Christ, will focus on just ourselves and meeting our own needs. Within a generation the doors will be closed. If, however, against all odds, as was the case in the Sligo congregation, we fearlessly preach the Gospel, we will see all men drawn unto Christ (Jn. 3:14-15). Let's learn this lesson from Ireland.

It has been a week since the powerful earthquake decimated the southern region of Haiti. Port-au-Prince, a city I have flown in and out of, now lies in ruin. The destruction and mounting death toll is unfathomable. The pictures we see nightly are sickening and horrifying. In the face of such destruction we might rightfully ask: "What can I possibly do to help?"

Instead of being shocked into submission and apathy by the evening news, allow the Lord to stir your heart to help. "What can I possibly do to help?" need not be words of hopelessness, but rather, a prayer offered up to our omnipotent Heavenly Father. Maybe you can only do a "small thing" in your own estimation. But friend don't ever forget that God doesn't despise the small and meager efforts of His children. Like Esther of old, we are alive, today, "for such a time as this" (Esther 4:13-14). I believe that like the Jews of old, "relief and deliverance" will arise for the people of Haiti "from another place" if we, their brothers and sisters in Christ, remain silent in their time of need.

There are two very practical things you can do right now. Bring all of the OTC medication you can to church this Wednesday and Sunday. We will be sending them to Pastors Thony and Ebed Paul for their clinic to distribute in Plain-du-Nord and Port-au-Prince. Also, when you come to church this Sunday, I am unashamedly asking you to bring your wallets and check books as we will be receiving a special collection for Haiti relief this Sunday, January 24, 2010.

Wow, here it is again, December! And even though I am not too keen on the Iowa COLD and winter, I certainly am keen on Christmas! Christmas...the birth of Christ! The Incarnation of God coming in man. Incredible.

Sadly, all too often it seems as though the Christmas season is over before it even begins! At Good News we want to make your celebration of this special season important. During Advent we change the style and format of the worship services. We add special events and opportunities for worship and fellowship and service. It's a great time of year to be a believer.

Last Sunday started the Advent season. This Sunday, the second Sunday of Advent, we will celebrate communion. Next Sunday, December 13th, at 6:00 pm,  we will show the movie "The Nativity Story" in lieu of an evening service. The following Sunday, December 20th will be a combined morning worship service at 10:30 am with the children's Christmas program. There will be a breakfast that morning at 9:00 am with time for the kids to get one more practice in! That evening, and hopefully there will be a LITTLE snow, we will meet at the church building at 6:00 pm to go caroling! Finally, December 24th, at 6:00 pm, we will have our annual Christmas Eve candlelight service. I hope your Christmas Season will be marked by happiness, joy, peace, and devotion.

In Him,
PC