Light the Darkness

Change Your Prayer

Several weeks ago I was praying for friends to find their way back to God and I prayed the prayer i've prayed so often, Lord, please draw them to you. I heard a quick response in my spirit, that went something like this--that's the wrong prayer. Pray, Lord, use me to help my friends find their way back to God. I immediately changed my prayer and the opportunities since then have been many! I won't use any of the real names but the stories are real. There are some I won't share because the stories are still in process. I'll work backwards through the last several days.

There is a friend who I've been inviting for over a year and one-half who came to Indian Creek for the first time this last Sunday. I saw her again today and she didn't see me walking up so I got to hear her tell a friend, I went to church this weekend and it was great! She said, the music was great, it was very casual and relaxed and I could understand it! Just then I walked up. She said her middle school aged son who came with her really liked it and said he wanted to keep coming with her. She took one of the Bibles home and said she loved it.  She even introduced me to her friend and invited her. I told her that if she was feeling those kind of feelings then that was because God loves her and wants to reveal Himself to her. There is a story growing here!

On Sunday afternoon I was invited to go to the Oxford House, a halfway house, for lunch. Of course I jumped at that chance. There I met a guy who I see almost weekly at a local dry cleaners. He told me he has been coming for several weeks. He recognized me from church and was very gracious in what he had to say about the church and about me. It is a good thing I've always been kind to him :)

During the time I was there I talked to two young ladies, one of which said, I'm a believer but my friend is not. Her friend smiled and nodded in agreement as if to say, she's right. The friend started right in with me by saying, I came to your church today. I didn't know that! She said she liked it. Then she said, I don't believe because I have so many questions. Okay, I said, what are your questions. That led to a 45 minute discussion that was wide ranging. It was an engaging talk where I didn't try to convince her in one day but hopefully left her wanting more. Please pray that she opens her heart to Him and that I get more opportunities to share. I pray she opens her heart to Jesus.

On Thursday I went to Panara to do some work on one of the talks I had to give this week (ten talks in eight days). I was working outside when my battery got low. I went inside and ran into a friend who I led to Christ several years ago. He looked really discouraged. I sat down at his table and he was shocked to see me. It was one of those, what are you doing here, looks. We talked about life for an hour. His wife showed up and we ended up sitting in Panara praying together. He said to his wife, when he saw me coming he knew God had something to say to him. I was glad to be there at that moment and I know God was speaking. I could tell you three more stories similar to these but the time isn't right.

What do you suppose could happen with your friends if you changed your prayers?

Gary Kendall

Campus/Church Planting

"Planting...is the most critical strategy..."

The vigorous, continual planting of new congregations is the single most crucial strategy for the numerical growth of the Body of Christ, the renewal of existing churches, and the overall impact of that Body on the culture of any city.

Nothing else—neither crusades, outreach programs, para-church ministries, mega-churches, consulting, nor church renewal processes— will have the consistent impact that dynamic, extensive church planting has. This is an eyebrow raising statement, I know. But to those who have done any study of the subject, it is not even controversial.

Tim Keller, The Cutting Edge Magazine (Vol. 9:2)

Winter 2007

Endecotts Living Out

Volunteer Spotlight
Larry and Kathy Endecott 

I love the way that Creek-ers live out the love of Jesus. This story is from Church Allen's newsletter. Let it inspire you!

This past winter Chuck Allen, The Urban Scholastic Center, Executive Director, spent a Sunday morning at Indian Creek Commnity Church sharing the vision of the USC with the congregation.  While he was sharing this vision, a couple from the congregation felt God calling them to leave their comfort zone of Olathe and to use their gifts to serve Him in KCK.

Soon after that Sunday service, the Endecotts met with the USC staff to discuss how they could help meet the needs of the USC.  Kathy felt called to work directly with children in the surrounding neighborhood.  The USC staff connected her with Mark Twain Elementary, the school that many USC students attend. 

Larry Endecott wanted to use his gifts to help USC save money on building repairs.  As a retired phone technician and general handyman, Larry dug right in- tackling some of the USC's hardest maintenance projects.  Larry replaced light fixtures, added electric outlets and fans and repaired broken doors and ceiling tiles.  He even helped some of the USC families with minor repairs in their homes.  Larry has lifted a huge burden from the USC staff as they now know that they can count on him to keep the building functioning effectively so that it can be used to serve the community.

Larry and Kathy are just two examples of how God can use individuals to help make a big impact on his kingdom in the urban core of KCK.  We are thankful to them and the many others who help make USC's ministry to the community possible. 

There are many ways to get involved with USC. Some people work directly with students, others use their handy-man or professional skills, still others pray for and support USC financially. We need individuals to get involved in all of these areas.

Chase the Wild Goose

The stories of people who are chasing the Wild Goose (the Holy Spirit) keep increasing in number. Today I told Alicia Wood's story. Alicia's husband is stationed in Afgahnestan. She needed a car and had been saving money to buy one. However, she felt that God was leading her to tithe. The tithe amount was virtually the same amount she was saving. It was hard for her but she gave her tithe in obedience. The very next week she was able to purchase a car for half the price she thought she would have to spend. She told me today, be sure to tell people that tithing is good for us. I told her I would. I wish you could have seen the joy on her face!

I told you last week about the young man who told his wife he lost his job and added "we are on the adventure." When I told that story in church there was a man who heard it and decided to give a cash gift on the spot. So this week I got to tell how the story was growing. But it doesn't stop there, the guy that gave the money shared that he received the money back that he gave away within two days. So guess what? He is giving it to them again and he said as long as God keeps returning it he is going to keep giving it.

Last week I said that DeAnna Armacost wanted to be baptized today. She invited her sister and two friends to share the moment with her. When I announced that, I asked if anyone else wanted to be baptized and Marsha Jordan said she did. Marsha brought her own cheering section. Eleven friends from the Oxford house came to celebrate with her. Both DeAnna and Marsha shared their stories before their baptisms.  While Marsha was being baptized, Matt Saunders came up from Journey Student Ministries saying one of the youth, an eighth grader, wanted to be baptized. This was an exciting day at Indian Creek!

The Goose is loose! I can't wait to hear what happens this week!

Gary Kendall 

Mark Batterson at CMA

Last night and this morning I've had the great privilege of sitting under the teaching of Mark Batterson  the Pastor of National Community Church at the CMA conference. I am so impressed with his teaching, his humility, his creativity and his courage. Last night he gave us many things we could remember. Here is a sampling, Ask yourself the question, what do you weep for? Let your heart be broken by the things that break the heart of God. 

Go - ready - set!

Give it the crazy test, if it is crazy enough it might just be from God.

When you fight with God you lose if you win. If you lose with God you always win.

Create such an experience in your worship that when people miss church they miss church.

If you aren’t remarkable you are invisible.

People need to take personal responsibility for their own spiritual growth—my kids learned how to feed themselves at two years old.

Most pastors get As or Bs in exegeting the scripture but get Ds or Fs in exegeting the culture.

Church should be a tag team event between the Pastor and the church. He/she comes in prayed up and the church tags him/her and says, go for it. At the end the Pastor tags the church and says, go for it!

There is a lot more but I’m really diggin’ this and God is speaking. Mark is the author of the book, The Wild Goose Chase. The Celtic Christians had a term where they referred to the Holy Spirit as the Wild Goose.  I think the Goose is loose!

Gary Kendall

CMA at Indian Creek this Week

Inviting

I pray for opportunities to share God's love and I stay on the look-out for those people God would put in my path.  I know I miss chances but I will share some of the very fun things God is doing. Here are a few stories from the last week.

I don't usually run in the middle of the day for a variety of reasons but I'm getting in 2-3 4+ mile runs a week. Last Saturday my schedule was messed up and I thought, if I'm going to get in a run I better do it now. I took off for the trail. About 3 miles in I passed a guy walking who looked like he was ready to go to work--that is unusual attire for the trail. As I ran by I thought, I think I know him and began to rack my brain to remember his name. At that moment he called out, Gary?, in a rather surprised voice. It was Mike a guy I met in Breakthrough. We stopped and chatted. He caught me up on the latest in his life and I invited him to Indian Creek. He came the next day and wants to get involved.

On Monday I ran into a woman named Jane. I've invited her to Alpha multiple times. I realized that the first session was this Wednesday. I remembered where I saw her, ran over to the church, grabbed a Alpha brochure and went back to where I last saw her. Sure enough she was still there but she was engaged in a conversation. I wrote out all the pertinent information and gave it to her. She was kind and seemed to appreciate it. I watched anxiously for her to come on Wed and she didn't come so I'll keep praying. 

Friday I went to the dentist to get my teeth cleaned. We had a good time, if you can call it that. As I prepared to leave she said, I've been coming to your church for 3-4 months now and I love it. She shared how that the service last service really spoke to her. I told her that was surely the Holy Spirit.  The point is that I've invited her many times over the years and never knew if any of it would take. Obviously God was at work even when I didn't know.

Today I started to take a walk and before I even got out of my driveway a young man rode up on his bike. He is a student at Olathe East. A big black dog had been chasing him so he asked if we could call animal control. Of course the answer was yes. As we waited for them to come I got the chance not only to invite him to church but to give him some breakfast and tell him about God's love. I shared how that God loved us so much He sent Jesus to die on the cross for our sin. I told him about accepting Christ and shared how to pray. He was interested but non-committal. The animal control never showed so after about one-half hour of talking he decided it was safe to resume his ride. Why do you think he stopped at our house?

This is all in one week and it is an example of what can happen if you keep praying, God please reveal your love through me. Will you join me in sharing the Good News of Jesus?  By the way, the names are changed but the stories are real and what God is doing is not finished yet.

Gary Kendall  

Cirque du Soliel, La Nuba

Wednesday night Belinda and I witnessed the most amazing sight we've ever seen. We attended Cirque du Soliel, La Nuba in Orlando at Downtown Disney. There aren't enough words to describe the spectacular event that it is. There were acrobats, gymnists, singers, dancers, clowns, bicycle trick show artists, tumblers, high wire acts and more. The colors, motion, music, sets, lighting and sound were an overload to the senses.  I found myself holding my breath when the ladies who wound themselves in the hanging drapes (whatever they really call them) where up near the roof. Then they came tumbling, spinning, twirling all the way to just above the floor. My mouth was dry because I wasn't even swallowing. I was hoping we wouldn't see someone fall. And of course they didn't! Man, you can't afford to have an off night in that business! 

This was a gift to us from our friends at Healthy, Growing Churches. A consulting team from Florida. Their services are provided to us at Indian Creek from the Church of God in Kansas. They wanted to give us a night where we could kick back and be inspired. A generous donor told them he wanted to bless Sr. Pastors who are so often giving to others. We were the grateful recipients. We are thankful.  We had a super time eating in the park, riding a boat through the lake, talking about our marriage, family and ministry. What a night! I highly recommend it! If you have a chance to go--do it! Take a look at the YouTube video to get an idea of what it is like.

Gary Kendall

Hope Kenya Makes News

This is a reprint from an article in the Kansas City Star about our own, John Wilson, and his work with Hope Kenya.  BIG thanks to our good friend, Tom Bassford, for working to pull this together. It is great to be a part of a church that is living out. Did you know there are four indigenous ministries from Indian Creek (that means ministries started by people that attend here)?

Olathe church hosts development summit on Kenya

Tom Bassford of Olathe-based non-profit Significant Matters was among the hosts of a conference in Olathe that included two representatives from the Kenyan Embassy to the United States, Felicina Ndwiga and Seif Mohammaed Salim.

More News

Hope Kenya and Significant Matters, two nonprofit ministries headquartered in Olathe, recently hosted the Kansas City Kenyan Community Development Summit.

The gathering took place Aug. 15 at Indian Creek Community Church in Olathe.

The intent of the event was to create a forum in which individuals, organizations and public officials with an interest in sustainable community development within Kenya could meet for mutual sharing, networking and potential collaboration.

About 40 individuals and six different organizations, including churches, nonprofits and businesses interested in investing in Kenya, attended. Also attending were two representatives from the Kenyan Embassy to the United States.

John G. Wilson, executive director of Hope Kenya, said “we invited very specific people and organizations” to come together and discover their shared interests and opportunities.

“The conference was a success,” Wilson said.

Organizers said plans are under way to host another summit in 2010 that would include the Kenyan Ambassador to the U.S., Peter Ogego, and an even greater number of individuals and organizations in the area interested in holistic, sustainable community development in Kenya.

Seif Mohammaed Salim, the Keynyan Embassy’s First Secretary, said that in four years and hundreds of similar meetings across the U.S. he has never seen the kind of American/Kenyan collaboration that he saw at the gathering at Indian Creek. He also said he was greatly encouraged by the emphasis on a holistic/sustainable approach.

The Church has Left the Building

As reports come in from The Church has Left the Building, I will pass them on. Great job Indian Creek, living out the love of Jesus. 

 

Dan, Shana and Doug were awesome!!!  The kids that came with them were absolutely fantastic.  We were laughing and working at the same time.  The tenacity and the speed with which they helped with things on the list was awe inspiring. 
 
At one piont, I was helping Dan (the young man, not older Dan) with this bush in my front yard that refused to give up its place in the hedge.  I was wielding the shovel and he was kicking at it donkey-kick style when it finally came out of the ground.  He held it over his head and we were yowling and high-fiving.  When Zach starting adding duct tape to his apparel, it got even funnier.  That was after we had a laugh over the spiders and garter snake who didn't seem to much of a sense of humor. 
 
Everyone was such a blessing.  Thank you, thank you!  SB

 

And this from a friend of CA

 

Today is Sunday Sept. 6th.  This is a friend of CA's here and a member of her cancer support group.  Today a group of people from Candice's church, Indian Creek Community Church have come to her house to help her do some yardwork and other projects that CA just cannot keep up with as she battles cancer and continues her loving duties of being a single mom.  Today the Church has left the building and is serving all over Olathe.  Being a single mom can put you behind in these projects all on it's own but to add fighting a disease on top of it just makes it that much more overwhelming.  We are honored to be able to be here to serve CA today and we encourage you to offer her your time and service as well as her energy levels are low and she needs to focus her attentions on her children and her treatments.

 

Gary Kendall