02/21/2021 Newsletter

mosaicnazarene
Feb 21, 2021
5 min read

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A Word From Pastor John

I'm reminded of this statement by Jesus this week:

Then he said to the crowd, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross daily, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it.

Luke 9:23‭-‬24 NLT

When I remember these words of Jesus, I am reminded that following Jesus requires giving up our own way of life and our own way of doing things. Other translations will use the word disciple instead of follower. I believe this teaching of Jesus implies that in order to truly be a follower or disciple of his, it requires a significant shift in the way that we typically live our lives.

Loving people like Jesus did, reaching out to the poor and the lost, and thinking of others above ourselves are things that come to mind.

Along with his teaching, Jesus does offer us a promise. The way of Jesus is the only way to truly save your life, and we know that Jesus is the only path to eternal life.

I hope that we can be encouraged this week to take the call to be a disciple of Jesus seriously. I know that he has great things in store for us and for our church.

May the Lord continue to bless you this week.

Pray for One Another

To request prayer, email mosaicnazarene@gmail.com

or call/text (520) 709-0815

Our pastors and their families

Our board members

The world as we all continue to navigate this Covid-19 pandemic.

Bonnie Rickman's Daughter-in-law, Tina

Sheila

Pastor Jeff Fillis and his family

Frank Sundstrom and Dawn

Phil Hunt

Sharon Slaven's Sister

Briar Mobley

Pat Lancos' daughter in law Tricia

The family of Vern Rupp

The many unspoken requests

Make sure you're a part of our Facebook group to get prayer requests as they come in: https://www.facebook.com/groups/21109057279

Bible Reading Plan

Click the links below to read online

Verse of the Week

Click on the following Bible link to read the verse in context

Psalm 42

Nazarene News

South Carolina ministry helps addicts reconcile with God, self, family

Reconciliation Ministries students celebrate their graduation through their various programs.

Zachary Gibson had been addicted to drugs since he was 13. By the time he got married and had children, he thought it was something he had under control.

“I thought I could keep my sin in a nice little bag and pull it out when I wanted to and put it back away when I thought it was enough,” Gibson said.

After being jailed for the seventh time due to various infractions caused by his addiction, his wife left him and took their children. Gibson knew he would be homeless when he left the jail, so when his mother recommended Reconciliation Ministries, he accepted an offer to join the program.

Reconciliation Ministries is a Nazarene Compassionate Ministry started by Columbia First Church of the Nazarene in South Carolina. As the epidemic of substance abuse rose, the ministry added a Celebrate Recovery program, which evolved into men’s and women’s residential rehabilitation and discipleship program.

Gibson grew up in the church and believed that God existed but never really understood why that mattered. RM helped turn those lights on for him. He compared it to God slowly sliding up a dimmer switch, leading Gibson to realize he was worthy of salvation.

“I truly believe that if I wouldn’t have come here, God eventually would’ve grabbed hold of me somehow,” Gibson said. “They don’t have a monopoly on salvation, but this is what God used. If I didn’t come to Reconciliation Ministries when I did, I would probably be in prison or worse.”

Program participants go through a 9–15-month discipleship program and upon completion, they begin the re-entry track, which leads them to fully independent living. RM has two campuses, including the newly announced Rooted Campus.

In partnership with the South Carolina District and the D. Moody Gunter Camp and Retreat Center, RM will occupy one of the camp’s dormitories and have access to other buildings onsite. The Rooted Campus’ rural location will provide fewer distractions for men in the program’s first six months.

Brian Poirier is another graduate of RM. After overcoming an addiction earlier in his life, he and his wife became missionaries in Puerto Rico. He became addicted again following a jet ski accident and soon found his life spiraling out of control.

“I had stopped believing, to be honest with you,” Poirier said. “I said there was no way I could even get restored. I didn’t want anything to do with God, anything to do with my marriage.”

His wife, Karla, begged him to try a new recovery program, so he flew to South Carolina to join RM through a friendship with Trevor Mosely, who is on staff at RM.

RM helped Poirier get right with the Lord again and even helped Karla return to the U.S. to participate in sponsored marital counseling. Brian says his marriage is the best it has ever been.

One night during a prayer service, Karla felt a nudge from the Lord that they should make the move to Columbia permanent. Shocked, they both began to pray and felt the same calling again.

In Puerto Rico, they had been selling roasted coffee to help fund orphanages and addiction recovery programs there, so they brought that business to Columbia. The couple sells coffee through a coffee truck as well as selling beans to churches through RM Coffee. All proceeds help fund Reconciliation Ministries.

“God is in the business of reconciliation,” Poirier said. “I’ve got the privilege that I get to watch that. [Reconciliation Ministries] is empowering people to not just to get right with God but also to take the next step of faith. We’re seeing people get their driver’s licenses again, people getting their GEDs … God is taking people at Reconciliation Ministries that society would say are nobodies and making them somebodies.”

by Daniel Sperry for Nazarene News | 05 Feb 2021

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