Below is the latest report on the church plant Pantano funded through our Christmas Eve offering in 2020. We received this report at the end of last year.

Thank you, Pantano Christian Church! Your gift to plant Iglesia Cristiana Verbo de Guabo in Ecuador is currently impacting 787 children and their families. These families now have a safe space to go where they can learn, grow, develop, and be encouraged in their faith. 

The gift by Pantano allowed the church to do the following:

  • The church members cleared and prepared the land for construction.
  • The church hired construction workers in October of 2020.
  • Construction plans were approved in November of 2020, and materials were purchased.
  • Construction workers built the classrooms and bathrooms first. Then, they built the sanctuary, kitchen, and dining room.
  • The interior work was completed, including the installation of tile floors, windows, iron protectors, doors, plumbing, and electricity. Walls were plastered and painted.
  • The completed facilities include a sanctuary, two classrooms, a kitchen, a dining room, and bathrooms with toilets, sinks, and showers.

View the full report here.

Not only are 787 children receiving holistic care in partnership with Compassion International, but the church has also been able to reach many adults in the community. Thank you, Pantano, for your amazing generosity that is touching and changing lives!

Glen Elliott

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I’m in my 23rd year here at Pantano, and there has never been a new year with so much change and a profound sense of a new beginning. I believe God has timed everything to help us start 2022 fresh and new. 

New Digs!

Our remodeled auditorium is almost done. The carpet will be finished this week, and the theater seats will hopefully be installed at the end of January (due to supply chain issues; we have temporary chairs set up)! We are installing the sound, lights, cameras, and video wall this week. We’ve moved the Café back inside. Since holiday break has ended, let’s all reconnect this Sunday as we start a new year and launch a new teaching series!

New Lead Pastor

Pantano has its 9th Lead Pastor – Trevor DeVage. Trevor will be with us the next two Sundays! Trevor and I are in a season of transition from now until the end of May. I’ll continue to lead and teach as the Campus Pastor until Trevor and his family move here in June. Trevor and I will be developing my new job description this spring that will take effect this summer. We’ll officially install Trevor as our new Pastor on Sunday, January 16th, and he’ll be teaching that day.

New Teaching Series

This Sunday (January 9th), we’ll start a new teaching series called Rooted. “Rooted” is our church One Word for 2022. It’s based on Colossians 2:6-7, and I’ll be sharing what it means for us. I’ll also be asking you to prayerfully identify your One Word for the year based on the idea of “rooted.” I really like how Jeremiah uses the rooted metaphor; take a moment to reflect on these verses:

But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit. Jeremiah 17:7-8

A New Beginning

Michael Goodwin has been hired as the new Lead Pastor of Emmanuel Baptist Church (Alvernon/Pima). He starts on January 10th! I’m so excited to launch Michael to help Emmanuel be a life-giving church in a part of town that so needs Jesus. Our Elders will be ordaining Michael this Sunday, affirming our confidence in his call, character, and gifting. Pantano will continue to partner with Michael to help him thrive in his new role. 

And Some Things Never Change

There’s lots of change and new things at Pantano these days. But, some things never change. Over the holiday break, I reflected on how amazing you are, Pantano. When I say that, I’m talking about YOU. I’m so proud of our church! You are generous! You serve our church, each other, and you serve our community in amazing ways. You faithfully give so we can to accomplish the mission God has given us. For our Christmas Eve offering, you gave $95,888 to support the Tucson Homeless Work Program. Wow! That’s incredible! Thank You! I’m so grateful to be able to serve with you all. 

Glen Elliott

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What was the best gift you ever got? What was the best gift you ever gave? Is there a special gift you are hoping for this year? Is there a gift you can’t wait to give? Christmas is all about giving. It was God who gave the most significant gift ever that first Christmas – the gift of Jesus. The Magi traveled over 500 miles to give their gifts to the new king of the Jews.

The heart of Christmas today is still found in giving, but not primarily in giving or getting the perfect, cool, well thought out Christmas presents. The best gift is when we give ourselves to others. Here are some options to give and serve this Christmas:

Wrap presents for Healthcare workers at TMC – Our healthcare workers are overworked right now. We can help them out! Tucson Medical Center has asked us to help wrap the presents of the healthcare workers who don’t have time to wrap them for Christmas. You can sign up for two-hour shifts (10 am – 12 pm) or (12 pm – 2 pm), Monday through Friday, December 14th-23rd. Sign up here!

Senior Santa – Here is an opportunity to bring a little joy to a senior this Christmas. This year has been especially hard on seniors, and Senior Santa provides Christmas gifts to low-income seniors in assisted living facilities. This year our Senior Santa program has moved online, and you can purchase a gift from Amazon, and it will be shipped directly to them. Sign up here!

Serving at our Christmas Services

We have opportunities to serve families at our Christmas services by helping out in our Kids Ministry or serving in our courtyard or cafe. Sign up here!

Christmas Eve Offering

Our Christmas Eve offering will help build a church that will host a new Compassion center for children and families that are struggling. Compassion International in Ecuador thoroughly investigated and identified a target area in need of a Christ-centered church that preaches God’s Word. Your gift will help build two classrooms, bathrooms, and a water system that will serve over 300 under-resourced kids. 

The cost of the facilities to start a Compassion center in Santa Rosa, Ecuador will be $75,000. You can give online and choose the Christmas Eve giving fund in the drop-down menu. Everything collected on Christmas Eve will go to help build a church to host a Compassion program. What a great way to celebrate Christmas and make a difference for hundreds of kids and families!

Glen Elliott

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Christmas Eve Offering

Wow, Pantano, you gave $73,213 for our Christmas Eve offering. That will help make a huge difference in getting the Gospel Rescue Mission’s Center of Opportunity to become a reality this spring. In addition, over 250 folks showed up on Sunday, 12/23 to help with the remodel and upgrade. Thank you all for your generosity. That’s making a difference!

One Word

We launched our fifth year of doing One Word on Sunday. One Word is a way to replace New Year’s resolutions. You ask God for one word to focus on for the entire year. Pick a word that will challenge you toward transformation. If you missed Sunday, we’ll have One Word cards with instructions available at Guest Services. You can watch the message here. Post and share your One Word – #oneword.

Feed My Starving Children

It’s coming back to Pantano on Tuesday, Jan. 22nd – Saturday, Jan. 26th.  We’ll be packing 280,000 emergency meals this year. We shifted our focus to engaging schools with 23 schools joining us this year. We are going to have two public packs (Friday night and Saturday morning); we have dropped the price to $15 per person, and you can sign up here. We are hosting over 1,000 students from 23 schools, so we need many volunteers to help – check out the FMSC table in the courtyard on Sunday.

Pantano Classes, Wednesday PM Children’s and Students Resume

Classes start this week on Wednesday – 6:30-8pm! Go to mypantano.church or click here to find out what classes to join and sign up. Check out our great Bible, parenting, marriage, financial classes and more!

Red Cross Blood Drive – Sunday, January 20th

Pantano Christian Church and the American Red Cross have partnered in a joint effort to help save lives by hosting a blood drive on Sunday, January 20th from 8 am – 1 pm. It will be located by the main west gate entrance. To schedule your appointment or for more information, please call 1-800-RED-CROSS or visit redcrossblood.org and use Sponsor Code: PCC.

Live Service Rebroadcast

In case you miss a Sunday, did you know that we rebroadcast the full Sunday service Monday through Friday each week at 6 pm? Go to http://live.pantano.church

Thank You

I am so proud of our church. Pantano is a generous church! Literally, a thousand of us at Pantano serve in some way at our church, in our community or globally over the course of the year. We couldn’t do what we do and make the difference we are making without you. THANK YOU!

As a church, we give away about half a million dollars every year to local and global organizations and missions. These organizations have been vetted as trustworthy and are making a difference in their communities. And, that dollar amount doesn’t include the service time we provide. THANK YOU for making that possible.

Christmas Eve Offering – The Center of Opportunity

Every year we give our Christmas Eve offering away. Sometimes we’ve given that to international projects and sometimes we’ve given it locally. Often we’ve split it between groups. This year, I’m excited to announce that our Christmas Eve offering will go to the Center of Opportunity. This is a one-stop center run by the Gospel Rescue Mission. A generous family in Tucson bought the old “Holidome” (the Holiday Inn Conference Center on Park, south of Ajo), and gave it to the Gospel Rescue Mission for $1 a year for 99 years!

Hoping to open in the Spring of 2019, the Center of Opportunity will provide about 300 emergency beds and over 30 Christian social service and government agencies will be serving our homeless population in Tucson in this one location. These agencies will help the homeless move toward self-sufficiency by providing emergency housing and meals, job training and placement, health and dental services, government and veteran assistance and so much more. And, the Gospel Rescue Mission will make sure that each person is introduced to Jesus and will disciple those who are ready to follow him.

Year-End Giving – Room for More

It is normal for folks to evaluate their giving as we come to the end of the year. If you are planning to make a year-end gift, please focus your giving toward our Room for More project. We are just getting started with construction for the Student Union to provide room for our students and children. We must make Room for More. We took out a construction loan to get started, but I’d like to pay off the entire cost by the time we occupy in the spring of 2019. That will only be possible if we all give generously and sacrificially.

How To Give

The easiest way to give is to give online. You can give your regular gifts as well as your Christmas Eve offering and Room for More giving online – https://pantano.church/give/. Or, you can use our envelopes (they have a place to mark regular giving or Room for More) or use the special green Christmas Eve offering envelope that will be in the seat backs on Christmas Eve. Another option is to have your gift sent from your checking account; call us if you have questions and need help – 520.298.5395. THANK YOU again and in advance for your amazing generosity, which allows us to make a difference in the lives of people both now and for eternity.


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All Rights Reserved.

© 2024 Pantano Christian Church | All Rights Reserved.

1755 S. Houghton Rd. Tucson, AZ 85748
520-298-5395

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