One Person Matters

Jesus told a parable or story in Luke 15:1-7 about a shepherd who left ninety-nine sheep in the dangerous open field to find one that was lost. That one sheep mattered to the shepherd. That one represents anyone who is not connected to God and has lost a life-giving relationship with him. The lost ones of the world matter to God. I believe Jesus wants us also to focus on our “one,” loving people to Jesus one person at a time. 

Who’s Your “One”?

We just finished a series we called Engage One. If you missed any of the three messages, I encourage you to watch them through our Pantano On Demand channel. This year, our focus as a church is to identify and pray for one person that we can love to Jesus. Who’s your “one?” Who has God put on your heart to pray for? Who can you love through kindness and service? Who is that “one” whom you can engage with both the love and hope of Jesus? 

Need Help?

Need help identifying, praying for, engaging, or sharing the hope of Jesus with your “one?” We’ve created a resource page to help you. Go to pantano.church/engageone/ and you’ll find ideas and five short videos to help you love your “one” to Jesus. We’ve also listed some additional books and articles to equip you to engage and help your “one” find Jesus. 

Invite Your “One”

We’ll be providing regular opportunities to invite your “one” to discover faith. For example, I’ll be sharing the message of Jesus and salvation on Easter Sunday, April 4th. Invite your “one” to join you. Don’t forget to reserve your in-person space at either 7 am, 9am, 11 am, or 1 pm services. We’ll have additional special times when you can invite your “one,” like our Father’s Day car show and our Deeper Dives as well. 

Our teaching series after Easter will speak to the challenge of living under the burden of “shoulds.” We’ll explore the dangers of when we put “shoulds” on ourselves, others, and on God, as well as the “shoulds” others put on us. Invite your “one” to explore how practical, helpful, and freeing the Bible is about everyday life.

Alpha Course

On Easter, we’ll encourage folks who are not yet following Jesus to consider the eleven-week Alpha Course. Over 30 million people in 112 countries have taken this course! We’ll be offering it both in-person and online starting Wednesday, April 14th. I’ll specifically be inviting your “one” and others like your “one” to join us. Sign up here – pantano.church/event/alpha-course/

If you haven’t yet selected your “one”, pray about who that might be, invest in the relationship, and prepare to watch God move in their life!

Glen ElliottSubscribe: https://pantano.church/blogsubscription

Last Spring, as a staff, we prayerfully sought God regarding what our church’s priority focus should be over the next year or so. Little could we have imagined the impact of Covid. But, that didn’t change the direction God had for us. It was clear that God wanted our church to fulfill our mission – Loving people to Jesus, launching passionate people to make a difference. We needed to provide practical help for all of us to do this well.

We concluded that the best way to do that was to have each person in our church focus on one person following the parable Jesus gave in Luke 15:3-7: A shepherd had a hundred sheep. One was lost. He left the ninety-nine in the open field to search for the one. All of heaven celebrated when the lost was found.

I’m asking each of us to identify one person who’s lost, meaning they have lost a connection or relationship with God available only through Jesus. I’m asking you to start by praying to identify your “one.” Ask God to help you love that person through an authentic relationship. Ask God to help you engage them and for the Holy Spirit to open up natural opportunities to have spiritual conversations. 

We are calling this focus – Engage One. This past Sunday, we began a series that addresses this, and we’ve created some practical help, resources, and tools to help you love your “one.”

Please go to our Engage One webpage – https://pantano.church/engageone/. You’ll find a brief description of how to go about praying for and identifying your “one.” We’ve also prepared some short videos to help encourage and guide you to love your “one.” There are two videos there based on the teaching I presented on Sunday. An additional video will be added each week of our teaching series, for the next two weeks.

We have listed some books, articles, and video suggestions if you want to go further and deeper regarding how to love and serve your one and how to engage in spiritual conversations and share the Good News of Jesus. 

You’ll also notice on our Engage One webpage that we will be offering the Alpha Course right after Easter. We’ll announce more information coming up about options for an in-person and online version of this course. The Alpha Course is a world-wide phenomenon designed to help those who don’t know Jesus, the Bible, or much about faith to begin the journey toward God. While experienced disciples of Jesus will gain from the course, it is primarily intended for our “ones” who are open to, new to, or on a journey toward faith.  

Who’s your “one”? Who’s the one you are praying for? 

Glen ElliottSubscribe: https://pantano.church/blogsubscription

March is here, and in my mind, that translates to Spring has arrived. Even though we are in a drought, somehow, the weeds are starting to pop up at my house! This is a good time to give some updates, and look forward as Spring approaches here at Pantano.

Lead Pastor Search 

Please remember that we are not in a hurry to find my successor. We will be prayerfully careful in our process and selection. Please pray for the Interview Team and Elders as they do the initial work, which requires lots of time and is not an easy process. Once we find my successor, there will be a period of overlap, which could take a year or so. So, you won’t see any real changes until possibly sometime in 2022.

Let me clarify again that I’m not retiring. At 65, I’m not done in ministry. I’m just looking for a change of role. I will give my successor the freedom to determine what that role might look like after I pass the baton.

The Interview Team and Elders are well along in the interview process of the first round of candidates. They started with six candidates. We have recently received five new candidates that the Slingshot Group vetted, and the Interview Team is just getting started with those candidate profiles. We are not releasing the names of any candidates at their request and for their well-being.

Engage One Series

This Sunday, we launch a new series that I personally believe is one of the most important that we’ve done in the 22 years I’ve been at Pantano. Why would I make that huge statement? Here’s why: About 85% of Pima County doesn’t go to any church. Most of our neighbors are post-Christians, meaning that they lack an understanding of who Jesus really is or what the Bible and the church are all about. Except for a few Atheists, most are not against God; they just don’t know him or have a relationship with him. They are unlikely to visit a church, and COVID has made it even more unlikely that folks will want to go to a church building. 

So we have to go to them. Our mission and purpose is to love people to Jesus, launching passionate people to make a difference. In this series, we are unveiling a year-long effort to equip and prepare our church to intentionally engage those not connected to Jesus. Starting Sunday, I will introduce this idea and share with you some of the tools, resources, videos, and courses we’ve been developing over the last year.

Auditorium Upgrade

We need to fix some things in our East Campus Auditorium. The carpet is beyond repair. Many of the pews are broken, and we can’t fasten them to the floor. The floor has a terrible and dangerous slope, and the list goes on. For years we’ve tried to push the proverbial can down the road, but we’ve come to the place where we need to make some changes. We are in the process of planning so we can’t give details yet, but once we decide and commit to a plan and have permits, I’ll let you know more about the details, timing, schedule, and cost.

Easter – April 4

I love to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus! This year, we’ll have four Easter Sunday services, both in-person and online, at 7 am, 9 am, 11 am, and 1 pm. We are using a reservation system (choose a service here) for in-person attendance to ensure that none of our services are too full and provide safe physical distancing. Sign up now!

Glen ElliottSubscribe: https://pantano.church/blogsubscription