Wednesday Worship

Last Wednesday night we gathered in Pipeline, Primetime, and EXIT 15 for a night of "Action." We brought our gently used clothes, shoes, and soccer equipment to be donated to Impact Center, Point of Impact, and Bibles for China. Thank you girls for donating to these ministries!

Join us again tonight for Student Worship in Pipeline (in Area 6), Primetime (in the Edge), and EXIT 15 (in the gym) all @ 615pm.

Impact the World: China

China was declared the People’s Republic of China in 1949 by Chairman Mao Zedong, who quickly sought to purge society of anything religious. In recent years, living standards have improved in urban areas while little has changed in the countryside, promoting discontent. Political controls remain tight. The human rights record in China is one of the worst in the world. Its system of “re-education through labor” detains hundreds of thousands of people each year in work camps without a court hearing. In Tibet, an autonomous region within China, Christians are trapped between the oppression of Buddhism and the oppression of communism.

NationReligion: Non-Religious/Other 49.58%, Chinese 28.50%, Christian 7.25%

Ideology: Communism

Head of State: President Hu Jintao

More Christians are in prison or under detention in China than in any other country. House churches (unregistered churches), which make up approximately 90 percent of China’s Christians, endure unimaginable persecution. But they stand by their commitment to preach the gospel, no matter the cost. In Tibet, most of the persecution against Christians comes from militant Tibetan Buddhists. On Feb. 11, 2009, Chinese authorities arrested 60 house church leaders, including two South Korean pastors who were attending a seminar in Wolong district, Henan province. Policeofficers disrupted the meeting, arrested the Christians and confiscated phones, books and money. Authorities forced the believers to register with the government and pay a fine. Elderly believers were released, but the South Korean pastors were deported three days later for “engaging in illegal religious activities.” They have been banned from entering the country for five years.

Please pray for China - that believers will firmly stand for their faith in Christ and for this nation to come to know God as their Savior and Lord.

Impact the World!

God's desire is for all people to come to know Him (1Timothy 2:4), and He has commanded us to take the gospel to and make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:19-20). Does this seem like a daunting task? Such a huge mission requires God's power! As a follower of Christ, He has given you this power through His Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8), and He promises to be with us (Matthew 28:20).

One way that we can make an impact on the nations is by prayer. Can I ask you something? Take time to think about everything you have prayed for in the last 24 hours... Now if God were to answer every prayer, how much of the world would be impacted through your prayers?

We begin to have a heart for the nations and know how to pray for them when we are informed about them. A great tool that I use often is the book "Operation World" and there are other websites (look at the Right-hand toolbar under "Praying for Nations" - there it is!).

I want to challenge you...could you start out by praying for one nation per week? The BGM (Bellevue Girls Ministry) blog will highlight a different country every week to pray for - this will help us keep each other accountable and keep up-to-date on what God is doing around the world!

Here's your first country. Watch the video to know specifically how to pray:

The Czech Republic

Czech Republic from Prairie Lakes Church on Vimeo.

~Jennie

A Thought on Gratitude

“It is good to give thanks to the Lord, and to sing praises to Thy name, O Most High.” Psalm 92:1

Many times we think of the word “thankful” in November as we are feasting around a table of turkey and dressing with family and friends. However, the Lord is teaching me how important it is to be thankful in every moment and for everything. In Exodus, God’s Word reveals a situation where the children of Israel received many gifts from the Lord, but they did not show appreciation for what had been given. When the Israelites escaped from slavery in Egypt, they were in a situation where God had to intervene. They could not survive without the Lord, and God proved to them His faithfulness. Hebrews 3:9 states that the Israelites “saw” God’s works for forty years. In this verse the Greek the word “saw” means seeing, perceiving, understanding and experiencing. The Israelites had the privilege of experiencing miracles from God on a continual basis.

God provided the people with manna, a food that came down from heaven each night, and it was tasty and nourishing. One scholar said that the Israelites would need about 4,500 tons of manna every day! Next, the Lord provided quail and also water from a rock for nourishment. The only water the people had was bitter and undrinkable. 15,000,000 gallons of water per day were required to meet the basic needs of 3 million people. God was providing for the Israelites’ needs every day in miraculous ways!

However, Hebrews 3:8 tells us that the hearts of the Israelites were hardened. Despite God’s provisions, the people had become indifferent, insensitive, and ungrateful to the Lord. Exodus 16 verse 2 says “the whole congregation of the sons of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness.”

Every day God provides for each of our needs and sometimes beyond what we need. Think of the things God provides for you on a daily basis. A few examples are water, food, clothing, sunlight, health, sight…the list could fill up this page! How often do we come to the end of the day and have not expressed our gratitude to the Lord? May we not become like the Israelites with hardened hearts and complaining attitudes. Moses sang the following song to the Lord, and I pray that this will be the cry of our hearts also:

“The Lord is my strength and song,
And He has become my salvation;
This is my God, and I will praise Him;
Who is like Thee among the gods, O Lord?
Who is like Thee, majestic in holiness,
Awesome in praises, working wonders?”Exodus 15:2, 11

What are you praising and thanking God for today?

~Jennie

"Hurry Up Summer Spring Break Party"

Last night was our Spring Break Party and it was a blast! With cotton candy, sno cones, lemonade, hot dogs, burgers, inflatables, basketball, volleyball, and more! 70 degree weather, summer-time clothes, and hanging out with friends really made it feel like summer was right around the corner. Leave a comment and let me know what was your fav part of the night!

Kari Jobe

About a year ago I came across Kari Jobe, an incredible song writer and worship leader. She is passionate about what she sings but most of all, Who she sings for - Jesus. She says about her latest album, "This album is about hope and life; it's my hope that these songs find the broken and lift them to a place of praise to God for what He's done."

When I heard her sing "Revelation Song" I couldn't help but sing with her at the top of my lungs...yes, when you are sitting at the red light and see a crazy girl in the car next to you singing without inhibition, it's me.



If you would like to hear more, check out Kari's site here.

Of course, I know I'm not the only one that sings in the car. ;) ~Jennie

God is Moving in Haiti!

An update on Haiti: recently, the President cancelled the Haitian Mardi-Gras and instead asked the people to fast and pray for 3 days. Watch here to see the overwhelming response and how God is moving:




Are we praying for the nations? Are you praying for God to be known and glorified in our country and all over the world?

"May God be gracious to us and bless us

and make his face shine upon us,
that your way may be known on earth,

your saving power among all nations.
Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you!
Let the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you judge the peoples with equity and guide the nations upon earth.
Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you!
The earth has yielded its increase; God, our God, shall bless us.
God shall bless us; let all the ends of the earth fear him!" Ps 67

Haiti 5K & Special Olympics

On your mark...get set....go! What a perfect day it was for this morning's Haiti 5K and Fun Run! I saw many of you girls out there running those miles and even winning a medal for first in your age group. Woohoo! Please continue to pray for Haiti. Life was difficult for the Haitian people even before the earthquake it. There are few that have jobs and only 40% of the population can read. More than 25% of the children did not get enough food to eat. Haiti is considered the poorest country in the Americas. From the earthquake, 50,000 people have died and many have lost family, jobs, and homes. For more ways to pray and support Haiti: http://www.gobgr.org/.

Today was also the Special Olympics Basketball tournament, held at Bellevue. 22 teams were playing and lots of fans were cheering. We had a great time making posters, cheering, and watching some great bball together. Here is a pic of Margo (a great ball player) and Elizabeth:

"Mugs & Muffins"

We had such a great time at Panera at 6:30 am each Tuesday for "Mugs & Muffins" this semester. Our study was on "Spending Time With God," and we heard the Girls Council teach on Jesus' pattern of spending time with His Father, why it is important for us to spend time with God, and Biblical examples of those that regularly spent time with God no matter the cost. Last week was the final study for this semester, and here is a picture of the group:

Mark 1:35 "Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed."

Saturday Winner & Thanks!

Saturday's winner of the itunes gift card is...Grace Wade!

Thanks for all of the comments & suggestions, and we are in the process of implementing these! Be sure to check back here often, as we will have 2-3 updates per week of upcoming events, book & music reviews, pictures, current issues, and more!

Also want to say thanks to the girls that attended the Sunday Afternoon Bible Studies for Middle and High School. Yesterday was our final day, and we have learned so much this semester! Thank you to Leslie, Christy, Dorie, & Rachel for teaching these studies on "Wise Beyond Her Years" and the book of James.

A thought and memory verses from yesterday's "Wisdom in Being a Leader" study by Leslie:

• A true leader knows who their leader is: Jesus Christ! Ephesians 5:1 "Be imitators of Christ, therefore, as dearly loved children."
• A true leader is a servant. Matthew 20:26-28 "Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave - just as the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."
• A true leader is not selfish. Psalm 119:36 "Turn my heart toward your statutes and not toward selfish gain."