The Bridge Newsletter

Showing off the Glory of Christ in Every Area of Life. May 2011

Stabilized in JesusBy Dr. Eric MasonWhen you are dealing with the complexity of people’s souls, sometimes an

update can seem too narrow. In describing the state of the church you feelthe need to embellish (lie) about things that don’t reflect the reality of where peopleare in their walks with Jesus. It is easy to focus on buildings, events, numbers, andachievements. However, many times those things can be used to overshadow thewhere a local community of faith really is on the health barometer.

As Paul’s ministry to the Gentiles illustrate, engaging an unreached people group is abiblical ambition (Rom 15:20). Paul states, "And thus I make it my ambition to preachthe gospel, not where Christ has already been named, lest I build on someone else’sfoundation."

This has been an incredible challenge for us. We have experienced seeing peoplewho would not ordinarily come to church or want to discuss the faith meet Jesus.Seeing deeply under-engaged Blacks, Whites, Latinos, Africans, West Indians, Asians,and many others has been of great fruitfulness. Watching the gospel increase among

"We have experiencedseeing people who wouldnot ordinarily come tochurch or want to discussthe faith meet Jesus."

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DoxaBy Tiffany MaultsbyOur band and vocal team has a new name! We are “Doxa,”

which is the Greek word for praise, honor, and glory.What a fitting name for a group of people who God has calledout of darkness into His glorious light!

We hold auditions in spring and fall, concurrent with the end ofeach covenant community class. This spring, we expect to have5-7 new vocalists—we now have a total of almost 15 vocalists!God is answering our prayers for committed disciples of JesusChrist who will join us in proclaiming His excellencies as a worshipping missional community. We’re a far cry from thetwo vocalists at our first Sunday gathering in September 2005—praise our faithful God for answered prayer! We are stillpraying for more men to join our ranks; will you pray with us? We know that He is faithful to provide!

people of these ethnicities between the ages of 20-35 has been of great value to the Lord’s kingdom (Act 13:1-3; Col 1:5-6). The fruit has been unbelievable in seeing God transform lives.

Our greatest need is for the souls that the Lord has brought to Himself and those Hehas gathered at Epiphany to be strengthen and stabilized in Him. This has been acontinued prayer and desire of us as we minister to this generation and beyond.These are the main areas of need for our community to be stabilized in the faith,

•Understanding eternal security

•Contentment in current season of life

•Congregational sexual purity

•Community formation

•Intimacy with the Lord

•Greater relational and missional connection with the lost.

It is a pleasure to serve in this pioneering mission field called Philadelphia, PA. Our desire is to see this under engagedcontext impacted by the love of God only found in Christ Jesus.

Stabilized in Jesus

"Our greatest need is forthe souls that the Lordhas brought to Himselfand those He hasgathered at Epiphany tobe strengthen andstabilized in Him."

continued...

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Due to the addition of our newest members, we are currently working through thetechnical aspects of blending, harmonizing, and memorizing parts. While this meanslonger rehearsals during our growth spurt, everyone has been patient with the process.Beyond the musical skills, we are learning each other’s personalities and growingtogether as a family of Christ-followers. We want our singing to be backed by lifestylecredibility when the microphones are off.

At a recent vocal rehearsal, I shared Psalm 119:1-16 with our team. I reminded themthat we could sing and play beautifully, and that we should strive for excellence for theglory of Christ—but that our musical dexterity would mean nothing if our lives don’treflect our allegiance to the God about whom we so passionately sing. We want to havethe exuberance that comes from knowing our Triune God (Jeremiah 9:23-24). We alsowant to not about what we do, but about the Savior who has changed our lives foreverthrough His cross. We want to worship our King emotionally, physically, intellectually,and volitionally.

Together, we are learning how to be the spirit and truth worshippers Jesus wants (John4:21-24).

Photo:Worship Leader Tiffany Maultsby

doxa continued...

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31:30 Women's Ministry: The Heart of theMatterBy Anna Hunt31:30 is the women’s ministry at Epiphany Fellowship. It is a place for women to come together in fellowship

and grow in their love for and intimacy with God, His word, and the knowledge of God. The theme of thisyear’s ministry is “The Heart of the Matter.” “I want to start a revival in the hearts of the women,” said Mrs. DaleMobley, the leader of the women’s ministry. Her goal is to provide an atmosphere where women can share theirhearts with each other, pray with one another, and receive enrichment and guidance.

The women’s ministry aims to impart spiritual tools for women to use that will help them develop hearts that aresoftened toward God, His will, and His way. This led 31:30 to initiate the 40 Days of Prayer event, from March 14th-April 22nd, where the women at Epiphany Fellowship were invited to align their hearts with God and pray througha weekly calendar with a prayer or DNA partner in the weeks leading up to Easter. Women were also challengedto consider fasting from something, such as soda, TV, or Facebook, or stretch themselves to add something totheir schedule such as exercise, joining a ministry, or eating better. 31:30’s hope is that this time of prayerincreased women’s intimacy with God and with one another.

The biggest challenges facing 31:30 right now are time and scheduling. However, Mrs. Mobley invites all women tocome try out and join 31:30. “Oh taste and see,” she says. “I’ve seen the fellowship between us become muchsweeter…lives become much richer…I’ve seen that,” she says, “So I know that the word works…sharing the wordand having that heart that’s submissive to the word…causes women to change.” She’s excited to see the impactthat 31:30 will have not only on the women of Epiphany but also on the church body as a whole. “Give God achance,” she says. “We welcome you to come out.”

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Sex and the Gospel ConferenceBy Casey JacksonOn February 11th-12th, Pastor Blake Wilson of Crossover Bible Fellowship in Houston, Texas offered a two-day

conference at Epiphany Fellowship on the biblical view of sex. The conference, titled “Sex and the Gospel,” hasbeen given by Pastor Blake across the country. Its aim is to foster a biblical perspective of sex and relationshipsthrough examination and discussion of related Bible passages.

Pastor Blake is the lead pastor of Crossover Bible Fellowship and has done several conferences on Sex and theGospel in addition to speaking at youth engagements throughout the US. He has also been involved with camps andretreats at Crossover Bible Fellowship as well as implementing its Youth and Family Ministry, which has a goal ofhelping young people grow in Christ and discuss day-to-day issues.

Pastor Blake went diligently through the scriptures to show specificallyhow God views sex and how critically important this issue is in Christiandiscipleship. He offered numerous examples from his own life andministry that brought to life the importance of walking in obedience to thescriptures. He continually highlighted how our contemporary culture thatidolizes celebrities undermines a healthy and biblical view of relationshipsand sexuality. Pastor Blake reminded attendees that, “The place that youneed to always start out when you enter into a relationship is: what doesGod think?”. Regarding how pop culture pervasively influences our views on the subject of sex he stated, “Theculture is hitting us up every single day and our actions prove whether we want the biblical view or the 'star view' . . .our actions indicate which view we prefer.” He encouraged each of those who attended to “live the rest of your lifefor the will of God,” an allusion to 1 Peter 4:2.

His wife, Dr. Ronique Wilson, who has spoken on the topic along with Pastor Blake for 16 years now, joined him forthe conference and discussed Sex and the Gospel as it relates to womanhood. One thing she emphasized iscompleteness in Christ. “We’re in identity crisis because we straddle between the world and the church . . . so one ofthe things that is key for us as godly women is we need a real true sense of what our identity is in Christ and who weare in Christ,” she said. Ronique pointed out that issues discussed in the conference are as relevant today as theywere in biblical times: “We think that God is out of date and doesn’t know what’s going on [but] we see in thescriptures from back then that everything is playing out today.”

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Delivering on the VisionBy Pastor Larry SmithEpiphany Camden Church PlantPastor Doug Logan has officially begun to work full-time in planting Epiphany Camdenas of April 2011. Pastor Doug is meeting with his core team members and beginningpreparation for launching the church. Please pray for Pastor Doug, his wife Angel andtheir children as they undertake the Lord’s work in Camden.

Central Heat and Air ConditioningThanks to a generous donation from a supporting church, Epiphany is in the process of having central heat and airconditioning installed. This is a direct answer to a prayer request from the previous newsletter and was a significantneed for the ministry.

With a message focused in the scriptures and a discussion of the cultural versusbiblical view, Pastor Blake’s talks seemed to resonate among attendees.Shanaysha Davis, who attended both days, felt the conference was veryimpactful. “It put a different spin on dating and courtship,” said Davis. Sheespecially enjoyed the breakout session for women. “I like how she pointed outthat our identity is first and foremost in Christ and when she talked about our‘mistaken identity’.”

The main thing that seemed to pervade all of Pastor Blake’s messages waslooking to God as the source for instruction on sex as opposed to looking toculture. His messages clearly put the emphasis on living one’s life by the biblicalview and no other standard. Epiphany Fellowship hopes to have Pastor Blake andRonique return again with their timely and insightful words on Sex and theGospel.

"The place that you needto always start out whenyou enter into arelationship is: what doesGod think?"

- Pastor Blake Wilson

Pastor Doug Logan speakingto the core group.

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Student Ministries PastorEpiphany is looking to bring on Pastor Curtis Dunlap full-time as our Student Ministries Pastor. This is a critical needfor the ministry particularly in reaching our North Philadelphia neighborhood. Pastor Curt has been serving in thisrole for over a year and a half as a bi-vocational pastor. Epiphany ispraying to do significant work in reaching children and teens in ourcommunity. We believe Pastor Curt’s full-time presence willfacilitate important ongoing connections with our community as wellas strengthening Epiphany’s overall children and youth ministries.

PlaygroundAs mentioned in our last newsletter, Epiphany will install a state-of-the-art playground adjacent to our building. Our neighbors haveasked for this as their number one request and we are thankful to the Lord for meeting this pressing need for a safeplace for neighborhood children and families. Thank you to Childs Play Incorporated and members of The VillageChurch in Dallas, TX are donating the equipment and expertise to bring this vision to fruition.

DeaconsEpiphany is excited to have installed 25 deacons as of March 2011. We are grateful to God for the godly and faithfulmen and women that have been called and equipped by him toaid significantly in the work of the ministry in Philadelphia.Please keep our deacons in prayer as they minister innumerous ways to our church body and beyond.

Student Ministries Pastor Curtis Dunlap

Newly installed deacons