We as a church are embarking on one of the most exciting journeys imaginable. During the month of October, you are going to hear a great deal about the plans God has for Red Fork Church of God as we continue to seek His will.

These plans include a new building on our West Campus! Over five years ago, this congregation started to dream of relocating and of having an even greater impact in our corner of Tulsa. We bought 40 acres - not with the idea that this land would stay as a field of hay and grasshoppers. We believed that God had a building in store for us.

Today the plans for that building are in place. Your church leaders have spent countless hours working with our architect, Randy Bright. We have put together floor plans, outside elevations, and a Master Plan. It has been an exciting and prayer-infused process.

On Wednesday, October 8th, we will have an informational meeting to share these plans. We pray that you will make efforts to join us at 6:45pm.

We will begin a capital campaign that will challenge each of us to step up our level of commitment. We really believe that God is calling each of us to an even greater level of discipleship. this commitment includes not only our finances, but also our time and effort.

We whole-heartedly know that all the funding can and will be provided by God's people. Thus, we are asking you to being considering what your role will be in helping to provide the resources for this new building. Then on November 23rd, we want you to do two things. One, bring a special offering with you that will help us reach our goal of $100,000! Second, make a pledge for what you can give over the next three years. If we all step out in faith, the dreams can become a reality.

Finally, recognize that ultimately these plans are NOT just about a new building. Our goal at Red Fork is to reach out with hope and to more effectively minister to our friends and neighbors. Our belief is that this new building will be a tool to bring more and more people into God's Kingdom!

We as leaders are committed to this goal - a goal that is greater than what many of us ever dreamed or envisioned. We pray that you will grab onto these God-given dreams and be willing to make some sacrifices in order to make an eternal difference!

We are now embarking on a new journey starting September 21st. We are going to two services! The first one will start at 9:30am and the second will begin at 10:45am.

We have talked about making this move for the last couple of years but the time just appeared right as we noticed more and more families becoming active in the church. In fact, this was confirmed when the day we announced this to the church we had 273 people present!

As we examined our need for two services, we also made the decision to make the services look a bit different from each other. Both of our services may be what one terms blended but the first service will be more traditional. We will sing a number of hymns as well as a praise song or two.

Our second service will lean more towards the contemporary side. While still seeking to use recent and ancient traditionals, there will be a much different flow to the second service than we have experienced at Red Fork in the past.

Neither service will be better than the other... just a bit different. However, the key in all of our times of corporate worship is not the songs that we sing or the instruments that are being played. The key is whether or not we are willing to worship with our whole being.... worship in a way that brings glory to God.

Most of our programs will be very similar to our current set-up. Sunday School for children, teens, and some adults will start at 9:30. These classes will now be hour-long classes instead of fifty minutes. Our two children's church classes will stil be in place during the second service.

One addition we have to our Sunday Morning program will be a fellowship time between the two services. We will be providing coffee, donuts, and other random goodies for people to snack up on as we get to know each other better. This will take place from 10:30am to 10:45am in the gym.

This is a grand opportunity that God has given to us to reach out and expand the Kingdom. Although we are entering into this change as a two-month trial, we believe that God is going to continue increaing not only the number of people attending but also the number of people who call upon His Son, Jesus, as their Lord and Savior! So, get excited and see what god does at Red Fork!

Those who know me well know that I lean heavily on the practical, tangible part of life. I am not a big mystic, a believer in the so-called paranormal, or desirious of seeing the Virgin Mary as revealed in toast.

But sometimes the need for everything to be literally seen and experienced runs against the basic belief of Christianity. We believe that there is a real God but this real God does not just exist in some far off place. We as a church believe that there is an unseen Christ who walks with us in times of difficulty, who cheers us on to do the right things, and who rewards those who diligently seek Him.

Thus, for the next five weeks we are going to try to open the veil and see a little more clearly this unseen Christ who is among us. We will be exploring issues of how the unseen Christ can influence our tongues, our moral choices, our times of despair, and our times of decisions.

Throughout this series you will enjoy some lively skits, lots of colorful banners, some gifts to be used as reminders, and some powerful preaching that will serve as an encouragement to live out your faith as you rely upon Jesus.

Perhaps you are unsure about some of this Jesus stuff. Maybe you are one of those folks who thinks they have to see, hear, taste, smell, and touch in order to believe that something is real. This series is for you. These next few weeks will challenge your thinking and help you to grasp that there is an unseen God who is just waiting to reveal Himself to people who want to see with spiritual eyes.

So, come on out, and invite your friends. This will be a month to remember at Red Fork!

Pastor Brent