Midweek Memo

Hello Five Oakers!  This is Kent O'Grady, Director of Small Groups Ministries. I came on staff in June 2011 and have been leading small groups for over 15 years in three different churches. My career as a State Trooper has had me move all over the state of Minnesota. My wife and I now reside in Woodbury and have been coming to Five Oaks since 2004. We'll celebrate our thirty-year anniversary this month. We're empty-nesters and have two sons, two daughters (in law) and one granddaughter. My heart is to help others grow closer to God through prayer, study of Scripture and growing relationships with one another in the Body of Christ. As the Director of Small Groups I have a ring-side seat to the work of the Holy Spirit in the hearts of People. What a blast!

#1 - I hope you had a great Independence Day. My wife Cindy, and I joined some neighbors as we enjoyed the spontaneous display of pyrotechnics in our neighborhood. 

In many countries of the world, an expression of faith in Christ will bring harsh persecution and death.    This week, as we celebrate our country’s independence and our religious freedom, let us remember and pray for our brothers and sisters in Christ who live in countries where they can’t enjoy these freedoms.

#2 - As our church grows, it can be hard to get connected to others as close to a thousand people come and go across three different service times on the weekends.    Experience teaches us that the best way to connect with others and grow in your knowledge and love for God is in a small group.    A small group is a group of up to 20 people who meet three of four times each month.  People from all backgrounds and at all points on their spiritual journey get together to socialize, learn from God’s Word, pray and serve together.  People from all faith backgrounds are welcome.  It is in our diversity that we learn and grow.  You don’t need to be a Bible scholar to be in a small group.   You can participate in the discussions at whatever level you choose.  You won’t be asked to pray out loud unless you are comfortable doing so.   We have mixed groups, men’s groups and women’s groups. 

Here is a small group photo from last year!

Here is our small group serving at Ronald McDonald House in Minneapolis.

Come and check out a small group.   Contact me at the contact info below.  Let’s get together and find a small group that’s right for you.  

#3 - Here are your comments, plus some of mine from last weekend:

• Loved the Tim Keller message, right on! So good, so challenging to all of us. (If you missed the message this past weekend, catch it on the webcast.  You don’t want to miss this message. Tim Keller’s sermon on the parable of the prodigal son from Luke 15, was both inspirational and thought-provoking.  Many of us can relate to the younger brother who rejected the father wanting to be his own God.  We went our own way only to discover our chosen path was full of loneliness and disappointment.   When we discovered that our path was full of thorns, we came back home to our Father and He welcomed us home with open arms.  A familiar story for sure. But how many of us have drifted, at times, into the role of the elder brother in the Scripture?  How many of us have tried to be our own God and earn our way to heaven through our obedience and “damnable good works”?    I know I have at times.   It is something that I need to guard against as I continually check my pride and motive as I serve the Lord.  I need to remember that my salvation is ONLY through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross.  It is recognition of that sacrifice that I seek to grow and serve, not to earn my Father’s heart and blessing, but in gratitude for His gift of sacrifice.    I am accepted, therefore I obey.)
• Five Oaks is always a blessing to us!
• Awesome!
• Great worshiping with Five Oaks today! 
• I loved the worship team today. What a great mix of talent and honest worship!
• I loved the songs “White Flag” and “I Will Follow” by Chris Tomlin from last week! Let’s do those again!  (I love Chris Tomlin’s music too!  He gets me up on my feet with my hands in the air in worship!   I’m sure that we will hear more of his work during our worship at Five Oaks.)
• Thanks, Dan, for the hymns as part of worship!
• Thanks for the hymns!(I love contemporary Christian music, but the old hymns speak to my heart in a unique way.   They brought back some great memories of going to church with my aunt over forty years ago.  Thanks for including some of the great hymns with a contemporary arrangement.  These hymns were right on point with the message..  It was a great worship service.   Thanks, Dan and the entire worship team.)
• Loved having live drums without shield! Music was full of energy. Loved worshiping together. 

#4 - Please pray for the kids and leaders at Challenge this week.  Challenge is a youth conference of the Evangelical Free Church of America (EFCA) in New Orleans.   Five Oaks has 113 students and leaders attending the conference.   Pray for their safety and that these kids will grow in their love of the Lord at this conference experience.  Five Oaks has committed to pray specifically for the speakers, leaders and kids during the rally on July 5^th at 6pm. Join us at Five Oaks (room 101) or pray wherever you are on July 5^th at 6pm. 

Serving Him together, Kent O’Grady

612-868-7260  - kogrady@fiveoakschurch.org 

Midweek Memo

Hey Five Oakers!  This is Tim Bubar, Student Ministries Director, guest-blogging while Henry is on sabbatical.

#1 - Challenge 2012 starts Sunday!  If you don't know, Challenge is the bi-annual student conference of the EFCA. We're leaving saturday morning with 2 buses full of 96 teenagers, and 17 adults. We'll spend the week worshiping together, learning from Colossians, and serving in the city. 

#2 - There's a ton of prayer involved in Challenge.  Last night at Fusion, more than 50 of us gathered to pray for Challenge and for the high schoolers and recent grads who've gone out from our group to serve this summer at camps and on missions teams.  I love seeing our students praying together!  Please be in prayer for our group next week.  Our hope is that God will use this experience as a catalyst in the lives of students.  Our prayer team has taken on one of the role of supporting one of the Challenge gatherings next week.  On Thursday night, Five Oakers will be praying here in Woodbury while about 6,000 of us are worshiping and hearing  Shane Stacey, EFCA's director of ReachStudents, challenge us to take the amazing hope we have in Christ to the world around us.

#3 - Our group will be serving in New Orleans during some of the afternoons next week, but we're staying one extra day in town so we can help with some additional projects.  We're partnering with TouchGlobal, the crisis response arm of the EFCA.  Amazingly, almost 7 years after Hurricane Katrina, there are still people who haven't been able to move back into their homes. One of them is Miss Mary.  A crooked contractor made off with all of her money about 5 years ago, and recently thieves broke in and stole her a/c unit, copper plumbing and electrical wires.  The money that our students raised and that others have generously donated will allow us to help Miss Mary move forward with getting back into her house.  What an incredible opportunity for us to be the Church and demonstrate God's love!

#4 - Here are your comments (and a few of mine) from last weekend:  

• I love the better = better than yesterday, not others. My drum corps motto is “Better Every Day.” It’s an amazing way to live. (I love it too!  Not sure who came up with that tag line, but I've got a feeling it was Dan Lukas)
• Great and meaningful message.  
• Great job Tim! You really brought substance and clarity to a very (possibly) confusing passage. Thank you. Powerful!  
• Excellent message Tim. Your point that my children’s gifts, abilities and accomplishments do not prove anything about myself. Those things will not (and were never meant to) satisfy my need for affirmation and acceptance. God is the only one who can do that for me. Justin – “I’ll Stand” – reminds me to surrender it all everyday.  
• Thanks Justin – for rocking the house – we love you, Lord!  
• Great job Tim!  
• Tim Bubar! Isn’t it fascinating how simple God’s creation appears. Like a simple tree, doesn’t look ominous or massive. But how complex it is when we see how God root’s it to God’s foundation. How can a root that small be so tough and strong and hold so much. We are so simple minded.  (Couldn't agree more.  There were a lot of illustrations in that "little" yard project.  A friend who came by and saw the dead, diseased tree after it was removed and the new, living tree in its place said, "Well, that's a picture of the gospel right there!" I love that God can use every part of our lives - even home improvement nightmares - to remind us of his power and grace.)
• Tim, great point you made that our spouse, our kids were never intended to sustain us. Thanks for that perspective as we disciple our kids in everyday life!  
• I loved this worship set and the harmonies, guitars and Alex you are a great drummer! Great message Tim. Thank you so much. Excellent finish with treasure in the field. We know the cost what we are getting because we know who and what we are getting in return. Great final song. 
• You spoke to my heart Tim Bubar. God wants nothing to be placed ahead of Him. Not our spouses, not our kids. I pray I will continue to understand what this truly means. 
• Great message! Love the use of “what is he not saying” and “what he is saying” to reinforce the points. Great job Tim!  (Its always good to know what "works" to help people learn from a message.  Preparing a message for our weekend services in an intimidating and humbling task.  Every time I do it, I'm amazed that Henry does it every week!  But its an incredible privilege, and God always provides, and He deserves all the glory.)
• Music too loud as I was on the prayer team. I had to yell, almost can’t hear persons request and pray with them.  
• The floor-level backlights on stage were distractingly bright and “in your face” pointed out into the worship center as they are (5:00 Sat. gathering).  (This was a leftover oops from VBS stage reset. We fixed it for the Sunday services)
•  Recycling bins for leftover communication cards.  

#5 - We send comment cards to guests and here's the latest one we received back:

• 5/21       I will continue to worship with you.  I’ve been praying and seeking a church since I left Mt. Olivet AG in Apple Valley.  This church is SO similar.  Thank you for being ‘real’ in your ministry.  Thank you very much for coffee mug and café coupons.
•  6/17       I am a member of another church.  I occasionally visit church with my granddaughter Emily Hagen.  I always enjoy your service.

Serving with you,

Tim Bubar - Student Ministries Director