Kristi's Missions Trip to Costa Rica

Dear Friends and Family, 
March 29, 2010 

I hope you are all doing well. I know for me, this year has been a great journey with God. He has blessed me abundantly with an amazing youth group and church. I have grown so much and have been given so many opportunities to share God’s amazing love everywhere I go. 

This summer, I will be going to Costa Rica with my youth group (Remix Student Ministries) from July 16-23. I am excited to spread God’s love through games, drama, music, teaching, and more. We will be going into the local schools daily. 

There are two ways you could partner with me. The first of course is prayer. Please pray for safety and unity for our team. Also pray that God would use us in a powerful way. Secondly is finances. This trip is going to cost about $1,400. This will cover food, transportation, housing and project money. Any amount would be a great blessing and much appreciated.

Thank you for your consideration. 

His Servant,

                                                 

~Kristi Edwards

You can donate online through the following link:

HTTPS://www.easytithe.com/f/?k=9TEJX2VKJ6IPOKWO

It’s Great to Be Loved

Sunday I introduced the message by talking about Esther’s and my first kiss together. What made that kiss so special was the three words that preceded it – “I love you.” You see, I fell in love with this blond hair, blue-eyed girl in the registration line at Valley Forge Christian College however we did not begin dating until six years later. So when I said those words to her at a beach in New Jersey, I was overwhelmed to hear them coming back to me. To be loved is an incredible thing.

If you think that human love is great, then you have not even begun to scratch the surface of God’s incredible love. You see, I was not pursuing God when he displayed his love for me. He pursued me. In fact, while I was an enemy with God, He loved me (Romans 5:6-11).

I invite you to read Ephesians 3:14-19 and meditate once again on God’s love. As you do, here are some thoughts from the message: 

First Sermon Series at Centerpointe Church @ Fair Oaks

 

Tomorrow I begin a series called "The Unstoppable Force." It will be my first message as Lead Pastor of Centerpointe Church @ Fair Oaks.

This series is about The Church, The Body of Christ - Big "C". Jesus said he would build his church and the gates of Hell will not be able to overcome it. I liken it to a locomotive. Like most young boys, I was fascinated with trains. They were big and powerful. What was most impressive was the locomotive, pulling up to a hundred railroad cars up steep hills across the country. I used to count them as they would go by. The sound of the whistle signaled to the world that it was coming our way. 

"Locomotive" comes from two Latin words: Loco meaning "from a place" and Motivus meaning "causing motion". That's a great picture of The Church, "A Place Causing Motion."

When the church is working right, things happen. People are changed and communities are transformed.

I am excited about what God is doing in The Church and particularly what God wants to do at Centerpointe Church. This local expression of The Church is going to be a place where Faith Comes Alive.

Thanks Kris Celeste for putting our first message bumper together.

Enjoy the Journey,
Keith

My Last Day At Trinity

Sunday, March 13th, I said goodbye to some great friends and family. I know that many people leave churches for many reasons...ministers also leave – some for good reasons and some for not-so-good reasons. I happened to be blessed in that my reason for leaving Trinity was to become the lead pastor at Centerpointe Church at Fair Oaks in Fairfax, VA. I am doubly blessed because I had the opportunity to work with Pastor George Raduano and the incredible staff of Trinity for 4 ½ years. The leadership lessons I learned will be applied to the rest of life, personally and in ministry.

If there ever was a prescribed way of honoring someone when they leave, Trinity could write the manual. I feel very humbled by the church's love and encouragement. I was sent off with a gift certificate for a two-day retreat at the Antrim House for Esther and myself (Esther says we need to wait for six months when I am completely exhausted). I also received a cappuccino maker, which I am enjoying immensely. It was the perfect gift for me. I guess Pastor George did not want to see me drive 65 miles to get a cup of coffee from his office. Esther received a gift certificate to the Coach store where she, for sure, will purchase a new purse. The service ended in prayer for our family and a time of fellowship – many hugs, handshakes and encouragement. Many wrote cards with expressions of love, which Esther and I read together – with a few tears falling.

It was a great day. 

To Trinity – Although I was the discipleship and teaching pastor, I received more from you than you can ever imagine. You laughed with me when I made some blunders, and you let me lead and try new things. I will miss you. You have imbedded yourself into my heart. Centerpointe Church is going to look a lot like you over the next several years – worshipping…growing…serving.

To the Pastoral Staff – Thanks for receiving me as a team member quickly and helping me excel in my giftings as well as challenging my growth areas. You are all very gifted in your role and serve the church well.

To the Support Staff Q3 (you know who you are) – I can’t imagine what life would have been like at Trinity without your help. I will never forget our 8:30 breakfast times at Stone Mill, the missions weeks, and all the events and ministries we worked on. You are a great team. Thanks, Pam, for your leadership and passion for excellence.

To Pastor George – I came as a good friend and left with a best friend. Thanks for sharing your life and heart with me. You are truly a generous man of God. Your consistent leadership at Trinity has led the way to health and vibrancy.

May the Lord bless you and keep you. May His face shine upon you. May He give you strength for today and hope for tomorrow.

With Love,

Keith

Following His Call

On Sunday, I announced to Trinity, that I accepted an invitation to be the lead pastor of Centerpointe Church at Fair Oaks in Fairfax, Virginia. This was a bitter/sweet experience for me. It was bitter in that I am leaving a church and pastor that I love. Pastor George Raduano and the leadership of Trinity have been so generous to me with support and encouragement over the last four and a half years. It is sweet because I am following the calling of the Lord in my life – and there is nothing like that feeling.

This is part of the message when I spoke to the Trinity congregation:

As pastors, we give our lives to the Bride of Christ: the Church. Yes, we are flawed. We have egos and temptations like everyone else because we are people. But for the most part, people go into ministry because there is something inside that draws them to it. It’s called the “call of God” which is not to be taken lightly.

We are responsible to steward the calling of God on our life like we must steward everything else. We are to be good stewards of our families, our finances, our facilities, our time, our education, our health, our life, etc.  Nothing should be wasted in our life.