Every November White Fields Community Church hosts Project Greatest Gift, a home-grown ministry that serves children and caretakers in the foster and kinship care systems in Northern Colorado at Christmastime.
Project Greatest Gift works with the Health and Human Services departments of counties in Northern Colorado to provide Christmas gifts and help with groceries and clothing for families and children. This is a practical way that we can show the heart of God and the love of Jesus to those in need in our local area.
This year I sat down with Christine, the founder of Project Greatest Gift, to discuss its origins, the vision behind it, and how God has used it over the past several years. You can watch that discussion in the video below.
Did you know that children in the foster system form an at-risk people group within our own communities?
In almost every case, the reason these children end up in foster care is because of an unsuitable home environment, which may involve violence, neglect, drugs, crime, etc. These environments not only result in trauma, but they also tend to result in or be associated with poverty. Many foster care situations are kinship care, which means the child is cared for by a relative, which can create a financial burden.
Poverty has a profound impact on a child’s mental and physical well-being. Children living in poverty have higher rates of absenteeism from school. Students who come from low income families are six times more likely to drop out of high school. Adults without a high school diploma are 4 times more likely to be unemployed and live in poverty, which means raising their children in poverty, perpetuating a cycle of poverty which may persist for generations: poverty affects education which affects poverty. (source 1, source 2)
One of the ways we can help kids break out of this cycle of poverty is by encouraging them to stay in school – and one of the ways we can do that is by helping them have the things they need to be confident and excited about going to school, so they can succeed!
Our church, White Fields Community Church, has a history of ministering to children in the foster system, and six years ago we began a new ministry: Project Back to School.
We are working with Weld County Department of Human Services, and this year they have identified over 100 at-risk kids who need help with school supplies, clothes, and shoes. They have provided us with a list of needed items, which we will share with those who sign up to help.
We are trusting that God will raise up people to bless these families in the name of Jesus. It’s a way for us to love not only in words and in speech, but in action as well (1 John 3:18).
We are taking sign-ups starting Sunday, July 6 and are asking for items to be returned by Sunday, July 27.
How to Get Involved and Make a Difference
1. Sign up in-person
If you live in or near Longmont, visit White Fields Church on a Sunday morning this July and sign up to sponsor one or more children.
2. Sign up online
If you can’t make it on a Sunday morning, but are still local and could drop off items to us for delivery, leave a comment below, or contact the church here.
3. Contribute Financially
All monies that come in designated for Project Back to School will go directly towards buying school supplies for at risk children. You can make a tax-deductible donation on our church’s website here: www.whitefieldschurch.com/give (choose Project Back to School on the drop-down menu).
Join us in praying for these kids, and that God uses this initiative to bless them!
6:00 – Sunrise Service on the large grassy area in front of our church building, with a beautiful view of the Sunrise, as we celebrate how the resurrection of Jesus has ushered in a new day for our lives and for the world! Stick around after Sunrise service for breakfast and coffee.
8:00, 9:30, & 11:00 AM – Easter Worship Services. NextGen classes are available at the 9:30 & 11:00 AM services!
Good Friday Services – April 18, 2025
5:00 & 6:30 PM – Join us as we remember and celebrate Jesus’ death on the cross for us.
Family Eggvent – April 19, 2025
11:00 AM -1:00 PM – Bring your kids and a friend as we have fun as a community. We will have a food truck serving tacos, bounce houses, crafts and a puppet show for children, and egg hunts for kids of multiple ages.
I had a partner (Dave!), and we played modified Scotch (new to me!), which meant that we alternated taking shots with the same ball, and once you got onto the green, it was an automatic two-put, and if you hit it within a putter’s length of the hole, it counted as in.
These rules kept us moving fast, and kept our scores low! Originally, I only signed up to play 45 holes, but we were having such a good time that we decided to keep going all day. In total, we were on the course for 10 full hours.
We played so much, that I actually broke my driver by hitting the ball! Hopefully it will get replaced under warranty.
I was glad to get to play Fox Hill Country Club, and even met a member there who attends our church.
YoungLife is a great organization; both my high schoolers attend their gatherings, and my wife volunteers as a group leader. YoungLife specializes in building relationships with teenagers, many of whom have no connection to a church, and walking with them through the highs and lows of their teen years, and introducing them to Jesus.
YoungLife is still hoping to raise more money to help with costs for events and staff, so if you’d like to contribute to the fundraiser you can do so here: St Vrain Valley Young Life Golf Marathon Fundraiser
Last Thursday I hosted a YouTube LIVE Q&A for the first time, and it went better than I expected!
I answered questions about politics, the Holy Spirit, suicide, and demonic possession – and more people tuned in than I had anticipated!
Here’s the video of that recording if you’d like to watch back. If you turn on the comments, you can see people posting their questions and feedback.
We’re Doing It Again!
Since it went so well, we are going to be doing this more regularly; we’re currently aiming for doing it weekly on Thursdays – so please join us for that, and please help us spread the word about it, so more people can be part of it and ask their questions!
On this particular occasion, I will be going live from the clubhouse of a golf course because I already had a tee time scheduled before we decided to start doing these live Q&A videos! So please join me in praying that the wifi works well at the clubhouse! And if you want to see my golf attire, you’ll have to tune in!
Here’s the link for that scheduled video, and with this you’ll also be able to watch it (or re-watch it) afterwards:
This Weekend: Rhythm at Roosevelt + Live Q&A On Site!
This Saturday (September 21, 2024) is the Rhythm at Roosevelt festival in Longmont, at Roosevelt Park from 2-10 PM.
White Fields Church will have a booth there, so please come by if you attend. We will be handing out popcorn and free swag and hoping to connect with many people in the community.
As part of our time there, we will be doing a Live Q&A, which will be broadcasted on YouTube, and people will have the opportunity to ask questions in person as well.
Here’s the link for that YouTube event, if you can’t come out in person:
Golf Marathon for YoungLife in the St Vrain Valley
On Monday, Sept. 23rd I am participating in a fundraiser to support YoungLife in the St. Vrain Valley. To raise money, I will be playing a marathon of 45 holes of golf in one day!
My wife Rosemary volunteers with YoungLife and both my high schoolers attend their gatherings. YoungLife specializes in building relationships with teenagers, walking with them through the highs and lows of their teen years, and introducing them to Jesus. YoungLife establishes mentoring relationships between Christian adults and teens, many of whom have no connection to church.
Did you know that children in the foster system form an at-risk people group within our own communities?
In almost every case, the reason these children end up in foster care care is because of an unsuitable home environment, which may involve violence, neglect, drugs, crime, etc. These environments not only result in trauma many times, but they also tend to result in or be associated with poverty. Many foster care situations are kinship care, which means the child is cared for by a relative, which can create a financial burden.
Poverty has a profound impact on a child’s mental and physical well-being. Children living in poverty have higher rates of absenteeism from school. Students who come from low income families are six times more likely to drop out of high school. Adults without a high school diploma are 4 times more likely to be unemployed and live in poverty, which means raising their children in poverty, perpetuating a cycle of poverty which may persist for generations: poverty affects education which affects poverty. (source 1, source 2)
One of the ways that we can help kids break out of this cycle of poverty is by encouraging them to stay in school – and one of the ways we can do that is by helping them have the things they need to be confident and excited about going to school, so they can succeed!
Our church, White Fields Community Church, has a history of ministering to children in the foster system, and six years ago we began a new ministry: Project Back to School.
We are working with Weld County Department of Human Services, and this year they have identified over 100 at-risk kids who need help with school supplies, clothes, and shoes. They have provided us with a list of needed items, which we will share with those who sign up to help.
We are trusting that God will raise up people to bless these families in the name of Jesus. It’s a way for us to love not only in words and in speech, but in action as well (1 John 3:18).
We will be taking sign-ups beginning Sunday, July 7 and are asking for items to be returned by Sunday, July 28.
How to Get Involved and Make a Difference
1. Sign up in-person
If you live in or near Longmont, visit White Fields Church on a Sunday morning this July and sign up to sponsor one or more children.
2. Sign up online
If you can’t make it on a Sunday morning, but are still local and could drop off items to us for delivery, leave a comment below, or contact the church here.
3. Contribute Financially
All monies that come in designated for Project Back to School will go directly towards buying school supplies for at risk children. You can make a tax-deductible donation on our church’s website here: www.whitefieldschurch.com/give (choose Project Back to School on the drop-down menu).
Join us in praying for these kids, and that God uses this initiative to bless them!
Join us on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day for church services at White Fields Community Church in Longmont, Colorado.
Christmas Eve – 4:00 & 5:30 PM
On Christmas, we celebrate that God became a child so that we could become children of God.
We will have a special Christmas choir, sing classic Christ-centered Christmas carols, and have a candle-lighting at the end of the service.
Childcare will be available at the 4:00 PM service, and both services will be family-friendly.
Join us and bring a friend or family member!
Christmas Day – 9:15 AM
We are excited to have a service on Christmas Day this year! Join us as we celebrate how in Jesus, God became one of us in order to redeem us from sin and death, and give us the light of life.
Several years ago, I remember talking with my pastor, Tom Stipe, and discussing something I had observed: Sin makes you weird, but walking with Jesus makes a person increasingly healthy and “normal.”
Who Defines What is “Weird”?
Some people might bristle at the terms “weird” and “normal,” wondering whose definition of “normal” we should use, but in this case I use it in the sense of the healthy standards for behavior and attitudes that are laid out in the Bible, and which have shaped global society in a pervasive way.
For more on that, see Tom Holland’s incredible book, Dominion: How the Christian Revolution Remade the World. Holland is not a “Christian author” per se; he is a historian who has spent most of his life studying history as relates to other topics, but he has admitted that his research for this book profoundly impacted his life and faith personally. I read it last year and would recommend it.
So, when I say “normal” in this sense, I am referring to virtues which are not only biblical, but which are affirmed by the majority of cultures worldwide. Things such as goodness, kindness, charity, graciousness, and the like – in contrast to abuse, usury, envy, pride, and so on.
Brain Scans
My conviction that “sin makes you weird” is not new to me, but it has been verified through the ever-increasing use of brain scans which show how certain behaviors affect brain activity.
One of the chief among these, and most reported on, is the use of illicit drugs, including marijuana, and pornography.
Do Other Sins Make You Weird? What’s the Solution?
I would venture to guess that other behaviors have similar affects on behavior, outlook, and the brain, such as lying, jealousy, and other attitudes and actions.
In it, importantly, we talk about the solution to the problem, which is: abiding in Christ, which Jesus defines as living in abiding relationship with him, by obeying his commandments (John 15:10).
When I moved to Longmont to pastor White Fields, I was 28 years old. I had been pastoring for 7 years, and had a lot more hair (though it was already thinning!)
On March 27, the church surprised me with a celebration I didn’t know was coming. We had cakes and other treats at each service, and they had leaders who were elders in the first few years I was here come up and say a few words and pray for my wife and I.
Of these past 10 years, the last 5 have been particularly enjoyable; working with friends, taking steps of faith, and experiencing good fruit.
We are currently in the midst of a building expansion project, in order to create room for more people to come, hear God’s Word, grow, and be equipped. It’s an exciting time, and I look forward to the future!
We have paperback copies of the book for sale in our church’s bookstore, and it will be available in other churches and through book distributors soon.
If you would like to get copies for your church or group at bulk discount, contact us here.
Each chapter begins with the phrase: “I Could Never Believe in a God Who…”
A God Who Hasn’t Proven His Existence
A God Who Gave Us a Faulty Bible
A God Who Condoned Genocide in the Old Testament
A God Who Creates Hateful, Hypocritical Followers
A God Who Suppresses Women and Minorities
A God Who Sends People to Hell
A God Who Says Some Love is Wrong
A God Who Lets Bad Things Happen to Good People
A God Who Doesn’t Answer My Prayers
Book Signing This Sunday
For those who are within driving distance of Longmont, Colorado, this Sunday I will be signing copies of the book after each of our 3 services at White Fields Church. We will have copies for sale on site. If you can make it out, I’d love to see you there!
Theology for the People 