Here are some pictures from Renaissance Church’s recent Community Party.  We had a beautiful day, and a great turnout from the community.

We heard that many guests asked Veronica, who worked at the registration table, “What’s the catch? – Why are you guys doing a free festival?”

Simply to express the love of God to our neighbors!

Many people in our town have heard something about Jesus.  Some of them have been turned off by Christians or by church experiences.  It’s not enough to use our words – we must use our actions, too!

We had the team from Quebec and many other wonderful volunteers help out with this event. There were around 200 people who came…and had a great time!

For more pictures, check out Renaissance Church on Facebook.

Survivors amid rubble after Haiti's devastating earthquake

I want to share with you our thoughts on the terrible situation in Haiti and ask all of you to become involved in the massive effort to help.

With the event of a 7.0 magnitude earthquake on Tuesday, it appears that many thousands may have died, and many are still trapped in the wreckage. The lack of supplies, such as water, will claim many more lives if help doesn’t arrive in time.

We spoke with a friend, a Haitian who lives here in Charlotte, yesterday.  She shared with us that many of her family members are gathered together, crying, waiting for word on their loved ones who are still in Haiti. She made a profound comment: “Today I am telling everyone to repent (turn away from sin) and embrace Jesus Christ.  He is our only hope.”

Jesus taught that when people are suffering, our responsibility is to feed them, clothe them, and take care of their needs. Here is the passage of scripture:

“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

“The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’”

– Matthew 25:34-40

Just watching the news and seeing the devastation, you may feel overwhelmed.  What can one person do?  Here are some things you can do:

1. Pray for supernatural intervention – that people who are trapped would be miraculously kept alive by God, and rescued.

2. Pray for everyone involved, including rescue workers and the survivors – that they would not suffer illness or death because of disease, accident or starvation. Pray that they would come to know Jesus Christ.

3. Pray for all who have lost loved ones, for comfort and for them to experience God’s comforting presence like never before.

4. Give: We recommend Samaritan’s Purse, Frankin Graham’s organization that is based here in Charlotte.  They have a team on the ground in Haiti and are providing medical help, shelter, food and water, and hygiene supplies.

5. We have contacted the Haitian Community here in Charlotte and are awaiting word to see what we can do to help them in this hour of need. Pray for the Haitians here in Charlotte, and all over the U.S. as they are suffering unbearably.

Friends, let us reflect on our lives, realizing that we do not know when our lives will end.  Let us live every day with one eye on eternity.  Every day you can make a difference; every day is another gift from God.

In Christ,

Marla Johnson

Working out at the gym the other day, heard this beautiful male tenor voice robustly singing the halleluia chorus from Handel’s Messiah. Nope, not a recording. Was I having a supernatural experience? Was it an angel?
Couldn’t figure out where it was coming from. I saw other people looking around too, trying to locate the source. Then I noticed a distinguished gentleman, around 70 yrs old, riding a stationary bike with headphones on and just belting out the tunes!

You never know where you’ll find beauty today. Look for it.

Our four year old son woke up yesterday morning and said, “Momma – we are going to visit Billy Graham at his house. We are going to sleep in his living room, and stay there for 75 days!”

By now I’ve learned to ask questions and see what else he’ll share…

He continued, “We will bring all our Bibles, our prayer map, and he will teach us how to be really really godly!!”

We visited the Billy Graham Library a few weeks ago, and ever since, our sons have been talking about Billy Graham. It was that visit that prompted Steven’s desire to go see Billy in his home.

It was a great experience. So refreshing to see how they continue to focus on glorifying Jesus Christ – not Billy himself. In this day where pluralism is on the rise and some are uncomfortable talking about what Jesus has done for them – it really reminded me how good it is to talk, simply, about Jesus!

My father in law treated us to a bus tour of Charleston last week.  On the tour, the bus driver pointed out the barbeque joint – “Sticky Fingers.”  My four year old said loudly:  “I have sticky fingers.”

I said, “Yes – you mean sometimes you get sticky fingers.”

“No, mama, I have sticky fingers now.”

He opened his hand to reveal a large glob of tar – something he had gotten off the window of the bus!  Sticky Fingers!!

Yikes!

We found the nearest bathroom – and took care of those “sticky fingers.”!

I had a conversation with one of the moms of the kids at our free Mega Sports Camp this week. She said, “You don’t know how much this helps.  I haven’t been able to work in two years.”

That makes the whole week worth it.

“Do not be conformed to the American way of doing church.”

Craig Groeschel
Senior Pastor of Lifechurch.tv

Recently Kurt and I went to a church planting conference called the “Exponential Conference”, which is the largest conference on church planting in the U.S. We thought it was interesting that for each main speaker’s session, they had two main speakers: one from the United States and one from another country. They were acknowledging that there are amazing church planting movements going on in Korea, India, and other places – and we want to learn from them! I was impressed by that. Several of the speakers emphasized fasting and prayer as an essential ingredient to starting a successful church. Francis Chan, who spoke at the end, posed the question: “What would the church look like if we followed the pattern found in the book of Acts?”

As we read Acts chapter two, we find that the disciples of Jesus were “all together in one place” and had been praying and seeking God nonstop, until they were filled with power.

I would like to share with you what the Lord is asking us to do in the planting of Renaissance Church.

God wants us to pray fervently and almost continuously until this church is birthed in prayer. God wants us to fast frequently. Until we have a true breakthrough in prayer for the lost of this city, and they start to respond en masse.

We have read several stories of Pastors in Africa who have planted
churches by the following method: Pray and fast continually for days or months, then go out and start preaching. God’s power touches people, and they are saved.

It is a little different from methods we’re used to, but it is very much like the way it was done in the Book of Acts! We feel that this is what the Lord is telling us to do. We are taking this very seriously, and praying almost continuously. It is time to birth this church in prayer, and we need help to push this “baby” out.

Will you help us?

We are having a special month of prayer and fasting (June 29-July 31) for the birth of Renaissance Church. Email us at Marla@RenChurchCharlotte.com to let us know if you’d like to commit to pray during that time.

Renaissance Church will be a relevent, relational church alive with
the power of God. We are praying and contending for a move of God and churchplanting movement that will affect the entire nation and the world. We are so glad to know all of you, our dear friends. Thanks for partnering with us to make a difference in the lives of the internationals of Charlotte, and many around the world!

We had a great weekend last weekend. We ministered at a youth camp,
which was wonderful! Then, Katie and I made Kurt a special homemade
black forest cake to celebrate his birthday! We also made a special
French meal for him He is so worth it.

Here's the cake:

Recently we got a phone call from a woman we've been ministering to,
saying that her boyfriend (who is Muslim) had a severe dental
infection, and he had been turned away from the E.R. The whole side
of his face was swollen, and he hadn't slept in a week.

Kurt prayed with her on the phone. Jesus dramatically healed his
infection! The pain went away and he was able to sleep for the first
time in a week. We then arranged for him to see a dentist to have the
tooth removed. We have been sharing the gospel with him. He admits
that it was a miracle – now pray that he will take the next step and
receive Jesus as his Saviour!

Glory to God for his wonders!

Discouragement is one of the most common tools satan uses to attack
believers. God wants us to walk in great perseverence. That is how
we inherit His promises.
Today was a rough day for me.

I had an awful morning. I decided to worship God – so I turned on
some music and danced all over the house. When I was done, I didn't
feel so sick or discouraged.
If you are feeling discouraged today, I want to encourage you that God
is with you, and He will help you overcome every obstacle!