the Logos

If you missed the Church Family Meeting, check out my entry about our model for ministry (which is Discipleship). Also, I'm asking the entire church to read the book, "Radical" by David Platt. This book will definitely challenge you but will transform your thinking and deepen your faith. We are hosting a DiscipleLand Workshop for parents on this Friday from 6 to 8:30pm and for teachers on Saturday at 9am to 12pm. For Friday's workshop, child care for ages 12 and younger will be provided and refreshments will be served from 5 to 6pm. Dick Crider from DiscipleLand will be our guest speaker so we're asking all parents and teachers to participate. We don't want Mr. Crider to come all the way from Texas and only a few people show up. Also, let's show our children that we care about their spiritual development. Today is Halloween. I'm actually actually that it's on Sunday this year because that's the day we celebrate the fact that Jesu...

Research has shown that the USA is the third largest country of lost people (behind China and India). This statistic is so surprising to me since we have freedom of religion and a large percentage of Americans call themselves Christians. I believe the reason for this is a lack of discipleship in the church. Making disciples is the primary mission of the church. Historically, Mt. Zion has always been good at solid Christian education and encouraging one another through fellowship. But as we face limited funds and the need for more volunteers, there is a need to refocus to make sure that we are accomplishing the mission that Christ gave us. Our vision and purpose continues to be "Worshiping Christ by Spreading the Gospel and Serving the Community". But we realize that the best way to do that is to make disciples. So we have developed the following "Discipleship Model" to show how we are going to accomplish that mission. This will be our philosophy for minist...

I hope everyone who attended the Dave Ramsey Live event on Saturday enjoyed it. We will host a Financial Peace University (FPU) class starting on 11/13. There will be a sign up table in the hall each Sunday from now until 11/7 for anyone who would like to sign up or request more information. Thanks to everyone who helped us spread the Gospel to our community. We ministered at Cary Health & Rehab Center on Sunday afternoon. I know that the residents were encouraged by the worship and the Word of God. Another reminder of our Church Family Meeting on 10/25. I will be sharing our model for ministry. You don't want to miss it.

Reminder: Dave Ramsey Live event is on 10/16. His financial advice based on Biblical principles is great. You can purchase tickets through the church for only $25. Bro. Daryl Cody delivered his Initial Sermon today at 4pm. Thanks to all who came out to support him. Please keep Minister Cody in your prayers as he starts his ministry of preaching God's Word.

I'm pleased to announce that Deacon Daryl Cody will deliver his Initial Sermon on next Sunday, October 10th, at 4:00pm. Everyone is invited to join us for this special occasion. This is an early reminder for our last Church Family Meeting of the year on 10/25. Don't miss it as we'll talk about a refinement to our ministry focus, exciting changes for Sunday School, & Children's Ministry update. Big thanks to everyone for their support of our BBQ Cook-off & Bake-off fundraiser and Blood drive. We exceed our goal for the blood drive. The goal was 30 and we had 35 to donate blood! There was a lot of smack talk from the participants so here are the winners with bragging rights (at least for this year).... For the BBQ cook-off winners: First Place: Ivan Porter Second Place: Staci Issac and Gerald Vincent. Bake-off winners: First Place: Karen Gray (Dreamsickle Cake) & LaDonna Bethea (Honey Bun Cake) Second Place: Cecilee Steinmetz (Gluten-free Peanut Butter Cup...

I want to thank our church family for coming together with the other churches to assemble the AIDS Caregiver Kits. We thank our fellow churches for partnering with us: First United Methodist (Assoc. Pastor Rick Wilkerson) Faith Community Church (Pastor Gyasi Patterson) Mt. Pleasant Worship & Outreach Center (Rev. Lynwood Swan) Christ First Christian Fellowship Center (Pastor Larry Snead) New Destiny (Pastor Maurice Wright) Working together we put together enough kits to equip 42 caregivers with a year's supply to care for AIDS victims. Also thanks to the Children's Ministry who helped in advance by writing cards to the caregivers so that we could put extra cards in the kits. For those of you that are sponsoring an orphan from Uganda, you should have received a letter detailing how to send money, letters, cards, etc. Please review the information and if you have any additional questions, contact the Outreach Ministry . Our vision is to spread the Gospel and serve our ...

Join us for a BBQ Cook Off and Bake Off Fundraiser. There will also be plenty of games, food, fun and fellowship! The American Red Cross will be on site (9:30am - 2pm) conducting a Blood Drive during this event. Come out and show your support! Help us raise funds for a church van to accomplish our vision of going out into the community to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ . For general information or contest entry rules and fees, email marketing@mtzionmb.org or call 919-469-5323. To schedule an appointment for the blood drive, go to www.redcrossblood.org and click on "seach by sponsor code". Enter 15848 and select the time you would like to give blood. Posted via email from willieharris's posterous

Great opportunity to spread the Gospel today. Mt. Zion ministered at Phoenix Assisted Care today at 2pm. Phoenix Assisted Care is located on West High Street (off of Cary Parkway) across from Westwood Baptist Church. On Oct. 2, join us for a BBQ Cook Off and Bake Off Fundraiser. There will also be plenty of games, food, fun and fellowship! The American Red Cross will be on site conducting a Blood Drive during this event. Come out and show your support! For general information or contest entry rules and fees, email marketing@mtzionmb.org or call the church office.

Dave Ramsey is coming to Raleigh for a live event on 10/16 at the RBC Center. Since, FPU is a good follow-up to the live event, we are going to postpone our FPU class to start after the live event. We will have tickets available at a reduced price for the live event. Stay tuned for more details. Registration for the Truth Project small groups in Cary/Apex and at the church are now closed. There is still space at the Raleigh small group that starts on Friday, 9/17. You can sign up here . The AIDS Caregiver Kit Assembly event is this Saturday, 9/18 from 10am to 2pm. Everyone is invited to join us along with other churches that we are partnering with for this event. Let's impact the world by helping to equip those who care for AIDS victims with much needed supplies.

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If you want to check out some of the content for Financial Peace University (FPU) , we will have another free preview on 9/8 at 6:00pm. Truth Project is starting this week (beginning Friday)! It is a great course that will transform your thinking. We have 3 small groups: Cary/Apex, Raleigh, and the church. Sign up for one today. Back 2 School Jam is this Friday with special musical guest, Leviticus !

Financial Peace University (FPU) is a great course to learn biblical principles to break free from the bondage of debt. If you are interested in learning more about the class content, check out our free preview dates on 9/1 & 9/8 at 6:00pm. Classes are scheduled for Tuesdays, September 14th to December 7th. From the last class we hosted, we started the course with about $500 K worth of debt and after 13 weeks, reduced it by $200 K! It's definitely a worthwhile program. Registration for this round of Truth Project is now open. The Truth Project is a 13 week, DVD-based, small group curriculum that will help you develop a biblical worldview. Register TODAY. Mt. Zion is partnering with Churches Helping Churches to rebuild churches in Haiti. On 3/31, we watched a message from Pastor Mark Driscoll after a trip to Haiti right after the earthquake. This Wednesday, we'll watch a message from Pastor James MacDonald. He'll preach from Revelation 6 and relate it to h...

As announced at our last Church Family Meeting, we are changing our shepherding modeling from last names to zones. Beginning in August, we will transition to Shepherding Zones. There will be 4 zones and each member is assigned to a zone based on your zip code. Each zone has a team of deacons and ministers assigned to care for the members. You can determine which zone you are in by looking under the Shepherding Ministry section on our Contacts page. Here are some benefits we see in moving to zones... 1. The zones will allow us to connect Family C.A.R.E and access to the members with visits, calls, emails, fellowships, and study groups. 2. This will allow gifts, skills, and resources within the zone to be utilized within the church and zone. 3. Quicker response to members since deacons live in the same zone as the members. 4. One on one contact will still be available between member and deacon. 5. Deacons will research to find Christian and non-profit organizations that can assist...

Bro. Kevin Coppage will give his Initial Sermon on next Sunday (8/22) at 4:00pm. Everyone is invited to join us for this special occasion. As announced at our last Church Family Meeting, we are changing our shepherding modeling from last names to zones. There are 4 zones and each member is assigned to a zone based on your zip code. Each zone has a team of deacons and ministers assigned to care for the members. I will blog more about the new shepherding zones this week.

We have many new members who have not finished the New Member Orientation for various reasons. Join us on this Saturday, August 7th, and take the entire course at one time. Class will run from 8:00am-11:30am with breakfast provided. Space is limited so sign up on at the kiosk next to the Welcome Center or online . Contact Deaconess LaDonna Bethea for more details. I'm happy to announce that we have sponsorships for all 22 orphans from Uganda. Thanks to all the families for stepping up to sponsor these children. Copies of the child's picture and bio and further instructions on payment method, when to start payments, etc. will be given to everyone shortly.

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Our next Church Family Meeting is Monday at 7:00pm. All members are asked to be present. We will be presenting a new way of doing our shepherding ministry instead of by alphabet (I will blog about this later). Outreach Caregiver event is Saturday Sept 18th from 10am-2pm. Kits will contain items (flashlight, washcloths, petroleum jelly, etc) for those that help care for dying aids patients. Many of these kits will be shipped to 3rd world countries, but will be used all over the world where aids assistance is needed. We got new info about the kit assembly. For every 1 kit assembled in a hard orange case, there will be 4 kits assembled in drawstring backpacks. We are ordering 210 Caregiver Kits, so we would assemble 42 hard case kits and 68 drawstring kits, thus equipping 42 Caregivers for an entire year! Also, our church family is being asked to seek God about sponsoring a child in Uganda (where there is an orphanage under Pastor John's ministry) whose parents have died of AIDS. ...

Because the Gospel has so impacted our lives, we are compelled to spread this message both near and far. Our desire is to see the Gospel expressed in practical ways. This year's theme is "Impact the World". So on September 18, we will have several area churches partner with us for an Outreach Caregiver event from 10am-2pm where we will assemble caregiver kits. These kits will contain items for those that help care for dying AIDS patients. Kits contain items such as a flashlight, washcloths, a tablet of paper and pens, petroleum jelly, etc. Many of these kits will be shipped to third world countries, but will be used all over the world where AIDS assistance is needed. In conjunction with this event, Pastor John's (from Uganda) orphanage cares for children whose parents have died from AIDS. Our church family is being asked to seek God about sponsoring a child in Uganda at the orphanage. To read about the children, see their picture, and sign up for sponsorship,...

Dads, how is the summer reading plan going? For those who missed it, we are reading through the Gospel of John with our kids. If you have small children like me (or even teenagers), I want to offer you this encouragement: even if your kids don't seem to understand or want to pay attention, keep reading God's Word to them. Romans 10:17 (NLT): "So faith comes from hearing, that is, hearing the Good News about Christ." So let's keep reading the Good News about Christ as it is revealed by John and pray for the development of faith in our children.

The next Adult Bible Study series, "The Kingdom and Our Culture" will begin on Wednesday, July 7th, at 7:00pm. Please join us for this new series. The next "How to Study the Bible" class will begin on Wednesday, July 7th, at 7:00pm. NEW MEMBERS: You are the guests of honor at our next Pastor's Tea scheduled for Friday, July 9th, at 7pm. If you joined anytime in the last year, please join us for an evening of fellowship and fun! Please sign up at the Welcome Center. The Mt. Zion Church family is invited to join Little Zion Missionary Baptist Church (Youngsville, NC) in celebrating the 10th Anniversary of their pastor, Rev. Patrick Clay on Sun. July 11th, at 4:00pm.