Mitch Cartrette

Food 4 Kids

2011-12-29T18:56:00.001-06:00

Thanks from the Heritage staff at Bettendorf Campus for your generosity! Because you all have stepped up and have been giving generously throughout the school year, as a church, we have given backpacks filled with food for the last 4 months! We asked you all to give a $10 gift card so the kids could have a bit extra for Christmas, and you all gave so generously that we were able to give each kid $30 worth of giftcards! You are truly making a difference in the lives of these families! The ladies at the school were so touched by your generosity that they were in tears while we gave them the backpacks the other week! Our desire is that you will continue to give generously as we give the Food 4 Kids backpacks for the remainder of the school year! I love our church and the fact that you all do "Whatever it takes" to reach our community!

Christmas

2011-12-25T20:34:00.003-06:00

We had some great services for Christmas at Heritage Campuses! I hope you were able to join us at one of our campuses! We had over 900 people at our Bettendorf Campus and many people committed to being followers of Jesus at all of our campuses! Our prayer is that you and your family were able to celebrate the birth of Jesus, Emmanuel...God with us! Let's live this next year that represents a life that does "whatever it takes" to reach people for Jesus! God first gave us the gift of Jesus many, many years ago, let's give that gift to others! I look forward to celebrating the new year with you all as we worship this next weekend and in a couple of weeks, we start the new teaching series called "Questions for God"! Invite a friend and you don't want to miss it!

Christmas

2011-12-18T22:18:00.000-06:00

Christmas services are coming up soon! We are having services Friday at 7pm and Saturday December 24th at 12pm, 2pm, and 4pm at Heritage Bettendorf Campus! Be sure to go to heritageqc.com and print off your tickets for one of our services. Everyone needs a ticket, including all kids in 1st grade or older. They will attend services with you. We will be doing a "Night in Bethlehem" for kids up to kindergarten! This time with the kids will include live nativity and people being different characters at Jesus' birth! Please remember that for every ticket turned in, Heritage will be donating $1 for each ticket to Kings Harvest, Heritage Benevelence to help people in need, and Global orphan care! We are praying that thousands will be turned in toward this. Also, you can pray about what amount of money you may bring and give generously for our special offering as we give toward these 3 areas of ministry in addition to what Heritage donates! I hope you and your family have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! See you this weekend as we celebrate Emmanuel, God with us!

New Life

2011-11-22T08:53:00.001-06:00

We had Baptisms at Heritage this past weekend! We got to celebrate "New Life" as people professed to be followers of Jesus! I believe a total of around 25 people got baptized at 2 of our campuses. We had 7 make this step at our Bettendorf Campus, 5 that were not planned! We had one 10yr old boy, a teenage girl (in the picture-Emily)

, a college student and 4 adults. I'm so thankful this week for New Life as we celebrate Thanksgiving! Oh, and by the way, we have now had 150 straight weekends with someone committing their life to being a follower of Jesus! Praise God for that...it never gets old!

Christmas is Coming

2011-11-15T22:05:00.001-06:00

Christmas is coming! We are only 5 weeks away from this Friday and Saturday for our Christmas services! We will have a service Friday December 23rd at 7pm and services at 12pm, 2pm, & 4pm on Saturday December 24th. Who can you start praying for now that you can invite to come to one of our 4 services? We all have people in our lives that may need Jesus, as Christmas is coming!We will provide invite card soon for you to hand out for our Christmas services at the Bettendorf Campus! Also, you will need to get a ticket online or you can get them in the lobby while at church on the computer that is set up. Tickets are free and we will collect them at the doors as you come to service. Each ticket that is turned in, Heritage will donate $1 toward a local ministry, a Global orphan care ministry, and for our local church benevolence to help those in need at Heritage! What a great opportunity for us to make a difference through simply bringing our tickets. We will take up a special offering at the doors as you leave services, if you want to give generously above and beyond the $1 donation from turning in your ticket, to the 3 areas of ministry. Christmas is coming, so prepare to do whatever it takes to reach people and see lives changed for the Kingdom!

Vision

2011-11-14T20:17:00.000-06:00

God is doing amazing things at Heritage! We are really excited about what is happening at the Bettendorf Campus. We have launched a new strategy for our campus to accomplish our mission. Our Mission is to meet people wherever they are on their spiritual journey and lead them into a growing relationship with Jesus in order to change the world. The three areas of vision we are focused on are:
1. Serving selflessly- Nearly 52% of our Adults are serving
2. Giving generously- Nearly 61% of our Adults are giving
3. Living in community-Nearly 43% of our Adults are in Community Groups

As we are faithful in pursuing the vision and equipp and encourage people in these areas, naturally over time we will see God bless as we see salvations and attendance grow.

Acts 2:42-47 The Fellowship of the Believers:
"42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43 Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. 44 All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45 They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. 46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved."

We have seen 70 people become followers of Jesus for the year now...our church year is May-April! That never gets old! We are going to celebrate life change with Baptism at Heritage this weekend. See you there as you all help us be the church and accomplish our vision!

Say Yes!

2011-10-20T11:00:00.000-05:00

Do you ever find yourself being nudged by God to do something and you stay put? Is He speaking to you through Scripture, a book, a person, a song, a sermon, or a podcast? How are you doing with listening? I recently heard a young 22 year old girl, Katie Davis, say this: "Courage is not about knowing the plan, but its about getting out of the boat and just SAY YES!" What do you need to say yes to today or in the future?

I've been reading through Proverbs and it's theme is "get wisdom and get understanding"! In other words, get more of Jesus! Proverbs 3:3-4 says, "Let love and faithfulness never leave you, bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man." If you sense God calling you to something, then seek wisdom and understanding-get more of Jesus, let love and faithfullness be who you are about, and as you SAY YES, you will win favor with God and with people!

Serve, Give, Community

2011-09-17T23:19:00.000-05:00

At Heritage, it is our passion to meet people wherever they are on their spiritual journey and lead them into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ in order to change the world! We are accomplishing this mission at Bettendorf Campus through the vision of Serving, Giving Generously, and making disciples through Community Groups!

Check out our new link to community groups at http://heritagegroups.info! You can also sign up for our Men's Breakfast that will be a kick off for our 4 week men's Bible Studies based on the new movie coming out soon called Courageous! We have trial size community groups starting, and several other opportunities for growth and community happening at Heritage!

You can serve by signing up this weekend for our next Do Something Now as we hand out frisbee invites next Saturday September 24 in the Buffalo, Walcott, and Blue Grass communities! We are iviting them to our Grand opening Celebration Carnival on October 1st at the Buffalo Elementary School! Also sign up to help serve at this event! We are also looking for those interested in serving with our Worship Arts Ministry and auditions will be held soon. We are looking for people passionate about our Go! Kids ministry too and you can help influence and lead the Next Generation.

You can give generously by bringing healthy snacks for our Food 4 Kids Backpack opportunity for Mark Twain Elementary school as we provide these for kids in need! Be sure to bring those snacks in and place in the carts in the lobby. You can also give a tithe and give toward faith Promise for our local and global missions. Our goal is $320k and we are currently at about $306k. We still need about $14k more to accomplish what we want to do this next year!

I'm excited about what God is doing at Heritage as we continue to do whatever it takes to reach people for the Kingdom! I hope you will join us as we pursue our mission through the vision of Serving, Giving, and Community!

Let's make a difference!

Burma August 24

2011-08-24T01:11:00.000-05:00

Well, I'm still awake at 1am and eagerly anticipating my 4th mission trip to Burma! We have 11 of us on the team. Six of us are returning to Burma and the other 5 have never been nor have they been on a mission trip before! Please be praying for our team as we travel for 2 days and do ministry with the orphans, Bible College students, and with Morris and Sonia who are the Burmese missionary's Heritage Church supports! God is so good and faithful to send us again to be with our family! I really look forward to seeing our daughter Mi Nge Ti! It will be a great reunion to be with our family again as we continue to help build their new home for the Galilee Orphan kids. We will also be teaching them worship and some new songs, as well as teaching English and sharing our lives with the Bible students in class. Thanks again for your support and prayers for our team...

Follow what's going on on my Facebook page...

Whatever it takes...

2011-08-18T10:19:00.000-05:00

Our passion is to meet people wherever they are on their spiritual journey and lead them into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ in order to change the world!

How do we do that at Heritage Bettendorf Campus?

We are settling in on a new school year, the heart of where our ministry happens as we finish out the last 9 months of our church year. It runs almost simultaneusly with the school year and you all are back in the routine of life during this time. I want to challenge all of us to contribute towards accomplishing our mission in 3 areas:

1. Serve- I challenge everyone of us to be people who serve in the
church and outside of the weekend in your everyday life! We are
all part of the body of Christ! 2 Corinthians 9:12-13 "This service
that you perform is only supplying the needs of God's people but is
also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. Because of
the service by which you have proved yourselves, men will praise
God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the
gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them
and with everyone else."

2. Give Generously- I want to challenge us all to give generously to others as Jesus so graciously gave to us! He calls us to Love God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength and to love others as ourselves. Mama Maggie, a 21st century "Mother Teresa" in Cairo Egypt, said "True love is that you give generously until it hurts!" 1 Timothy 6:17-19 "Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life." I want to have true love and give generously! How about you?

3. Make disciples in Community Groups- Jesus commands us in Matthew 28:19 ..."go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name fo the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you...". We need each other and God calls all followers of Jesus to teach the ways of God so that we can become fully devoted followers of Christ! Acts 2:42-47 "They devoted themselves to the apostles teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Everyday they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved."

As we partner together to be the church that God has called us to, then we will see great things and life transformation for the Kingdom of God!

Let's Serve, Give Generously, and make disciples in Community Groups!

Be praying for those you will Invite to be a part of this journey and do Whatever it takes (1 Cor. 9:19-26) that we might save some!

Lives Changed

2011-07-14T10:36:00.000-05:00

We had a great time seeing Lives Changed this past Sunday as we celebrated with all campuses through Baptism in the Rock River! We had 169 people get baptized in the river and it was amazing! Here is the link so that you can see the pictures of the event. This is what it is all about! I look forward to seeing many more lives changed through Heritage campuses in the future! Who in your life can you be praying for and inviting to church? I'm not satisfied with where we are. It's great and let's celebrate. However, there are more people who still need Jesus! Let's give Jesus to those people!

Matthew 5:14 "You are the light of the world-A city on a hill cannot be hidden."

http://www.flickr.com/photos/heritageqc/sets/72157627193405264/

Pray for an awakening

2011-06-28T09:29:00.000-05:00

We have the great oppportunity to gather at Heritage Bettendorf Campus on Wednesday July 29, at 7pm for Love City! This is going to be epic as we worship God through music and prayer! We will pray for the needs of our church and our community! We will beg God for an awakening in our church and our community. Be praying for Pastor Matt and his team as they prepare to lead us to the throne of God! Do you want to experience what God can do as we gather together in His name? Then don't miss Love City this Wednesday night! See you there.

Check out the link: http://worship.heritageqc.com/blog/heritage-worship-night

What a weekend...

2011-05-24T22:23:00.000-05:00

We had the most amazing weekend as we celebrated baptism! Here is the link to our kids pastor, Steve Meek's blog about the weekend. Check it out-
http://www.hcbkids.com/2011/05/baptisms-weekend.html

Remember to be praying for your church and that lives will be transformed! I love my church and you all are the best! Thanks for great servants and for the best staff team in the world!

See you this weekend!

Exciting Things

2011-05-19T10:29:00.000-05:00

Here are some exciting things that are coming up!

***We continue our series "Hope for the Family"
***May 21/22 Baptisms this weekend
***June 20-24 Pray for our Never the Same Youth camp(Miguel and I will be taking our students to the Chicagoland area for a transformational time)
***June 29 Love City- a family event to pray & worship (more info to come)
***July 4th Community outreach event (more info to come)

Be praying for your church and the exciting things to come as we all go day by day telling people about the good news of who Jesus is in our lives! Acts 5:42

Who are you pleading with?

2011-05-14T09:56:00.000-05:00

I was reading in Acts 2 the other day and it struck me as I read the Scripture in verse 40 "...and he (Peter)pleaded with them "Save yourselves from this corrupt generation." Those who accepted his message were baptized and about three thousand were added to their number that day." Wow...Peter told people about Jesus, pleaded with them to repent (turn from their sin), and then watched as the Holy Spirit moved in peoples hearts that day. People went from death to life! Who are you pleading with today? Are you sharing your story and the good news of who Jesus is and pleading with people to repent so that the Holy Spirit may add to the number of those being saved, changed, and crossing from death to life?

Then Peter goes on to heal a crippled beggar and he challenges the onlookers asking them, "Why are you surprised that the beggar was healed? This is found in Acts 3:12-13. He basically is saying, you have seen Jesus heal, change lives, and 3000 become followers of Jesus, yet you are still surprised at his power through using Peter to heal others! How about you? Are you surprised (doubting) at the wonders and power of Jesus? Are you finding yourself pleading for the needs of others and then "surprised" if Jesus would actually do something? Or, are you expecting great things as you plead with people about their souls, or sickness, or messed up lives?

I'm just as guilty of this as the next person. This has really hit me hard over the past several days! Do I really believe God is who he says he is? If so, then I need to be pleading with others about who God is and trusting that God will "heal" them...spiritually, emotionally, physically, and not be surprised at the life changing power of Jesus! I hope you will join me in this step of faith to plead with people about Jesus so they may find hope and life transformation!

I'm looking forward to this weekend as we are challenged about sexual purity! Remember the message all weekend is PG13 and we have something for your kids birth to 5th grade in our Go!Kids ministry and Illuminate for those 6-12 grade!

We had 5 more people commit their life to Jesus this past week! Praise Jesus for that...because it never gets old! Also, thanks to everyone for continuing to INVITE people to church and for all our wonderful volunteers that make ministry happen each week at Heritage Bettendorf Campus! You are the best church ever!

On the Move

2011-05-03T22:40:00.000-05:00

Great things have been happening at Heritage Bettendorf Campus! God is on the move! We had a record crowd for our campus for Easter weekend with 1057 people and the most kids ever! 5 people crossed from death to life Easter weekend to bring us to a total of 177 for our church fiscal year (May-April)! We baptized 30, and finished nearly 18% up with giving for the year!

We started off with a bang this new fiscal year this past weekend as we kicked of "Hope for the Family" and had our Family Block Party! We had 4 people become followers of Jesus and had 667 in attendance! We also had nearly 27k given in tithes and offerings! Thanks to all of you being obedient and inviting friends and family and being faithful to giving to the Kingdom! God is truly on the move at our campus and our staff are believing for great things to happen this year! Continue to pray, give, invite, serve and take ownership at your church and we will see God be on the move like never before!

We have the best volunteers and the best staff ever and I love my church! See you this weekend as we continue Hope for the Family! You don't want to miss this Mother's Day weekend as we talk about the Family!

Getting Closer

2011-04-15T15:17:00.000-05:00

We are getting closer to Easter weekend! This is a very exciting time in life of the Christian Faith. I hope that all of you out there are praying about the people or person you are inviting to come to Easter service with you. Get your tickets this weekend, and pray for God to change our lives as He pursues us wherever we are on our spiritual journey!

We have a big Family Spring Block Party coming up after service Saturday April 30 and after 10:45 service on Sunday May 1st. This is also the weekend we start our new series called "Hope for the Family". Invite those families you know need HOPE! We all do...right!

Looking forward to some great weekends of church at Heritage! You guys are the best church a pastor could ever have. Thanks for all you do to do whatever it takes to serve the Kingdom. See you this weekend!

The Pursuit

2011-04-08T09:27:00.000-05:00

It's spring and we are getting close to The Pursuit...our Easter Services. Tickets are available in the lobby so be sure to get your tickets. Services are going to be Saturday April 23 @ 5pm and 7pm and Sunday April 24 @ 9am and 11am. We are also having our Good Friday service at 7pm at Heritage Bettendorf Campus. I look forward to seeing you all there and your family, friends, neighbors and co-workers! As we "pursue" God and He is on the pursuit for us, I anticipate many lives being changed for the Kingdom! Let's not just swing our swords in battle, but lift our hands up in prayer for those that don't yet know Jesus! Let's do whatever it takes to get people to The Pursuit so that they can hear the Gospel message of how Jesus died for our sins-the wrongs in all of our lives, and was raised from the dead, conquering death so that we may be forgiven and set free! We are able to have eternal life through Jesus and let's invite people to hear that message! Check out our worship pastor's blog http://worship.heritageqc.com

Don't forget:
^ Sign up for Do Something...Now as we meet next Saturday April 16
@ 8:30am at the church to go make a difference serving our
community! Last weekend to sign up!

^ Sign up to serve as a greeter, usher, or Parking lot greeter this
weekend at the table in the upper lobby.

^ Be sure to continue bringing in Healthy Snacks for our Food for
Backpacks as we bless 50 kids and families at one of our local
elementary schools at the end of each month! www.hcbkids.com

^ Continue praying for your family, your friends, your church,
your pastors, your community, your government, & for life change.

I look forward to our services this weekend! You absolutely do not want to miss these services!

Challenged

2011-03-30T16:28:00.003-05:00

I've been challenged over the past two days as I have listened to a couple of messages by Perry Noble. You can go to them here http://unleash.cc//unleash/11

I've been challenged in the area of making disciples! Many of us have a distorted view of making disciples. We believe it is "growing" people through Bible studies and knowledge. But rather, it is about teaching people to GO tell their story about what Jesus has done in their life to change them and give people Jesus. Now, Bible studies and knowledge are great, but we must teach people to simply share their story with others and give them "Living Water" and the "Bread of Life"! We find on multiple occasions in Scripture, that when someone's life is changed because of an encounter with Jesus, He immediately tells them to Go tell their story of what Jesus did in their life. Can you imagine if all followers of Jesus would simply do that with the people in your family, work with, play with, go to school with, or your neighbors! If you and I would do this, less people would go to Hell and we would actually be making disciples! This has truly challenged me and I hope it inspires you as you read this and that maybe, you will even go to the site and watch the messages!

Let's invite someone to church this weekend as we have a guest speaker John Vermylia. Also, don't forget to hand out the invite cards for Easter and be praying for those individuals you will give the invites to. Easter tickets will be available this weekend for Easter services Saturday April 23 at 5pm/7pm and for Sunday April 24at 9am/11am. remember to sign up for Do Something...Now in the lobby or if you are wanting family friendly projects, you can sign up at the HUB area of our Go!Kids ministry. Let's go make a difference and do whatever it takes to GO MAKE DISCIPLES!

Respond

2011-03-23T16:08:00.002-05:00

What's going on everybody! I've been out of town with my family the past two weeks as we took the kids on a surprise spring break trip to Disney World! We had a blast. My kids went crazy with excitement when they found out the news! They responded the way my wife and I pretty much anticipated them to respond.

How about you? Pastor John challenged us this week about how we should respond as followers of Christ with what God has given us. We are all part of the body of Christ and it takes all of us to be the church! He mentioned that you can respond with your money, time, attitude, and participation. Will you react as my kids did about Disney World with excitement about the opportunity to be a part of something much greater than yourself. Or will you say, "that's not a big deal that I do that!"

Scripture tells us in Ephesians 4:16 "He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love."

It takes all of us having to respond positively to see the church function in a healthy manner. I hope you choose to respond in the four ways you were challenged with as you call Heritage your church!

Exciting days:

^ We had 3 people commit to Jesus this past weekend
^ We have our Do Something...NOW sign ups beginning this weekend
^ Be sure to continue giving out invites to everyone you know as we prepare
for Easter weekend on April 23/24
^ Our "Hope for the Family" series starts the weekend after Easter
^ We have our Family Spring Block Party after services Sat April 30 Sun May 1

I can't wait to see you this weekend as we finish up "I Love My Church"!

Will you be praying for your church?

2011-03-07T16:41:00.002-06:00

We were challenged this past weekend about prayer in the teaching series called "I love My church". This past weekend, we were challenged to pray! Will you do that? Will you pray for your church and the vision God has given us? Pastor John asked you to pray for your church and if you will take on the commitment of praying each day this month. I believe that if we all take on this commitment to pray for our church...Heritage Church, then God will show up and change our lives and our community's lives like never before.

Will you join us as we pray for us to meet people wherever they are on their spiritual journey and lead them into a growing relationship with Jesus in order to change the world!

Things to pray for:

*our pastors and for wisdom as we equip people to do ministry
*staff as they do ministry
*leadership development of people to influence others
*Volunteers as they serve in the ministries and make a difference for the
Kingdom
*Our new budgets starting in May (God-sized budget to reach our vision/goals)
*Do Something...NOW service projects Saturday April 16
*70% of our people connected in a small group doing life together, being
being discipled and making disciples
*Starting new campuses-one in the W. Davenport/Buffalo area and other cities
*Family ministries (Go!Kids, Statik) For parents to teach their kids about Jesus
*For people to step up with their spiritual growth by serving in the church
*For people to step up in their spiritual maturity through giving a tithe (10%)
*For our Easter services and our new teaching series called "Hope for the
Family" starting the weekend after Easter!
*For our property and the surrounding property and that God will expand our
ministry as we reach more people for the Kingdom. We are believing for a bigger
worship center.
*For lives to be forever changed by the saving grace of Jesus
*For all of us to do whateve it takes to reach people for Jesus!

Will you be praying for your church?

Weekend

2011-02-28T22:58:00.005-06:00

We had an amazing past couple of weekends! Two weeks ago, we had the opportunity to see 25 people get baptized at our campuses. One of them was my 10 year old daughter! I had the privilege of baptizing Claire. I will never forget that! You can watch it here- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKHUvpM883Q

This past weekend was a great weekend of God showing up and chains being released and lives being changed as people surrendered their junk at the altar! Hundreds came forward to lay it down. Worship was amazing. Thanks Matt for being such a great leader! More people came to Jesus and committed their lives! Thanks to a great staff and incredible volunteers for making services what they are.

Thanks for your faithful giving of your tithe! Many lives are changed and ministry happens because you are obedient to Biblical giving! Remain true to what God ask you to do and He will bless you. Obedience is better than sacrifice!

I look forward to celebrating this weekend and worshipping together as we start a new series called "I Love My Church". Invite someone to church with you. I look forward to seeing you this weekend.

Dig

2011-02-17T10:09:00.002-06:00

Do you want to grow in your spiritual journey? Many of you who attend Heritage hear me say every week "Our passion is to meet you wherever you are on your spiritual journey and lead you into a growing relationship with Jesus in order to change the world"! Well, in order to grow, you must DIG! Are you digging into God's Word and discovering who He is for yourself? Are you digging into doing life together in a small group or Bible study to have accountability in your life? Are you digging into volunteering and using your God given gifts to serve His Church? I am asking you to begin to DIG into these areas and discover God's amazing love, grace, mercy, and power!

Guys, the most important component to your DIG, is to immerse yourself in prayer and God's Word! I challenge you to read and pray for 10 min a day and see the radical transformation God will do in your life. You will begin to Love God and to love others as you were challenged with this past weekend at Heritage. You will begin to learn a whole new way to DIG deep into who God created you to be and to serve His Church!

This weekend, you can fill out a card to get involved and start to DIG! Invite someone with you to church as we continue our "NO Perfect People Allowed...Managing the Messes of Life" teaching series. We only have two weeks left until we start "I Love My Church" in March! See you this weekend...

Thanks

2011-02-07T23:44:00.003-06:00

I really appreciate our volunteers and our staff at Heritage Betendorf Campus! It is because of each of you that the ministry happens. I also appreciate all of you who desire and live out being Jesus to others that are in your life! Thanks to all of you for making a difference and doing whatever it takes to make disciples through serving, equipping, and inviting people as you meet them wherever they are on their spiritual journey and lead them into a growing relationship with Jesus in order to change the world!

We have had around 20 people commit their lives to Jesus so far in 2011 and I thank you for helping to make that happen! You were available and God used you! I look forward to seeing what God does through all of us this year as we reach families, provide backpacks with healthy snacks for kids in need in an elementary school, as we take care of needs in our community through Do Something...Now, and reach the Next Generation through Go!Kids and Heritage Student ministries! I look forward to seeing how lives are changed through doing life together through small groups! You are the church and I want to say Thanks for being a part of the team to see our vision come to life!

See you this weekend as we continue No Perfect People Allowed...Managing the messes of life! We had 3 more people commit their life to Jesus this past weekend...the cross will be lit again!

Next Steps

2011-02-04T15:57:00.004-06:00

Hello Heritage! We have had several hundred commit their life to Jesus over the past year! We celebrate the cross being lit every week that people commit to becoming followers of Jesus and we had 8 adults and 1 teen make that commitment this past weekend! Your Next Steps at Heritage as you have made this commitment to Jesus is to get baptized! We have our next Baptism coming up the weekend of February 19/20. Please email cindy.lage@heritageqc.com to let us know you want to take that Next Step as we meet you wherever you are on your spiritual journey and lead you into a growing relationship with Jesus in order to change the World!

I look forward to seeing us celebrate life change and You help make that happen as you take your Next Step! See you this weekend and Invite someone to church with you as we continue "No Perfect People Allowed...Managing the Messes of life"

SERVE

2011-01-28T15:51:00.003-06:00

Our passion Heritage is to meet people wherever they are on their spiritual journey and lead them into a growing relationship with Jesus in order to change the world! Well, where are you on that journey? Are you growing? The true sign of spiritual maturity and growth is serving! To SERVE is the act of putting others ahead of my needs-Matt 20:28 You know...Christianity in one word is SERVANT! Our goal at Heritage is to teach people to be servants! Matt 20:26 "The greatest among you must be a servant!" Jesus says "I did not come to be served but to SERVE!

We have several opportunities for you to SERVE at Heritage:

You can...
* Join our Go!Kids team and SERVE with teaching, checking in family's,
administrative ministry, follow up, or cleaning.
* Join our Statik student ministry team and SERVE with being a leader,
games, events, follow up, or administrative ministry.
* Join our Worship Arts team and SERVE with using your vocals, playing an
instrument, using your mad skills with tech, or administrative ministry.
* Join our Facilities team and SERVE with cleaning our church,
setting up chairs, our grounds, or helping with special events.
* Join our Connections team and SERVE as a greeter, an usher, a "runner", or
our parking lot.
* Join our office team and SERVE to help us with various administrative duties
such as follow up, copying things, data input, or counting money.
* Join us and SERVE and lead a small groups or teach a particular class.

We have many ways for you to engage your spiritual growth as you look for ways to SERVE! I look forward to you joining one of our teams! Please email cindy.lage@heritageqc.com if you are interested in any of the above ways to SERVE!

Don't forget to bring in your baby bottles full of change over the next few weeks as we SERVE and support life through partnering with Crisis Pregnancy Center (CPC). Also, check out hcbkids.com as you find the healthy food list to bring in items each month as we partner with Bettendorf local schools and SERVE Mark Twain Elementary to provide backpacks filled with those snacks for kids in need!

See you this weekend as we continue "No Perfect People Allowed...Managing the Messes of Life"! INVITE someone.

Backpacks

2011-01-20T16:49:00.003-06:00

Heritage Bettendorf Campus is passionate about reaching out to our community and partnering with others to make a difference. We have an amazing opportunity as we partner with the Bettendorf Schools and come along side of Mark Twain elementary to provide backpacks filled with healthy snacks for kids! Our desire is that you all will join us as we do this every month for nearly 50 students. You can find out more by going to our Go!kids blog, www.hcbkids.com and join us as we meet people wherever they are on their spiritual journey!

I look forward to seeing the healthy snacks coming in each month. We will have an area in the lobby or at the kids check-in "Destination Station" that you can drop all food items.

This weekend, we are hosting the Women's Choice Center as they hold a prayer vigil in Remembrance of the 38th Anniversary of the Roe vs. Wade. Let's take a stand for life at 7pm at Heritage Bettendorf Campus following the 5pm service.

Be sure to INVITE someone who you know will appreciate our current series "No Perfect People Allowed...Managing the Messes of Life" as you have! If you have been changed or found the messages meaningful in your life, then share that with others that you work with, or your family, a waitress, the doctor, nurse, dentist, friend, or neighbor and see how God works in their lives through using you!

See you this weekend...

Land Between

2011-01-12T16:51:00.004-06:00

What an amazing sermon this past weekend as we heard a message about being in the Land Between. It's the "desert" between the two green spaces. It's the desolate place between the abundance! What is it in your life that you need to TRUST God with as you sit in that difficult place? Are you sitting back complaining or are you considering it "pure joy as you face trials of many kinds"? Wham! That hits you right between the eyes! It sure does that to me. As followers of Christ, we have the gift of having joy in our lives during those "Land Between" times! God is faithful, never leaving us or forsaking us! Look at your past to see how God had been faithful to know what your future holds as you seek him!

Consider David, as he was a little boy and facing a giant, Goliath! He went to battle in faith knowing God was with him! God had allowed him to kill off lions and bears..."Oh my" LOL, in the past, as they attacked his sheep. That prepared him for his future as he stood before this giant, Goliath. It seemed to be no hope. A 9ft giant with armor and a huge javelin spear and sword, and there stood a small boy with a sling and a stone! But, David said, God is with me! He defeated the Giant with one stone and a sling as he trusted God! I hope you can say that and have that kind of faith as you face your "giant" in the Land Between!

I encourage to read the story of David as you seek God in your battle this week. You can find it in 1 Samuel 17.

- INVITE a friend as we continue "No Perfect People Allowed...Managing
the Messes of life". Come prepared to explore the "Land Between"
- We had our biggest attendance ever for a non-holiday or big event weekend
with 667 in attendance and 2 adults and 2 teens committed their life to Jesus
- Be praying for our staff, volunteers, and for God to capture our hearts as we
give our time, talents, and money for the Kingdom...as we meet people
wherever they are on their spiritual journey and lead them into a growing
relationship with Jesus!
- I love our church at Heritage. We have the best staff ever and the greatest
people in the world. See you this weekend

New year

2011-01-04T15:53:00.002-06:00

Hello everyone...

We are off to a new year at Heritage! We celebrated 2 straight years with lighting our cross as people have committed to Jesus each week! That is amazing and we look forward to continuing that streak as 4 people became followers of Jesus this first weekend of the year!

I'm looking forward to the many things God has planned for us this year! He is going to do great things through Go!Kids, Statik student ministries, our worship services, but most importantly, through each of you! We have started our new series "No perfect people allowed...managing the messes of life" Please join us this weekend and INVITE a friend! We are in one of the most prime times of the year that people are interested in coming to church! It's the New Year and people are looking to make commitments, start new things, and become better people! What better place to be successful with those things than at church...especially Heritage!

I look forward to seeing you this weekend and meeting your friends! Let's see if we can have over 700 people here for our average by the end of this series, as it ends in February! That is my prayer!

Just for Show

2011-01-04T15:30:00.002-06:00

In 1 Samuel 15, Samuel goes to Saul and tells him to go and completely destroy the Amelekites, leaving nothing! Saul assembled his army and went to battle, destroying most everything! He decided to keep the choice cattle and sheep. He also made an exception with keeping King Agag! It was because of Saul's disobedience to God that He was so disappointed with him and shared with Samuel that Saul had turned his back on God! Saul thought he was doing the right thing by only doing part of what God asked him to do. However, kept things back just for show! It was for his sake instead of being totally sold out to doing what God asked of him. Samuel was so distraught and said to Saul:

"Do you think all God wants are sacrifices--empty rituals just for show? He wants you to listen to him! Plain listening is the thing, not staging a lavish religious production."

In other words, obedience is better than sacrifice! God simply wants us to obey him as he ask us to do something! Not do part of it and have a heart that's putting on a show! "Hey, look at me! Look what I'VE done". No, choose obedience and your life want be "just for show" it will be for eternal LIFE CHANGE!!

1 Samuel 12 talks about being obedient to God, trusting in Him completely, and when we do verse 16 says "Stand still and see this great thing I am about to do before your eyes"! Pay attention, be obedient, and God will be glorified!
What do you need to be obedient with today? What is God asking, begging, pleading with you to do? Then do it!

ASK

2010-12-20T14:15:00.004-06:00

It's Christmas time and we are celebrating the birth of Jesus! How amazing is that? God sent his son as a baby so that he might grow up and live a life as we do, do ministry, and then die on the cross for you and me! But then, he rose again and conquered death, giving you and I an opportunity for choosing a relationship with him! What a wonderful gift God gave to us and now we get to give gifts in return to others. Most importantly, we can give the gift of sharing Jesus, his grace, his mercy, his love, and his compassion for all of humanity!

Are you asking God to help you give back to others? We have an "indescribable gift" as followers of Jesus and why not share that gift this week as we approach Christmas! Maybe for some of you, you need something from God this week. You are struggling, scared, confused, or simply haven't been hearing from God lately. You need direction. Then ask! Are you asking God to speak to you? Well...are you listening? Or, are you too busy manipulating things to be what you hope the answers to be? God gave us himself and we have the opportunity to accept him, listen to him, and obey what He says when we ask...ask him to be Lord of our life, ask him for wisdom, ask him for healing, ask him for strength, ask him for a job, ask him to heal my marriage, or ask him for salvation!

When you ask...do you listen? Remember to ask and listen this Christmas season and you will be amazed at what Jesus does in your life! Merry Christmas!

Donated food...

2010-12-20T10:57:00.002-06:00

Thank you all for donating food over the past month for people in our community in need of a great meal! We gave the food to King's Harvest, which is a local ministry who takes care of people in need in the Quad Cities! You all gave over 150 bags of food! I know that God will use it on an ongoing basis as King's Harvest provides meals for those in need over the next several months!

Also, a portion of our special Christmas offering will go to King's Harvest as well! So don't forget to bring your special offering this week as you attend one of our 7 Christmas Services. The offering will go to the Galilee Children's Home, which is the orphanage that we are in the process of helping to build in Myanmar (Burma). This will allow the kids to have a safer, bigger home, and they can take in more orphans! We will also give a portion of the offering to our assistance fund at Heritage as we help local people in need who attend our campuses!

Don't forget that you can also give your year end tithe and offerings for the 2010 year and recieve a tax deduction for your gift! Please designate it as Bettendorf Campus as you give at one of our "unified" services so we can designate it to your campus!

Merry Christmas from all of us at Heritage! See you soon...

Food Baskets

2010-12-02T16:06:00.002-06:00

We have a great opportunity to provide people and families in the Quad Cities with food this Christmas season! We have been collecting particular food items in the grocery bags we have given out over the past couple of weeks and look forward to partnering with you as you bring those items to Heritage. We get to make a difference in people's lives and show them the love of Jesus! All food is to be collected by Dec 12!
See you this weekend with your bags of food!

God's Light

2010-12-02T15:34:00.005-06:00

We are starting a new sermon series this Christmas season called God's Light! Who can you be a light to this season and INVITE? Maybe a family member, a friend, co-worker, or someone you are an acquaintance with somewhere. This is the season of the year that those people who do not profess to be followers of Jesus are most likely to come to church, be interested in God, and looking for hope! Why not INVITE them to our new series for the next 3 weekends and then get them a ticket to our "ONE TRUE LIGHT" Christmas services that will be held Christmas week at our Rock Island campus!

Check the link to get more information:

www.heritageqc.com/our-church/sermonseries.aspx#christmas

I look forward to seeing you around this Christmas season as we celebrate God's Light...Jesus! Let's make a difference for the Kingdom...

Prayer

2010-11-18T16:00:00.002-06:00

We had a great time of extended prayer this past weekend at Heritage Bettendorf Campus! We did this as a follow up to the Forgiveness...the real F word series because we literally had record number prayer requests and confession of prayers about this very topic in our campuses. People are hurting, broken, and delivered!

I wanted to share the sentiment and heart of so many people from the weekend! See the following note from one particular individual:
"I just wanted to say what a great service Sunday was, well they all are. But really, the praying at the end was so amazing and awesome. It saddens me that our church is suffering so much and to allow us time to pray for those (even without names) that are suffering, hurting and struggling was significant. Sometimes we cannot help them other than by prayer and WOW is prayer just amazing! Thanks for opening up my eyes to the congregation and the need to pray over our church everyday!"

My prayer is that everyone of you will be serious about praying for YOUR church everyday as this person has been challenged to do! When we are serious about being disciples and making disciples, then God will honor our prayer and lives will be forever changed for the Kingdom!

God on the move

2010-11-16T19:58:00.002-06:00

This past weekend at Heritage was amazing and we really saw God on the move as many lives were changed, people committed their lives to Jesus, and we discovered more about what it means to have financial freedom! We saw over 3200 people come to our 3 campuses (641 at Bettendorf) and many people committed to Jesus-3 at Bett Campus, and I heard that 45 kids committed to Jesus at our Rock Island Campus for the first time)!

Pastor John talked about "Who do you owe"? God has given us all things and we are given the privilege to "manage" what He has blessed us with! Do you want to be a slave to your money or do you want to be able to manage it in a way that God blesses? I'm sure you want to manage it well and be able to give as God commands us to give! This weekend is "Who will you rob?" If you have found God and heritage church to be meaningful in your life, then come back to see God on the move and INVITE someone to come with you this weekend! See you soon...

Who do you owe?

2010-11-10T11:01:00.002-06:00

We are going into our second weekend of the new series "The road to financial freedom". Last week Pastor John talked about being obedient to God and that He owns everything. This week, he will be talking about the bondage of owing more than you have. I still believe the greatest thing we can do to become financially free is to GIVE! I've seen this played out over and over again in my life as an individual and for our family! Check this "word" out from my assistant, Cindy Lage...

"Abandon to me your whole being, and I will then work in and through you in such a way that even as I am using you, you shall simultaneously experience My energizing power; so that in the very process of giving, you will receive even beyond what you give, and will in each instance emerge richer and stronger. There is NO loss when you serve Me this way. For when your life is wholly lost in My life, there is never anything but gain. Sin works death and loss. Righteousness works life and health.

...Today Lord....I will come to You first. I will give my whole self to Your work...Use me as you will...."

I pray this is all of our prayers this week as we consider "who do you owe"?

What is your goal?

2010-11-04T23:05:00.003-05:00

I've started reading a book called "Radical" by David Platt and have posted several of the quotes on Twitter/Facebook. It is a must read because it will rock your "Christianese" world! I have been on many mission trips in my life and I have gone to Burma (Myanmar) 3 times over the past 20 months. I totally relate to David and his "angst" against our American cultural Christian behaviors! It has been the hardest yet for me as I've recently returned from my last trip in the middle of October!
This quote says it all..."The goal of the American dream is to make much of us, the goal of the Gospel is to make much of God!" What is your goal? Dagger...straight to the heart! The orphan kids and people we have grown to love that Heritage supports in Burma are all about God! I know their goal, but what is your goal? They are truly living out Jesus before our eyes and it makes me almost sick to my stomach at the way we are as Christians in America! Thanks David, for making me think much more about my faith, my experiences, my passion, my love for those orphans-my daughter, and my goals!

Possible?

2010-10-27T15:32:00.002-05:00

Where do I begin? I've wanted to write on several occasions, however, it has been too difficult! I returned from Burma 10 days ago and am just now getting adjusted to the time change and to being back in "reality"! I've almost been depressed to be back in the States! I wished I could take my wife and 3 kids and get on a plane tomorrow and head back to Burma to be in that type of community! I miss it bad and especially our daughter Mi Nge Ti who we are desparately praying for that we might one day be able to adopt her! Burma doesn't allow adoptions, so we are praying for God to make possible what is seemingly impossible!

God makes things possible that are impossible with man! Matthew 19:26 Jesus says "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible"! What are you trusting God for in your life that is so impossible but with Him can be made possible? I'm not talking about a new car, new house, more money, or anything that is of material nature. But what is it in your life that you need to trust God with that will impact your life and even others for the Kingdom? This is where I'm at..believing for God to make an adoption of a beautiful 10yr old girl possible for our family! Will you pray with us for the impossible to become possible?

Eat and be satisfied

2010-09-30T15:18:00.005-05:00

Eat and be satisfied can mean several things...For me, today, it means two things that I want to share with you!

1. First of all, it means literally to come and eat for FREE and be satisfied! You can do that this weekend as you attend heritage church as we kick off our Forgiveness...the real F word series! We are also partnering with Incredible Pizza in Davenport, IA on Kimberly Rd, as they are providing a FREE all you can eat buffet from 11am-2pm. Come to one of the services (Sat 5pm, Sun 9am/10:45am) and bring the flyer we provide with you for your FREE lunch and "eat and be satisfied"!

2. God says in his word in Deuteronomy 11:13-15 "So if you faithfully obey the commands I am giving you today--to love the Lord your God and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul--then I will send rain on your land in its season, both autumn and in your grain, new wine and oil. I will provide grass in the fields for your cattle, and you will eat and be satisfied." God asked me and my wife Anne, back in August to give a particular amount to help build an orphanage in Burma when I lead the trip there in a few days. I was not obedient at the time and just kind of shrugged it off. However, our Bettendorf Campus pastors fasted and prayed last weekend for 72hrs and during that time God reminded me that I needed to do what He had asked several weeks before. I went home after Seek and soak worship and prayer time this past Sunday evening and told my wife that we needed to do this. I wrote the check...and it was not easy, and gave it to our missions pastor to apply toward our trip. This is where it gets good...God was asking us to simply be obedient and love Him, we did that and this past Wednesday, I walked into my office and there was a blank envelope on my desk with a money order check and typed note. The check was for $300 MORE than we had been asked to give! Simply amazing at how God allows us to "Eat and be satisfied" when we are obedient to what He calls us to do! We are to faithfully obey God, love him, then God will provide...you will "Eat and be satisfied!" What is God asking you to be obedient with in your life?

Please be in prayer for our team as we leave for Burma on Wednesday Oct 6-17! Looking forward to seeing the orphans and the little girl we are praying about adopting!

See you this weekend! God is so great and I love you all! God has blessed us with a great staff, and a great church do meet people wherever they are on their spiritual journey and to lead them into a growing relationship with Jesus!

Father/son

2010-09-27T17:03:00.002-05:00

Don't forget to sign up for our father/son camping event for this Friday night October 1st! You can sign up and check out all the details by clicking on the link below! This should be a fun time dads to connect with your son and with other dads! You don't want to miss out on creating some great memories! See you there!

http://www.hcbkids.com/2010/09/fatherson-camping-trip.html

Office Visit

2010-09-27T16:52:00.002-05:00

I was blown away by an office visit I got by two people last week! What a surprise. After spending nearly 2 hrs with complete strangers who called up the church to talk with a pastor, God allowed me to share about a relationship with Jesus with them! They both prayed to ask Jesus to be Lord of their life! They each talked to God in their own way and said they wanted to surrender to Him! You never know what an "office visit" might turn into! You never know what a simple question can become, or a simple invite to lunch or coffee or to your home can become! You never know what an invite to church may become...these things just might turn into an opportunity like my office visit! Are you ready? Will you be prepared to share the love of Jesus and simply ask those who are hurting if they are ready to put their trust in Jesus and simply tell Jesus how they feel? I believe you can do it and God will give you wisdom in the midst of an ordinary office visit!

Go! Kids

2010-09-15T10:25:00.005-05:00

We had an amazing time this past weekend at Heritage Bettendorf Campus! Our Kids Pastor, Steve Meek and his team did an outstanding job as we had our first ever "Tailgate" party after Saturday night and Sunday worship services celebrating our new kids ministry name and vision! Go! Kids was born this past spring and was unveiled thanks to many people involved! Jenn Swift did a great job with all the creative planning and work in all the classrooms.

2 people committed their lives to Jesus this weekend and we had a record crowd for our kids! They had the most kids ever with 211 total kids attending this past weekend! We saw nearly 700 people attend which was our largest "Non Holiday" attendance!

We have an amazing staff team, the best in all the world and I look forward to seeing what God is going to do as I believe we are now prepared to receive the harvest that He wants to richly bless us with! Steve, Miguel, Matt and I all look forward to partnering with you all as we continue to meet people wherever they are on their spiritual journey and lead them into a growing relationship with Jesus!

Check out our family events that are coming up this fall to help us ful-fill our mission!

http://www.hcbkids.com/

Also check out pictures from the event on my Facebook page! look under photos and mobile uploads!

Exciting stuff

2010-09-08T10:28:00.004-05:00

It has been a few weeks since I last posted. Things have been crazy around here! I wanted to let you know about some exciting stuff that is happening!

This weekend is our Go!Kids "Tailgate" Party. 6pm after Saturday night service and 12pm after Sunday services. (Hotdogs, inflatables, carnival games, clown, etc)

New service time starting this Saturday night 5pm!!!!!

September 17 is our Family Football Game (Bettendorf vs. PV)

Monday September 20 is our "Preview" meeting for Financial Peace University at 6:30pm. (We have partnered with Chick Fil-a who is sponsoring this 13 week class that begins October 11)

October 1-2 is our Father/Son Camping trip @ Wildcat Den

October 2/3 weekend is also the kickoff of our Forgiveness the Real F word teaching series. Invites are available on all the tables in the lobby area! Be praying for those you can invite and we are partnering with Incredible Pizza who is offering FREE LUNCH for anyone who attends church this weekend. Go for your free lunch on Sunday October 3rd from 11-2pm! A great deal! INVITE a Friend to church, then take them to a FREE LUNCH!

Be sure to Welcome Matt and Tracy Oberhaus as Matt has joined the team full-time as our Worship Arts Pastor!

Continue praying for Heritage as we look forward to seeing God work in amazing ways! WE are expecting great things!

7 weeks and counting...

2010-08-16T21:43:00.003-05:00

In 7 weeks...October 6-17, I'm leading a team of people from Heritage Church to Burma (Myanmar) as we work with the orphans in the Galilee home and the college students in the Union Biblical Seminary! This is a mission that we support as a church and will be my 3rd time leading a team there to do ministry! One thing that is so exciting for me is the fact that our "adoptive daughter" is a part of the orphanage! There is a connection that I simply cannot explain! She is our daughter and we are working hard to eventually bring her to America and adopt her one day!

Please be in prayer for our team as we prepare to go and help build a new Galilee orphanage home for the 28 kids and do ministry with everyone there! Please pray for Dr Morris and Sonia who are native Burmese and run both the Galilee home and UBS for the students! They have invested their lives into these young people! I will keep you posted on our journey along the way!

New life....

2010-08-16T21:30:00.004-05:00

What an amazing Sunday! We had a huge celebration as we baptized 187 people in the Rock River in Rock Island, Illinois! Heritage does this each year as we celebrate life change and this was the biggest day ever in celebrating new life through baptism. Thanks for all the prayers and for those of you who stepped into obedience on your spiritual journey as you took the Next Step by getting baptized!

We have celebrated 85 straight weeks with at least one person committing their life to Jesus and finding new life in Christ! I'm looking forward to the days ahead! God has amazing things for Heritage...are you ready to see more people find new life in Christ?

The Secret to Surrender...

2010-08-07T10:56:00.002-05:00

I have been hit with this question for the past 2 months..."Will you surrender Mitch"? I've been reading a book called "Living on the Edge" by Chip Ingram and the book is rocking me to the very core in this very area of being surrendered!

So what is the secret to surrender? Chip talks about when you choose to surrender your life to Christ, you are declaring that you trust Him with your life and your future! But often we find ourselves feeling as if we are losing control of our life! Do you ever find yourself struggling with obeying what God has called you to do? He gave a passage of Scripture found in Psalm 84:11 "The Lord God is a sun and a shield. The Lord gives grace and glory, no good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly."

Chip discusses how the first part of this Scripture uses the word Lord, which is God's covenant name which means He is personal, all-powerful, and self-existent. The word God is translated to the God of creation, and provision! He says "so imagine, the all-wise, all-powerful, self-existent, personal creator and sustainer for the universe is like a sun and a shield to those who have completely surrendered. It's a picture of God being an unlimited resource for you and the One who can provide unlimited protection, no matter how difficult your circumstances may be today or ten years from now."
Chip goes on to discuss the next line in the scripture reveals God's hopes and dreams for your life: "He gives grace and glory. Unlike what you may have been led to believe or may secretly fear in your heart, God wants far better for you than you could ever imagine!" God has great plans for you and wants you to be in a Godly relationship, or in a job that you are passionate about and that He designed for you to be fulfilled in doing. God wants you in a community of followers of Jesus that you can experience who He is and true friendship with others! God wants to be first priority in your heart and life. When He is that priority, you can experience His grace and glory!
Do you ever feel afraid to take the steps of faith you so desperately know you need to do? Chip shares his thoughts with the last line of that verse..."no good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly." When we are surrendered, or walking with Christ in obedience, "especially when you don't feel like it, to follow Jesus in obedience is the pathway to receive the very best from God! He will never withhold any good thing from you as you walk surrendered unto Him!"

I hope that by sharing just a glimpse of this book by Chip Ingram, has helped you as you discover what the secret to surrender is as it has me! I would encourage you to purchase this book and begin to study it as you find yourself doubting, having fear, or not quite believing what God has called you to do or what the next step is in your life! I believe that God wants to bless you and take care of you and I as we step into him in obedience and we will then begin to discover the secret to surrender!

Answers?

2010-07-31T14:15:00.002-05:00

So many times in our lives we are looking for answers...right? We are scared, fearful, anxious, nervous, and the list can go on and on...just fill in the word that describes your situation! I've lived there and am right there right now as I continue at times to be anxious, nervous, and fearful of what might happen if we don't get our rental property rented in North Carolina! However, I'm reminded of my best friends life situation as they have watched their 5yr old, now 6yr old daughter Kate battle a cancerous brain tumor! That seems to always put my desire for answers in perspective! Well, on Friday...they finally got answers! They got a NEGATIVE PET scan result for cancer in precious little Kate! Praise Jesus!

Wow...the answers that Aaron, Holly and their family and friends have been waiting for over 13 months now since they first found out! God is faithful to provide answers and they are always the answers we need! Isaiah 5:8-9 "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts."

I know that God is teaching me to be "all in" totally surrendered to Him and in the midst of me wanting answers, He is simply asking me to trust Him and look at how He provides in His timing as he did with the McRae's!

Philippians 4:6-7 "Do not be anxious about anything but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." What do you need answers for? Join me in putting this scripture into practice as the McRae's have so faithfully done in their lives! Then we too...can experience true peace as God provides the answers in our own lives in the ways He decides!

Summer

2010-07-23T15:50:00.002-05:00

It has been a great summer so far for 2010! I have been reading a book by Chip Ingram called "Living on the Edge"! It is all about Romans 12 and how we are called to fully surrender our lives to Jesus! It's easy to let summer come and go and not be fully engaged in following Jesus as we get busy! I will be writing more about this book and what God is teaching me at a later date! I want to bring you all along for the journey and I challenge all of you to pick this book up and begin to let it challenge you as it is me!

I wanted to let you all know that it is still important to INVITE people to church, to your home, or out to dinner as you seek to influence others for the Kingdom! It is easy to get into "summer" mode and "relax" and not focus on influencing others and coming along side people and serving them! I challenge you all to serve someone and make a difference in the life of those you have relationships with this summer! My wife, kids and I are in the process of joining efforts with World Relief to help serve Refugee Families in the Quad Cities! Please be praying for us as we go through the application process and eventually begin to completely surrender to Jesus our very selves to share the love and hope of His grace to those who might not yet know Him!

Check out this link to a sweet video our student ministries pastor at the Bettendorf campus made of our Youth Camp! Miguel did a great job capturing the heart of camp this summer!

http://vimeo.com/13154680

I look forward to being back at church to see you all this weekend as we have been gone for the past two weeks on vacation in North Carolina! Take advantage of this summer and make a difference in other people's lives....see you soon!

Looking back...Looking forward

2010-07-06T12:37:00.004-05:00

We have had the most amazing few weeks at Heritage!

Let's look back at what God has done:

Miguel De La Mora started on staff with us at our Bettendorf Campus as the Pastor of Student Ministries (STATIK 6th-12th grade)

Steve Meek celebrated his 1yr anniversary of being on staff full-time as our Pastor of Kids Ministry (GO!Kids Birth-5th grade)

Matt Oberhaus has done a great job leading us as our "Interim Worship Leader"

We have raised over $53,000 of our $100k goal for our "do something...NOW" community outreach efforts

We raised over $5,000 for our Youth Camp and Pastor Miguel and I took 53 teens to camp and 4 committed their life to Jesus

We saw 4 people commit their lives to Jesus in services for the month of June

We are looking forward to what God is doing:

The Cartrette family vacation to North Carolina July 7-22. We are visiting our families and going to the beach!

Our annual baptism at the Rock River on Sunday July 11 @ 2pm for the 60 people just from the Bettendorf Campus who have become followers of Jesus over the past several months

Our first ever "do something...NOW" is scheduled for Saturday July 17. We have 6 projects for our Bettendorf Campus to participate in as we serve our local community

We will continue our STUCK? What works when life doesn't...sermon series for the next 4 weeks

Our GO!KIDS area is getting a complete "facelift" with a new THEME

You will begin to see some new changes with our lobby

Continue to pray for and invite those people in your life to come to church or simply BE JESUS to someone by taking care of NEEDS!

I look forward to seeing what God is going to do as we fulfill the mission and vision God has called us to do as a church! You guys are totally ROCKIN and I couldn't ask for a better church to serve as your pastor! Thanks for making my family and I feel so loved and appreciated!

I "can't" do something...

2010-06-17T09:34:00.003-05:00

Do you ever find yourself saying "I can't"? I know I have and especially when it is God asking us to do that particular something! I have been reading through Genesis and now Exodus for the past several months! These are amazing books in the Bible to read about many followers of God being asked by God to do something unbelievable. Like, build an Ark, or take your son up to the top of the mountain and sacrifice him (kill your one son God promised to bless the nations through), or proclaim God's message while sold into slavery, accused of rape, or thrown into prison. Or what about being asked to lead people-God's people (promised through that son that was never killed because God provided at the last minute) out of Egypt and into the "Promise Land"! That is exactly what Moses did. However, it was not that easy. God asked him to free the Israelites from Pharaoh and to take them out of Egypt to the land that was promised them through so many who were obedient to God in the past. This time, Moses was not so obedient at first. He was reluctant to "Go" and speak to Pharaoh as he was asked and said "I can't do this"! He made an excuse because of his speech.

Take a look at this link http://www.stevenfurtick.com/ and read the Wednesday June 16, 2010 posting! As I have been challenged by God to do things I have never done in my spiritual journey, and have been reading in Exodus, this blog posting by Pastor Steven from Elevation church in Charlotte, NC (one of the fastest growing in America) really challenged my yesterday as I read that! Please take the time to check it out!

What is God asking you to do in your spiritual journey that you need to surrender the PRIDE and stop saying, I "can't" do something and be obedient and humbled and do that which God is calling you to do! I know I must talk to everyone at the stores or restaurants that wait on me or the cashier at the checkout line, about Jesus and ask them if they have a home church they attend and if not, then INVITE them to Heritage! God has called me to do it and I need your prayers as I stop saying "I can't" and start saying I can!

Philippians 4:13 "I can do everything through Christ who gives me strength!"

Jump Start!

2010-06-14T23:15:00.002-05:00

We have got a nice jump start on the new church year at Heritage Bettendorf Campus! God is doing some amazing things and I'm looking forward to what He has for us this year! Here are some highlights for the first 6 weeks of this fiscal year (May-Apr 2011) and a few things coming up:

We have seen 21 people commit to become followers of Jesus
We have hired Matt Oberhaus as our Interim Worship Leader
We have hired Miguel De La Mora as our Pastor of Student Ministry and he started June 5
Pastor Steve Meek has got the new vision for our kids ministry going and it's called Go!Kids-transformation is starting to happen
We have raised nearly $53,000 for the outreach offering as Pastor John has challenged us with reaching our goal of $100,000 for what we are calling "Do something...NOW!" Save the date-Saturday July 17
We are having our annual baptism in the Rock River on Sunday July 11th at 2pm
We have hired Cindy Lage as our new Admin Assistant for the Bettendorf Campus as Gracie is leaving to go work as the Executive Assistant at Rock Island Campus in August
Miguel and I are leading the youth from both campuses as we take them to Youth Camp "Never the Same" camp June 27-July 1. Thanks for nearly giving $5000 for Youth camp

Remember to live in obedience to God seeking after him and surrendering your finances to Him as we live to please God and live content not loving money...don't be obsessed, but relax cause we know that God will never leave us or forsake us! He is with us when we are Stuck. What works when life doesn't? JESUS does!! INVITE someone to our new series as we continue in our second week!

I look forward to seeing you this weekend and lets come expecting great things and for lives to be changed for the Kingdom! We are off to a great "jump start" for the year!

Intentional?

2010-06-03T16:59:00.004-05:00

My daughter is amazing! I can't believe she is nearly 10 years old! Dads, don't ever forget to "date" your daughter, love on her-let her know how special she is, talk to her, listen to her, buy her nice things, spend quality time with her, and attend her special events! I have to be intentional about this and so do you! I hope you are encouraged as we work hard to lead our kids in a Biblical way and "train up our child in the way that they should go!"

Stuck? What works when life doesn't

2010-06-02T22:55:00.002-05:00

Pastor John challenged us all this past weekend to get a handful of INVITE cards that advertise our new series called "Stuck? What works when life doesn't" How many of you have gotten the cards off of the tables and began to pray for those you will give them too? These cards don't do us any good if they are left on the tables and if we don't get rid of everyone of them! With a church of over 800 people who call Heritage Bettendorf Campus their home, there is no reason at all for us to have cards left over! Each of you at least know one person who does not go to church and doesn't have a relationship with Jesus...so INVITE them! We should easily get rid of the 1000 cards we have made available, so be sure to get all the cards you need this weekend and pray for your friends! Remember, we have been challenged for the past month to Go and make disciples, share our story, and INVITE people to church!

Did you know that because someone was willing to share their story the other week, we had someone who is a young adult and involved in "Wicca" religion commit their life to Jesus! They were one of the five that weekend and this past weekend, we had FOUR people commit their life to Jesus! We have had 15 people commit their lives to becoming followers of Jesus for the month of May!! We have seen 59 people commit to becoming followers of Jesus since January! That is amazing and a God thing! Praise God!

Remember, that God desires to use each one of us to reach people for the Kingdom and we have an incredible opportunity to do that as we start an 8 week study on the book of Philippians as we work to get "unstuck" and you INVITE people to Stuck? What works when life doesn't.

I look forward to seeing you this weekend! Miguel De La Mora, our new Student Ministries Pastor will be starting this weekend! Please let him know you are so excited for he and his family to be here!

Let's light the cross for the 75th weekend....

Making a difference...giving the shirt off your back!

2010-05-27T16:08:00.003-05:00

Wow! Pastor John challenged us all 2 weeks ago about making a difference in our community! He told us that part of our new vision this fiscal year (May-April), is to do some community service type projects/ministry. He wanted us to raise $100,000 toward this vision to use in this capacity! Well, we have raised $46,000 over the past two weekends! God is so great and thank you all for "giving the shirt off your back" and believing in making a difference.

If you are still praying about or have not had the opportunity to give toward this, please don't hesitate to put your "offering" in the buckets and mark it on an envelope that it is specifically for our Outreach efforts! It truly is like giving the shirt off our back as we give sacrificially in this effort! I look forward to seeing how God uses us and His resources He has provided for us to make a difference for the Kingdom as we "SAVE THE DATE" and serve on JULY 17, 2010! I will see you then!!!

12 days...

2010-05-24T21:50:00.002-05:00

It's only 12 days away until Miguel De La Mora joins our staff at Heritage Church! He is our new Pastor of Student Ministries! We had an incredible time this past weekend as he was here spending time with our teens and speaking to them this past Sunday night! The teens had a "Mexican Fiesta party" for him and he challenged them to come up on the "mountain" and "watch God pass by"! He asked them are they going to join him on the mtn and see these great things God is about to do! Everyone is excited about what God is going to do and thankful for bringing Miguel to us! Be praying for Miguel and his family as they prepare to join our team. You can check out his latest video by clicking on this link: http://vimeo.com/11754089

Just so you can celebrate: We are lighting the cross for the 74th weekend! :)

5 more people committed their lives to Jesus this past weekend!!
2 were first time guests and 2 were 2nd time guests; God is amazing.
Who are you praying for that you can share your story with?

Please pray for Pastor Steve Meek, our Kids Pastor as he is in Indiana visiting with him mom this week as she just had heart surgery! She is doing well. Be praying for our staff as we prepare to do what God has called us to do and that lives will continue to be changed for the Kingdom!

I will see you this weekend!

This week...

2010-05-15T13:52:00.002-05:00

INVITE someone to come to church with you as we continue the series "Who are YOU?"
Pray that God will change lives and people will commit to Jesus and make it 72 straight weeks!
Statik is happening this Sunday night at 6:30. Teens, you don't want to miss it as Cathy Benson is speaking and I have a special video to show you all of Pastor Miguel! INVITE a friend.
We are all anticipating Miguel coming to visit for the weekend May 21-23 and he is speaking live at Statik on Sunday May 23rd! INVITE your best friend to come with you!
Check out Miguel's new blog http://statikbettendorfcampus.blogspot.com
Check out Pastor Steve Meek, our kids pastor's blog www.hcbkids.com
Let's welcome Matt Oberhaus and let him know we appreciate him and his ability to lead worship!

I look forward to seeing you all this weekend. You all are the best church ever and I love you all very much and enjoy serving along side you all to do whatever it takes to reach people for the Kingdom!

Great things...

2010-05-10T15:09:00.003-05:00

1 Samuel 12:16 "Now then, stand still and see this great thing the Lord is about to do before your eyes!"

Great things are happening around the Heritage Bettendorf Campus! We have an incredible team and we have added another team member with hiring Matt Oberhaus as our Interim Worship Arts Leader! We are so stoked about him being a part of a great team! He and his wife, Traci have been attending Heritage for about 7 months and they have two sons Skyler-17 mos and a new addition Kyran-2 mos old! They both were just dedicated on Mother's day too! Please make them feel welcomed to Heritage!

Other great things...

We had 8 1st time Guests in the Kid's Ministry
We had 9 1st time Guests in our adult services
We had 9 parents dedicate their children in front of their church family (11 kids total)
We had 6 people commit their life to Jesus and become followers of Christ (3 of those were 1st time guests)
We have had 69 people commit their life to Jesus this past fiscal year (May '09-April '10) and 44 of those were from Jan'10-April '10)!
We had our 3rd largest attendance ever in the history of Heritage Bettendorf Campus, next to our last 2 Easter weekends of 758!

These are things to celebrate and thank God for doing such great things at Heritage! It is because of your commitment to praying, inviting, and serving, that we are able to continue to see lives changed for the Kingdom!

Have a great week and I look forward to seeing you and your friends here this weeekend as you invite people to come as we continue our series "Who are YOU?" Come to find out how you fit in to the larger picture of expanding the Kingdom to see great things be done before our eyes!

1 Samuel 12:16 "Now then, stand still and see this great thing the Lord is about to do before your eyes!"

Building the team...

2010-04-24T14:37:00.003-05:00

We already have and incredible team at Heritage Bettendorf Campus and I look forward to continuing to "build the team" as we welcome our new Pastor of Student Ministries! Miguel De La Mora, his wife Janelle, two yr old daughter Sophia, and soon to be son-Roman, will be here in June! We are so excited to have them come and help to change lives for the Kingdom!

You will be hearing a lot more about them at weekend services and meeting them personally sometime in June! Miguel starts the weekend of June 5/6, but his family want be joining him until later in June when their new townhome is completed!

Miguel has been in ministry for over 8 yrs now, working directly with schools, churches, leaders, pastors, community leaders, children, and teens! He has a passion for the Next Generation and is so stoked about working with our Statik Student Ministries, adult leaders, and influencing our church!

Please be praying for our Children's Pastor-Steve Meek, his wife Teri, & son Judah, and Miguel, his family as they prepare to come, as we continue working on "building the team"!

Simply Amazing

2010-04-07T23:56:00.002-05:00

We had 34 people commit their lives to Jesus this past Easter weekend!
We had our largest crowd ever at Heritage Church at our 3 campuses! We had 5342 people! God is so good and thanks to everyone who prayed for and invited all the people!
10 people became followers of Jesus at our Bettendorf Campus!
There were 1050 people at our Bettendorf Campus which was our largest attendance ever!
We have the best volunteers ever! Thanks to all of you who volunteered and served in ministry this past weekend! You really did help to make a difference!
Thanks for doing whatever it takes to reach people for the Kingdom!
Remember to INVITE those people in your life who need Jesus back to church this weekend as we continue our Third Day Power series.
Just because Easter weekend is over, doesn't mean that we quit inviting and praying for God to do great things! Let's continue to live out the Great commision and the Great Commandment to love God and other people!
I look forward to seeing you this weekend...

Unthinkable

2010-04-01T10:11:00.002-05:00

In January 2009, we started lighting the cross inour worship centers at our 3 campuses every week that someone committed their life to Jesus! This week will be 66 weeks straight that the cross has been lit!

There are so many things to celebrate that have happened at our Bettendorf Campus!

We have had 36 people become followers of Jesus over the past 6 weekends!
Since May of 2009, 123 people have come to know Jesus throught the ministry of Heritage Church, Bettendorf Campus!
Our Children's ministry is growing and many new families are getting connected and their lives being changed!
Our Youth Ministry is growing and teens are having their lives changed!

God is so good. He has been teaching me some great things as I've spent time reading in Genesis lately. You may be familiar with Abraham's story or not. God promised him lands and success. He promised Abraham that he would be the Father of many nations and that he would give him a son when there was no hope for a son. Of course, Abraham took things into his own hands and eventually had a son with his servant girl. However, that was not God's plan! Many times we know God is calling us to soemthing in our lives and we like to take things under our own control as Abraham did. God was faithful to provide in the way He saw fit. Later in Scripture, in Genesis 22, God test Abraham. He ask him to go up the mountain and "sacrifice" his son Isaac whom God had promised him and would use to fulfill His promises! Wow, sacrifice the very thing that you promised me! That seemed crazy. God asked him to do the "unthinkable"! However, Abraham stepped out in faith and was obedient! He proceeded to go do the unthinkable thing God asked him to do. As he was about to take the knife and slay his son, the angel of the Lord said, "because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you ans make your dexcendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore...and all nations will be blessed because you have obeyed me!" Tha is powerful and amazing!

How about you? Are you doing the "Unthinkable" in your life as we approach Easter? Are you being faithful in praying for the 5 people/families you ahve listed on your prayer card! We are praying that God will prepare those people to receive the "seed" you plant through prayer, and water it as you give them an invite card, and trusting God to provide the people (Harvest), and change lives on Easter weekend April 3 & 4. We are praying for over 6000 to show up at Heritage for Easter weekend services! We are praying for over 1200 at our Bettendorf Campus! If one family comes that each of you pray for and invite, we will have an amazing Easter weekend and will have joined Abraham in his obedience to do the "Unthinkable"! It's all about life change for the Kingdom.

I look forward to celebrating with you as we step out in faith to do the unthinkable and see how God provides!

Harvest

2010-03-10T23:04:00.003-06:00

God has been giving us the harvest! We have had 20 people become followers of Jesus over the past 3 weekends!
That is 107 followers of Jesus since May of 2009!
We started lighting the cross in our worship center in January 2009 every week that someone committed their life to Jesus and this weekend will be 63 straight that we celebrate!
Remember to continue to be faithful in praying for the 5 people/families you have listed on your prayer card! We are praying that God will prepare those people to recieve the "seed" you plant through prayer and water it as you give them an invite card to Easter Weekend April 3/4.
We will be having 4 services on Easter Weekend- Saturday April 3 @ 5pm and 6:30pm and Sunday April 4 @ 9am and 10:45am.
We are expecting over 1200 at our Bettendorf Campus!
We need about 30 people to step up and volunteer for Easter weekend in the area of Children's ministry, parking, and greeting! Are you up for the opportunity to use your mad skills to help make a difference and do "whatever it takes..." to reach people for Jesus that weekend? Please contact us at Gracie.howard@heritageqc.com or call 563.449.5530 and someone will be in touch with you soon!
Remember to set your clock forward one hour this Saturday night as we "spring forward"! Don't want you to miss church on Sunday!
Who are you inviting this weekend?
Are you becoming a person of prayer? When we do, we will reap the Harvest!

Life Change...it takes all of us!

2010-02-28T23:24:00.003-06:00

Another great weekend at church! Wow...amazing worship band this weekend and God really showed up in amazing ways! Many people came forward to lay down their commitment card stating they would be people commited to the WORD! And we had 2 people commit their lives to Jesus! We have had 62 straight weeks that someone has decided to become a follower of Jesus! That completely ROCKS!!! God is so good! Can you imagine how God might use us all as we commit to His Word, to help change lives! The opportunities are limitless!!!

I will see you next weekend as we continue our series "Clean up your Act"! Be praying for that person you can invite to church and be praying for the 3-5 people/families you can invite to our Easter weekend services that are coming up in 5 weeks!! Remember, we will have 4 services that weekend...5pm and 6:30pm on Saturday night and 9am and 10:45am on Sunday morning! We are praying for over 1200 to show up at our Bettendorf Campus! If one family comes that each of you pray for and invite, we will have an amazing Easter weekend. It's all about Life Change!!

Clean up your act

2010-02-21T22:13:00.003-06:00

We've started a brand new series that will go for the next 6 weeks called "Clean up your Act"! This series will help us all to grow deeper in our relationship with Jesus on a personal level. Our passion at Heritage is to "meet you wherever you are on your spiritual journey and to help lead you into a growing relationship with Jesus". I believe that as you come to church over the next several weeks, you will be challenged in your spiritual journey and its a great time to INVITE your family, friends, co-workers, neighbors, or anyone you may know or have influence over!

We light up our Cross every weekend that someone becomes a follower of Jesus! We started this the first weekend of 2009, and it has been lit every week since we started! That is simply Amazing! This weekend, we saw 6 people surrender their lives to Jesus at Heritage Bettendorf Campus! We also had 4 teens do the same at Statik youth ministries at our Bettendorf Campus! God continues to do great things as you all invite people and we ask Him to change lives. I look forward to seeing you all this weekend as we continue to hear how we might "Clean up your Act"!

Pastor Eric Mills, our Outreach Pastor, challenged us all to be praying for those people in our lives that we might invite to church for Easter. I challenge you to start praying for 3-5 people that you can have an opportunity to talk to and invite to church that weekend! We will provide you with an invite card soon! We are only 6 weeks away and our staff are anticipating great things and over 1000 people to attend that weekend at our Bettendorf Campus! We have over 600 regularly attending now and if we all invite 3-5 people and just 1 person comes with you, then we will double Easter weekend! Can you imagine what would happen if more than 1 comes that we invite! WOW, that could be incredible! We are looking forward to partnering with you to do "Whatever it takes..." to make this happen! Not for the sake of "numbers" but to get more people to church to hear God's Word and to see their lives changed for the Kingdom! Will you join us in praying and believing for great things? Please post your name as a commitment that you will pray and invite!

HUNGRY

2010-02-15T10:34:00.002-06:00

hungry I come to you, for I know you satisfy,

I am empty but I know your LOVE does not run dry,

and I wait, and I wait, so I wait for you, so I wait for you,

I'm falling on my knees, offering all of me