Hi saints! It’s been a month since my last monologue with you here in the Newsletter. I trust that you were blessed by our service on Resurrection Sunday as much as I was. Resurrection Sunday also marks the (nearly) one year anniversary of my joining the HCOG family! The past year has seen several momentous events in the ministry that are worth highlighting: First, we baptized three souls this year, namely, Nathaniel Vigil, Luan Nguyen, and Heather Simnegar We also had two Saints officially join our congregation, Sarah and Candace Yuni; Then we also experienced someone giving their life to the LORD in conversion in February, Iris Lin. Finally, while we have some mem-bers of our congregation who seemed to have left us, for about the past month, we have had an aver-age attendance of 60 people in attendance during Sunday Worship. (Prayerfully, we will see some of our long-standing visitors commit to officially joining our family.) Wednesday night Bible study is absolutely electric, and continues to grow, and we are now having adult Sunday School classes on campus again. Finally, as you know there have been too many testimonies on Sunday to attempt to recall here. And there’s been so much more that this article does not allow me the space to recall. Praise the LORD for all of HIS wondrous work within our congregation! Time sure does seem to fly by when you’re having fun!
That being said, the ministry is picking up momentum, and I want to encourage all our mem-bers, and long-term visitors to seek the LORD about your place in this ministry, as The LORD has not brought any of us here by chance. HE is a GOD of purpose, and the sooner you discover the plan GOD has for your life, the more opportunities you will have to know HIM better. As everyone finds their place to join the LORD in the work HE is doing, our experience of HIS power and glory in-creases. My agenda for HCOG is that every member would be set ablaze with zeal to worship and serve the True and the Living GOD! We have passed the ¼ mark of the calendar year, and we have more ministry events to come, so check with the church office to get a copy of our 2024 calen-dar of events. We are seeking members who sense a burden from GOD to participate in one of our ministries such as music, technology, corporate prayer, men and women’s ministries, and by the grace of GOD we will develop a youth ministry and an outreach ministry to go into the highways and hedges to share the good news in our community. If you are interested in getting involved talk to myself or one of our Elders, Lupe Ibarra, Shirley Gibson, or Joel Timpano. As we grow together in unity, there will be something for everyone to participate in, so that we can realize the glory of GOD in the same way the early church in the book of Acts did.
Finally, I ask that you participate by putting forth your expectation on GOD by praying before and during our worship services. Let’s be bold and frame our requests to the LORD in vivid detail. HE is never overwhelmed by anything we seek from HIM, because HE promises to do exceedingly, abundantly, above all that we ask or think, according to [HIS] power that works in us . . . (Ephesians 3:20-21.) I look forward to seeing you in service and our other ministry events soon.
Your servant in CHRIST
Pst. Mark Dotson