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Rocky Mountain
CBA Ministry Retreat
St. Malo Retreat and Conference Center
outside of Estes Park, CO
Dr. Mark Bailey, President of
Dallas Seminary will be speaking on Servant Hearted Leadership.
Our worship will be led by Kara Gugganmos, Worship Leader at
Calvary Church in Longmont, CO
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Contact us: 303.772.1205
877.640.1814 (toll-free)
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It's
summertime in the Rockies and that means that I will be traveling to
meet with some our pastors in the outer-lying
parts
of our region. These are meaningful times for me as I talk to
each of them and learn about what God has been doing in their
churches since the last time we saw each other. I pray God will
be working in all our churches throughout this summer season.
Included in
this issue of the e-companion (among others) is an article about the
way God has
been working in one of our metro Denver churches, about
our Rocky
Mountain CBA Ministry Retreat taking place in September
and fellowship
opportunities coming this fall.
God bless you
and have a great summer!
Executive
Director, Rocky Mountain CBA
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"Living
the Risk"
by Fred Askins, Pastor of Open Door Fellowship, Commerce
City, CO
"Security is mostly a superstition. It does
not exist in nature, nor do humans as a whole experience it.
Avoiding danger is not safer in the long run than outright
exposure. Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing" (Helen Keller)
 Two and a half years ago, the
elders and deacons of Open Door Fellowship in Commerce City, Colorado
began addressing our false sense of security by bluntly admitting that "if we don't make some
major changes, we're dead." This admission
launched six months of frank discussion about the demographic changes
and ministry challenges in Commerce City. It's been quite the
ride ever since.
Concluding
that our church can
continue in ministry, but only if we move to the rapidly developing
northern part of our city, our vision for the future was then formally
presented to the church family. After the vision "hit the
fan," and we began wrestling with it over the following year, the
vision was slowly accepted as the best response to our difficult ministry
situation. We believe this is a gutsy vision, and we are grateful
our church family has, overall, hung together throughout this process.
After jumping
off the cliff last year by adding Connie Grosshans, Director
of Outreach to our staff (which we can barely afford), our vision began
to materialize: 1)
In October, our vision was affirmed by the receipt of a perfectly-timed
grant from the Rocky Mountain CBA, 2) In December, we signed
a  contract for a beautiful 4.4 acre
plot of land on 104th Avenue (a very busy east/west corridor), buying
it for half its appraised value, 3)
Five days later, and totally out of the blue, the pastor of a Spanish
speaking church walked into our building and said he wanted to buy it!
and he had cash, 4)
We have a two-year lease-back agreement - free rent, utilities and
office space, and 5)
We recently concluded a capital stewardship campaign: and our small
church family, and friends, with modest resource, have pledged over a
quarter of a million dollars.
While we
continue to ride this white-knuckle roller coaster, we are fully aware
we do not deserve these kindnesses, and that we have been the object of
God's grace. In hindsight, we received specific answers to our
prayers only after we publicly took a shrewd, keenly calculated
risk We believe God has honored this, and we are very grateful.
We have come to learn that sometimes the biggest risk in life is not
taking one. As Neil Simon said, "If no one ever took risks, Michelangelo
would have painted the Sistine floor." We will
(gulp) continue to hang on, work hard, pray much, and trust God for our
future.
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 "MORE THAN A WEEK-LONG CAMP EXPERIENCE - A
LIFE-CHANGING JESUS EXPERIENCE"
WeekExtreme-Colorado is a Christian
camping opportunity for youth in grades 6-12 in the beautiful Rocky
Mountains of Colorado.
The WeekExtreme-Colorado experience is for
any youth who desires a passionate faith with Jesus Christ in a unique
worship and learning environment.
WeekExtreme-Colorado
2007
"HOW
TO STAY CLEAN IN A DIRTY WORLD!"
Dates:
Monday, July 30th - Friday, August 3rd
Place:
Golden Bell Camp in Divide, Colorado
Speaker:
Ken Freeman
Band: Forty Day Flood
Camp MC and Nightlife: Drew Worsham
Bible Studies: Josh Martin and John Barnes
Chalk Talk: Cory DeVivo
AND the INCREDIBLE college REC team!!!
Questions! Call John or Christie Barnes at
970-396-2648 or 970-396-2701. Visit WeekExtreme
2007 for more information and registration detail.
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CBAmerica Leadership
Summit
July
18-20, 2007
 Last summer the regional directors and some regional board
members met together at Pine Summit in California. It was an
encouraging time and because of its success another Summer Summit
is planned. This year, the goal is to see each region's entire board,
along with their spouses, attend the summit. Other interested parties
are also welcome. The meetings will be held at the Colony Baptist Church
in Edina, Minnesota.
Special speakers include Bill
Thrall
and Bruce
McNicol
from Leadership Catalyst and coauthors of "The Ascent of a
Leader" and "TrueFaced." Luncheon speakers will be Martin Giese, Pastor and author of
"Leading Through Change" and Dodie Davis, a gifted speaker and
pastor's wife. All those interested in attending may register by
visiting the CBAmerica web
page.
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Ministry Staff Fellowships
This fall we are
hosting three Ministry Staff Fellowships. Cost is menu
prices. Join us on one of the following dates:
Tuesday,
October 9th - Denver Metro area - 8:00 a.m. at the Village Inn on I-70
and Federal Blvd.
Thursday,
October 11th - Northern Colorado area - 11:30 a.m. at the Black Eyed
Pea at 1505 Rocky Mountain Avenue at the Loveland Outlet Center
Monday,
October 22nd - Southern Metro area - 11:30 a.m. at Marie Calendar's at
51 West Dry Creek Ct in Littleton 9SW Corner of Broadway & Dry
Creek)
RSVP to Edie at
303-772-1205 at least one day before the fellowship you plan to attend.
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Senior Luncheon 
If you are
retired or close to retiring CB staff, join us on Friday, October 5th
for the next Senior Luncheon. First Baptist Church in Golden, Colorado will
be hosting this get-together. The luncheon begins at 11:30 a.m.
and will end by 1:30 p.m. the church is located at 1805
Washington Street in Golden. RSVP to Edie at 303-772-1205.
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"God examines with trials, the devil examines with
temptations, the world examines with
persecution." ~unknown
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