This Sunday (March 27) will be our last at San Felipe Park. It has been over 18 months, in two different locations – first, near the parking lot, and then at the far end of the park. We had to figure out the logistics of "church at the park," not once a year as a special service, but every week. And every week, the Murry van was packed and driven to the park for setup. We established a livestream broadcast, first on Facebook Live, then on YouTube, all without reliable Wi-Fi. Then the parks system prohibited amplified sound, so we figured out how to use radios. We monitored the weather forecast each week, and got rained out several times. We are so thankful to all our volunteers
Few could have guessed that it would be over two years before we could return to an indoor facility, and not back to Marshall Elementary School, but to Creekside Middle School, starting April 3. It has been a very challenging season of ministry. But God is faithful and true. We look forward to reestablishing our worship service. It will be a time of rebuilding and recovering. But we look forward with faith and joy. We hope you join us at Creekside next week!
Returning Indoors
March 15 marked the two-year-anniversary of the pandemic for our church, and the beginning of our strange odyssey from Marshall Elementary to the clubhouse at Palomares Hills, the chapel at 3Crosses, and finally settling down at San Felipe Park. It's been a long, long journey. In all our wanderings, one constant remains: resilient joy. Resilience because God has sustained us and given us strength not to give up, and joy, not in wavering circumstances, but in Christ as our rock and fortress.
Now finally, starting April 3, we plan to move back indoors! Our new home will be at Creekside Middle School in Castro Valley. Creekside offers a significantly better facility than Marshall Elementary School – bigger space, more classrooms, as well as a shaded outdoor seating area. It is the answer to many, many prayers.
Our return indoors will be, in many ways, like a relaunch of our church. There are many aspects of worship service that will have to be worked out over the weeks. What will the audio/visual setup look like? Where will the children and nursery classrooms be located? We will troubleshoot these and other challenges as they arise. The plans are still in the early stages, and it will take a while before we "return to normal," but this will be an exciting time of reestablishing our worship service.
Praise God that He is ever faithful to his church. We realize this all the more deeply having gone through the trials and tribulations of the past two years. It is not by human strength or wisdom that the church is sustained, for all these will fail, but only by the Spirit of God. May we listen and follow where the Spirit leads.
First image: Creekside signage
Second image: staff visiting the MPR at Creekside
How do we know the Bible isn't an elaborate, made-up story?
One of the most frequent questions I get is: how do I know the Bible isn’t just some crazy story invented by a lunatic? Or, to put it more politely, how can we know the New Testament faithfully records historical events, and not the exaggerated tales of a new religious movement?
This is a profound question that touches on how we can know anything from the ancient world. There are many reasons why we should have confidence in the writings of the New Testament, among them: the early dating and the eyewitness accounts, but I want to focus on one particular line of evidence – non-Christian sources.
The Bible is actually not the only source of information we have on Jesus from the ancient world. There are about a dozen non-Christian writers who attest to various aspects of the New Testament account. For example, the Roman historian Tacitus, writing within a century of the events, referred to Jesus and his execution by Pontius Pilate. Pliny the Younger, a Roman governor, also writing in the same time, described the early Christians as worshiping Jesus as God. And finally, and most remarkably, the Jewish historian, Josephus, writing within 50 years of Jesus’ lifetime, outlined the basic facts of Jesus’ life – his claim to be the Messiah and his death by Roman crucifixion. Additionally, he wrote at length about other New Testament figures like John the Baptist, Pontius Pilate, and James, the leader of the church in Jerusalem. It’s important to note that all these writers were hostile to Christianity, and yet they affirm the essential storyline of Christianity. And there are numerous other non-Christian sources that give witness to the historical events of Christianity.
Whether we can trust the Bible is a foundational question. Left unaddressed, Christianity falls apart. However, there are numerous lines of evidence, both within the Bible, and also outside the Bible, that assure us of its historical reliability. This is the subject I hope to tackle for our first adult Sunday school class, once we return to Marshall Elementary School in the coming months. Other subjects I’d like to address in future classes are: Christianity and science; homosexuality and transgenderism; and a survey course on the whole Bible. Christianity is far more than cogent answers to these questions, but it is not less.
Pastor Michael
Image: Papyrus fragment of the Gospel of John, P52, dated to within the first century. John Rylands Library in England.
A Year of Remembrance
March 15 will mark the one-year anniversary of the start of the pandemic for our church and our strange odyssey away from our home at Marshall Elementary School. Starting with the clubhouse at Palomares Hills (pictured on right), we have moved locations eight times. We want to remember and reflect on this remarkable year. We are thankful for the many people who have served the church during this difficult year of ministry. Most of all, we give thanks to God for leading us and preserving us through the storm.
Reflections by Tracy Ong
To be honest, much of last year feels like a blur to me, haha. But, there are some memories I will always remember. I remember the confusion and panic when Marshall Elementary told us we couldn't meet there anymore and every single time there was a problem with the livestream (which happened frequently in the beginning!). I remember carefully marking up the many pages of protocols issued by the county and state and writing ones for IGC. I remember recruiting volunteers for my reopening task team, which kind of felt like enlisting people to join the army. I remember participating in our church's mask-making assembly line, which made me feel like I was a part of Blue Star Moms. In particular, I remember one Sunday at 3Crosses when the Internet didn't work. My brain was scrambling to think of what we could do. We resorted to using Zoom on my phone to stream the service, and I remember feeling bad that my phone kept moving and parts of my head/face kept showing up on the screen :p
I remember being grateful for and in awe of the pastors and elders and how they shepherded (and continue to shepherd) our church through this pandemic. It has not been easy to lead a church during this time, and our pastors/elders have done so with much grace and faithfulness. I remember the spirit of teamwork and camaraderie we shared, and that even though we didn't agree on everything, we had discussions that led to decisions we all supported. I will always remember their love for the church, their desire to honor God in every decision we made, and their dependence on Him. I will say it again and again: we have amazing, God-fearing leaders, guys.
Most of all, I remember God's provision and goodness to us. Without a doubt, He has led us this whole time and sustained us - and He will continue doing so! People have faithfully stepped up to volunteer and have generously given/lent us their cars, equipment, homes, and time. I remember the staff at 3Crosses, who were so hospitable and accommodating and even prayed for us when we visited. I remember the encouraging emails I received. I remember how crazy it was when HARD issued a permit for us to have service at San Felipe. So many small miracles. God is able. Jehovah Jireh. God is good. God has been, is, and will continue to be with us. All glory be to Him!
Reflections by David Yi
A year ago (!), when I was unofficially deputized as part of the IGC LiveStream Geek Squad™, I remember the excitement, anxiety, and pressure of producing a livestream each week. There was this feeling that we could provide this small gift to people who had suddenly been stripped of the presence of their brothers and sisters. For me, I had the livestream crew in my house each Sunday, and just seeing them in the flesh each week felt like a (somewhat guilty?) privilege. But we missed the singing, the communion, the fellowship, the faces. We were just coping as a church.
In the midst of the learning curve and technical challenges of live-streaming (and caring for a newborn), one of the most memorable "coping" mechanisms for me was the Saturday night IGC Counter-Strike Crew®. 1) We got to have some community over headsets and first person shooters, and 2) We put our livestream rig through its paces in a GPU-intensive, bandwidth-sensitive stress test. 2 birds, 1 stone! So big shout out to the CS-GO squad for their contribution to my coping, and the success of our livestream!
For sure, I'll never take for granted the physical gathering of the church again. In 1939, in an underground seminary in Germany, Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote, "The physical presence of other Christians is a source of incomparable joy and strength to the believer... The believer feels no shame when he yearns for the physical presence of other Christians... It is easily forgotten that the fellowship of Christian brethren is a gift of grace, a gift of the Kingdom of God that any day may be taken from us. Therefore, let him who until now has had the privilege of living a common Christian life with other Christians praise God’s grace from the bottom of his heart. Let him thank God on his knees and declare: It is grace, nothing but grace, that we are allowed to live in community with Christian brethren." I love y'all and thank God for our church.
Vision for Post-Pandemic Church
At our February 21 congregational meeting, we discussed the future of our church, particularly as we emerge out of the pandemic. Obviously, no one knows the exact shape of what will happen, but we can begin to make preliminary plans. Two points are significant:
(1) Philosophy on church gatherings
Through the duration of the pandemic, we will meet together in whatever setting brings the most people together. For now, that means holding worship service outdoors, at a public park. And so, we plan to continue meeting at San Felipe Park in Hayward through 2021. As people are vaccinated and infection rates recede, and as people feel safe, we will make plans to return to indoor worship.
(2) Eventually, we will turn off the livestream
This will be an open and ongoing conversation, but we believe that participating in the worship service through the livestream is an emergency accommodation, for the pandemic only, and unsuitable for regular church life. We are committed to maintaining the livestream through the pandemic. But eventually, we will be able to say the health threat is over. And while it may be convenient and efficient, the livestream is not conducive to deep engagement and deep belonging in congregational life. Many people have expressed feeling disconnected through this experience of "digital church." This will be a conversation we will have together as a church, as we look to a post-pandemic future.
Our Vision for Mercy Ministry
But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? (1 John 3:17)
Absolutely essential to our church vision is to love the poor. There are too many biblical passages to cite, but one that I find particularly arresting is Galatians 2:10. There, Paul relates how the Jerusalem apostles affirmed his mission to the Gentiles (a seminal moment in church history), and foremost in their discussion was serving the poor – “only, they asked us to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do.” Essential to the mission of the church is to serve the economically vulnerable.
Our guiding principle is to engage the poor through relationships. It’s too easy to simply write a check. But the deepest need of the poor is social capital, not just financial capital. One of the most helpful books the mercy ministry leaders and I have read is When Helping Hurts by Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert. Their basic argument is that Western aid has been, for the most part, one-sided and condescending, rather than collaborative and empowering. This has created cycles of dependency and deepened the problem of poverty.
Our commitment is to partner with charitable organizations, providing not only financial grants, but also gospel-driven relationships. We have done this by supporting foster and adoptive families through Foster the Bay (we have three families in the church we support, see picture on right), partnerships with College Avenue Presbyterian in Oakland and First Presbyterian in Hayward to serve the homeless, a partnership with East Bay Orphan Care, and volunteering on work projects at Marshall Elementary School through Project Peace. We are also committed to deploying at least 10% of our budget outside of the church (towards missions, church planting, and mercy ministries). For 2020, we gave away $56,500 (11% of budget).
We recognize there are many more opportunities to serve the poor. The Coronavirus pandemic has severely limited the ability to do face-to-face relationships. (The most recent commitment we’ve made is a $5,000 grant to the PCA Unity Fund.) But we’d like to find another local partnership, in which we can do long-term friendships and relationship-based rehabilitation. The elders have started some preliminary discussions about engaging with a re-entry program for ex-cons. We know that the greatest need for ex-prisoners is a loving community to walk with them as they reintegrate into society. Our church is rich in such community and friendships. Another idea that was proposed is to partner with an organization serving single mothers who have decided to go through with their pregnancy and raise the child. They are especially needy of the benefits and help of community.
This is a conversation that will continue in our church, with the Mercy Ministry team (Marianne, Joe, and Jane), in the leadership dinners, and with the church community. This is our commitment as a church. May God give us strength and wisdom and love.
Pastor Michael
Image: Our church's three adoptive families, the Murrys, the Lees, and Eugene Alfaro, along with their "support friends."
Happy 10-Year Anniversary to IGC!
On May 2, 2010, Indelible Grace Church had its launch service at Marshall Elementary School. This Saturday will mark our 10-year anniversary. We had planned for a special celebration, but we are postponing it until we can gather together again as a church. In the meantime, we dug up some old photos (see below) and found this old video documenting the weeks of planning and preview services leading up to our big launch service. You can recognize many people from the original crew still serving faithfully in our church today. It's been an incredible journey of God's goodness and favor. To him alone be the glory!
Meet our Missionaries, the Kangs!
Our vision for missions is to provide deep support for a missionary, not just by sending a check, but through deep relationship and friendship. After nearly a year of conversations with multiple missionaries, committee deliberations, and earnest prayer, we are excited to announce that we have decided to support the Kangs!
Steve and Sehee Kang, with their two daughters, Sammi and Zoe, started their ministry in Beijing, China. After four years, they returned to the US to receive further training at RTS in Orlando (Steve received an M.Div. and Sehee a degree in counseling). However, in that time, the door to China closed due to religious persecution, so they have been redirected by MTW to serve in Taiwan. They depart in mid-December. Their ministry will consist of serving in the local church, church planting, theological education, counseling, and also keeping an eye towards mainland China, making trips to support and provide training for the churches there.
The Kangs visited IGC on December 1, 2019. They shared their story and their ministry vision. The congregation was deeply encouraged by them. If you would like to sign up for their newsletter updates, click here.
2019 Year-in-Review
Photo captions:
top left: Youth Ministry event
top middle: baptism of Gabriel Murry
top right: annual Christmas party
center left: Jeff and Dorothy's support friends
center middle: our missionaries, Steve and Seehe Kang
center right: summer retreat at Camp MayMac
bottom left: a men's discipleship group
bottom middle: mom's playgroup event
bottom right: service project at Strobridge Elementary
Parenting Seminars
Parenting is not an indifferent matter in the Bible, but of great importance. Many believing parents want their children to become Christians, but are often unsure how to proceed.
Ultimately, parenting is not a matter of techniques or practices, but a set of priorities and values. Godly parenting is the mission to raise up our children to know the love of God in Christ. That’s the main thing. Everything else – academics, sports, music, friendships – are good things, but not the ultimate thing. Knowing what is the ultimate thing structures the limited time and energy we all have as parents. So that teaching faith in Christ becomes the non-negotiable thing in the family.
Some people wonder: aren’t there no guarantees our children will become Christians? And, of course, that’s true. God is sovereign. We are not. We cannot control the hearts of our children. But exceptions to the rule do not make the ordinary means of the Bible’s pattern of generational faith meaningless. Proverbs 22:6 says “train up a child in the way he should go, and even when he is old, he will not depart from it.” Or consider 2 Timothy 1:5 and the example of Timothy learning the faith from his mother Eunice and his grandmother Lois. Also, sociologists have identified something called the “4-14 Window,” which is this crucial window of teachability and tenderness of heart when children are between the ages of 4 and 14 years old. 63% of adult Christians came to faith during that age range.
Finally, some concluding remarks:
(1) If you look at Ephesians 6:4, parenting is addressed to “fathers.” This does not reflect a kind of reflective sexism of the ancient world, but the Bible’s instruction that fathers have the primary and lead responsibility in parenting. This is radically counter-cultural in a world where fathers are providers and mothers do the parenting.
(2) The church is a partner, not a replacement for parents. Many parents assume, “isn’t it the church’s job to instruct our children in the Christian faith?” But an hour a week is impossible to do this task well. Think about any serious endeavor – playing the piano or taking martial arts lessons. If a child only receives a single hour of instruction per week without any reinforcement at home, that child will never achieve deep mastery of that skill. Christianity is infinitely more deep and complex than the piano or martial arts. Deuteronomy 6:7 says that teaching our children faith is a whole life endeavor, involving every part of life.
(3) Finally, a word of grace to parents. Many parents feel beleaguered and overwhelmed. This is not by accident. Parenting is an enormous task, far greater than running a company or governing a nation, because raising up a human being is vastly more involving and complex. So all parents will experience significant mistakes, failures, and short-comings. Indeed God designed it this way. So that through parenting, we can experience more deeply his grace and forgiveness. And this approach will make us better parents. No child wants to be parented by a “perfect parent” who never makes mistakes. That is a crushing burden. Godly parents should be quick to apologize, and model for our children humility and a life-long pattern of repentance.
In the end, parenting is gospel-reenactment. We must always parent our children remember that in Christ, we are all sons of God loved and disciplined by our Heavenly Father. This is the strength we can draw from in our moments of despair and discouragement.
Above photo: the parent panel from the first class