Monday, December 13
The Presbytery of Santa Barbara
California
Featured in the 218th General Assembly (2008) program, Highlands New Church Development in Paso Robles continues to break records and has grown to more than 800 worshipers since Easter Sunday of 2006. Pastor Graham Baird, worship leader Caleb Landon, a dedicated staff, and a committed steering committee have focused the church’s outreach to un-churched and de-churched people in their community.
In 2009 a new multipurpose facility was dedicated at Highlands Church, and it is already overflowing with four worship services every weekend. New worship centers were also dedicated at Nipomo, Moorpark, and Santa Ynez in 2009, with another being developed in Simi Valley.
Hispanic multicultural ministries are thriving in the City of Oxnard and Ventura County. Word of Life Presbyterian Church has begun to share its pastor with Santa Paula Presbyterian Church as new commissioned lay pastors Sean Chow and Jay Licata take leadership at Word of Life’s worship facility, housed within the Boys and Girls Club. Word of Life’s ministry of Justice and Salvation in Christ includes gang first-responder violence prevention, youth mentoring, and tutoring. A surprising new ministry is “The Great Cover-Up.” A tattoo artist at Word of Life is remaking gang tattoos into scenes from the Bible and adding clothing to the tattoos of nude women that some gang members display.
Front Porch is a long-term college ministry that is finding new energy in the construction of a residence hall located at the border of Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. This residence will house over sixty students who will live in Christian community and be led by Pastor Beau Smith, who also is part-time pastor at First Presbyterian in San Luis Obispo. There are hopes that this residence and partnering model will be reproduced at University of California, Santa Barbara and at California State University, Channel Islands.
The Presbytery of Santa Barbara celebrates the new believers among its 8,683 members worshiping in 31 congregations.
Let us join in prayer for:
Presbytery Staff
Rev. Dr. Jan Armstrong, executive presbyter
Michelle Holmes, stated clerk and administrative manager
Sandy Dinkler and Randa Dinkler, co-directors of IMPACT
Bonnie Boe, coordinator of lay leader training program
Rev. Beau Smith, campus ministry, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo
Rev. Israel Gonzales, pastor of Santa Maria multicultural ministry
PC(USA) Agencies' Staff
Laura Wampler, PPC
Prayer
Dear Lord, we pray for the many ministries in our world, nation, and the Presbytery of Santa Barbara. Be with those who minister to gang members and their families, those who bring words of hope to former prisoners, and hope to those unable to help themselves. We pray for the students and expanding ministry to the universities in San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, and the Channel Islands. May you be known in all the efforts. Amen.
Daily Lectionary
Ps. 122, 145 and Ps. 40, 67
Isa. 8:16—9:1
2 Peter 1:1–11; Luke 22:39–53