Parking / Security Shift Leader
Peter Mike

The mission statement of Immanuel's Church is "to know Him and to make Him known." This is the primary job description of the staff and leadership of Immanuel's Church. As a Royal Guard or Diaconate member - you are an important part of the staff and leadership of this Church. Look at your ministry as being Christ to everyone you meet today.

Customer service at Immanuel's? Do we have customers? If our congregation all went away, there would be no one to usher into the sanctuary, no one to direct to the bathroom, no one to preach to, no one to share the gospel with, no one to make Christ known to. So yes, we have "customers" and they need to be treated as V.I.P.'s (very important people) because if they all went away, we wouldn't have a ministry here.

You have a front line position - this is not only a ministry position, but it is a public relations position! You make a difference in people's lives, so why not just make their day?

Greet people with a smile and say "Welcome to Immanuel's, it is good to see you today!" As a Royal Guard member (in the parking lot, in the rotunda and in the sanctuary), you are often the first impression people have of Immanuel's Church. And more importantly, you are also an impression of the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, therefore, let the joy of the Lord shine through you - smile, be warm, be interested in people. Ephesians 5:1 tells us to "be imitators of God, as dearly loved children and live a life of love just as Christ loved us...."

But how about if I don't feel like it? Different personalities respond differently, therefore, you must choose to smile, you must choose to make someone's day. The Holy Spirit is the great Encourager and He lives inside of you, thus you are empowered to be an encourager!

Speak with a smile - it actually makes a difference in what you communicate to people.

WHO EXACTLY ARE THE ROYAL GUARD

The Royal Guard are ushers; they usher the people of God into the Presence of God and they assist in ushering in the Presence of God Himself! The Royal Guard are called to insure the orderly conduct of the people of God in the House of God. They are spiritual gatekeepers, and as ministering servants in the House of the Lord; they are a branch of the deaconate (the New Testament equivalent of the Old Testament Levites.)

King David is the one who created the concept of the Royal Guard. He established from among the Levites "four thousand... to be gatekeepers" in the Temple (1 Chronicles 23:5)-guarding the Temple from unclean and adversarial spirits, and yet assisting the people of God themselves to enter into God's Presence with joy. King David set the age for these Levites as "twenty years old or more" (23 :27). "The duties of these Levites was to help ... in the service of the Temple of the Lord... [and] to be in charge of the courtyards [equivalent to our Rotunda]..." (23:28).

Theirs was a holy calling with a vast spiritual dimension. "They were to stand every morning to thank and praise the Lord. They were to do the same in the evening. .. they were to serve before the Lord regularly in the proper number and in the way prescribed for them" (1 Chronicles 23:30). All of this was because the Temple was to be "a place of rest" for our God, a place "for the footstool of our God" (1 Chronicles 28 :2). This indeed is a holy calling!

Psalm 84 was a psalm written for the Royal Guard in their Davidic ministry-"How lovely is Your dwelling place, 0 Lord Almighty! My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God. .. Blessed are those who dwell in Your house; they are ever praising you.. .Better is one day in Your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked. .. The Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor; no good thing does He withhold from those whose walk is blameless." Amen.

WHO ARE IMMANUEL'S PASTORAL ASSISTANTS

The Pastoral Assistants in Immanuel's Church are a branch of the Royal Guard especially called upon to protect and to assist the one(s) who minister the Word of God at any given meeting. This concept is also borrowed from King David, who set aside a band of servants called "David's mighty men"; their calling was to give David "strong support" (l Chronicles 11: 10). Various ones of these were also bodyguards to David himself (see 2 Samuel 23:22-23). These servants who flanked David were for his support and for his protection. They served and assisted him well.

Because of the grace of God upon this whole holy order of servants, the House of God is well taken care of-a place for the Presence of the Lord to dwell and a place for the people of God to minister to Him! Amen!

Some thoughts by Pastor Charles

Being a "Five-Fold Ministry" Church has been our Immanuel's vision for years. This vision has been clearly spelled out in our church Strategic Plan. The expression "five-fold ministry" was taken from Paul's words in Ephesians 4:11 - 12: "It was He [Jesus Himself] who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare [all of] God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up." Thus we have believed that God would open up in our midst streams of apostolic grace and prophetic grace and evangelistic grace and pastoral grace and teaching grace!

Just recently, when I was praying for our church, it dawned on me that God had indeed heard our cry and abundantly answered us!

Because Immanuel's Church is so multi-cultural and multi-national, with over 65 nations represented in our congregation, a link has been created to all these 65 different nations, enabling us to be tied to them in God's holy purposes. For example, because of members in our own congregation we are now involved in extensive ministry in India and Nepal, as well as various other nations. In this fashion God has been making us an "apostolic church." (And there is more to come!) How can you be plugged into this apostolic calling? You can become a part of our monthly MISSIONS TASK FORCE. Also, praying through the weekly ABC's and giving generously to missions and yourself considering going on a short term mission all of these ways plug you practically into our Immanuel's Apostolic calling!

God's desire is also to bring forth the prophetic ministry in our church in a powerful way - all the way from prophetic worship and banners and drama and dance to prophetic intercession, to the prophetic word ministry. Friday evening's "The Father's Embrace" is a real seed-bed for the development of this anointing, as are the mid-week body-life cell groups! Ask the Lord for your part in this vital prophetic flow of the Spirit in Immanuel's. Then plug in!

God's passion is for His lost world! He so dearly prized and loved the world that He sent His Son Jesus - "not to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him" (John 3:16, 17). Evangelism has unfolded in our midst in multiplied ways - all the way from the Alpha, to the Prison Ministry (see Al), to the Homeless Ministry (see Clemente!), to the Nursing Home Ministry (see Jeanie!), to the Prayer Stop (see Dennis or Pastor Cecil!), to the Sunday Morning altar calls (please invite your coworkers, your neighbors, your friends to church!) And don't underestimate the Immanuel's Bumper Stickers either - people have come to church because of it and found Christ! (Is there one on your vehicle?) There are a dozen different ways for us all to be plugged into God's great heart to win a lost world! (And undergirding all of our ventures is fervent, believing intercession - Romans 9:1-3; 10:1) How are you plugging in?

Immanuel's has nearly 30 individual pastors, assistant pastors and elders, to help care for the flock of God among us, besides nearly 30 deacons to assist these presbyters in their tasks. Besides all of these we have nearly as many cell facilitators (around 55) who are there, neighborhood by neighborhood, to tend to the needs of God's people. And yet we ask the great question posed to Jesus, "What are these among so many?" With 3,500 men, women and children to care for, we need more "hands" to care and to tend. Perhaps the Lord is calling you to open up a neighborhood cell group in your home? You can help "tend the flock of God" in this way. Perhaps you served as an elder or deacon in a previous church, and/or you feel God is calling you to that ministry here at Immanuel's. Please contact Pastor Charles personally! There is a place for you to serve in our Immanuel's pastoral ministry!

In a generation where there is all too often little or no real Biblical training (even in churches), it is our joy to see how God has made us to become a teaching church. We are not into Sunday book reviews (unless it is a book of the Bible!); nor are we into "pop-psychology" or some self-improvement "hype" or any other kind of spiritual Pabulum. And we're certainly not into "Mc Church" - to see how fast we can run you through a service, to insure that you can spend enough time on Sundays on the golf course or watching the game." (Please get a VCR if you fear missing the first quarter!) There are 168 hours in a week. If spending 2-2 1/2 hours in God's House on a Sunday Morning (about 1 1/2% of your week) is a chore, you probably need a spiritual overhaul. "I was glad when they said unto me, 'Let us go into the house of the Lord" (Psalm 122:1). Generally speaking, most of our saints don't feel they get enough on a Sunday morning - so we have Friday evenings for more unlimited praise and prayer and the prophetic; and we have Tuesday evenings for more in-depth Word; and we have cell churches for more

fellowship and participation. I am really excited about our Sunday morning studies, and
our Tuesday Evening IBS. And I really anticipate seeing you there, plugging into the rich Word of our God!

The whole purpose for this "five-fold ministry" in our church is "to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up" (Ephesians 4:12). God wants to use you apostolically, prophetically, evangelistically, pastorally, or as a teacher of His holy Word- right where you are, in this church, at your job, in your home, in your own neighborhood! God has called us all to be "neither barren nor unfruitful," but to be "always abounding in the work of the Lord!" Amen!

Your pastor and friend, Charles

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