Champion Life Magazine June/July 2014

JUNE / JULY 2014

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UNCOMMON FAITH ...truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.

—MATTHEW 17:20

VISIT CHAMPIONSCENTRE.COM FOR MORE INFORMATION ON WEEKLY SERVICE TIMES AND OUR EVENT CALENDAR. BELLEVUE 425 • 289 • 1878 TACOMA 253 • 475 • 6454

#ThereIsMore

FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @KEVINGERALD @SHEILAGERALD @CHAMPIONSCENTRE

UNCOMMON FAITH PRODUCES UNCOMMON RESULTS.” — KEVIN GERALD

FEATURES

9 FRESH AIR

BY PASTOR CHRIS HODGES

1 2 SHIFT

BY KEVIN GERALD

IN THE KNOW 6

9 12

Team Spotlight KINGDOM BUILDERS

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Champions Foundation Update: GLOBAL PARTNERSHIP

IN EVERY ISSUE 3 LET’S TALK 4 YOU TO US

JUNE / JULY 2014

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ABOUT US Champion Life Magazine purposes to equip people to live successful Christian lives.

17 CHAMPION FINDS 18 REAL LIFE CHAMPIONS 20 K. WISE SUMMER / 14

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E XE CU T IVE PU B LIS H E RS Kevin Gerald & Sheila Gerald

E DITO R-IN-CH IE F Jodi Cameron

S E NIOR P ROJE C T MANAGE R ART DIRE C TOR

Carissa Dwyer

Dallas Drotz, Drotz Design

CONT RIB U T ING E DITORS

Carissa Dwyer, Kim Ludwick,

Paula McFadden, Jen Mueller, Rae Poulin, Judi Shackett CONT RIB U T ING P H OTOGRAP H Y

BJ & Kathy Garcia, Ardorlit Photography, Scotty Augkhopinee, Andy Mueller, Debra Trappen CONT RIB U T ING GRAP H IC DE S IGN CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Kevin

Venessa Koehn & Mickey Elliott

Gerald, Chris Hodges, Jodi Cameron,

Carissa Dwyer, Ryan Cameron, Leighanne Tamaalii DIST RIB U T ION

P RODU C E R

Kim Ludwick

Champion Life Magazine is produced by Kevin Gerald

Communications (KGC). KGC is a department of Champions Centre in Tacoma | Bellevue, WA, a non-profit organization.

TO S U B S CRIB E championscentre.com/magazine Phone: (toll-free) 888-935-6914

TO S P ONS OR

If you are a business who would like to partner with

our magazine through distribution or sponsorship please contact us at: 253-475-6454 x361

QU E ST IONS / COMME NTS / IDE AS

Let us know. We welcome your

feedback. Please write us at: championlife@championscentre.com

MAIL Champion Life Editorial 1819 E. 72nd St. Tacoma, WA 98404

Produced by Champions Centre Publishing Š 2014. All Rights Reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without expressed written permission is prohibited and a violation of applicable laws.

2014 copyright. Printed by Cascade Print Media

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lets talk

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he other day my four year old grandson, Kyan, was complaining about the food his mom had set in front of him, saying he didn’t like it. When I overheard his mom, Jodi, ask him, “how would you know, you’ve never tried it?” I watched as my daughter told my grandson that he could either eat what was in front of him or he would have nothing at all. After a few minutes, he reluctantly took a bite, and by the time we checked back in, he had completely cleaned his plate.

This little scenario got me thinking about how often people react in a similar way to the Bible.

Some people say they don’t believe the Bible, but my question to them is, “Have you ever really read it to understand it?” So often we can go into something new—like reading the Bible—with preconceived notions, having already made up our minds before we even give it a chance.

Maybe we judge something like the Bible based on a bad taste left in our mouth by incorrect assumptions, or the negative encounter we had with

someone who claimed to be a Christ follower. No matter the reason, we cut ourselves off from all that the Word of God has to offer; we deny our soul what could be its new favorite food.

Starting to read the Bible can sometimes seem overwhelming and daunting–wondering where and how to start–but God’s not concerned with how you start, whether it’s a reluctant bite, or you dive in like it’s a pie eating contest. Just start somewhere, and let the transformative Word of God do what only it can.

I’m convinced that once we reach the point in our lives where we realize we could either have all that God has to offer or have nothing at all, we’ll never want to put it down.

We hope you’re encouraged and inspired by this mini-issue of Champion Life Magazine. If you’ve never cracked the spine on a Bible, or even if it’s been awhile, I encourage you to give it a shot and take the advice of Psalm 34:8 when it says, “Taste and see that the Lord is good…”

P.S. Tell us your story at championlife@championscentre.com

“TASTE AND SEE THAT THE LORD IS GOOD…”

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you to us My wife and I had the pleasure and honor to visit and worship at Champions Centre. Enjoyable time, lots of energy, and great worship! The message was right on point also. @Ollie O

Words of the Bible are meant to be memorized, written on our heart, & internalized so the power of God's Word is realized. #GBOTB @kevingerald @aprilbriggs44

Did you know the NIV & The Message versions of #TheBible were championed by Seattle gents? #GBOTB @championscentre @kevingerald @debra11

This past season in the life of Champions Centre we celebrated “Going Big on the Book.” Here’s some social media action with the hashtag #GBOTB

Hear It Think It Say It Do It #GBOTB @DowntownLN

"A little science will make you an atheist, a lot of science will make you a believer."

- @kevingerald #GBOTB #sogood #GodFirst @MandySchendel

TRUE! #GBOTB // "The more of God’s Word we know the less dependent we become on others to snap us out of our selfinduced negative spirals." @SheChoosesJoy

You don't have to believe the Bible to read it! #GBOTB @kevingerald @ReedRian

Started our going big on the book small group last night. The best part of group was getting to FaceTime with @nicholermoore for some extra wisdom on questions we had. #wisdom #GBOTB @tysonramsdell

Your grace is sufficient Your love is unending Your mercy is everlasting Your favor lasts a lifetime #GBOTB @kevingerald @icorianne

You have a story, and we want to hear it!

What is God doing in your life through the ministry of Champions Centre?

PLEASE WRITE US AT: championlife@championscentre.com MAIL: Champion Life Editorial 1819 E. 72nd St. Tacoma, WA 98404

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TEAM SPOTLIGHT:

KINGDOM BUILDERS

RYAN CAMERON

As Kingdom Builders, we are the financial leaders and visionaries at Champions Centre.

Our passion is to gather the provision to resource the vision of our local church.

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lthough not everyone is called into occupational ministry, we have been called to follow Jesus and build the local church.

This idea is at the center of our vision for Kingdom Builders to be a resource in growing our media and Internet presence with multi-site campuses linked through technology.

Seeing the fruition of our media goals has been really exciting to see recently as we continue to look to what’s on the horizon for us. Our first Kingdom Builders’ project was our Bellevue campus. It was our vision to have two main campuses within a 30-minute drive of the majority of the population in the Seattle area. In 2008, we were able to rent the building we currently have services after praying, believing, and resourcing together, and in October 2013, we were finally able to

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purchase the building. We are now the proud owners because of the generous giving of Kingdom Builders.

A major milestone for us was finally getting all the technology needed to link our services. We are one church, multiple locations, so the ability to connect with each of our two main campuses in real time is extremely valuable in giving our church family the opportunity to really feel a part of something bigger than themselves and understanding our culture of connecting with others.

Now looking forward in expanding our ministry and continuing to build the Kingdom of God, we are focusing our attention on developing our presence in North Tacoma and other areas in the Pacific Northwest. We plan to accomplish this in part through the faithfulness of our Kingdom Builders, and as members of the

TEAM SPOTLIGHT:

KINGDOM BUILDERS

community of Christ, we need to work together to move forward.

Partnering with us through Kingdom Builders is an easy way to help take the ministry of Jesus to the next level. We’ve been declaring as a church that “There is More” in 2014, and with all the success we had in 2013, I’m expecting for all God will continue to do this year.

If you would like more information contact us at kb@championscentre.com

It’s because of the faithful giving of our Kingdom Builders that we have the resources it takes to be able to move forward.

RYAN CAMERON Ryan lives to enhance, support, and finance the local church.

With his combined business experience and passion for the church, Ryan brings a unique set of strengths to the team.

He came on staff at Champions Centre in the Spring of 2011 and functions as the Executive Director of Expansion. He and his wife, Jodi, are Campus Pastors at the Champions Centre Bellevue Campus. They live with their son in Bellevue, WA.

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CHAMPIONS FOUNDATION UPDATE AS A FOUNDATION, WE PARTNER WITH LIFE CHURCH PALAWAN IN THE PHILIPPINES. WHEN THE TSUNAMI HIT THIS PAST NOVEMBER, THEY STILL CHOSE TO PRAISE GOD THROUGH THE STORM, KNOWING WE CAN’T CHANGE WHAT HAPPENS ONLY HOW WE REACT. ENJOY THIS BLOG EXCERPT PASTOR ANCHO SHARED ON THE BLESSINGS OF RESPONSIBILITY.

BLESSINGS OF RESPONSIBILITY (BLOG EXCERPT

BY ANCHO BUENAVENTURA) “God wired us for relationship and intimacy.

As believers, we should be good handlers of relationships. It has been found that 95% of problems are relationship problems; the most PASTOR ANCHO debilitating problem being a INTERVIEWED AT TC13. lack of responsibility. There has been a decline in character with the erosion of truth and trust. The Bible teaches us to be responsible even if the world around us isn't. Ephesians 5:15 tells us how

LOVE WEEK 2014 IS JUNE 21-29

“TAKING ACTION THAT CAN CHANGE THE WORLD”

we can be responsible: to live life with a sense of responsibility not as those who don't know the meaning of life, but as those who do. Responsibility is basically our ability to respond to life. God's greatest gift, and what makes us human beings, is that we can choose how we AFTERMATH OF TYPHOON CAPTURED ON PARTNER CHURCH respond to life and its INSTAGRAM ACCOUNT. challenges. We can respond differently to stress, problems, crisis, and relationships.

Whatever is our response is our choice–a personal choice.

There are so many things in life that we cannot control. The condition of our birth and upbringing, economics, events, and our parentage. But we have the freedom to choose how to act in life, and because we have a choice, it merits that we are responsible for the choices we make. ‘Winston Churchill once said, "responsibility is the price of greatness." This is the bottom line, ground zero. All virtues and values are nothing without responsibility. Being responsible allows us to experience the blessings of God and allows Him to move in our lives–we become good candidates for people to see God in us.

With God, we become loving and friendly, and eventually live a full and abundant life in relationships.”

CHAMPIONS FOUNDATION IS A NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION. Our mission is to inspire faith, hope, compassion and education through collaborative partnerships in our community and worldwide.

Web: championsfoundation.com Email: info@championsfoundation.com Phone: 253.475.6454 Ext. 108 8

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FRESH AIR M

ost mornings I wake up happy and optimistic, looking forward to another day. I’ve never been a depressed kind of guy. But in 1999, I had the worst year of my life. On paper, everything looked perfect, and there were no external clues pointing to my interior struggle. My wife loved me, and our children were healthy. The church where I was an associate pastor was a thriving, growing community of passionate believers. There was money in the bank, and the bills were paid. I had friends, both old ones I’d known since high school and new ones in our neighborhood, who genuinely liked me and seemed to care about me.

But I had never felt more miserable.

Despite all the good things in my life, I had been experiencing some new challenges: difficult relationships that grew more complicated because of miscommunication and distrust, worries about the future and meeting the financial needs of our expanding family, a stale spiritual life with little desire to spend time in prayer or Scripture, uncertainty about whether I was where God wanted me to be. Was I really cut out to be a pastor? Somehow I just couldn’t envision myself doing the same thing for the rest of my life, but when I thought about it, I wasn’t sure what I envisioned for the rest of my life.

PASTOR CHRIS HODGES

In the deepest part of me, I wondered, “Is this all there is?”

As the weeks dragged on, I became mired in a swamp of unpleasant emotions that I wasn’t used to feeling—at least not all at once and not with such increasing intensity. I was deeply sad, but I wasn’t sure why. I sensed anger and frustration, but that was probably because I felt so stuck in my sadness. And then there was the fear. I had never experienced anything like this and didn’t know what to make of it.

So I hid it as long as I could and tried to pretend there wasn’t a storm cloud constantly rolling around inside me. It seemed to grow darker with more thunder rumblings and lightning strikes of acute emotion, yet the storm never broke and continued to gather itself over and over again inside my mind and heart.

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FRESH AIR

I knew I was depressed but hated to admit that even to myself.

I had never been depressed before and had even been quietly critical of those who seemed to fight an ongoing battle with it.

I had always thought, “Just choose to be happy and get on with your life, buddy!” But now, those thoughts mocked me, because I wasn’t sure how to change what I felt inside. I couldn’t pinpoint exactly what my feelings were, but I knew I couldn’t change them simply by telling myself, “Don’t worry, be happy.”

Similarly, I didn’t know how to fix the problem. I wasn’t sure if it was spiritual or physical, mental or emotional, or all the above. So I did what so many of us do: I forced myself to go through the motions. At church staff meetings, I acted like I couldn’t be happier, nodding and smiling, detached from the storm inside me. I’d go home and try to act normal, dismissing any signs of discouragement my wife, Tammy, or our kids noticed with, “I’m okay—just tired.”

God used that time of desperation and depression to get my attention in the most dramatic way possible. Apparently, it often takes something painful, sometimes even tragic, to get us to listen to God. My depression forced me to stop and listen.

No one’s ever seen or heard anything like this, never so much as imagined anything quite like it—what God has arranged for those who love Him. But you’ve seen and heard it because God

by His Spirit has brought it all out into the open before you. The Spirit, not content to flit around on the surface, dives into the depths of God, and brings out what God planned all along.

Maybe you struggle with depression or have gone through a season like the one I described. You might even feel like you’re going through the motions right now, unsure what’s wrong but definitely sure that something’s not right.

Perhaps the hardest part is that your faith feels thin and flimsy, unable to bear whatever it is that’s rumbling deep inside you.

Maybe you grew up in the church and know all the right things to say and do. Or maybe religion was not a part of your upbringing— you or your parents didn’t see any real joy in the lives of those people

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who claimed to be filled with the love of Jesus. Or maybe you’ve experienced this kind of going-through-the-motions numbness in other areas of your life. At work. In your marriage. With your kids. In your friendships. You’re waiting for something to happen, for the storm inside you to break, for a fresh breeze to

– 1 CORINTHIANS 2:9 -10, THE MESSAGE

breathe new life into you. You’re not sure how to make it happen, but you know there has to be more.

This lifeless condition flourishes when we’re focused on doing rather than being. We forget that real life happens internally more than externally. It’s always much easier to have an external rule to make us behave. But while rules are important, that’s not the gospel. The Good News that Jesus brought is about a transformation of the inner person that makes us different at our core.

You can focus on externals all you want and try to imitate the methods of others in hopes of duplicating their success, purpose, or happiness. But you’ll only end up on the treadmill of disappointment, more frustrated than before, unless you make changes on the inside first.

You need a breath of fresh air in your life that will resuscitate your spirit and bring you closer to God—and closer to being the person he made you to be. I’m convinced that if you pursue the Holy Spirit of God, then you’ll discover a passion and a zeal for living while enjoying every dimension of your life like never before.

Take a deep breath, and let Him in.

CHRIS HODGES Chris Hodges is the founding and senior pastor of Church of the Highlands with campuses all across the state of Alabama. Since it began in 2001, Church of the Highlands has grown to more than 23,000 people attending each weekend and is known for its life-giving culture and focus on leading people to an intimate relationship with God. Chris has a deep passion for developing leaders and planting life-giving churches. He co-founded ARC (Association of Related Churches) in 2001 which has launched hundreds of churches all across the USA. He also founded a coaching network called GROW, which trains and resources pastors to help them break barriers and reach their growth potential. Chris is also the founder and President of Highlands College, a ministry training school that trains and launches students into full-time ministry careers.

YOUR GIVING IS CHANGING LIVES.

Chris and his wife Tammy have five children and live in Birmingham, Alabama, where Church of the Highlands began. He will join us as a guest speaker this August at Team Church Conference.

CHAMPIONSCENTRE.COM/GIVING

BY KEVIN GERALD

“Quittin’ time boys.” After working an unproductive night shift, Peter and his crew were getting ready to pack up the nets and gear. It was time to push back to shore after being out on the lake in the earliest hours of the morning. After eight hours of labor with no fish to speak of for the market, they were discouraged.

Before they could get very far with the end of day checklist, a man on the beach called to them inquiring about their catch. After hearing they had nothing, he said, “Throw the net off the right side of the boat and see what happens.” The men didn’t recognize him at first, but this stranger on the beach was actually their friend—Jesus Christ.

Once they followed His direction and let down their nets on the right side, suddenly there were so many fish they were barely strong enough to haul the catch into the boat.

These men, these disciples of Jesus, experienced a divine shift in their circumstances in this moment. In an instant, they went from being empty-handed to having nets nearly breaking, because they were so full of fish.

When I talk about a Shift in our lives, we can talk about two types: • Divine Shift (or Holy Shift) is a heaven-initiated shift that brings answers to prayer, opens up doors of opportunity, and/ or brings provision, healing, or restoration as a special delivery into our lives.

•

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Self-Shift is a slight shift in us through our attitude, routine, perspective, heart, or choices that can be a step of faith, which then positions us to experience a Holy Shift in our lives.

night of trying his best and having nothing to show for it. Feeling weary and discouraged, it was morning the next day when Peter had given up on something he had worked hard for.

Don’t let a season of tiredness, weariness, or discouragement cause you to miss out on what God has for you!

Oftentimes, through witnessing God work in my life or in other’s lives, I’ve noticed how real change occurs when He asks us to shift our perspective or shift out of our everyday routine. When God asks you to do something out of the ordinary for Him, it’s because He wants to do something out of the ordinary for you. I have found in my relationship with God that He wants me to have faith in Him and His words for my life more than anything.

It won’t always be about my convenience or my preference in the moment, but it has always been about putting me in a position to experience something better and out of the ordinary in my life.

When people get discouraged with a lack of results, we often jump to conclusions and quit what we’re doing. For example, our marriage isn’t going well, so we think of quitting. Or the fact that people quit school, jobs, and quit going to church simply because they are not getting good results. I want to encourage you that maybe, what God really wants is for us to show a shift in our thinking or perspective or even a shift in our approach to what we’re doing. He doesn’t want us to quit! In fact, He wants us to stay with it, but He leads us out of our ordinary thinking, perspective, or approach to reposition us for Him to do something out of the ordinary in our lives!

I’d like you to consider what it was like for Peter to try again so soon after a long

There are going to be times in our lives when we will feel like nothing is working, or nothing is going right. We will be tempted to quit even though we know God is telling us not to give up.

Maybe like these disciples, you can identify with a time in your life when you were full of discouragement. Most of the time, it just takes a small thing to shift everything—turning a negative circumstance back in your favor.

It’s interesting in this story that Jesus did not want them to radically change what they were already doing, but he wanted them to do it in a different way. Sometimes what we’re doing is the right thing, but a shift in how we do it can bring different results. Before you assume that the shift you need to make is major—like a big career change, divorcing your spouse, or moving to a new city—it may mean doing what you’re already doing, but doing it in a new way.

Thomas Edison was quoted saying, “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over expecting different

results.” During this time, he was working on inventing the lightbulb. He failed in his first 2,000 attempts, yet he said he never once failed but instead found 2,000 ways not to do it. It’s common to get discouraged when things don’t happen according to our plan or in our timing. In our frustration, we can give up too soon, thinking we’ve hit a dead end, and it’s never going to happen. Just like the disciples, we pack it up for the day and head in empty handed. What if Thomas Edison had stopped trying to invent the lightbulb after his first 500 attempts? I don’t know about you, but I’m incredibly grateful that he shifted his approach in order for me to type this article now by the light of a lamp.

What are the shifts God wants to make in your life? Is there an area of your life that you want to see change? The Holy Spirit wants to make shifts in you, through you, and for you, but you need to partner with Him!

When we listen for God and allow God to make a shift IN us…in our attitudes, our routines, our perspective, our choices…God is then able to shift things THROUGH us and FOR us.

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The first way you can do that is to pray other side!” God called us to be thrivers, not just survivors. big prayers! When I say big prayers, I’m At another point, Jesus said to the disciples when they hadn’t not referring to lengthy prayers or even caught any fish one day, “Launch out into the deep.” He was eneloquent prayers; rather, I’m referring to uninhibited, confident, couraging them to go to a place beyond where they had been. and bold prayers. In Joshua chapter 10, the Israelites were fighting a battle that would not finish by the time the sun was ready The men in the first boat had to call for reinforcements, because to set. Joshua, wanting to finish the task that Lord had set before they caught so many fish! The significance of the deep water is him, prayed for the sun to stand still in the sky, and in verse 13, that it’s risky. Any ship can stay safe docked at the harbor, but it tells us, “So the sun stood still, and the moon stopped, till the that’s not what they’re designed for, just like we weren’t designed nation avenged itself on its enemies...the sun stopped in the mid- to live safe, comfortable lives—we were designed to step out. dle of the sky and delayed going down about a full day.” Joshua had the boldness to command the sun to stand still. He wasn’t Just like the disciples, we have the opportunity to exercise untimid about it, apologizing to God about throwing off the sys- common faith in our lives. They had faith before they had antem that has been put into place since creation, or doubting that swers. I’ve seen over and over again how uncommon faith proit could be done. He asked with confidence. Maybe God brought duces uncommon results. When God asks you to do something you where you are in your prayers but is now nudging you to out of the ordinary for Him, it’s because HE wants to do somepray bigger prayers. It may be time for you to give yourself per- thing out of the ordinary for you. mission to pray big prayers. What are the requests you’ve been wanting to see answered? Is it salvation for a loved one, healing As you step out by praying bigger prayers and reminding God in your body, or increase and prosperity in your life? Jesus said of His promises, I want to encourage you not to waiver in your in Luke 18:27 that “what is impossible with man is possible with faith if the shift doesn’t come in the timing you think it should.

God.” Don't’ give up now just because you haven’t seen it come I think sometimes when we read the story of Joshua we can get so excited about the fact that the sun actually stood still that we to fruition—pray bigger prayers. overlook what it meant for Joshua. The verse says the sun deOne of the most powerful ways to pray is to find a promise in the layed going down about a full day. That means Joshua was fightScripture and pray the promise. It’s very easy to become comfort- ing straight through for almost two days. That’s not the kind able with the current reality even when we know it is far less than of fight an amatuer could take on, but fortunately for Joshua, what God has for us, but don’t settle, remind God of His prom- this wasn’t his first battle. On the Israelites’ way to taking over ises! In Isaiah 43:26, God says to “put me in remembrance.” It’s the land the Lord had promised them, Joshua had led them into not because He forgot what He has promised to you. It’s so that many battles and had honed his skills. The same can be true for us: God may be using this time to prepare us, equip us, and you can build your faith up. enlarge our capacity in order for us to handle the season He’s goToo often, we become comfortable with a no risk form of faith, ing to shift us in. Like it says in Hebrews 6:12, “We do not want praying prayers like, “God help me survive this situation,” when you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and we should be saying, “God turn this situation around, prosper patience inherit what has been promised.” me in the middle of it all, and bring me out to a new level on the

KEVIN GERALD Known for a ministry that imparts practical Biblical principles that equip people to live successful Christian lives, Kevin and Sheila Gerald are the Founders and Lead Pastors of Champions Centre (Tacoma and Bellevue, Washington), one of the largest congregations in the Pacific Northwest.

Thousands are exposed to Kevin’s life applicable teaching of the Bible through his local and international television program, KevinGerald.tv.

Kevin is also a nationally recognized author of several books including; Developing Confidence, Pardon Me, I'm Prospering, The Proving Ground, Raising Champion Children, Forces That Form Your Future, Mind Monsters, and By Design or Default. In leadership and life, Pastor Kevin purposes to locate and communicate wisdom and those who know him value him for his relevant, practical approach to ministry.

Access to Pastor Kevin Gerald's books and teaching materials can be found at www.kevingerald.tv 14

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CHAMPION

FINDS

GOING BIG ON THE BOOK (WEEKEND MESSAGE SERIES DVD & CDS, SMALL GROUP DVD SERIES WITH WORKBOOK) GBOB_Slimcase.pdf

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WEEK ONE: WEEK TWO: WEEK THREE: WEEK FOUR: WEEK FIVE:

video series

A FIVE-WEEK DVD SERIES FOR PERSONAL OR GROUP STUDY GBOB_HandbookCoverFinal.pdf

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GOING BIG ON THE BOOK

Maybe you've had question about the Bible, and how it relates to everyday life. This series takes you through an interactive dialogue with group INTRODUCING discussion that puts the focus THE FIVE-WEEK SMALL GROUP CURRICULUM on God's book and moves life forward. Each short film in the In this study, we’re GOING BIG ON THE BOOK. Maybe you’ve had questions about the Bible, and how it relates to everyday life. This DVD series takes you through an five-week small group DVD seinteractive dialogue with goup discussion that puts the focus on God’s book and moves life forward. ries follows one of the themes Each short film in the five-week series follows one of the themes from Going Big On from Going Big On The Book: The Book: How The Bible Came To Be

WEEK ONE: How The Bible Came To Be

How I Know The Bible Is True

How The Old Testament Applies To Me Today

The New Testament––What It Is And Why I Should Read It Transformation/ Metamorphosis

WEEK TWO: How I Know The Bible Is True

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You may use this DVD for personal or group study.

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RECOMMENDED WORKBOOK:

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WEEK THREE: How The Old Testament Applies To Me Today

Going Big On The Book, Participant Handbook

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championscentre.com/clg © 2014 Kevin Gerald All Rights Reserved Manufactured in the USA

WEEK FOUR: The New Testament, What It Is And Why I Should Read It Item # CLG020114

$14.99

KEVIN GERALD

Known for a ministry that imparts practical Biblical principles that equip people to live successful Christian lives, Kevin and Sheila Gerald are the Founders and Pastors of Champions Centre (Tacoma and Bellevue, Wa s h i n g t o n ) , o n e o f t h e l a rg e s t congregations in the Pacific Northwest.

CY

CMY

KEVIN GERALD

WEEK FIVE: Transformation/ Metamorphosis

LOCAL 253.475.6454 ext. 361

TOLL FREE 888.935.6914

ONLINE kevingerald.tv

RESOURCE YOURSELF AT KEVINGERALD.TV

Go online to find a wealth of resources, including free videos from Kevin Gerald and MP3s of messages.

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REAL LIFE The friendships I established were really important to me, and I would gladly drop whatever I was doing to be there for a friend. The problem with that was I would put my friendships before a lot of things, most importantly God. I didn’t know it was possible to be selfless in one area of life, yet so selfish in all the others.

I hate to admit it, but I would have consider myself a chameleon then. I would unintentionally change myself to fit into the environment I was in, because I felt so lost.

y name is Leighanne, and I am the youngest of three daughters. My parents are the best parents that I could ever ask for, and they’ve supported me in anything and everything.

Growing up, I was really close with my parents and my sisters. They were my safety net and comfort zone, and because of the love they had demonstrated to me, I started to do the same with friends.

My friends and I would turn to either drinking heavily or cutting to take away sadness and hurt. Until one day, my mom saw the scars, and to see her reaction broke my heart. I told her that I would never take my own life, but that the physical pain was just so much better than the confusion, emptiness, and loneliness going on inside. After that day, I promised my mom that I would never cut again, and I never did.

Through my high school and early college years, I turned heavily to partying, drinking, and smoking–at the expense of my job and classes. I was just so stumped on the meaning of life. Everything that I had gone through and continued to do was never fulfilling.

I felt so empty inside and was in denial about it. I honestly felt my

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LOVING GOD IS WAR, AND A WAR WORTH FIGHTING FOR.

only reason for being here was to support other people, that there was no spectacular meaning for my life, and I’d always be a follower. I wanted to change, but I wasn’t doing anything different.

I had a feeling in my heart that there had to be more to life than just partying.

I dropped out of college and started working full time. It was during my time there that I began to build better relationships with my coworkers, and one of them invited me to Champions Centre.

I don’t even remember what Pastor Kevin spoke on, but I had a crazy, unexplainable feeling to raise my hand during salvation.

The Holy Spirit must have done work for me to tune in; I felt a gravitational pull to go up front. As nervous as I was to raise my hand while heads were bowed, I was even more frightened to walk up to the front. God is so good though, because not only was He working in me at that moment, He was also working in my sister who had tagged along. We had the support of each other to walk up together in faith—tears were definitely flowing from my heart.

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I got plugged in as soon as I could. I became a member, joined a small group, and started serving on a team. Being a part of the church was feeding a hunger that I had longed for my entire life.

It gave me my own purpose. I’m now a student at Champions Centre College, and it’s preparing me to bring God into every circumstance, while teaching me how to be a successful leader—a leader, exactly what I thought would never happen—I can proudly say that I am a follower of Christ and a leader to other believers.

There is always going to be a battle that I will continue to face.

Loving God is war, and a war worth fighting for. To know that God is already victorious leads me to believe that I will live a victorious life for Christ is within me.

It’s a scary thing to picture my life without Christ, but I know that I don’t have to. My past is not what makes me who I am. I’m so thankful that I can find my identity in Christ. He provides me with a solid foundation and a church as great as Champions Centre.

Once your life has changed, it’s time to spread the good news. It’s time to invite others to church. Why not become a witness to others having their One Day experience? Pass it on.

k. wise

MICROWAVE MYTHS HAVE YOU EVER THOUGHT, “I WANT WHAT I WANT, AND I WANT IT NOW?” I KNOW I HAVE. IT’S THE WORLD WE LIVE IN NOW– THE INSTANT GRATIFICATION SOCIETY. IT’S WHAT I LIKE TO REFER TO AS THE “MICROWAVE MYTH,” THAT MENTALITY THAT CAUSES PEOPLE TO BELIEVE THEY CAN HAVE OVERNIGHT WHAT ACTUALLY TAKES TIME TO DEVELOP, LEARN, AND GROW IN TO. The truth is there is no such thing as an overnight success. In James 1:4, it tells us to “let perseverance

...some of the best things happen to us when we respond in a positive way to the windows of opportunity that God presents.

finish its work so that we may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” Goals and dreams that are worth having take time and perseverance to develop. Mary Karr, an author who rose to fame in 1995 when her book became a bestseller, said, “I was 40-years-old and had been in publishing for twenty years when I became an ‘overnight success.’”

There is nowhere the Microwave Myth is more prevalent than in relationships. Every role we play in re-

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CHAMPION LIFE MAGAZINE

BY KEVIN GERALD

lationships has a learning curve. Whether you’re a dad or a mom, husband or wife, or a brother or sister, relationships take time to develop. I saw a movie scene a few years back where the father was telling his son he was sorry for his behavior and for letting him down. He told him, “I’ve never been a father before, and I’m sorry to be learning on you.”

None of us get it right 100% of the time in our relationships and interactions with others. We’ve all messed up, done or said the wrong thing at the wrong time.

We’ve made mistakes that have hurt ourselves, or other people, and damaged our relationships.

Fortunately, that doesn’t have to be the end of the story. I don’t want you to assume that there’s some kind of quick fix formula out there, but what you can believe is that God has more for you in your relationships. With God’s help, bad relationships can become better, and good relationships can become great!

Don’t give up. Continue to persevere.

God’s not finished working in you, or your relationships yet!

Some of the best things happen to us when we respond in a positive way to the windows of opportunity that God presents.

WHEN GOD ASKS YOU TO DO SOMETHING OUT OF THE ORDINARY FOR HIM, IT’S BECAUSE HE WANTS TO DO SOMETHING OUT OF THE ORDINARY FOR YOU –SHIFT SERIES–KEVIN GERALD

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