Church of the Holy Apostles - Katy, TX
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  • I'm New
  • About Us
    • What We Believe
    • The Episcopal Church
    • Staff
    • Our Vestry
    • Contact Us
    • Community Partners
  • Worship
    • Sunday Morning
    • Sermons
    • What to Expect
  • Ministries
    • Connect >
      • New Member Class
      • Small Groups
      • Serving Teams
    • Adult Ministry
    • Family
    • Missions and Outreach
    • Wednesday Night Refuel
    • Next Steps
    • Support Groups
  • Events
  • Members
    • myCOTHA
    • Give
    • Parish Resources
    • Annual Meeting

Let's Draw Near..

1/27/2017

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Let's Draw Near...
  
We have all heard the term Code Blue and most of us know that means someone has “flatlined” and their heart has stopped beating. Emergency personnel is called and equipment is used to “jump start” life back into a person in need. When a Christian “flatlines” in their faith it takes more than emergency equipment to give us life. 

The first step in a Christian life is to visit churches and find one that you attend regularly and not just on Christmas and Easter. Once a home church has been dated for a while it is time to take the next step and become a member.

It is this stage where the code blue often occurs. It is easy to get into a routine of going to church on Sunday, cutting out coupons from the Sunday paper, grocery shopping and getting the kids ready for the next school week. Then comes Monday where we take the kids to school, go to work and begin our five days of count down to Saturday and before we know it we are hunting down our church purses and Bibles and begin all over again. We begin to notice little blessings but as time goes by we stop noticing them and call them “lucky breaks” instead. 


A day comes when we are introduced to a thing called “ministry” and keep hearing people talk about serving others and how they love to be a blessing to others. This is when we get our jump start and blessings suddenly seem to appear and we learn that they have been there all along.

Now, I am not at a point where I feel comfortable laying my hands on someone, praying aloud or leading a Bible study group but I can make a mean pot of coffee and can cook spaghetti quicker than a pastor can give a sermon.

It isn’t what ministry one is involved in that matters but the heart that the serving comes from.

There is a point on the Christian Spectrum where one no longer awaits blessings to come to them and instead seeks those that they can be a blessing to. It is the point when we begin serving others and serving Him that we truly live in His presence. COTHA offers many ministry opportunities to “jump start” your walk with Christ.

This Sunday, we'll be hosting a Ministry Market.  It's an opportunity to visit with the leaders in each of our ministry areas and get to know what's involved in each of those ministries.  Your gifting may be in serving during the Sunday worship time.  But you also may have a passion for mission and outreach work.  Or your interests may lie with raising up the next generation.  Or finally, maybe God has been nudging you to take the plunge and lead a small group of other Christians.  

This weekend will be a perfect opportunity for you to explore your options.  

See you there!
Hollie Donohue
Ministry Coordinator
hollie@cotha.org
281-787-0844

* Want to learn more about DIY - Sean breaks it down for us here - DIY 2017
** Wondering about your particular gifting?  We have an excellent resource to help you get start - Spiritual Gift Test

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2017 DIY

1/2/2017

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Devote • Invest • Yield
​If you’re like me then you’ve once equated fitness with a gym membership and thought little about how much it is a lifestyle choice. I’ve also had the flawed understanding that purchasing a membership ensures desired results but we all know that’s not true. The gyms that cost a car payment to join should at least drop your body fat down by 5% but the reality is the cost to become a member only provides you with access. Access is great but it must be accompanied by devotion, investment, and discipline inside and outside of the gym. 
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There is a wonderful verse in the Bible that speaks to this phenomenon in Christianity. James 4:8a says, “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.” God can tell us to draw near not because we paid an expensive price for membership but because Jesus gave His life as payment for our access to God. Not only has the payment been made by God but so has the motivation and inspiration to follow Christ been given through the Holy Spirit. You see, we have everything we need to grow in faith but, as James says, we have to draw near. But what does drawing near look like? Glad you asked. It’s quite simple, in fact you do it everyday. We all devote ourselves to something or someone. We all Invest our time and money into some purpose. We all yield or surrender to some entity greater than ourselves. You know what it looks like but is it in the right place? G. K. Chesterton said this, “The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting. It has been found difficult; and left untried.” Christianity is not easy but a divine joy awaits the one who tries it.
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The vision for COTHA in 2017 is rooted in this truth - Christianity is difficult and impossible alone. So let’s do this together! “DIY Devote. Invest. Yield” is our mantra for the year and our goal is to read through the entire Bible In One Year and gain a clearer understanding of the Christian faith. I believe in this promise with all my heart that If we would Devote. Invest. Yield to God’s way then He will bring all of who He is into our lives and that’s a pretty big deal. This is such a beautiful promise made to us by the only true and living God!


Our goal is not to be the most informed Christians on the earth but it is to be transformed by the truth found in the word of God. Several pathways will help facilitate our desire to grow in faith. We understand that everyone’s experience is different so we designed this with you in mind…
  • Go through the Bible In One Year with an app - Download Here
  • Read the “One Year Bible” - See Mardel Selections
  • Take the Foundations course where questions and doubts are welcomed
  • Take “Bible Study Methods” class hosted by Grace Seminary to further your understanding of how to study the Bible.  Register Here
  • Join the Facebook group for discussion
I can’t sell you on what you will experience but I can tell you that committing to at least one of these pathways will undoubtedly bring you closer to God and His will in your life. The story of God is the story of us - know the story and make Him known in this generation.

In Him,
Sean Nelson
Adults and Connections Pastor 
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Church of the Holy Apostles
1225 West Grand Parkway South
Katy, TX 77494
281-392-3310
Info@cotha.or
Service Times
Sundays 8a and 10:30a
Sunday School 9:30a • Breakfast 9a


Office Hours
Monday – Thursday  9a-5p