Church of the Holy Apostles - Katy, TX
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Making Disciples at COTHA

3/29/2014

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By Darrel Proffitt, Lead Pastor 
We have been working hard to bring clarity to the process of assimilation at COTHA.  Assimilation is how we take the people God sends us and help them connect and grow.  While this may sound simple, it is actually a challenging process.  The issue is to make it as simple as we can, yet be effective.  An assimilation process can serve as a guideline for us as we develop new programs, as well as deepen others.  For example, it is our hope to have a deeper “footprint” in the surrounding community, to help people know that we are here, and there is something here worth exploring. 
As you may know, we host the community Farmer’s Market every Saturday.  They pitch their tents and sell their wares and goods in the north parking lot.  The decision to allow this was based on our desire to be known and seen in the Katy and surrounding communities.  The use of our building is another way we do this.  We see our building as a resource to the larger community, and many different groups use our campus throughout the week.  We are involved in different festivals around the Katy area, again deepening our “footprint.”  As we look at what we do, we add some things and stop doing others if they are not as effective.
As our community footprint deepens, we hope that some people will “come and see” what is going on at COTHA at one of our worship services or programs.  This is why we offer one Saturday evening and two Sunday morning services.  The variety of times is intended to help people who have busy schedules find a time that might fit them best. 
As we grow the number of people in our worship services, we seek to find ways to help them make a decision to become part of our congregation.  Our VIP area that is staffed by people who can answer questions, additionally our Welcome and Hospitality Teams are designed specifically to help our guests feel at home and remove any barrier that might keep them from coming again.  Amazingly, people make a decision to return to a new church within ten minutes of their arrival.  To help this, we hope to be a welcoming and inviting church. 
We find ways to thank people for attending, such as emails, phone calls and hand written notes.  Our prayer is that they will make a decision not only to return, but to enroll in our monthly membership class: COTHA Connect.  When people make a decision to join, the process of assimilation has not ended.
The next step for a new member is to enroll in a class that we are launching in April.  This class, COTHA Grow, formally known as COTHA Basics, is intended to help our new members learn the basics about growing a relationship with Jesus and finding a way to serve at COTHA.  This class is new to us and will help us assist our new members connect at a deeper level.
In June, our third basic course of assimilation will be offered.  This course, COTHA Go, will help our new members learn what is needed to be in leadership.  The skills and tools acquired in this class can be used by serving in the various ministries we have at COTHA or be used by people in the workplace as they learn what it takes to practice Christian leadership in any setting.  They also may be used to develop new programs and small groups.
 In addition to the three basic classes, we offer may other programs such as COTHA U, Small Groups, Bible Studies, Daughters of the King and other courses.  These other classes and programs assist us in helping people grow but are not part of the pipeline of assimilation that we have developed. It is certainly possible to be involved at COTHA without going through the pipeline, but the clarity and simplicity will guide us as we move forward. Our hope is to say to the Katy and surrounding communities to come, connect, grow and go! We do this because we exist to be a biblically functioning church that violates the status quo with biblical truth and seeks to connect the disconnected to the COTHA family.
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Thank you for good friends

3/28/2014

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By Paula Willbrant, Ministry Pastor of Care
A few days ago a very dear and special friend went to heaven.  Stuart would have been 90 years old if he had lived to June, but God had other plans for him.
Stuart, a brilliant man was the first Urological surgeon in Houston. He was an “old timey” doctor who would gladly make house calls and really didn’t worry much about getting paid, he just wanted to take care of his patients and they always came first!  He continued to practice up until just a few years ago.  Truly, after he retired is when he started having health problems and seemed to loose his zest for life.
He was a darn good golfer and lived on a golf course in Sugarland. A few years ago, I had the pleasure of being taught a few things about golf and thought I’d NEVER get through with the game. No matter how good I did, he would criticize and give me pointers on the most minute things!!!! That was Stuart, a perfectionist to the max!
He had a saying he shared with his kids and me that “if it was easy, everyone would do it." He was so right. All things that are worth having are worth the hard work!!!
We enjoyed a mutual admiration society between the two of us.  He was like a second dad to me and I always knew I could count on him for fatherly advise and support.  When he needed something or help getting to and from the hospital or doctor visit, he would often call me instead of his own kids. We loved each other.
The last few months he lived in an assisted living facility. When I would visit him, he would say that he just wished God would take him; he was ready. On some level I understood what he meant, but I still didn’t want to say goodbye. We’re never ready to loose someone we love, no matter how miserable they are.
Well, the time came and Jesus said, “welcome home good and faithful servant!” I’m sure Stuart is in heaven now telling everyone how to do everything!  I pray he’s dancing and laughing his heart away!
Thank You God for the gift of knowing Stuart and for the privilege of our friendship and love!
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Let Us Honor One Another Today

3/27/2014

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By Antoinette Chew, Ministry Pastor of COTHA Kids 
“Take Delight in honoring each other.” Romans 12:10
Everywhere we go we should look for opportunities to pour out the oil of honor on people. We should always look for opportunities to encourage others and compliment them. We should be generous with our honor.
“When you honor others there is a commanded blessing on your life.”
The honor you pour onto others will become the blessing that is poured onto you. With no honor there will be no blessing. You will never receive what you are not willing to give away.
 “It is more blessed to give than to receive” Acts 20:35 
Your honor is not dependent on what others do unto you but what you do unto others. Just because people around you are not giving honor does not mean you should keep your honor bottled up. When you are generous with your honor all will go well with you. Some people are quick to express the negative and they withhold the positive. Let us instead be generous with our compliments and stingy with our complaints. There is enough gossip, slander, and talking negative about people behind their backs. Let’s instead develop a habit of talking good behind people’s backs.
“A man’s harvest in life will depend entirely on what they sow.”
Galatians 6:7
Let us set out to lift one another up today!

​
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The Unexpected

3/27/2014

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By Anna Vickerman, Ministry Pastor of Lil' Kids
We have all had those times in our lives when unexpected circumstances demand and divert 100% of our attention. Sometimes they are short-term, and sometimes they are extenuated and long.
Monday, I had short unexpected schedule change that took me flying off the path that I had planned out for myself for 24 hours.  Though it was tedious and stretched my abilities physically and emotionally, I am amazed once again at how these unexpected circumstances help me grow so practically in Christ.  It is an exercise of faith, a test of endurance, and a clear example of His grace working through my life, giving me strength, perseverance, and answering prayer!
 I was truly blessed yesterday to have amazing friends drop their plans to come alongside and help me, joyfully! This is God’s kingdom at work! Following His timing, learning to trust and depend on Him for His strength, and joining our brothers and sisters in Christ to do that which cannot be done in this space and time without the Holy Spirit’s encouragement and empowerment!
When I know it is impossible for the task before me to be completed in the time allotted God does the impossible through me when I work in and through Him. When I have no energy to take the next step whether physically or mentally, He sustains me and I continue on...in Him.
Though exhausted and well, almost delirious today, I have an excitement in my heart with the knowledge that my perseverance through Christ in this small really insignificant 24 hours has built more of His character in me and has put His joy and hope in my heart!
Romans 5:5 “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us”
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What is Success?

3/26/2014

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By Darrel Proffitt, Lead Pastor
What is success?  The world defines it as something synonymous with achievement.  If you succeed,  then you have achieved.  If you have achieved you have succeeded.  It seems pretty straightforward and unambiguous. But as in most things, the way the world defines things is different than the way God does.  To understand this difference is significant for those of us who follow Jesus.
When doing ministry, is success just a matter of how many people benefit from that ministry?  Is it a matter of how many mouths are fed, how many people show up for a program or worship service?  This is not an insignificant issue.  If we are going to truly live into Jesus’s promise and to take His yoke upon us, and learn from Him, for He is gentle and lowly in heart, and we will find rest for our souls, then dealing with the true meaning of success is essential.
We cannot control results.  The harder we try, the more bogged down we become.  God is in charge of results.  The Great Commission doesn’t tell us to go and make converts.  It says to go and make disciples and teach then to do all that Jesus has commanded.  In other words, our task is to take those He sends to us and feed them with God’s Word.  But even that is not success.
Success is ministry involves transformation of character.  That is what happens when disciples are made.  They do not learn a set of doctrines and simply memorize a lot of scripture.  Transformed disciples actually love God with all their hearts, with all their soul, with all their minds, with all their strength, and their neighbor as themselves.  When that happens, obedience to the teachings of Jesus is automatic.  They are the fruit of a transformed life.
That is what success is.  When disciples follow Jesus because they do not want to do anything else, true transformation has taken place.  As it turns out, following Jesus into transformation is what success is.  When we discover that we do find rest for our souls.  And success.
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Do Not Limit Yourself

3/22/2014

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 By Darrel Proffitt, Lead Pastor
Much of successful leadership has to do with a desire to make a difference.  Being dissatisfied with the way things are and a sense that you can change those things, is an important understanding for any leader. 
John Maxwell has written more books that I could name and the one thing that seems to be a constant in each one is that a leader must have a conviction that things can be better.  The other consistent theme I have found in each of his books is simplicity.  It is not a specialized subject hidden to all but the most clever.  The problem is that even if it is simple, not many understand and use basic principles of leadership. I believe Will Rogers once said that there is nothing so common about common sense!
Maxwell has articulated seven steps to success.  None of these steps are surprising but how many people actually take these steps from knowing them to acting upon them.  They are:
1) Make a commitment to grow daily.
2) Value the process more than events.
3) Don't wait for inspiration.
4) Be willing to sacrifice pleasure for opportunity.
5) Dream big.
6) Plan your priorities.
7) Give up to go up.
I face the daily temptation of simply getting my to-do list accomplished without taking the time to step back and reflect on the bigger picture.  This list is helpful because it forces me to get beyond the “tyranny of the urgent” and move to a place where I continue to move forward, step by step, to a place where I hope to be and the person I hope to become.
Do not limit yourself by being so focused on the task at hand that you cannot see the bigger picture.  Do you have goals?  If not, make some.  Review them every day and record even the smallest steps that you will take today to move closer to realizing them.  When you choose to just make it through the day without moving closer (small step by small step) to your goals, you are not only cheating yourself, but you are cheating those who need you to be the person God created you to be.  Make today count!
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Weather Today: Plentiful Sunshine, Clear Skies!

3/22/2014

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By Anna Vickerman, Ministry Pastor of Lil' Kids 
This morning the sky is so blue and clear! It is a little chilly outside, but while I was driving the warm sun was pouring through the windows of my car. I LOVE this weather! In fact yesterday afternoon I had the kids do their homework on the driveway because I wanted to soak up the spring warmth of the sun for a few minutes after being inside all day. While I was driving this morning enjoying the warmth of the sun, a verse came to me.
 Psalm 18:24  “This is the day that the Lord has made let us rejoice and be glad in it!”
I was encouraged by the verse, and my thoughts turned quickly to how easy it is to rejoice and be glad when things are sunny.  How vibrant and alive I can feel in the warmth and hope of spring. Then on the contrary, how difficult and how much work it can be to rejoice during dreary weather or when things are difficult when my faith is exercised and tested.
But this day, I am encouraged and thankful for the warmth of the sun that reminded me of the warmth the SON brings to my heart through His Words and through His creation.
So this day, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. “ Romans 15:13
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Tucked in my Bible

3/21/2014

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By Paula Willbrant, Ministry Pastor of Care
When I was about 10 years old I read a poem that really touched me.  I copied it and have kept it in my Bible ever since re-reading it from time to time.  It’s amazing to me that even after all these years, the words still ring so true to me and are something that I want to share.
Give me a few friends who will love me for what I am or am not,
and keep ever burning before my wandering steps the kindly light of hope,
and though age and infirmity overtake me, and I come not in sight of the castle of my dreams,
teach me still to be thankful for life and times old memories that are good and sweet,
and may the evening twilight find me gentle still.
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Guard Your Heart

3/20/2014

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By Antoinette Chew, Ministry Pastor of COTHA Kids
I was listening to a speaker the other day, and he really had some great thoughts about being proactive in guarding what you dwell on. Build walls to prevent negativity from coming into your life. Negative thoughts take a lot of energy to process. You need to ignore negativity and save your strength. Focus on positive things that will help you fulfill your destiny. Do not allow yourself to be overcome by the poison that negativity breeds.  It is a lot easier to keep the poison out of your life if you never hear it in the first place. If someone begins to gossip or tries to tear you down, just walk away. Do not let those words enter your heart.
“Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” Proverbs 4:23
We can’t stop negative things from happening in our lives, but we can choose what we let enter our hearts. Negativity is all around us and will continue to surface because we live in a broken world. What we can do is guard our hearts and our souls and push the negativity out and focus on the positive. We need to learn that if it’s not a positive, hopeful, productive, faith-filled thing, then shouldn’t dwell on it.
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Disappointment Does Not Have to Lead to Disillusionment

3/19/2014

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By Darrel Proffitt, Lead Pastor
How is your Lent going? Are you praying, fasting, practicing self-denial and repenting? Are you studying God’s Word in a more disciplined way? Or have you given up chocolate? What ever you are doing, I pray that it is helping you reflect on the gift that God has given us in Jesus Christ. Because Jesus lives, we can experience life at a deeper level. Because Jesus became forsaken so that we could be forgiven, life has meaning and purpose.
In the midst of my own Lenten journey I have taken the opportunity to reflect on how much of my life and happiness seems to depend on others. I know that is not the way to live. Indeed, if we live this way we will find ourselves being manipulated, and it will seem like we live on an emotional (and spiritual) roller coaster. I read something yesterday that reminded me that if we put our faith in other people we would be guaranteed to be hurt. I can take that one step further, if we think that anyone other than God will not hurt us, then we are in for some pretty big disappointments.
I can see my own brokenness only too well. But I also have a pretty good understanding of how broken other people are as well. I am certainly not perfect in this, but I am gaining a deeper understanding of how to prevent disappointment from leading to disillusionment and despair. Interestingly enough, this was not my Lenten plan for the year. But God often has other plans.
I have had to find a way to move away from knowledge to experience; from head knowledge to heart-understanding. For me, it started with an assumption that God is sovereign and people are broken. As I reflected on that, I was given many opportunities to see this truth in action. Then I came face to face with the reality that simply knowing something to be true doesn’t change anything. I had to feel it. I had to have a soul deep connection to this reality. Lent has been such a time for me.
I finally realized that disillusionment and despair are choices. But I don’t have enough will power to choose wisely. I need God. I need his power working in me that can and does do far more abundantly than I could ask or imagine. That is the key. His power working in me takes this head knowledge and makes it operative in my life.
The older I become the more I see the brokenness in and around me. The more I see how easy it is to hurt others and to be hurt. But I am not alone. God is sovereign. His love is unmatchable. His strength and compassion define me. I am his. He is my God.
If this Lent you come face to face with the brokenness of other people, I pray that you not settle for disillusionment and despair. I pray that you will seek a better way.
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Church of the Holy Apostles
1225 West Grand Parkway South
Katy, TX 77494
info@cotha.org • 281-392-3310

​Service Times
Sundays 8a and 10:30a
Sunday School 9:15a • Breakfast 9a


Office Hours
Monday – Thursday  9a-5p